Welcome to the 10th installment of our Weekly Hot Prospects Report ranking the top minor-league performances from the week of June 19th through 25th:
1. Coby Mayo, 3B, Orioles (Double-A Bowie)
Mayo just keeps getting hotter in June, culminating in a week that saw him rack up 3 homers and 5 doubles with a triple-slash of .462/.563/1.000. The 21-year-old has a 1.262 OPS in June to raise his season mark to 1.041 with 14 homers. He had 6 walks to just 3 strikeouts on the week, helping fuel a 14.9% walk rate that has led to a .432 OBP. Drafted in the fourth round in 2020 out of Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., the 6-foot-5, 230-pound slugger is ready for Triple-A.
2. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Twins (High-A Cedar Rapids)
Rodriguez stuffed that stat sheet last week with a double, a triple, 3 homers, 6 walks and 2 steals. The 20-year-old started the week batting .200 before going 9-for-21 to raise his season mark to .228. With a strikeout rate of 30.7%, a walk rate of 19.1% and 10 homers in 47 games, Rodriguez is looking a little too much like a three-true-outcomes player. The good signs are that 5-foot-10, 210-pound slugger has cut his strikeout rate to 20.6% and has 6 steals in June.
3. Quinn Priester, SP, Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis)
Priester struck out 11 in 6 scoreless innings on Saturday against Columbus. The 22-year-old allowed 3 hits and 2 walks, but he’s been alternating good and bad starts for a month now. The 2019 first-rounder has a 4.36 ERA and 1.41 WHIP, so if he can make a few more solid starts then the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder could find himself in Pittsburgh in the second half.
4. River Ryan, SP, Dodgers (Double-A Tulsa)
Ryan tossed 5 hitless innings with 6 strikeouts on Wednesday against Northwest Arkansas. The 24-year-old lowered his ERA to 2.70 with a 1.14 WHIP and 55 strikeouts in 50 innings. An 11th-round pick in 2021 by the Padres out of UNC Pembroke, the Dodgers pilfered him for Matt Beaty in March 2022. Ryan walked just 1 on Wednesday, but has a 4.7 BB/9.
5. Cade Marlowe, OF, Mariners (Triple-A Tacoma)
Marlowe celebrated his 26th birthday on Saturday by going 5-for-5 with a homer and 3 steals. On the week, Marlowe had 3 homers, 4 steals and a 1.224 OPS. Marlowe is old to be considered a prospect, but his skillset is especially fantasy friendly – he averaged 25 homers, 33 steals and 105 RBIs over the past two seasons. On the season, Marlowe has a .754 OPS with 7 homers and 15 steals.
6. Tyler Black, 2B, Brewers (Double-A Biloxi)
Black put up a 1.278 OPS with 2 home runs and 3 stolen bases on the week. The 22-year-old has a .909 OPS with 10 homers and 40 steals on the season. The 33rd overall pick in 2021 out of Wright State, Black has become the Brewers’ second baseman of the future and could reach Milwaukee later this summer.
7. Tanner Schobel, SS, Twins (High-A Cedar Rapids)
Schobel powered up with 4 homers last week, posting a 1.658 OPS and chipping in a steal. The 22-year-old has an .820 OPS with 10 homers and 9 steals on the season. The 68th pick in last year’s draft out of Virginia Tech, Schobel seems like he’s getting close to a promotion to Double-A.
8. Tink Hence, SP, Cardinals (High-A Peoria)
Hence twirled 5 scoreless innings with 7 Ks and no walks on Thursday at Quad Cities. The 20-year-old lowered his ERA to 2.25 with a 1.03 WHIP and 42-11 K-BB in 40 innings. The 63rd pick in the 2020 draft out of Watson Chapel High School in Arkansas, the 6-foot-1, 185-pounder looks ready for Double-A.
9. Yu-Min Lin, SP, Diamondbacks (High-A Hillsboro)
Lin racked up 10 Ks in 6 innings on Saturday against Everett, allowing 3 unearned runs with 1 walk. The 19-year-old has been on fire in June with a 1.29 ERA and 31 Ks in 21 innings. A teenager with a 2.96 ERA and 11.7 K/9 in High-A, Lin is still flying under the radar, but not for much longer.
10. Abimelec Ortiz, OF, Rangers (High-A Hickory)
Ortiz couldn’t be stopped, getting at least 1 hit in every game last week to put up a triple-slash of .571/.600/1.143 with 3 homers. The 6-foot, 230-pound slugger signed with the Rangers after going undrafted in 2021 following his freshman season at Florida Southwestern State. The Puerto Rico native put up just a .688 OPS last year in Low-A before repeating the level and crushing his way to High-A with a .996 OPS and 7 homers in 29 games. He’s kept it up for Hickory, posting a 1.078 OPS with 8 homers in 23 games and he’ll be debuting in our next weekly-updated Top 500.
Honorable Mentions
11. Brandon Pfaadt, SP, Diamondbacks (Triple-A Reno): 1-0, 1.29 ERA, 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 0.43 WHIP
12. Evan Carter, OF, Rangers (Double-A Frisco): 8-for-18 (.444), 5 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBIs, 3 BB, 2 SO, 0 SB, .500 OBP, .944 SLG, 1.444 OPS
13. Thomas Saggese, SS, Rangers (Double-A Frisco): 13-for-22 (.591), 7 R, 1 HR, 7 RBIs, 4 BB, 3 SO, 1 SB, .654 OBP, .955 SLG, 1.609 OPS
14. Tyler Stuart, SP, Mets (High-A Brooklyn): 1-0, 1.17 ERA, 7.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO, 0.65 WHIP
15. Jairo Iriarte, SP, Padres (High-A Fort Wayne): 1-0, 1.50 ERA, 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 SO, 0.50 WHIP
16. Richard Fitts, SP, Yankees (Double-A Somerset): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 0.33 WHIP
17. Samuel Basallo, C, Orioles (Low-A Delmarva): 8-for-18 (.444), 7 R, 2 HR, 4 RBIs, 5 BB, 2 SO, 2 SB, .565 OBP, .778 SLG, 1.343 OPS
18. Kevin Parada, C, Mets (High-A Brooklyn): 8-for-19 (.421), 3 R, 2 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 2 BB, 5 SO, 0 SB, .476 OBP, .947 SLG, 1.423 OPS
19. Drew Thorpe, SP, Yankees (High-A Hudson Valley): 1-0, 1.17 ERA, 7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 0.65 WHIP
20. Owen Murphy, SP, Rangers (Low-A Augusta): 1-0, 1.59 ERA, 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 12 SO, 0.53 WHIP