30 prospects with rising stock in the rankings -- 1 for each team

August 7th, 2024

MLB Pipeline will unveil its new Top 100 Prospects list and revamped Top 30s for every farm system next Tuesday. We won't let any specific ranks slip just yet, but we'll give you a sneak preview by identifying the prospect who has boosted his stock the most on each team's Top 30 since the start of the season.

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Four of the players mentioned below will make the Top 100. Twenty-two of them didn't make preseason Top 30 lists in their organization.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: Fernando Perez, RHP
Selected as Toronto’s representative at this summer’s All-Star Futures Game, the 20-year-old right-hander has taken a nice step forward with his first full-season club at Single-A Dunedin, posting a 3.67 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 85 strikeouts in 81 innings. He works with a 91-94 mph fastball and shows a slider, curveball and changeup – giving him a full arsenal that should help as he expands his workload further.

Orioles: Stiven Martinez, OF
Signed in January for $950,000, Martinez wasn’t on the Orioles’ preseason Top 30, but worked his way on thanks to his solid start in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League. He’s just turning 17 now and has tremendous raw power from the right side of the plate. He’ll need to work on his approach, but he was drawing walks and making a ton of hard contact during his debut.

Rays: Gary Gill Hill, RHP
The Rays selected the New York prep pitcher in the sixth round of the 2022 Draft knowing he would be a project. After taking some bumps last year, the 6-foot-2 right-hander has taken off in 2024 with a 3.57 ERA, 88 strikeouts and only 18 walks in 84 innings for Single-A Charleston. Gill Hill flashes three above-average pitches with his 93-95 mph fastball, slider and changeup, and his loose delivery helps him pump strikes.

Red Sox: Kristian Campbell, 2B/OF/SS
Campbell had a strong redshirt freshman season at Georgia Tech in 2023, but his average raw power, plus speed and athleticism didn't translate to game action as well as scouts thought they should, so he lasted until the supplemental fourth round. The Red Sox have helped him change his bat path while adding bat speed and strength, and the results have been spectacular. He's slashing .342/.445/.556 with 12 homers and 15 steals in 84 games between High-A and Double-A, ranking third in the Minors in batting and on-base percentage and fourth in OPS (1.001).

Yankees: Edgleen Perez, C
Most Yankees catching prospects stand out more for their offense than defense, but the reverse is true of Perez, who signed for $50,000 out of Venezuela in 2023. He's an agile backstop with plus arm strength and the potential for receiving and blocking skills to match. A contact hitter with a patient approach that can get too passive at times, he batted .283/.444/.380 in his U.S. debut in the Florida Complex League this summer, placing second in walks (45) and third in on-base percentage on the Rookie-level circuit.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Guardians: C.J. Kayfus, 1B/OF
A third-round pick out of Miami a year ago, Kayfus fit the hit-over-power profile that the Guardians preferred at the time. Now he's driving the ball in the air more often to his pull side in his first full pro season, resulting in a .313/.418/.554 line with 15 homers in 83 games between High-A and Double-A. He ranks fourth in the Minors with 82 RBIs and seventh with a .972 OPS.

Royals: Asbel Gonzalez, OF
Signed for only $157,500 out of Venezuela in January 2023, Gonzalez has taken off in his first stateside season with a .285 average, .398 OBP and 22 steals in 41 games in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League. The 18-year-old’s speed and defense have impressed Kansas City officials most, and his ability to track down balls in center should keep him in that valuable position as he sets his sights on full-season ball next spring.

Tigers: Jaden Hamm, RHP
Hamm leads High-A qualifiers with a 31.6 percent strikeout rate and ranks fourth at the level with a 2.45 ERA over 84 1/3 innings for West Michigan. The 2023 fifth-rounder’s 92-95 mph fastball features a ton of ride up in the zone, and that’s been his best pitch. He’ll also show an above-average curveball that dives below bats. He’s gone deeper than five innings only once this summer as Detroit keeps him reeled in, but the building blocks are there for a potential Major League starter.

Twins: Zebby Matthews, RHP
Technically this leap already happened as Matthews’ performance catapulted him from No. 20 on the Twins’ preseason list to his current standing on the overall Top 100. The 2022 eighth-rounder dominated both High-A and Double-A and is currently in Triple-A with a combined 2.64 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and .217 BAA.

