Our bimonthly check-in on the hottest hitters on each club’s Top 30 Prospects list includes seven Top 100 Prospects and four players who turned their performance into big league callups — but just one repeater from our list of dudes who were raking in April.
Braves corner infielder David McCabe homered just once in his 29-game pro debut after signing as a fourth-round pick out of Charlotte last summer, but he has flipped the power switch on this spring. He’s batting .282/.395/.480 with 10 homers in 58 games and has been on a .321/.433/.446 tear since getting promoted to High-A at the end of May.
In addition to McCabe, here are the hitters in each system who have been the most dangerous over the last 30 days:
Blue Jays: Orelvis Martinez, SS/3B (No. 4)
Though he’s repeating Double-A New Hampshire, Martinez is performing like someone who could see Triple-A well before his 22nd birthday in the offseason. The 5-foot-11 infielder enters the week with a .314/.400/.588 line with three homers in 15 June games. His walk rate since the start of May is 13.9 percent, a major positive indicator, for a player whose OBP issues drove him out of the preseason Top 100. The power’s still there too; his 17 homers on the season rank third in Double-A.
Orioles: Coby Mayo, 3B (No. 8)
The Orioles’ fourth-rounder in 2020 is just 21 years old, but is having no problems adjusting to Double-A for the first time. The slugging corner infielder hit .343/.454/.717 over the last 30 days for Bowie, with eight homers and 20 total extra-base hits. Yes, there’s swing-and-miss (28.6 percent K rate) but he also drew walks at a 14.3 percent clip, helping him raise his season OPS to .999 over 61 games.
Rays: Xavier Isaac, 1B (No. 10)
Tampa Bay officials were adamant that the rest of the industry was overlooking Isaac’s power potential in the 2022 Draft, even as a prep first baseman, and the 29th overall pick is backing that up of late for Single-A Charleston. Isaac went 12-for-28 (.429) with a homer and six doubles last week and entered the week hitting .313/.419/.596 over 27 games since the start of May 1. After a slow April, his 146 wRC+ on the season ranks sixth in the Carolina League.
Red Sox: Blaze Jordan, 1B/3B (No. 10)
Jordan’s power led the Red Sox to take him out of a Mississippi high school in the third round of the 2020 Draft, and he improved his hitting ability since signing for an above-slot $1.75 million. He has been on a .374/.434/.626 tear with five homers in his last 25 High-A games and now leads the South Atlantic League in batting (.322), hits (75) and total bases (126).
Yankees: Anthony Hall, OF (No. 19)
After signing with the Yankees as a fourth-rounder out of Oregon last summer, Hall broke the hamate in his right hand while popping out in his first pro at-bat, abruptly ending his debut. He has batted .296/.431/.432 during the last month in Single-A, boosting his season totals to .273/.395/.416 with four homers in 42 contests. He could have at least average tools across the board.
Guardians: Juan Brito, INF (No. 14)
An offensive-minded player who makes hard contact from both sides of the plate, Brito has rebounded from a .233/.356/.367 start to go on a .378/.475/.598 tear with four homers in 2022. Acquired in a November trade with the Rockies for Nolan Jones, he has done most of that damage following a May 26 promotion to Double-A.
Royals: Tucker Bradley, OF (No. 26)
Bradley’s consistent bat at the lower levels earned him a spot on the Kansas City Top 30, and his monthly OPS has climbed in April (.653) and May (.759) to a hot June (.949). Entering the week, the lefty hitter was hitting .333/.420/.500 over the last 30 days for Triple-A Omaha. Significant splits issues (he’s hitting only .133 against southpaws in 2023) might keep Bradley from being more than a platoon bat at the next level, but the 25-year-old could get a Major League look in the second half if this keeps up.
Tigers: Colt Keith, 3B/2B (No. 2/MLB No. 81)
Keith missed a little time last week with an undisclosed issue but came back with homers on Thursday and Friday to extend his Double-A Erie dinger streak to four games. From May 20-June 19, the powerful infielder put up a .386/.455/.716 line with seven homers and eight doubles in 21 games. His .980 OPS on the season ranks third among Double-A qualifiers, while his .588 slugging percentage places fourth, despite him being only 21 years old.
Twins: Matt Wallner, OF (No. 7)
If you needed any reason why the Twins have brought Wallner up in the past, his last month should give you all you need. He hit .348/.455/.630 in that span with 15 extra-base hits, while keeping his K rate to a relatively modest 23.2 percent. He has a .960 OPS in 51 total games with St. Paul while having going 7-for-19 in 11 big league games to boot.
