Minor League Baseball Top Prospects Weekly Ten-Pack, Week 25 — Ranking Catch-Up, Part 3
With Arizona Fall League rosters still not out in time, another week of reviewing some of the top minor league baseball prospects in midseason lists that have not yet been covered is in store! Hopefully, we can address AFL prospects next week!
Let’s dig into this week’s highlighted players:
Hitters
Jefferson Rojas, SS/2B, Chicago Cubs
Stats: 419 PA, .245/.310/.336, 6 HR, 21 SB, 35/64 BB/K
One of the top 2021 international signees, the Cubs felt they may have achieved a bargain by signing Rojas for $1 million. He spent his first pro season in the DSL, hitting .303/.391/.407 with 15 stolen bases over 169 plate appearances with a 16/18 BB/K ratio.
Rojas came stateside last year, playing just one game in the Arizona Complex League before the Cubs moved him to Single-A Myrtle Beach. Combined, he hit .266/.342/.400 with seven home runs and 13 stolen bases, posting a 23/62 BB/K ratio over 310 plate appearances, spent primarily at shortstop.
Rojas has spent most of this season as the youngest player in the Midwest League. He’s got the arm and actions to work at short, but he has a similar issue to the Nationals’ C.J. Abrams where sometimes he speeds himself up more than he should in the field and makes mistakes based on that.
On the bases and at the plate, Rojas plays beyond his years, working the strike zone at the plate, making very smart baserunning decisions once he’s on base and dialing into his fringe-plus power at just the right time at the plate by hunting the right pitches to drive.
The Cubs have been willing to push Rojas thus far, so having him spend his age-20 season in the upper minors would make sense in 2025. If he continues to show as well as he did this year in the intangible parts of the game, the raw numbers will begin to catch up as he grows into his frame on his path to the majors.
Alfredo Duno, C, Cincinnati Reds
Stats: 139 PA, .267/.367/.422, 3 HR, 2 SB, 18/40 BB/K
While everyone knew Ethan Salas as the top overall prospect available in the 2023 international signing class, Duno was the next catcher available. The Reds inked the Venezuelan Duno to a signing bonus of $3.1 million.
Duno spent the 2023 season in the DSL, hitting .303/.451/.493 with six home runs and six stolen bases along with 38/41 BB/K ratio over 195 plate appearances. He did not play any catcher, however, due to a sore arm, instead focusing on his hitting by playing all 45 games at DH.
The Reds skipped Duno over complex ball this year and had him make his stateside debut with Single-A Daytona in the Florida State League. He opened the year with a solid, albeit not spectacular, performance, including his first time behind the plate, where he showed no ill effects from a sore arm.
Unfortunately, after just 32 games played, Duno suffered a broken rib and did not return by the end of the season. The Reds will hope he can rehab and be ready for the start of Spring Training.
Demetrio Crisantes, 2B/3B, Arizona Diamondbacks
Stats: 439 PA, .341/.429/.492, 23 2B, 7 HR, 30 SB, 55/69 BB/K
A local high school prospect from within the state of Arizona, the Diamondbacks spent $425K to sign Crisantes away from the University of Arizona as a seventh round draft pick last summer. He was also one of the youngest players in his class, not turning 18 until the September after he was drafted.
Crisantes made his pro debut with the ACL team, hitting .347/.417/.465 with a home run and two steals in 115 plate appearances while posting an 11/21 BB/K ratio. The Diamondbacks sent him back to complex ball to start the year, and a promotion to Single-A did not slow down his bat at all. In fact, Crisantes tapped into even more power in full-season ball.
The batting eye and ability to make solid contact to all fields is the one standout tool that Crisantes has. He’s likely going to be an average second baseman and will rely on instincts and strong reads on the bases to tally any stolen bases. The hit tool, though, should allow Crisantes to continue with similar success in High-A to open 2025 and how he handles the upper minors will determine what his future MLB profile will be, but watching him certainly reminds me a lot of a young Howie Kendrick.
Jesus Made, IF, Milwaukee Brewers
Stats: 216 PA, .331/.458/.554, 6 3B, 6 HR, 28 SB, 39/28 BB/K
One of the top prospects in this past January’s international signing class, Made received a $950K bonus from the Brewers. He was rumored to be a power-over-hit player whose contact ability would drive whether he could succeed moving forward.
This season, the Brewers had arguably the most talented talent group playing in the DSL, which was a big part of why Made played all over the infield, with nine games at second base, 12 games at third, and 27 games at short. He’s a very talented shortstop with range and hands that should allow him to handle the position as he hits full-season ball.
