Welcome to this week’s Big Movers in the weekly update of the RotoProspects Top 500.
The No. 1 riser is Jett Williams, a 19-year-old High-A shortstop of the Mets who has hit the ground running for Brooklyn with a .474 OBP, a homer and 4 steals in 9 games after earning a promotion from Low-A with a hot July (.442 OBP, 8 HR, 12 SB). The 5-foot-6, 175-pound dynamo uses his small strike zone to draw nearly as many walks as strikeouts on the season, then wreaks havoc on the basepaths with his 60-grade speed. There is considerable pop that he generates with a leg kick and plenty of bat speed that could allow him to reach 15-18 homers in the majors. The whole package has us dreaming of a more patient Jose Altuve with more swing and miss in his game. Williams was taken No. 14 overall in the 2022 draft out of a Texas high school and is picking up speed as he races toward New York and up our rankings 59 spots to No. 85.
Note that we are not including 2023 MLB draftees in this summary as we boosted them so much across the board while we continue getting a handle on their market value that we felt it better to focus on the players who moved more based on recent performance and buzz.
Next up is Davis Schneider, a 24-year-old Blue Jays second baseman who astounded by going 9-for-13 with 2 homers in his first 3 games for Toronto over the weekend before cooling down with an 0-for-9 since. The 24-year-old broke out this year for Triple-A Buffalo by putting up a triple-slash of .275/.416/.553 with 21 homers and 9 steals. The 5-foot-9, 190-pounder was just a 28th-rounder out of a New Jersey high school in 2017, but he steadily climbed the ladder until hinting at a breakout with a combined 16 homers and 17 steals over 3 levels last year. Schneider has patience, power and some speed, so he’s getting a chance to stake a claim to the second base job in Toronto that has been a revolving door all season. Schneider skyrocketed up 146 spots to No. 250.
Bubba Chandler, an 20-year-old High-A right-handed pitcher of the Pirates who has caught fire by posting a 1.05 ERA with 28 strikeouts over his last 25.2 innings, leading to a 108-spot jump to No. 209.
Rece Hinds, a 22-year-old Double-A outfielder of the Reds who is batting .319 with 5 homers since coming off the IL on July 18 to raise his season totals to .275 with 18 homers and 13 steals, so he jumps up 107 spots to No. 346.
Agustin Ramirez, a 21-year-old Double-A catcher of the Yankees outfielder who is 2-for-14 for Somerset since earning a promotion with a 1.144 OPS and 9 homers in 27 games in High-A, and he jumps up 104 spots to No. 376.
Tekoah Roby, a 21-year-old Double-A right-handed pitcher of the Cardinals who has been getting rave reviews for his impressive arsenal since coming over from the Rangers in the Jordan Montgomery deal, leading to a 85-spot rise to No. 369.
Chayce McDermott, a 24-year-old Triple-A right-handed pitcher of the Orioles who is 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA and 31 Ks in 24 IP for Norfolk after racing up 88 Ks in 68.1 IP in Double-A, so he shoots up 71 spots to No. 326.
Enmanuel Tejeda, an 18-year-old Florida Complex League shortstop of the Yankees who has a .916 OPS with 3 homers and 21 steals in 41 games, so he vaults up 67 spots to No. 343.
Johnathan Rodriguez, a 23-year-old Triple-A outfielder of the Guardians who has a 1.027 OPS with 11 RBIs in 8 August games to raise his season totals to a .897 OPS with 21 homers and 70 RBIs, leading to a 67-spot jump to No. 380.
Samuel Basallo, an 18-year-old High-A catcher of the Orioles who is 6-for-34 for Aberdeen since earning a promotion by putting up a .887 OPS with 12 homers in Low-A, leading to a 66-spot jump to No. 121.
The biggest faller of the week is Noah Cameron, a 24-year-old Double-A left-handed pitcher of the Royals who is 1-8 with a 6.50 ERA for Northwest Arkansas after burning up High-A with a 58-9 K-BB in 35 innings, and he plummets over 181 spots out of the Top 500.
The biggest risers inside the Top 100 other than Williams are Owen Caissie, a 21-year-old Double-A outfielder of the Cubs who has a triple-slash of .288/.393/.549 with 21 homers for Tennessee and shot up 49 spots to No. 86, and Jackson Jobe, a 21-year-old High-A right-handed pitcher of the Tigers who has a combined 2.57 ERA with a 39-3 K-BB in 28 innings coming off the IL from lumbar spine inflammation and jumped up 49 spots to No. 96.
The biggest faller of the week inside the Top 100 is Ryan Bliss, a 23-year-old Triple-A second baseman of the Mariners who is batting .194 in 8 games for Tacoma since coming over from the D’backs in a deadline deal after hitting .196 in 13 games for Reno – he dropped 26 spots to No. 119.
Check back next week to see who the biggest movers are when our next update for the Top 500 Prospects comes out.