White Sox: José Rodriguez, 2B/SS (No. 6)
Signed for just $50,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2018, Rodriguez has developed into one of the best young hitters in the White Sox organization. He shook off an uncharacteristic .174/.211/.298 start to bat .353/.384/.662 with five homers over his last 16 Double-A games and earn his first big league callup on Monday.
Angels: Adrian Placencia, SS (No. 7)
While his totals over the last 30 days – a .258/.386/.452 line – may seem modest compared to others in this story, it should be noted Placencia is just 20 and playing in High-A ball. He also showed an impressive approach, with a walk rate of 17.5 percent to go along with four homers (to bring his season total to six). He’s also shown steady improvement as the season has gone on, with a .499 OPS in April, .888 in May and .912 to date in June.
Astros: Zach Dezenzo, 3B/2B (No. 29)
A 2022 12th-round pick after tying Ohio State’s career home run record with 38, Dezenzo has been on fire throughout his first full pro season, leading the Minors in hitting (.385) while ranking fifth in on-base percentage (.468) and eighth in OPS (1.060). He has batted .343/.446/.543 in the last month, barely slowing down following a mid-May promotion to Double-A.
A’s: Logan Davidson, INF (No. 23)
This is really the first prolonged offensive success the A’s 2019 first-rounder has had since signing. Davidson hit .345/.441/.552 with 12 extra-base hits in 102 plate appearances over his last 30 days. That has included his first promotion to Triple-A, where he went 6-for-13 in his first four games. For the year, he’s now hit .308/.389/.492, showing much better control of the strike zone while playing three infield positions.
Mariners: Gabriel Gonzalez, OF (No. 6)
The teenager is really putting things together in his first full season with Modesto after hitting his way there from the Arizona Complex League in 2022. With his .361/.411/.537 line over the last 30 days, Gonzalez is now hitting .339/.393/.502 for the year, the top batting average in the California League through Tuesday’s games.
Rangers: Justin Foscue, 2B/3B (No. 6)
Though he gets overshadowed by prospects with louder all-around tools in the Rangers system, Foscue just keeps producing. The 2020 first-rounder from Mississippi State has hit .279/.430/.515 over his last month in Triple-A and is batting .277/.405/.488 with eight homers and seven steals in 57 contests.
Braves: David McCabe, 3B/1B (No. 24)
The Braves took McCabe in the fourth round of the 2022 Draft out of UNC Charlotte largely because of his switch-hitting power potential and he hasn’t disappointed. He got bumped up to High-A Rome over the past month and he’s kept on hitting, with an OPS of 1.013 over the last 30 days. He’s hit six homers in that span to give him 10 for the year in 58 games.
Marlins: Jacob Amaya, SS (No. 9)
The Marlins dealt Miguel Rojas to the Dodgers for Amaya in January with hopes that Amaya would take over their shortstop job in the near future — and he has. After he batted .307/.365/.613 with six homers in his last 21 Triple-A games, they summoned him to Miami on Saturday.
Mets: Jacob Reimer, 3B (No. 14)
Reimer may have gotten overlooked some in a Draft class that boasted Kevin Parada and Jett Williams at the top, but the 2022 fourth-rounder is becoming more noteworthy by the week with Single-A St. Lucie. The 19-year-old third baseman opened the week with a .525 OBP, 1.112 OPS and 14/12 K/BB ratio over his last 19 games in the Florida State League. The California native projects to have above-average power from the right side, and that’ll come. But if the patience can be this good over the long term, watch out.
Nationals: James Wood, OF (No. 1/MLB No. 6)
Wood started out 1-for-12 over his first three games with Double-A Harrisburg to end last month. But you can rarely keep a prospect this good down for that long. The 20-year-old slugged .603 and posted a .910 OPS over his next 15 games after that early minislump with 10 of his 16 hits going for extra bases in that span. Wood might be getting somewhat overeager to swing in the Eastern League with a 5.3 percent walk rate in his first 18 games, but he’s proving his plus-plus raw power certainly plays at that level.
Phillies: Johan Rojas, OF (No. 6)
Tip of the cap to fellow outfielder Justin Crawford, who has a .977 OPS over the past 30 days, but Rojas has been just a little bit better, exciting for the Phillies, who’ve been waiting for the speedster’s bat to catch up. Rojas had a 1.043 OPS over the last 30 days with 16 extra-base hits. He also swiped 11 bags, lest you think he neglected his carrying tool. He’s hitting .323 for the year, good for second in the Eastern League, while his 24 steals put him in a tie for fourth.
