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 American League.
Paez is a 20-year-old RHP from Tinaquillo, Venezuela. He was named the organization’s 2021 Latin Program Pitcher of the Year and has been dominant this season for High-A Greenville. He throws a sinker, changeup, and a good sweeping slider. Paez locates all three pitches for strikes. He generates healthy whiff rates, especially on his changeup. His 31.5% strikeout rate at High-A this season ranks 87th percentile. Much of that comes from a 78th percentile whiff rate (33.5%) and excellent command. Paez has a walk rate under four percent and has maintained that throughout his professional career thus far. At still just 20 years old, there’s hope that Paez’s low-90s heater can continue to add velocity, giving him an even higher ceiling as a starter. He’s an intriguing name with plenty of upside left to uncover.
It’s much easier to see Serna’s 6.07 ERA this season and discount him as a non-prospect. Looking closer, the story isn’t quite the same. He throws a low-90s fastball, a curveball, and a vicious changeup that hitters struggle to square up. He’s put together above-average marks this season for whiff rate, CSW%, and K-BB%. Although hitters tend to get their share of hits off of Serna — he’s allowed opposing hitters to hit .250 against him this season — he commands the zone well and misses a healthy amount of bats. The result is a sub-4.00 FIP that better shows what he’s done on the mound this season. 82 strikeouts and 24 walks in less than 70 innings of work is nothing to shrug at. He’s a young arm with excellent pitchability that could skyrocket up the system in 2025 and beyond.
Arias is a 20-year-old outfielder who spent most of this season with Low-A Dunedin. He generates loud exit velocity despite his smaller 5-9 frame. He’s maxed out at 113 mph this season, sitting at 104.5 mph 90th percentile EV. There’s more than enough swing-and-miss in his game, but despite that, he does a solid job limiting strikeout totals. In 76 games for Low-A Dunedin this season, Arias slashed .279/.386/.454 with a .175 ISO. Defensively, he’s split time between left and center, but probably shifts to a corner full time as he continues to fill out his frame. The swing is electric but gets a bit long at times. As long as he continues to generate in-zone contact rates around 80% as he’s done this season, there’s a lot to love in his overall profile.
Ty Johnson joined the Rays system at this year’s deadline in the Isaac Paredes deal. His velocity has seen a steady increase since being drafted in 2023 by Chicago. Now post-trade, that velocity uptick has continued further. Johnson has worked his fastball up to 97 mph. The pitch was already above average at 93-95 mph due to excellent spin rates and extension. The pitch jumps out of the hand with a sharp arm side whip giving way to excellent carry up in the strike zone. He’s a swing-and-miss darling, posting a 37.3% (92nd percentile) whiff rate so far this season at High-A. It’s a much smaller sample, but since joining the Rays system, Johnson has struck out 16 batters in just 9.2 innings of work. He seems like an excellent fit for the organization and the needle continues to point straight up for his future.
As much firepower as the Orioles have had in their farm system of late, it seems easier than anywhere else for names to slide under the radar. Kevin Velasco signed with the organization out of Venezuela in 2023 and has looked electric in 2024. He’s 18 years old and should get a chance to pitch stateside for the first time in 2025. So far this season in the Dominican Summer League, Velasco has struck out 52 batters in 40.0 IP. He’s walked just ten in that span, pitching to an impressive 1.13 ERA. Perhaps even more impressive than the command of the strikezone has been his ability to limit hard contact. Velasco hasn’t allowed a home run all season while peppering the strikezone consistently.
Steven Zobac is already rising quickly out there, so it may be a bit late to truly include him as an “under-the-radar” type of prospect. Regardless, I’ll include him anyway. Zobac, a fourth-round pick in 2022, has moved quickly through the system this season. Since arriving at Double-A earlier this season, he owns a 35.8% strikeout rate and a 31.3% K-BB%. He’s dominant with the fastball. The pitch sits in the mid-90s, operating mostly in the 93-95mph range. He spins the ball well, commands it on the black consistently, and misses bats at elite levels. His 35.6% whiff rate at the level ranks 90th percentile this season. He rounds out the pitch mix with a slider and changeup. The slider can sometimes be good, but inconsistent shape limits it sometimes. Despite that, the margin for error is rather wide due to how exceptional the fastball has been.
The Guardians selected Matt Wilkinson in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. He signed for just $110,000 after spending much of his college career at Central Arizona Community College. Wilkinson made just one official appearance in 2023, striking out the side in one inning of work. The 21-year-old debuted in 2024 in A Ball, quickly moving his way up to High-A Lake County. Since the promotion, Wilkinson has made 13 starts. He’s struck out an impressive 33.9% of batters. “Tugboat” as he’s known, throws a low-90s fastball, an excellent sweeping slider, and a good changeup with arm-side fading action. His arm slot is deceptive, coming in as a low three-quarter operation that helps his stuff play up more than one might expect. Even in the low-90s, his fastball offers deception and good life up in the strikezone, helping the pitch to miss bats.
The Tigers signed Ramirez back in January out of the Dominican Republic. The 17-year-old has shined in his first professional season. This year in the Dominican Summer League, he’s played a mixture of shortstop and second base, spending most of his time in the hole. He’s slashed .353/.459/.441 with a 17.1% strikeout rate. It’s a smaller 5-10 frame that could limit the power upside long-term, but the mixture of contact skills and a sound approach at the plate make Ramirez an intriguing young prospect. He’s still just 17 years old. Defensively, it’s more of a work in progress. His footwork can be inconsistent, throwing off his infield timing. Should he move to second base, more power output may be needed to truly carry the profile.
