Minor League Baseball Ten-Pack, 2024 Week 3
This week’s group highlights what has been an impressive year thus far for pitchers across the minor leagues. However, there are plenty of impressive hitters around the minors as well!
Let’s dig into this week’s highlighted players:
Hitters
Cristofer Torin, 2B, Arizona Diamondbacks
Stats: 33 PA, .480/.606/.720, 1 HR, 1 SB, 7/5 BB/K
The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Torin out of Venezuela in the January 2022 class for a $240,000 bonus, with Torin’s defensive chops frequently mentioned in his first scouting reports. Torin opened 2022 in the DSL, slashing .333/.465/.434 with 21 stolen bases and an impressive 37/20 K/BB rate.
In 2023, he came stateside, and Torin showed a bit more power after hitting zero home runs in 50 games in the DSL. He knocked out four home runs over 65 combined games between the complex and Single-A Visalia, with a combined .272/.369/.354 line, 21 stolen bases, and a 35/39 BB/K. The plate discipline certainly showed “struggles” for Torin in his time in A-ball after a 21/9 BB/K rate at complex.
The Diamondbacks sent the 19-year-old Torin back to Single-A, where he’s been back to his impressive plate discipline and using his quick bat to put up one of the best batting averages in all of minor league baseball. Torin’s never going to be a power guy offensively, but the discernment he has at the plate and the quick bat through the zone will allow Torin to be an annoyance to many pitchers along the way.
Torin’s definitely a defense-first player, but we’ve seen guys like Luis Arraez have value bringing primarily a contact bat to the table. There’s no reason to rush him at just 19, but the Diamondbacks could certainly let him get time in High-A by the end of this year if he continues having success.
Carson Williams, SS, Tampa Bay Rays
Stats: 31 PA, .444/.516/.704, 4 2B, 4 SB, 3/5 BB/K
The Rays drafted Williams out of high school in California with the 28th overall pick in the 2021 draft. He put on a strong showing in the complex in his draft season, slashing .282/.404/.436 with five extra-base hits and two steals in 11 games.
Williams played all of 2022 with Single-A Charleston, slashing .252/.347/.471 with 22 doubles, 10 triples, 19 home runs, and 28 stolen bases. He posted a 10.9% walk rate but also a 32.1% strikeout rate. His excellent glove work was recognized at the end of the season with a minor league Gold Glove award, given to just one shortstop in the entire minor leagues at all levels.
Williams played across three levels last season, spending most of the year at High-A Bowling Green before getting a handful of games each at Double-A and Triple-A. Overall, he hit .258/.356/.497 with 23 home runs and 20 stolen bases, posting an 11.7% walk rate and a 31.4% strikeout rate. He then went to the Arizona Fall League, turning heads with his glovework, but also striking out 36.6% of the time in 19 games.
Williams returned to Double-A Montgomery this season, and he’s made excellent contact to open the year, though his plate discipline is still a struggle.
The defense at short should get Williams to Tampa Bay at some point in 2025, and he will offer 20/20 HR/SB talent right out of the gate, though it is notable that in his pro career, he’s only been successful on 69% of his steal attempts, so he may not get quite the green light in the majors as he has in the minors thus far.
James Wood, OF, Washington Nationals
Stats: 56 PA, .370/.500/.630, 8 XBH, 5 SB, 12/11 BB/K
The San Diego Padres drafted Wood out of IMG Academy in Florida in the second round of the 2021 draft, even though many worried about Wood’s size and potential strikeout issues. Wood was impressive in his pro debut, hitting .372/.465/.535 with three home runs and 10 stolen bases, but the concerns of strikeouts were present as Wood whiffed at a 31.7% rate.
In 2022, the Padres opened Wood in Single-A, but he missed a month and a half due to injury but was turning heads for a significantly improved plate approach, not to mention his raw power and speed, when the Padres included him as part of the six players sent to Washington in the Juan Soto deal. After 21 games to close the season in Single-A with Washington, Wood’s 2022 totals were .313/.420/.536 over 348 plate appearances with 12 home runs, 20 steals, and 27 doubles with a 50/75 BB/K.
Last season, Wood opened at High-A and continued the excellent plate discipline, but he struggled upon promotion to Double-A. Overall, he posted a .262/.353/.520 line over 549 plate appearances with 62 extra-base hits, including 26 homers, while stealing 18 bases. He also posted an 11.8% walk rate and 31.5% strikeout rate.
Wood had an impressive showing in spring, which convinced the Nationals to send him to Triple-A, and he’s done nothing n but make them look smart, slashing .370/.500/.630 with six doubles, two homers, and five stolen bases. He’s also posted a 20.7% walk rate and 19% strikeout rate.