White Sox: Brooks Baldwin, SS/2B
Almost immediately after Chicago made him a 12th-round pick out of UNC Wilmington in 2022, he became an organization favorite because of his high floor, versatility and nonstop energy. A switch-hitter who consistently puts together quality at-bats, he batted. 324/.391/.460 with eight homers and 17 steals in 82 games between Double-A and Triple-A to earn his first big league callup. The struggling White Sox may have found their second baseman of the future -- and present -- in Baldwin.

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

Angels: Randy De Jesus, OF
De Jesus had been a Top 30 guy before as a seven-figure international signee in 2022, but had fallen off because of struggles in making consistent contact during his U.S. debut in 2023. His approach still needs work, but he worked his way back onto the list during the season with more impactful contact in his first taste of full-season ball. He’s started to tap into his power, reaching double digits in homers.

Astros: Anderson Brito, RHP
Known for turning inexpensive international arms into big league assets, the Astros may be doing it again with Brito, who signed for $10,000 out of Venezuela in November. His fastball has climbed about 5 mph since he turned pro, now sitting in the mid-90s and touching 99 with carry, and his low-80s slider features a ton of horizontal action and gives him a second plus pitch. He has dominated in his pro debut, posting a 1.05 ERA, .118 average-against and a 57/10 K/BB ratio in 34 1/3 innings between two Rookie-ball clubs and Single-A.

A’s: Grant Holman, RHP
Another player on this list who wasn’t on the Top 30 at the start of the season, Holman moved into a bullpen role in 2023 and took off in it this year. He didn’t give up a run of any kind until June 28, his 26th appearance of the year, after he’d been promoted from Double-A to Triple-A a couple of weeks prior. He should be a relief prospect of the year candidate thanks to his 0.61 combined ERA, 10.4 K/9 rate and .163 BAA.

Mariners: Brandyn Garcia, LHP
Garcia was just recently inserted into the middle of the Mariners’ Top 30 as a replacement during the Trade Deadline period. The lefty was the team’s 11th-round pick in 2023 after pitching out of Texas A&M’s bullpen that spring. He’s run with an opportunity to start, reaching Double-A in his first full season and pitching to a combined 2.18 ERA, .221 BAA and 11.0 K/9 rate.

Rangers: Alejandro Rosario, RHP
Rosario compiled a 6.53 ERA in three college seasons at Miami, but he has taken off since the Rangers popped him in 2023's fifth round and made some alterations to his delivery and pitch usage. Now he's dominating with a mid-90s fastball that touches 100 mph with run and sink, a tumbling 88-92 mph splitter and a tight 83-85 mph slider. He has recorded a 2.42 ERA, .217 average-against and a 108/12 K/BB ratio in 70 2/3 innings between two Class A stops.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Didier Fuentes, RHP
Signed out of Colombia in January 2022 for $75,000, Fuentes was added to the Braves list in mid-July as he returned to Single-A Augusta for the second time with much better results. The 19-year-old is athletic on the mound with a three-pitch mix, and he was using it to post a 2.96 ERA and 1.06 WHIP over his first 15 starts, holding hitters to a .211 average-against and striking out 11.7 per nine.

Marlins: Joe Mack, C
The 31st overall pick in the 2021 Draft from a New York high school, Mack batted just .217/.324/.303 in his first three pro seasons while getting the job done defensively. He still struggles against non-fastballs but is compensating by doing a better job of attacking heaters in early counts while also turning on more pitches than ever, adjustments that have paid off with a .250/.336/.470 line with 19 homers in 96 games between High-A and Double-A.

Mets: Jonah Tong, RHP
Tong has taken off in 2024 with an over-the-top delivery that helps him generate excellent carry on his fastball. He began his age-21 season with Single-A St. Lucie (where he walked nine in 8⅓ innings last year) but was quickly promoted after striking out 36 in 18⅔ scoreless frames. Using an above-average curveball and improved slider, the 6-foot-1 righty has kept the punchouts coming with High-A Brooklyn and now sits as one of the Mets’ top pitching prospects after beginning the year outside of the Top 30.

Nationals: Andry Lara, RHP
Lara has been on the Washington prospect radar since he signed for $1.25 million in July 2019, but his time stateside had been a roller coaster heading into 2024, headlined by him notching just 66 K’s in 98⅓ innings last season. The results have been his best yet this summer (3.00 ERA, 103 strikeouts in 105 innings between High-A and Double-A, and his stuff backs up the performance with a fastball that’s up to 96 mph and a mid-80s slider that gets plenty of whiffs.