Made’s ability to switch hit and excellent feel for the game could lead to him being the next Brewers prospect who jumps over Arizona complex ball straight to full-season ball. Milwaukee has done that multiple times recently, and Made’s profile seems to fit the type of player that could handle that sort of push.
Orelvis Martinez, 2B/3B, Toronto Blue Jays
Stats: Majors — 3 PA, .333/.333/.333, 0/1 BB/K; Minors — 291 PA, .261/.338/.521, 16 HR, 24/70 BB/K
One of the top signees in the 2018 international signing class, the Blue Jays brought Orelvis stateside to make his pro debut, and he certainly left a strong impression, hitting .275/.352/.549 over 162 plate appearances with seven home runs and a 14/29 BB/K ratio.
He missed the 2020 season due to the pandemic, and when he returned to the field in 2021, his raw power was evident, but he struggled with consistent contact and big swing and miss, hitting .261/.345/.549 across 449 plate appearances between both A-ball levels. He powered out 26 doubles and 28 home runs but also put up a 9.6% walk rate and a 25.2% strikeout rate. The 2022 season was spent in Double-A all year, with similar results, hitting .203/.286/.446 with 30 home runs, an 8.2% walk rate, and a 28.6% strikeout rate.
Last season, Martinez was off to a similar start back in Double-A at age 21, but he improved once he was promoted to Triple-A, combining for a .243/.340/.496 line with 28 home runs, a 12.6% walk rate, and an improved 23.8% strikeout rate.
This year, Martinez was off to an impressive start in Triple-A, earning a promotion to the majors. He was optioned to the majors and then had a test come back positive for performance enhancing drugs, which led to him missing 60 games. He recently returned to Triple-A, and he’s had surprisingly good contact rates for that long of a layoff.
Martinez has the arm for third but has shown impressive footwork around the bag at second base, so he could very well be a keystone guy for the Jays, and with some question on who will open 2025 in Toronto’s infield, he could have a chance to come out of Spring Training with an MLB job.
Pitchers
Juan Nunez, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
Stats: 29 1/3 IP, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 38/10 K/BB
Originally an under-radar signee by the Minnesota Twins in 2019 for just a $25,000 signing bonus, Nunez then missed what should have been his debut year in 2020 due to the pandemic. He made his pro debut in 2021 in the DSL, posting a 2.14 ERA over 46 1/3 innings with a 62/15 K/BB rate.
Nunez then opened the 2022 season stateside in the Florida Complex League when he was included by the Twins in the trade that sent Jorge Lopez to the Twins. That deal has already produced Cade Povich and Yennier Cano for the Orioles and Nunez could give them three MLB arms out of a trade for a single reliever.
Overall in 2022, Nunez pitched 50 1/3 innings, with a 3.58 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and a 63/24 K/BB ratio. He split last year between the Orioles’ A-ball clubs, combining for a 3.96 ERA and 1.36 WHIP over 104 2/3 innings with a 125/58 K/BB ratio. He opened strong in High-A this year, but was shut down with a shoulder issue and never returned to the field.
Though he’s less than 6' tall, Nunez has big power stuff, touching upper-90s with his fastball and sitting mid-90s with his fastball. He works with a hard curve and a multiplane slider that each can flash plus and showed a much-improved change this year before he was out for the year. He will be 24 next year and has not yet pitched in the upper minors, so his future may end up being in the bullpen, but he will likely get every opportunity to stick in the rotation once he returns next spring.
Parker Messick, LHP, Cleveland Guardians
Stats: 133 2/3 IP, 2.83 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 165/44 K/BB
Messick came to Florida State and was strong out of the bullpen down the stretch for the Seminoles as a freshman before he moved to the rotation for his final two years on campus, tossing 188 innings with a 3.24 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and an impressive 280/57 K/BB ratio. That led Cleveland to draft him in the second round in 2022.
The Guardians had Messick rest after the draft and had him open his pro career in Single-A in 2023. He pitched across both A-ball levels last season, tossing 121 2/3 innings with a 3.77 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and a 136/39 K/BB ratio. After struggling following his promotion, the Guardians decided it’d be best for Messick to return to Lake County this year.
Interestingly, while his work in the Midwest League was better this year than last, Messick definitely took off once he was promoted to Double-A Akron, with one of the best pitching staffs in all the minor leagues. He posted a 2.06 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in Double-A with a 85/21 K/BB ratio over 65 2/3 innings.
Messick’s raw stuff doesn’t stick out as he works in the low-90s, touching 95 with the ability to shape the fastball in multiple ways and comes from a low release point, allowing the pitch to play up. He pairs the fastball with a sinking changeup, a sweeping slider, and a 12–6 curve that has a unique break due to his low arm slot. Combining all of those pitches with above-average command and control could allow Messick to play well as a backend starter, though this is the type of profile that Cleveland excels at finding another gear with, so it will be fun to see what happens with Messick next year as he spends the entire year in the upper minors.
