Welcome to this week’s Big Movers in the weekly update of the RotoProspects Top 500.
The No. 1 riser is Austin Charles (above), a 19-year-old shortstop of the Royals who caught fire in Low-A after a slow start for Columbia following a promotion from the Arizona Complex on June 7. The 6-foot-6 shortstop from Bakersfield, Calif., has gone 13-for-28 (.464) with 2 homers, a triples and 6 doubles over his past 8 games. Charles had been struggling with a .536 OPS for Columbia before heating up. , likely in part due to the lack of strikes he was seeing from raw teenage arms. The Royals drafted Charles in the 20th round, then signed him for an above-slot $430,000 to buy him out of a commitment to UC-Santa Barbara. A veritable tool shed but with raw skills, Charles has elite potential. Charles catapulted up 225 spots to No. 141 as the hype is blossoming on the towering shortstop in the mold of Elly De La Cruz and Oneil Cruz.
Next up is Abimelec Ortiz, a 21-year-old first baseman/outfielder of the Rangers who picked up steam in High-A with a 1.144 OPS and 12 homers in 31 games after a .996 OPS and 7 homers in 29 games in Low-A. The 6-foot, 230-slugger signed with the Rangers in 2021 as a non-drafted free agent after his freshman season at Florida Southwestern State. Ortiz skyrocketed 93 spots to No. 317 as he likely mashes his way to a third level of the season in the coming weeks.
Terrell Tatum, a 23-year-old Double-A outfielder of the White Sox who has burst out of the gates for Birmingham with a 1.021 OPS, 2 homers and 4 steals in 8 games after putting up a .855 OPS with 4 HR and 32 SB in 60 games in High-A, so he flies up 58 spots to No. 311.
Jesse Franklin V, a 24-year-old Double-A outfielder of the Braves who is coming off a two-day binge of going 7-for-8 with 4 homers and 2 steals, and shoots up 58 spots to No. 415.
Dominic Fletcher, a 25-year-old Diamondbacks outfielder who is 4-for-15 for Arizona since a call-up from Triple-A where he was batting .325 and he jumped up 54 spots to No. 286.
Roderick Arias, a 18-year-old Florida Complex League shortstop of the Yankees who has caught fire by going 18-for-46 with 5 HR and 8 SB over his past 12 games, leading to a 51-spot rise to No. 142.
Mason Black, a 23-year-old Double-A right-handed pitcher of the Giants who has a 22.1-inning scoreless streak going that has lowered his season ERA from 5.89 to 3.66 for Richmond, so he jumps up 51 spots to No. 171.
Josh Stephan, a 21-year-old Double-A right-handed pitcher of the Rangers who debuted for Frisco with 4 1/3 innings on Tuesday after posting a 2.17 ERA with 73-12 K-BB in 62.1 innings in High-A, leading to a 48-spot rise to No. 371.
Hector Rodriguez, a 19-year-old Low-A outfielder of the Reds who is batting .340 with 11 homers and 9 steals since the start of May, so he vaults up 47 spots to No. 140.
Ryan Bliss, a 23-year-old Double-A second baseman of the Diamondbacks who has a 1.008 OPS with 12 homers and 30 steals for Amarillo, leading to a 43-spot jump to No. 137.
Joshua Baez, a 20-year-old Low-A outfielder of the Cardinals who is on fire for Palm Beach with 3 homers and 5 steals over his past 8 games, leading to a 42-spot rise to No. 427.
The biggest faller of the week is Jose Gerardo, an 18-year-old Florida Complex League outfielder of the Marlins who is flailing away with a 43.1% strikeout rate with a .209 average and .286 slugging percentage, and he plummets 67 spots to No. 460.
The biggest riser inside the Top 100 is Andrew Abbott, a 24-year-old Reds left-handed pitcher who is 4-0 with a 1.21 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 42 Ks in 37.1 IP with Cincinnati – he shoots up 26 spots to No. 47.
Jacob Misiorowski, a 21-year-old High-A left-handed pitcher of the Brewers, is dominating for Wisconsin with a 1.83 ERA and 24 Ks in 19.2 IP after posting a 3.04 ERA with 46 Ks in 26.2 IP in Low-A – he jumps up 22 spots to No. 50.
The biggest faller of the week inside the Top 100 is Brandon Pfaadt, a 24-year-old Triple-A right-handed pitcher of the Diamondbacks who struggled in his first start back in Reno (5 ER in 4 IP) after getting clobbered for 6 ER in 2 innings against the Rays – he dropped 16 spots to No. 55.
Check back next week to see who the biggest movers are when our next update for the Top 500 Prospects comes out.