Welcome to the 21st installment of our Weekly Hot Prospects Report ranking the top minor-league performances from the week of Sept. 4th through 10th:
1. Estevan Florial, OF, Yankees (Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre)
Florial finished the week so strong that he got called up to New York on Monday, smashing 3 home runs with 7 RBIs over the weekend. The 25-year-old went 10-for-26 with 4 homers, 2 doubles, 2 steals and a 1.371 OPS in 6 games to finally return to the majors for the first time since Opening Day, when he only got in as a pinch runner. He was sent down two days later and has spent the season watching the Yankees go through a parade of outfielders despite putting up an impressive triple-slash of .284/.380/.565 with 28 homers and 25 steals in Triple-A. Florial has appeared in games for the Yankees for four years running, but has only accumulated 63 plate appearances with a .590 OPS, 1 homer and 3 steals. If the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Dominican could catch hold of some sustained playing time, he has a very fantasy friendly set of tools with power, speed and patience. The problem has always been that Florial strikes out too much with a career strikeout rate of 29.1% in the minors and 29.9% this season. If he could perform well down the stretch, the Yankees could choose to have Florial hold down center field to start next season until Jasson Dominguez makes his way back from Tommy John surgery. If Florial hit enough, the Yankees could make room for him in the outfield or trade him to a team that could give him regular playing time. In that case, we’d be dreaming of a .250 average with 20 homers and 20 steals with a chance to be more in his prime.
2. Kristian Robinson, OF, Diamondbacks (Low-A Visalia)
Robinson capped off a 4-homer week by adding 2 steals to the ledger on Sunday, finishing with a .400/.478/1.050 triple-slash in 6 games. The 22-year-old got his OPS up to .945 with 9 homers and 20 steals in 43 games for Visalia. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder had reached Low-A back in 2019 before an April 2020 arrest forced him to lose his work visa until finally being reinstated this May. Robinson reached High-A in July and put up an .800 OPS with 2 homers and 2 steals in 10 games, but was designated for assignment in August. When Robinson surprisingly went unclaimed, the D’backs sent him back to the Arizona Complex League before heading back to Visalia, where he has since gone 13-for-39 with 5 homers and 4 steals in 11 games. Now that Robinson has knocked off the rust, all he needs is reps and maybe more of a challenge than Low-A – maybe a trip to the Arizona Fall League is in order.
3. Xavier Isaac, 1B, Rays (High-A Bowling Green)
Isaac put up a 1.425 OPS with 3 homers, a triple and 2 steals last week. The 19-year-old is destroying High-A with a .408/.491/.898 triple-slash with 6 dingers and 2 bags in 12 games.
4. Jackson Jobe, RHP, Tigers (High-A West Michigan)
Jobe may have gone 0-2 last week, but he racked up 13 strikeouts against no walks with a 2.70 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 10 innings. Jobe is demonstrating plus-plus command for West Michigan with 54 strikeouts against just 3 walks in 40 innings with a 3.60 ERA over 8 starts.
5. Samuel Basallo, C, Orioles (High-A Aberdeen)
Basallo stuffed the stat sheet last week, going 9-for-19 with a double, a triple, 3 homers, 7 RBIs, 3 walks, 1 steal and a 1.650 OPS. Adding in his two previous games in September, Basallo has a .536/.636/1.385 triple-slash with 6 homers and 13 RBIs in his last 7 games.
6. Billy Cook, OF, Orioles (Double-A Bowie)
Cook pounded 5 homers with a 1.500 OPS, 11 RBIs and 2 steals last week. The 24-year-old has been flying under the radar in the loaded Orioles system with a .797 OPS, 24 homers and 30 steals, enough so that he will be making his debut in the next weekly-updated top 500 prospects.
7. Mac Horvarth, 2B/3B, Orioles (High-A Aberdeen)
Horvath put up a 1.082 OPS with 2 homers, 5 steals and 6 walks on the week. The 22-year-old has put up a combined 1.058 OPS with 5 homers and 14 steals in 22 games across 3 levels since going 53rd overall in the draft out of North Carolina.
8. Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pirates (Double-A Altoona)
Chandler shined in his Double-A debut on Friday, striking out 8 against no walks in 5 1-hit innings against Harrisburg. The 20-year-old has been lights out since the All-Star break, going 7-1 with a 1.85 ERA and a 51-13 K-BB in 48.2 innings.
9. Ethan O’Donnell, OF, Reds (Low-A Daytona)
O’Donnell went 8-for-21 with 3 homers, 3 steals and 10 RBIs last week. The 21-year-old has a 1.047 OPS with 4 dingers and 3 bags in 23 games in Low-A after going 168th overall in the draft out of Virginia, and he will be making his debut in the next weekly-updated top 500 prospects.
10. Will Dion, RHP, Guardians (Double-A Akron)
Dion combined for 10 strikeouts against no walks in 8.2 innings last week, allowing just 3 hits and 1 run. The 23-year-old has a 2.81 ERA with an 80-24 K-BB in 77 innings for Akron after posting a 1.87 ERA in 33.2 innings in High-A.
Honorable Mentions
11. Jace Jung, 2B, Tigers (Double-A Erie): 7-for-25 (.280), 6 R, 5 HR, 10 RBIs, 5 BB, 11 SO, 0 SB, .400 OBP, .880 SLG, 1.280 OPS
12. Jake Gelof, 3B, Dodgers (Low-A Rancho Cucamonga): 9-for-25 (.360), 5 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 16 RBIs, 2 BB, 8 SO, 0 SB, .407 OBP, .920 SLG, 1.327 OPS
13. Ryan Bliss, 2B, Mariners (Triple-A Tacoma): 9-for-22 (.409), 6 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 7 BB, 3 SO, 4 SB, .533 OBP, .682 SLG, 1.215 OPS
14. Luis De Avila, LHP, Braves (Double-A Mississippi): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 11 SO, 0.67 WHIP
15. Andrew Taylor, RHP, Astros (Low-A Fayetteville): 0-0, 2.08 ERA, 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO, 0.92 WHIP
16. Adam Macko, LHP, Blue Jays (High-A Vancouver): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO, 0.40 WHIP
17. Mick Abel, RHP, Phillies (Double-A Reading): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 0.50 WHIP
18. Kyle Hurt, RHP, Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0.40 WHIP
19. Jackson Ferris, LHP, Cubs (Low-A Myrtle Beach): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0.40 WHIP
20. Tyler Black, 2B, Brewers (Triple-A Nashville): 8-for-17 (.471), 6 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 10 RBIs, 9 BB, 1 SO, 3 SB, .630 OBP, .882 SLG, 1.512 OPS