Anthony Solometo, LHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Stats: 70 1/3 IP, 5.37 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 53/39 K/BB
Considered one of the elite arms from the northeast in the 2021 high school pitching class, 6'5" lefty Solometo was the first selection of the second round, getting a $2.8 million bonus, roughly $800K over slot for the spot. Solometo did not pitch in his draft year.
The Pirates moved Solometo to Single-A Bradenton to open his pro career. He tossed 47 2/3 innings with a 2.64 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a 51/19 K/BB. Last season, Solometo opened the year at High-A and he split the year almost evenly between High-A and Double-A. Combined, the lefty tossed 110 1/3 innings with a 3.26 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 118/39 K/BB ratio.
This season has been a rough one for Solometo as he struggled to open the season in Double-A, specifically with allowing hard hits, as he was able to keep the ball in the park and in the zone, and neither was true to open the 2024 season. After nearly two months working on his delivery, Solometo returned to Double-A. He was better at limiting hard contact in 25 2/3 innings to close out the season, but his ability to command the zone was still not there.
Solometo looks very similar in his delivery to Madison Bumgarner, with his “sling” delivery from a low slot from the left side with a low-90s four-seam and two-seam fastball, a mid-80s slider, and a low-80s change. His two-seam and slider could work exceptionally well if he were to take a path akin to Andrew Miller, but the Pirates will likely hope that he can return to previous average to above-average control, which would allow him to work as a #4 starter.
Karson Milbrandt, RHP, Miami Marlins
Stats: 97 2/3 IP, 4.33 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 91/57 K/BB
With a commitment to Vanderbilt to overcome, teams backed away from Milbrandt, a righty from Missouri who still had some development questions to answer that normally would be less with a potential first- or second-round high school arm. The Marlins drafted Milbrandt in the third round and gave him $1.5 million to sign him away from his college commitment, more than twice the slot value for the 85th overall selection.
The Marlins moved him directly to full-season ball, despite his raw-ness, and he made one appearance, allowing two runs in two innings with one walk and one strikeout. He was sent back to Single-A to open 2023, splitting the season nearly even between both A-ball levels. He combined for a 5.00 ERA over 95 1/3 innings with a 1.53 WHIP and a 93/50 K/BB ratio.
This season has been spent entirely at High-A, struggling with command, but avoiding hard-hit balls as well. Milbrandt fits a common Miami draft profile, as he is extremely athletic and could quickly take a step forward as he learns how to better control his body.
On the mound, Milbrandt throws mid-90s, touching 98 with his fastball due to the angle he approaches the plate as a right-handed pitcher starting on the third base side of the rubber. His best secondary offering is a low-80s sharp curve and a change that shows promise as a sinking option. While the ability to control in the future could be there, it’s definitely still a work in progress. I see a lot of reliever in Milbrandt, but if he could take a big step forward with his control and command, he could be a legit mid-rotation option.
Santiago Suarez, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays
Stats: 111 2/3 IP, 4.11 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 115/21 K/BB
After the big flood of international signings in January 2022, Suarez was still available for the Marlins to sign just before the DSL season began in the summer of 2022. The 17-year-old from Venezuela received a modest bonus and proceeded to post a 2.31 ERA over 39 innings in the DSL with a 38/6 K/BB ratio.
In the offseason after that first pro experience, the Marlins traded him to Tampa Bay in the trade that sent Xavier Edwards to Miami. Suarez took a big step forward with his raw stuff last year pitching well enough to earn his way off the Florida complex. In 59 1/3 innings, he posted a 1.52 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 52/11 K/BB ratio.
This season, the Rays have left Suarez at Single-A Charleston all season, which is not surprising for a Rays prospect. He’s shown his excellent presence and command on the mound, though his lack of a single elite pitch led to some struggles with hittability when he missed his spots this year.
Suarez works with a fastball that sits 92–94 and he pounds the zone with the pitch. It’s not elite in its carry nor its shape, but he can spot the ball tremendously well. He works with a looping upper-70s curve as his primary secondary pitch, and that pitch draws a ton of ground ball contact. He’s worked in a changeup and flashed a cutter/slider hybrid as well in Charleston this year.
There’s certainly a mid-rotation profile here with an easy, repeatable delivery and the type of stuff that still has room to go but already could work at the back of a rotation. He’ll likely finish next season in the upper minors, but the Rays are very deliberate with their guys, so it’s likely he won’t jump levels.
Thanks for reading! We will continue in this pattern as long as we’re waiting on Arizona Fall League rosters, which should be very soon.