At 6'7" and 234 pounds, Wood is incredibly athletic, easily able to handle center field defensively, though he could be an elite corner outfielder with his raw speed and big arm. The way he’s seeing the ball early on this year could push his arrival time from a September callup to as soon as Memorial Day, and with a rebuilding team like the Nationals, once he’s up, he’s not going back down.
Creed Willems, C, Baltimore Orioles
Stats: 25 PA, .391/.440/.913, 4 HR, 2/5 BB/K
The Orioles were able to bring Willems into the fold as an 8th round pick in 2021 with a $1 million bonus to convince the Texas prep catcher to forego a Texas Christian commitment. Willems was noted in high school for his thick build, but also that he was athletic, seemingly in spite of that build. In his pro debut at the complex, Willems struggled to a .167/.286/.208 line over 28 plate appearances with a 2/7 BB/K ratio.
Willems showed an expected progression for teenage catcher in his first full season in the minors, spending plenty of time focused on learning the craft of professional catching and not worrying heavily about his hitting. The Orioles were not terribly worried either, running Willems out there with a .190/.264/.321 line over 246 plate appearances with four homers and a 14/68 K/BB rate.
Last season, Willems started out strong in a return to Single-A, but he cooled off notably once he was promoted to High-A Aberdeen. Overall, he appeared in 105 games, posting a .220/.316/.395 line with 17 home runs and a 46/115 BB/K ratio. He did appear in just 58 games behind the plate, as the team wanted his bat in the lineup, but he was excellent at controlling the running game, throwing out 32% of base stealers.
Willems repeated the previous season’s pattern, coming out hitting very well in his return to a level. The improved plate discipline early on is a very positive indication for the Orioles. Baltimore does have a franchise cornerstone behind the plate already and one of the top prospects remaining in the minor leagues right now is also a catcher in the Baltimore season, at the level ahead of Willems, so there is no rush for Creed to leap multiple levels or anything. The Orioles will be happy to let his development be a slow burn.
Victor Arias, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
Stats: 31 PA, .391/.548/.696, 1 HR, 6 SB, 6/6 BB/K
The Blue Jays signed Arias as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2019, but due to the pandemic, he made his pro debut in the DSL in 2021.
Despite plus to double-plus raw speed, Arias struggled in his first season, slashing .248/.388/.339 with six extra-base hits and five steals over 35 games.
Arias battled through injury in a return trip to the DSL, but his bat picked up as he slashed .315/.448/.482 over 19 games. His speed was the news of Toronto’s backfields in the spring of 2023, and he took off out of the gates with the Jays’ complex team, stealing 15 bases in 16 attempts before getting promoted first to Single-A, then to Double-A for a playoff push. Despite the speed, he slashed .216/.375/.381 with five home runs and 16 steals.
After often dipping his back shoulder to try to angle his slight 5'9" frame for power, Arias has leaned into his natural contact skills with a swing change this year that’s used his bat speed in a line drive approach, allowing his speed to play on gap hits. He’s also among the minor league leaders in stolen bases.
Arias handles all three outfield spots well defensively, though his fringe-average arm likely is best suited for center or left long-term.
Pitchers
Paul Skenes, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Stats: 9 1/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 19/2 K/BB
Incredibly, Skenes was originally recruited to the Air Force as a catcher, and he was a good one, hitting .367/.453/.669 with 24 home runs in 119 games, but he turned heads when he began hitting triple digits consistently in his sophomore year, leading to Skenes hitting the transfer portal and heading to Louisiana State. He then completely dominated college baseball in 2023 for the eventual national champions, striking out 209 hitters over 122 2/3 innings.
The Pirates made the big (6'6", 235 pounds) righty the first overall pick in the 2023 draft and he made five appearances across the minor leagues, tossing 6 2/3 innings and striking out 10 hitters.
This season, the Pirates had enough confidence in Skenes to start him all the way at Triple-A, and he’s shown that he may not be long for that level, allowing just six base runners over 9 1/3 innings while striking out 19, though he hasn’t yet finished the fourth inning in any outing so far.
Skenes’ fastball touches 101 and sits in the upper-90s, though he can get a bit flat with the pitch when he’s deeper in a game. The sweeper he has is one of the best in the game, and his change is an impressive pitch. He’s added a new pitch, the splinker, a cross between a split-finger and sinker, that is already drawing rave reviews.
Quite frankly, Skenes is the best pitcher not in the major leagues right now. It will all be a matter of keeping his huge talent safe for Pittsburgh going forward.
Christian Scott, RHP, New York Mets
Stats: 9 IP, 4.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 19/1 K/BB
If I didn’t have a self-imposed limit of one player per team each week, Scott would have been one of at least two Mets arms featured this week. The Mets have seen multiple arms come out of the gate well in 2024.
Scott was selected in the fifth round by the Mets in 2021 out of the Univeristy of Florida, where he was primarily a reliever, coming out of the bullpen for 50 of his 55 appearances as a Gator.
