There are just a handful of weeks remaining in the 2024 minor league season. Every team has added draft picks and potentially even trade deadline acquisitions to their system. Every organization has the “usual suspects” in the farm system that fans of the team have come to know. They follow these players because they’re covered in detail by the media and fans alike. Beyond those top prospects, however, is often where next year’s top prospects tend to start out. Take 2023 for example, when Royals prospects Austin Charles and Javier Vaz were relatively unknown prospects. A year later, each is a consensus top prospect in that system.
The fun in minor league baseball isn’t just following the top names that everyone else tells you to keep tabs on. More fun comes from finding those diamonds in the rough players. Not every prospect is going to be an ace or MVP, but there are plenty of Whit Merrifield-esque prospects out there who can come from nowhere to really shine in the Major Leagues. The Royals fan in me will stop throwing in references to Kansas City now, but here’s a look at one underrated prospect from every organization in the National League.
National League East
Philadelphia Phillies - LHP Mavis Graves
Graves was a sixth-round selection by Philadelphia back in 2022. He was a projectable lefty at the time but struggled to a 7.68 ERA in his Complex League sample last season. Those fortunes turned around (and then some) in 2024, and Graves looks like one of the best young pitching prospects in the organization. Much of that comes behind elite strikeout numbers. Graves has 18 appearances under his belt this season — 16 starts — with a 31.8% strikeout rate. He’s limited the walks well enough, en route to a 22.0% K-BB%. The arsenal is outstanding, featuring a five-pitch mix. Graves throws a four-seamer, cutter, slider, changeup, and sinker. He’s still just 20 years old but spins the ball extremely well, sitting in the low 90s for velocity. That velocity should trend upward some, and once it does, his elite whiff rate will only get that much better. He offers frontline starter upside, with a more likely mid-rotation projection.
Atlanta Braves - RHP Patrick Halligan
A 13th-round pick by the Royals in 2021, it’s taken Halligan some time to get going as a professional. He was a JuCo product at the time and struggled until Kansas City released him in March 2023. Since joining the Braves system, it’s been much different for Halligan. In seven appearances for Double-A Rome in 2023, Halligan posted a 31.4% strikeout rate. That jumped to 34.7% in 33 relief appearances this season. Not only that, but Halligan limits walks well also. His K-BB% finished at 26.3% by the time he was promoted to Triple-A this summer. He throws with a high release point, leaning heavily on movement and deception instead of velocity. Halligan’s four-seamer averages just 92 mph. He pairs it with two potentially above-average pitches, in a slider and a splitter. Halligan has posted a 50.0% Whiff% with the splitter since moving up to Triple-A but will need to find ways to miss more bats with his slider to find lasting success at the upper levels.
New York Mets - RHP Jose Guevara
The Mets signed Guevara in September out of Paraguatan, Venezuela. The 19-year-old has a typical 6-1 frame and has flashed impressive strikeout stuff in just his first professional season. He combined for a perfect game back on June 17 and owns a SO/9 north of ten in the DSL so far. In 44 innings of work, Guevara has 52 strikeouts while surrendering just 12 walks. All that has combined for a solid 1.64 ERA. He’s yet to allow a home run either. He will likely get a chance to test the Complex League in 2025 where we will get more eyes on his stuff and how well it might play in the affiliated ranks.
Washington Nationals - RHP Carlos Romero
Carlos Romero has flown through the system in 2024 and could be in the big leagues to open the 2025 season. Romero debuted in 2024 with High-A Wilmington. He then made 16 appearances with Double-A Harrisburg before making his way to Triple-A Rochester to wrap up the season. Perhaps more impressive than his quick rise through the system has been his success at each level. It culminated in a 2.05 ERA between all three levels with 61 strikeouts in 52.2 IP. Romero is an imposing figure on the mound. His 6-6 frame helps him to generate excellent extension, making his stuff play up despite low velocity. He averages just 92 mph on his four-seam fastball and sinker. He pairs those two offerings with an excellent 60-grade changeup, an above-average slider, and a curveball. The slider has generated a 42.9% whiff rate so far at Triple-A. His changeup averages 86 mph and generates excellent chase rates. It’s a traditional three-quarter release point, but Romero throws with whippy arm action on the release to generate movement in his arsenal.
Miami Marlins - RHP Eliazar Dishmey
Dishmey won’t stand out to many if you simply peruse the stats page on FanGraphs. He reached affiliated ball for the first time this season, making 15 appearances for Low-A Jupiter. In 59.1 innings of work, he’s mustered a 5.31 ERA and allowed six home runs. It’s clear that the 19-year-old has some work to do, but the pure stuff in his arsenal offers an excellent foundation to do so. Dishmey was the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week twice this season — the first Marlin minor leaguer to accomplish that feat since Eury Pérez did so in 2022. He throws a five-pitch mix, featuring a four-seamer, sinker, curveball, slider, and changeup. He averages 94 mph on his heater, with room to add there at just 19 years old. He spins the baseball well, averaging north of 2300 rpm with both fastballs. Mix all that with above-average extension and Dishmey generates above-average whiff rates. There’s a lot to love in the profile, with the potential for two plus fastballs. With an offseason to continue refining the arsenal, Dishmey could level up his breaking ball to really move up the prospect rankings quickly.
