Which prospects will hit the most homers in ‘24?

Which prospects will hit the most homers in ‘24?

February 28th, 2024

Last week, our Pipeline prospect gurus dissected each club’s top power-hitting prospect in the system so, naturally, we had to give it the podcast treatment because who doesn’t love the long ball.

On the latest Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo drafted 10 prospects from that list who they think will hit the most homers in ‘24. It’s important to note that the prospects’ level and opportunity for at-bats factored into the decisions. The draft went five rounds with Jim leading off the festivities.

ROUND 1

Callis: , CHC (MLB No. 47)

“He hits the ball as hard as anybody in the Minors, 22 homers despite being one of the youngest guys in [the] Double-A Southern League last year. So, give me Owen Caissie of the Cubs.”

Mayo: , MIN (MLB No. 10)

“The combination of his hit ability and the juice in his bat, I think he’s going to make Single-A look kind of easy and then get promoted and keep on mashing.”

ROUND 2

Mayo: , TEX (MLB No. 6)

“The Rangers' first pick [in the 2023 Draft], made it up to Triple-A. All he did was slug .677 during his pro debut. The only reason why this may not be a great pick is if he shuttles up and down a little bit [between the Majors and Minors]. I think he’s going to get to his power in the big leagues too, but the only reason why I pause is that’s kind of a huge jump for a player in his first year of pro ball to make. But I believe in his power potential that much.”

Callis: , LAD

“He has hit home runs everywhere he’s been, and the Dodgers outfield is so crowded that I don’t think he’s going to get many at-bats in the big leagues. You guys know I love Andy Pages.”

ROUND 3

Callis: , WSH (MLB No. 14)

“He did struggle some in Double-A last year, but he still hit 26 homers at age 20. He’s huge, great leverage, great bat speed, tremendous power, I enjoyed talking to James Wood in Spring Training last year, so give me James Wood.”

Mayo: , BAL (MLB No. 30)

“I actually mentioned him in [the] Inbox as a guy who might end up forcing his way into the big-league picture, but I don't know where he’s going to play. And the power is already showing up. He hit 29 homers at the upper levels last year. He’s only going to be 22 so I think he ends up spending most of the year in Triple-A and just puts up ridiculous numbers there. And even if he comes to the big leagues and there’s more swing and miss or something like that, he’s still going to get to his power.”

ROUND 4

Mayo: , PHI (MLB No. 61)

“We’ve talked so much about Aidan Miller. How the Phillies may have gotten the steal of the draft because he slipped to the end of the first round, broken hamate [bone] as a senior. We saw the power on the showcase circuit. He won the home run derby, actually hit well when he had his pro debut. It was only 20 games. I think that even in the Florida State League he’s going to get to a good amount of power right away. He’s going to be too good for that level.”

Callis: , TB (MLB No. 4)

“I’m going to take a guy who we agreed had the most power in the Top 100 prospects list, who may play in the Majors although it’s unclear exactly where he’ll fit. So, I’ll take Junior Caminero, who hit 31 home runs as a 19-year-old in the Minors. And Junior will not agree with me, but I hope he spends a bunch of time in Triple-A, so he puts up a ton of home runs.”

ROUND 5

Callis: , AZ

“I’m going to take a huge power-over-hit guy who I think will be in the Minors all year, and I will go Ivan Melendez. He hit 30 home runs last year in less than 100 games. I’m hoping he stays a little healthier, and we’ll get 35 this year.”

Mayo: , SEA

“He has had power right from the get-go. In the Dominican Summer League, he slugged .585. He slugged .560 last year making his way from the Complex League to full-season ball. The thing that gives me hope, he had high strikeout rates early and there’s some swing and miss there, is that his approach really got better last year, and I think it’s going to keep getting better and he might have as much raw power as anyone who is on this list. It’s just a question of him hitting enough to get to it. So, I’m banking with my final pick here that he is going to make enough contact to get to it consistently.”

Team Callis
Owen Caissie, CHC
Andy Pages, LAD
James Wood, WSH
Junior Caminero, TB
Ivan Melendez, AZ

Team Mayo
Walker Jenkins, MIN
Wyatt Langford, TEX
Coby Mayo, BAL
Aidan Miller, PHI
Lazaro Montes, SEA