With the minor league season about 2 months in, now seemed like a good time to take a look at some of the best (guys you probably never heard of) minor league performances to date....drum roll please....
Batting: 5 "overperforming"(?) 24 Year Olds.
Jacob Gonzalez (24, PIT, A+, 1B/3B/LF): After a rather dismal start to his professional career in the Giants organization (who had drafted Jacob in the 2nd round in 2017), Gonzalez has turned it around with Pittsburg in 2022. After destroying low A in the early going (hint: that was way too low a beginning assignment), the Pirates quickly promoted Jacob to A+ Greensboro where he has continued to excel. With 166 Plate Appearances (PA's), a BA of .396, 8 HRs, 1.124 OPS, a wRC+ of 208 (tops in all of MiLB) and low K rate (12%), Jacob may need just 50 more ABs with similar results to gain the promotion to AA. At 24 and changing organizations, it looks like Jacob was completely off everyone's prospect radar coming into the year (MLB doesn't even have him in Pittsburg's top 30), but that is soon to change.
Alex McGarry (24, CIN, A+, 1B/LF/RF): Like Jacob, Alex' age and level (A+) combine to keep him off most prospect ranks and most of our fantasy radars. But, no one can deny that Alex has put together a great start to 2022, batting .322 with 11 HRs, a 1.086 OPS and a 195 wRC+ (2nd best in MiLB and all coming at A+). Alex is deserving of a promotion to AA, but will need to work on reducing his K rate which sits at 36.5%.
Kerry Carpenter (24, DET, AA, 1B/LF/RF): Like Jacob Gonzalez and Alex McGarry, Kerry's wasn't in his organization's top 30 coming into the year (per MLB), though the former 19th Round draft pick put up a good numbers in rookie ball, followed by the covid cancellation year and then a decent 2021 in AA ball which saw Kerry belt 15 HRs across 461 PA's....a pace he has obliterated this year, knocking out 16 HRS in just 166 PA's, good for a wRC+ of 193, a .336 BA 1.109 OPS and .336 ISO power number. Like McGarry though, a high K rate (29.5%) will cause alarm among scouts.
Brett Harris (24, OAK, AA, 3B/2B/SS): The 2021 7th rounder broke out in 2022 at class A+ with 7HRs and a .304 BA across 123 plate appearances and nearly as many walks (19) as K's (21). Although the sample is small (13 PAs for Midland), Brett is off to a great start in AA and so far (combined A+ and AA) has put together a .325 BA, 8 HRs and a wRC+ of 185.
Vaun Brown (24, well, a month away from 24,so work with me here], SFG, A, LF/CF/RF) After 5 years of college ball (Florida Southern), Vaun was an "old" draftee when the Giants took him in the 10th round last year. After playing rookie ball in 2021 (the short, post draft stint), SF started Vaun out in A- ball this year and that was obviously too low as Vaun has had no problem shredding low A pitching. In 188 plate appearances, Vaun has batted .362 while swatting 11 HRs to go with 18 steals in 19 attempts. While Vaun's calling card may be elite speed, the power has obviously shown up as well, delivering an 1.103 OPS and 22.5 wRAA (2nd in all of MiLB behind only the Padres Esteury Ruiz)). But not everyone is sleeping on Vaun, check out Around the FogHorn for More on Vaun Brown.
Pitching: 5 (no-name) Guys that Can Get you Out!
Ricky Tiedemann (19, TOR, A+, SP). Tiedemann WAS a relative unknown, but has shot up revised prospect ranks as he advanced from Low A to High A (coming in at MLB's updated ranks as the #5 TOR prospect and #100 overall). Just 19 years old, Tiedemann has experienced an uptick in FB velocity moving from a top of 94 to the 96 mph range (which MLB ranks as his best pitch, giving it a 60 grade). After compiling a 1.80 ERA over 30 IPs (and 49Ks) for Dunedin (A-), the Blue Jays promoted Ricky to Vancouver (A+) where he has continued his dominance (albeit just 2 starts so far). On the year, Ricky has put together an impressive 1.59 ERA to go with a 2.37 xFIP (tops in MiLB) and a 42.5% K rate.
Reese Olson (22, DET, AA, SP) With a 39.2 K %, a 3.15 ERA and 2.39 xFIP (2nd best in MiLB), Reese Olson has put himself on the map for a call-up to the bigs. Olson doesn't have overpowering stuff but boasts an above average FB (topping at 95), slider and change. With Detroit's pitching struggles, Reese may present himself as a solid option for innings.
Brandon Walter (25, BOS, AAA, SP) After an outstanding start in AA (2.88 ERA, 2.42 xFIP over 50 IP and 68 K's -- 34.7% of batters faced), Brandon just earned himself a promotion to AAA (but hasn't yet entered a game). The #8 Red Sox prospect (MLB revised prospect list) can hit 97 with his FB (followed by a devastating slider) is now just one step away from the Bigs -- giving BOS a number of legitimate SP options to pull from Worcester (Bello, Mata, Walter).
Robinson Pina (23, LAA, A+) Averaging 14.44 K's per 9 innings for the Tri-Cities Dust Devils, the #29 prospect for the Angels (per MLB) has mowed down the High A competition and is on the verge of a promotion to AA. With a 2.14 ERA and 2.55 xFIP (6th best in MiLB), Pina is missing a lot of bats by setting up his hard curve with a 93 mph FB.
Mason Montgomery (22, TBR, A+) A 6th round pick in 2021 (Texas Tech), Mason wasn't on many prospect lists until this year (not even making TBR's top 30). But, 2022 has changed that, as has striking out 42.8% of batters faced, while compiling a sharp 1.89 ERA and 2.56 xFIP (#7 MiLB). Look for Mason in AA soon followed by a cameo into the Rays top 30.
And there you have it! Our under the Radar top 10!
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