National League Central
Milwaukee Brewers - SS/3B Jesus Made
A 17-year-old switch-hitting infielder with a .223 ISO? Sign me up. Made made his professional debut this season after signing with the Brewers last winter. He’s been among the best hitters in the entire DSL in 2024, slashing .331/.458/.554. Made has 21 extra-base hits, 39 walks, and 28 strikeouts. It’s an impressive blend of discipline at the plate, power when making contact, and an ability to limit strikeouts. To top it all off, Made also has 28 steals in 51 games. It’s still just the DSL, but Made is quickly putting himself on the map as a true prospect. He entered August with a 104 mph 90th-percentile Exit Velocity and a 44% hard-hit rate. His swing is fluid and impressive, taking the baseball to all fields with authority. At just 17 years old, he’s a name to watch, not just for Milwaukee, but the entire minor leagues.
Chicago Cubs - RHP Juan Bello
Bello signed with Chicago out of Cartagena, Colombia back in 2022. He’s pitched at a level each season since, making the Complex League last season and spending all of 2024 with Myrtle Beach. Now 20 years old, Bello has made 21 starts with Low-A Myrtle Beach so far pitching to a 3.42 FIP. His 25.1% strikeout rate isn’t all that impressive alone, but he’s paired it with a low walk rate (7.8%) and a low average against (.229). He leans heavily on a fastball/curveball combination, but also mixes in a changeup sparingly. Bello mixes in some Johnny Cueto-esque hesitation in his delivery at times. He throws from a high-three-quarter release point and has good carry on his fastball. The curveball is Bello’s best pitch, offering great 1-7 movement with whip out of the hand. It’s a great foundational profile that still needs a bit more refinement.
St Louis Cardinals - RHP Luis Gastelum
It took an offseason and a second stint at Low-A, but Gastelum has really leveled up his stuff so far in 2024. He made his debut in 2023 with Palm Beach striking out just 14.0% of batters. He rarely walks batters but needed more strikeout stuff than that. The strikeout stuff arrived in 2024, resulting in a 28.9% K-BB%. Although his velocity still averages 92mph at best, Gastelum throws three above-average pitches with a potentially plus changeup leading the way. He generates great extension, spinning the ball extremely well and generating elite whiff rates. His changeup especially excels there, with a 56.8% Whiff% this season, but his Sinker has reached 20.4% in that regard as well. It’s currently a four-pitch mix, also featuring a four-seam fastball and a slider. Gastelum’s slider has a solid profile, but he misses the zone with it far too much currently to really take advantage. If there’s a knock on Gastelum, it’s age. He’s already 22 years old after getting a late start to his career. The stuff has traits to play in the upper levels, but he’ll need to shoot through the system in 2025 to maintain true prospect status.
Cincinnati Reds - RHP Anyer Laureano
Unfortunately, injury has sidelined Laureano on the back end of 2024, but not before he put together a solid Low-A Debut. He made 29 appearances with Daytona, striking out 81 batters in just 54.0 innings of work. That’s an impressive 35.5% strikeout rate, helping him to overcome a rather high walk rate. The result was a 3.00 ERA, with a 4.01 FIP that better represents his command issues. Laureano has an electric arsenal, led by an upper 90s fastball. His four-seamer averages 96.6 mph, spun at more than 2600 rpm on average. He pairs that with a cutter, slider, and changeup. It all comes together in a 47.9% whiff rate this season. All four pitches feature elite whiff rates and the four-seamer and slider alone have the stuff to make Laureano a high-leverage back-end bullpen prospect.
Pittsburgh Pirates - LHP Inmer Lobo
Inmer Lobo signed with the Red Sox back in 2022 out of Venezuela. He made his way rather quickly to the Pirates organization in November 2022. He was traded by Boston in exchange for infielder Hoy Park and has continued to pitch to impressive results ever since. Lobo, still just 20 years old, made his way to Low-A for the first time this season. Now 15 starts into his season, he’s pitched to a 1.65 ERA. Although his strikeout rate has dipped noticeably, there’s still a lot of potential to like in the profile. Lobo struck out 39.6% of batters in the Complex League to open 2024, but that mark dipped to 24.2% in his sample in A ball. His arsenal features a fastball, changeup, and slider. The fastball averages just 87.1 mph, but there’s hope he can add there as he continues to fill out his frame. Despite the low velocity, the pitch has a near-elite 19.3 inches of induced vertical break (iVB), making it quite a bit more effective than you’d expect. All three of his pitches generate healthy whiff rates, with his slider and changeup both sitting above 30%. It’s projection here more than anything, but there’s a sound foundation should the velocity start to tick upward.