After three appearances that lasted three innings at the complex his draft year, Scott was moved to Single-A to open the 2022 season and finished the year in the High-A rotation. Overall, he posted a 4.45 ERA and 1.42 WHIP, with a 77/22 K/BB ratio over 58 2/3 innings. He went to the Arizona Fall League that season and struggled in the desert, with a 10.38 ERA and 2.31 WHIP over 13 innings.
Scott was delayed in his season opening last year, but once he was on the mound, he quickly showed that he was very adept in the rotation role that he was now being used in. By the end of the season, Scott had spent the most of his time at Double-A, combining across three levels to toss 87 2/3 innings, allowing a 2.57 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and posting a 107/12 K/BB rate.
The arsenal for Scott is led by a four-seam fastball that can level out, but can touch 98 and works 93–95. He adds in three secondary offerings, the best of which is a mid-80s slider. In general, he pounds the zone, but after eschewing a strong sinker for the four-seamer as a starter, he has seen moments when he can get hit hard, and the four runs that he’s allowed this season have come on three home runs.
The Mets certainly could use someone who could eat up innings and provide a glimpse of the future for the club’s rotation. Scott could be a guy that is up early in May.
Quinn Mathews, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals
Stats: 8 1/3 IP, 1.08 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 17/5 K/BB
Mathews first turned heads in the 2021 Cape Cod League, where he posted a 1.56 ERA and struck out 22 over 17 1/3 innings and then followed up with a strong performance in 2022, but declined the Tampa Bay Rays after being drafted in the 19th round to return to Stanford. In 2023, the workhorse pulled off the rarity of multiple complete games in a college season, tossing 124 2/3 innings for the Cardinal, striking out 158 and posting a 3.75 ERA.
The Cardinals drafted Mathews in the fourth round last season and then let him rest rather than sending him out to a minor league assignment. He got that first pro assignment with Single-A Palm Beach, though he’s very likely to be moving up soon after pitching strong over his first two starts, especially his impressive April 12 start where he went five innings and had 20 swing and miss en route to 11 strikeouts.
Mathews is not a future ace by any means, working with a below-average fastball that sits in the low-90s. His best overall pitch is an above-average changeup. When he’s locating well, he’s the type of lefty that could put up quality starts consistently and eat innings at the back of a rotation. The Cardinals will let him earn his way up the farm system.
Owen Murphy, RHP, Atlanta Braves
Stats: 12 IP, 0.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 16/4 K/BB
The Atlanta Braves used the 20th overall selection in the 2022 draft to pick Murphy out of high school in Illinois among a trio of prep arms to open the team’s 2022 draft. Murphy was able to make five starts and throw 12 innings in his draft year, striking out 17.
Murphy spent all of 2023 in A-ball, opening in Single-A Augusta and finishing the year in High-A Rome. Across 21 starts, he tossed 89 2/3 innings with a 4.72 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and a 113/32 K/BB ratio. He returned to Rome to open this season and has been dominant through his first two starts. His fastball had fallen off a tick or two in 2023, but he’s back up to working around 93–95 with his fastball that has unique action due to his 6'1" height and lower release angle. The curve and slider are both above average pitches, and he’s already flashed a potential usable changeup to round out the repertoire.
Murphy is more a guy built to be a strong #3 type than a future ace, and the Braves will let him take his time developing into that, but if he takes a big step forward with the change this year, he could rocket through levels, certainly finding his way to Double-A by mid-May.
Matt Wilkinson, LHP, Cleveland Guardians
Stats: 9 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 17/4 K/BB
The Guardians made Wilkinson their 10th round selection last summer out of Central Arizona Junior College, many teams discounted Wilkinson because of his shape (6'1" listed and listed 270 pounds). However, his performance on the mound was consistently good, finishing among the JuCo leaders in strikeouts after showing very well in the Cape Cod League the previous year.
He made just one appearance in the complex after his draft, but there were plenty of eyes on Wilkinson at instructs that raved about his ability to locate. Cleveland took it conservative, moving him to Single-A Lynchburg this year, but Wilkinson has shown very well early on, striking out more than 50% of hitters he’s faced without allowing a run over nine innings pitched.
Wilkinson doesn’t light up a radar gun, working in the upper-80s and topping out in the low-90s, but he can hit his spots tremedously well with the fastball along with two breaking pitches that can sometimes blend together. His low-80s change is at least an above-average offering that he hides well to make it play up as a plus pitch.
Certainly, Wilkinson needs to improve his conditioning but his crossfire delivery and strong location will allow him to have plenty of success in A-ball. He’ll need to really improve the distinction between his two breaking balls with more consistency and/or find another tick or two of velocity to succeed in the upper minors and beyond.
Check back next week for the next collection of players!