Brewers: Luis Lara, OF (No. 12)
There’s a temptation to compare Lara to Jackson Chourio, who also skipped over the Arizona Complex League to join Single-A Carolina at 18. The truth is they’re players with two different skill sets. In Lara’s case, his rise has been fueled by exceptional bat-on-ball skills. As of Tuesday, he had struck out only 9.9 percent of the time in the last 30 days, leading to a .338 average and .444 OBP. Lara lacks Chourio’s power, but he’s certainly solidified his place as a name to know for the Crew.
Cardinals: Ivan Herrera, C (No. 6)
Even with Willson Contreras sliding back behind the plate, the Cardinals might have to consider giving Herrera an MLB catching look before long based on his recent performance. The Panama native hit .324/.466/.632 with four homers, 18 walks and 13 strikeouts over his last 30 days for Triple-A Memphis entering the week. In fact, his 11 extra-base hits almost matched his K output in that span. Herrera’s 143 wRC+ on the season leads Triple-A backstops.
Cubs: Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF (No. 1/MLB No. 12)
The best defensive player in the Minors is heating up with the bat, hitting .284/.382/.537 with five homers and six steals during his last month in Double-A. Stolen from the Mets in the Javier Báez trade in 2021, he’s on the path to becoming a Gold Glove center fielder with at least 20-20 upside.
Pirates: Tsung-Che Cheng, SS (No. 28)
Cheng is very quietly putting together an outstanding season with High-A Greensboro. After hitting .359/.438/.609 with 13 extra-base hits over the last 30 days, he now leads the South Atlantic League with his .981 OPS. He has 30 extra-base hits and 13 steals for the season while striking out infrequently (18.4 percent) and walking a lot (13.6).
Reds: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 1B/3B (No. 6)
Just in case you thought the Reds were done with having exciting prospects ready to contribute soon in Cincinnati, Encarnacion-Strand is pounding loudly on the big league door. The corner infielder had a 1.047 OPS over the last 30 days with seven homers. Believe it or not, his month actually brought down his season total a bit, though he’s still leading the International League with his 1.091 OPS and .675 SLG.
D-backs: Dominic Canzone, OF/1B (No. 19)
As if the upstart D-backs needed another quality outfielder. Canzone went 11-for-21 (.524) with four homers and only two strikeouts over five games for Triple-A Reno last week alone and is an even 23-for-46 (.500) in 13 games this month while leading Triple-A with a 1.494 OPS in that span. While the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League might be playing a part, Canzone has struck out only 13 percent of the time in June, thus solidifying his hot streak.
Dodgers: Michael Busch, 3B/2B (No. 3/MLB No. 39)
Busch continues to live up to his reputation as one of the best all-around hitters in the 2019 Draft, in which he went 31st overall out of North Carolina. He produced at a .333/.413/.667 clip with four homers in his last 16 games in Triple-A to earn his second callup of the year on Friday.
Giants: Luis Matos, OF (No. 4/MLB No. 98)
After signing for $725,000 out of Venezuela in 2018, Matos quickly emerged as one of the best pure hitters in the Minors before slumping last season. He has recaptured his form in 2023, going off at a .405/.442/.697 rate with seven homers in his final 20 Triple-A contests before the Giants called him up for the first time last Wednesday. He has gone 5-for-19 with six walks in his first six games with San Francisco.
Padres: Tirso Ornelas, OF (No. 28)
Ornelas entered the week with a nine-game hitting streak in which he’d gone 18-for-38 (.474) with four homers and four doubles for Double-A San Antonio, and he’s hitting .400/.462/.714 over his first 16 games in June. That slugging percentage is higher than the left-handed-hitting outfielder’s OPS in April (.653) and May (.685). After being left unprotected and unpicked in two straight Rule 5 Drafts, Ornelas needed to produce in 2023, and he’s certainly warming up with the Texas weather.
Rockies: Adael Amador, SS (No. 2/MLB No. 50)
Amador is continuing to show that the High-A Northwest League is no problem for him. The 20-year-old infielder now has a .941 OPS for the season after hitting .359/.478/.554 over his last 30 days. During that span, the infielder drew 20 walks and struck out just eight times.