National League west
Los Angeles Dodgers - RHP Jose Rodriguez
After signing with the Dodgers as a 19-year-old in 2019, Rodriguez didn’t pitch officially for the organization until 2021. The Oaxaca, Mexico native debuted with mixed results, and those up-and-down trends have continued throughout his minor league career thus far. Now in his fourth professional season, Rodriguez has finally made his way to Advanced-A ball and continues to rack up strikeouts at an elite rate. Much of that stems from an 88th percentile whiff rate (36.5%). In all, he’s struck out 121 batters in just 84.2 IP between A and High-A this season. He throws a fastball, changeup, and slider. The changeup sits in the mid-80s with solid fading action, and the slider is a potentially plus pitch in the 86-88mph range. Rodriguez throws his fastball in the mid-90s and the pitch plays up nicely thanks to some deception in his delivery. He has hip-twist mechanics, turning his back fully to the batter’s box before showing the baseball at the last moment in his delivery. There’s some late-inning reliever upside, but more likely he profiles as a solid bullpen piece that provides middle-innings relief.
Arizona Diamondbacks - OF Angel Ortiz
Outfielder Angel Ortiz signed with Arizona out of the Dominican Republic back in July 2019. Between the canceled 2020 season and an injury last season, Ortiz has only just now reached 86 games played in Low-A. Ortiz landed on the injured list in March 2023 and went on to miss the full season. Now, into 2024, he’s spent all but two games this season with the Visalia Rawhide. In 83 games, he’s slashed .303/.385/.466, limiting his strikeout totals nicely while walking around ten percent. Ortiz swings with a fairly compact operation which helps him take the ball to all fields. At still just 21 years old, time remains for Ortiz to cement himself as a notable prospect within the organization. The ceiling isn’t sky-high, as his 6-0 frame doesn’t leave much projection for more power, but it’s an intriguing profile nonetheless.
San Diego Padres - 1B Romeo Sanabria
An 18th-round first baseman doesn’t seem like a demographic that rarely turns in notable prospects. That may just be the case for Sanabria, who’s shot through the Padres system with authority this summer. After starting the season with 59 games for Low-A Elsinore, Sanabria made a pit stop in Fort Wayne. From there, he has finished his season with Double-A San Antonio. The sample in 22 games has been solid so far. He’s slashed .338/.441/.405 with the Missions. Unfortunately, that success has come with a serious drop in power. After posting a .183 ISO at Low-A, he’s been much lower at .068 since moving to Double-A. As a first base prospect, the Padres will need more power than that. However, Sanabria’s 6-3, 200-pound frame certainly offers the potential for more. He’s 22 years old at Double-A, sporting an excellent 20.6% chase rate alongside an 82.1% zone contact rate. It’s a razor-thin profile heavily dependent on more power, but worth monitoring regardless.
San Francisco Giants - LHP Dylan Carmouche
Carmouche was a 15th-round selection by San Francisco in last year’s Amateur Draft. He showcased strikeout potential in the college ranks, but that didn’t quite show itself in his professional debut this season. Carmouche struck out 24.0% of batters with Low-A San Jose, sporting a sound 2.74 ERA. That showing earned Carmouche a mid-season promotion and he’s posted a 29.0% strikeout rate with High-A Eugene. He throws from a high over-hand release point. The pitch mix features a fastball, curveball, and changeup. All three pitches offer swing-and-miss upside, but the changeup is the true lead offering within Carmouche’s arsenal. It offers excellent fading action and works well off of his 12-6 curveball.
Colorado Rockies - LHP Welinton Herrera
The Rockies scouted Herrera in the Dominican Republic at just 15 years old. He signed with the organization a year later at age 16. Now 20 years old, Herrera made a full-season debut, splitting the year between both levels of A Ball. The immediate returns for Low-A Fresno were absurd. Herrera made 23 appearances for Fresno this season, striking out 62 batters in just 34.0 innings of work. The math on that shakes out to an asinine 44.6% strikeout rate. Part of that success lies in a very low three-quarter arm slot. He pairs that low arm slot with an upper-90s heater that flies past bats up in the strikezone. He also mixes in a mid-80s slider but leans heavily on the fastball. And why not? Between the velocity, arm slot, and vertical break, the pitch is nearly impossible for hitters to do damage on. He’s allowed just three home runs as a professional, dating back to his first season in the Dominican Summer League. The results have dipped some since a mid-season promotion to High-A Spokane, but the fastball provides an excellent foundation for a future back-end bullpen piece.