Beltre is another 17-year-old prospect playing in the Dominican Summer League this season. Beltre was a top 50 international prospect in the most recent signing period. He received the 25th-largest signing bonus in the class and has shown up early in a big way for the Twins. He’s still listed at 5-11, 175 by FanGraphs but should continue to grow and develop into a larger frame. Even without that, his power output has been off the charts. He slashed .326/.453/.618 with an outrageous .292 ISO in the Dominican this summer. Beltre strikes out enough to make note (23.8%) but walks more than 15% of the time as well. He’s a prospect worth monitoring and could quickly become one of the best young prospects in the Minnesota farm system. It’s a level swing that generates excellent lift, especially to the pull side.
Fajardo has been a standout 17-year-old arm in the DSL this season. He throws primarily a two-pitch fastball/slider combination. The fastball has touched the mid-90s and the slider sits more in the low-80s with late bite. It’s a raw profile, but Fajardo already touches the mid-90s and should be able to add a tick or two more to that as he fills out his 6-3 frame. The two-pitch mix has generated a ton of strikeouts in the DSL this season. Across 50.2 innings of work, Fajardo struck out 64 batters. He pitched to a 2.50 FIP and walked just eight batters in the process. He commands the strike zone well with an easily repeatable delivery but will have to round out the pitch mix to find more success stateside. He allowed a .256 BAA and will have to improve that in the Complex League once he makes his way there.
It’s been quite the road for Jimenez since signing as a 16-year-old back in 2021. He spent two seasons in the Dominican Summer League, followed by two more with the Mariners in the Arizona Complex League. In 2024, he finally made the leap from the Complex to Modesto and continued to shine. Jimenez has a smaller frame, but his quick bat speed helps to generate good power and loud exit velocity. His first taste of full-season ball has seen him slash .308/.394/.484 with three home runs and 11 stolen bases. He won’t likely ever be a true home run hitter, but rarely chases out of the zone (19.7% chase rate at Low-A). His good eye and approach at the plate help to carry a solid floor. He’s still a bit too passive at the plate, digging himself into disadvantageous counts that don’t offer him much help alongside his worse-than-average whiff rates. Jimenez has the speed to stick in center field but could end up playing a corner by the time he’s further along in the system.
Hales is a big 6-4 flamethrower. He throws pure gas out of the bullpen. The fastball lives in the upper 90s, touching 100 a handful of times this season. He pairs that with a good slider that falls off with more of a gyro-slider profile. The fastball explodes out of the hand from Hales, offering an excellent vertical approach that makes it nearly impossible for batters to square up. Hales was a fourth-rounder for the Rangers in 2023 and made his way to Double-A for the first time this season. He got in 19 innings of work for the Rough Riders, striking out 29.5% of batters while limiting walks. If there’s any knock on Hales, it’s his disappointing whiff rates. For an arm throwing so much gas, you’d expect them to be higher. However, he’s mustered just a 26.1% whiff rate. There’s certainly the potential for those to improve and he could be a quick-moving arm to supplement the Texas bullpen as early as 2025.
Sanchez is an interesting young arm. He’s pitched at both A-ball levels this season as a 20-year-old. A midseason promotion took him to High-A where he’s made five appearances so far. He’s posted a strikeout rate of 36.6% with an excellent 14.1% swinging strike rate. Sanchez throws a fastball, changeup, and a solid slider/cutter. The fastball lives in the 91-93 mph range but has touched 95 at times. He does a good job missing bats with the pitch thanks to good spin and life, but likely won’t add too much more velocity due to his relatively small frame. The changeup is a real weapon, sitting in the upper-80s with great arm-side fading action. It plays very well with the fastball, coming out of the hand and looking very similar before falling off the table. The slider/cutter rounds out the pitch mix, sitting in the upper 80s. He misses bats at an excellent rate and finds the zone enough to offer a fairly high reliever ceiling long-term.
A seventh-rounder out of Cal State Fullerton last summer, Nankil has started to move his way through the system for the Athletics in 2024. He debuted at Low-A before eventually making the move up a level to High-A Lansing. The trade deadline acquisition of Jared Dickey helped round out what’s become an impressive High-A outfield featuring Dickey, Nankil, and Ryan Lasko. Nankil has slashed .353/.413/.412 for the Lugnuts. It’s a contact profile more than a power one, but Nankil rarely chases out of the zone. He has a great eye at the plate, and flirts with above-average in-zone contact rates just short of 80%. Better-than-average whiff rates help to limit strikeouts, giving Nankil an intriguing profile long-term. He showed much more power potential at Low-A, posting a .174 ISO but that power hasn’t followed him since his midseason promotion. It’s a smooth stroke that sprays the ball all over the field, even if it won’t result in off the charts power potential.
The Angels signed Fermin in 2023 as a 21-year-old. He made his professional debut in 2024. He debuted with 18 games with Inland Empire, striking out 26.8% of batters. A mid-season promotion gave way to more success. With High-A Tri-City, that strikeout rate has ballooned to 36.8%. He’s a big, hard-throwing righty with a 6-3, 248 frame. The fastball touches 97 with some deception. The stuff on his fastball is so good that it’s simply undermatched in High-A right now. If you need more evidence of that fact, look no further than his 44.5% whiff rate at the level (99th percentile). Beyond the fastball, however, things get a bit less impressive. Fermin has a solid but inconsistent breaking ball with curveball traits. His command and lack of a well-rounded arsenal are both limiting factors that impact his success on the bump. If he can figure out that command, the fastball offers a solid foundation to build upon for a potential relief option long-term.