Phillies: Jean Cabrera, RHP
Cabrera signed for just $10,000 back in 2019 and took a while to gain some traction, making some improvements in 2023 and then taking off more this season. He’s pitched his way from High-A Jersey Shore to Double-A Reading, showing a fastball up to 98 mph and a potentially plus changeup. His jump forward is why he was added to the Top 30 for the first time close to the Trade Deadline.

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

Brewers: Jesus Made, SS/3B/2B
Ranked No. 22 on MLB Pipeline’s international ranking coming into the year, Made signed with Milwaukee for $950,000 and has absolutely taken off since then with a .342/.461/.548 line, five homers, 23 steals and a 24/31 K/BB ratio over 42 games in the Dominican Summer League. A switch-hitter, Made shows above-average power and speed, and he has the arm strength to play anywhere on the dirt.

Cardinals: Quinn Mathews, LHP
The 2023 fourth-rounder out of Stanford sat at No. 22 on the Cardinals Top 30 entering his first full season out of concerns about his velocity. Those concerns don’t exist any longer as Mathews now sits in the mid-90s regularly. He’ll also show an above-average mid-80s slider and plus 79-81 mph changeup that keeps righties honest. Mathews is already a Top 100 prospect and gives St. Louis another high-quality arm alongside his Double-A teammate Tink Hence.

Cubs: Jaxon Wiggins, RHP
The Cubs took Wiggins in the supplemental second round in 2023 even though he had little track record of success in college at Arkansas and missed all of that spring following Tommy John surgery. Now he's back to throwing in the mid-90s, touching 99 mph with his fastball and backing it up with a power slider, curveball and changeup. Making his pro debut this summer, he has logged a 5.17 ERA, .197 average-against and 41/23 K/BB ratio in 38 1/3 innings while rising from Rookie ball to High-A.

Pirates: Tony Blanco Jr., 1B/OF
Unfortunately, Blanco is hurt currently, but he worked his way onto the list this year with a very strong start to his U.S. debut in the Florida Complex League. Blanco had signed for $900K in 2022 and was looking like he was starting to figure things out, with a .305/.385/.505 line over 30 games and the 6-foot-6 slugger was regularly registering elite-level exit velocities.

Reds: Sammy Stafura, SS
The Reds went over slot ($2.5 million) to sign Stafura out of the New York high school ranks in the second round of the 2023 Draft and he really struggled during his brief debut in the Arizona Complex League that summer. He went back to the ACL to start his 2024, but after posting a 1.031 OPS in 15 games, he got bumped to full-season ball and has held his own (.263/.375/.402).

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

D-backs: Demetrio Crisantes, 2B/3B
There have been 690 Minor Leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances this season. Crisantes leads that entire group with a .364 average between the Arizona Complex League and Single-A Visalia. Possessing a relaxed nature in the box, the 19-year-old infielder doesn’t strike out much for his age and instead sprays line drives to all parts of the field, offering hope that the Arizona native will remain at least an above-average hitter at each stop on his way to Phoenix.

Dodgers: Alex Freeland, SS
The second-highest drafted position player (second round, 2022) ever out of the University of Central Florida, Freeland has bounced back from a lackluster first full pro season to emerge as one of the game's better shortstop prospects this summer. A switch-hitter, he makes good swing decisions, has 20-homer upside and plays solid defense at short. He's slashing .267/.406/.460 with 13 homers and 29 steals between High-A and Double-A.

Giants: Trent Harris, RHP
Signed for $10,000 as a 24-year-old nondrafted free agent from UNC Pembroke in 2023, Harris has carved up pro hitters with a mid-90s fastball and a pair of potential plus breaking pitches. He posted a 0.41 ERA in his pro debut last year and a 2.01 ERA, .167 average-against and 80/22 K/BB ratio in 58 1/3 innings between two Class A levels this summer.

Padres: Humberto Cruz, RHP
San Diego signed Cruz for $750,000 back in February, making him its second-most notable international addition behind Top 100 prospect Leodalis De Vries. As with the infielder, the Padres skipped the 17-year-old right-hander over the Dominican Summer League and gave him a couple brief looks in the Arizona Complex League. While most of his action has come behind closed doors, Cruz has shown a fastball that averages 94-95 mph now (significant for his age), and his slider, changeup and solid control give him the foundation of a future Major League arm.

Rockies: Kyle Karros, 3B
Eric’s kid was the Rockies’ fifth-rounder in 2023 after three years as a starter for UCLA. He’s raked all year with High-A Spokane, posting a .325/.398/.505 line with 13 homers. There could be more power to come and he’s worked to become an excellent defender at the hot corner.