The divisional reports are a new series put out by the PitcherList dynasty team. These reports provide a list of the top ten prospects on each team in the division and highlight two players from each organization. Each division will be updated once per month by our divisional experts. You can look for these reports every Thursday and Friday during the first three weeks of each month.
The AL East has been incredibly inconsistent with promotions this season, with most of the activity isolated to the Red Sox, who made seven promotions in June alone. The rest of the division continues to lag, although a few notable promotions did happen in June. Speaking of the Red Sox, their organization has some of the hottest hitters on the MiLB landscape right now, headlined by Kristian Campbell and a player that Chris Clegg has dubbed “The Password” Jhostynxon Garcia. Campbell and Garcia are both trending toward massive jumps in the latest prospect rankings.
AL East
Top 10 Prospects
Notable Promotions:
- Outfielder Matthew Etzel got a promotion to Double-A Bowie on June 13th following an impressive start at High-A Aberdeen. Etzel was a 10th-round pick last Summer and climbed three levels following the draft. He has a plus hit tool and is producing at the plate and on the base paths. This season, he’s slashing .298/.370/.465 with six homers, 24 extra-base hits, and 37 steals in 68 games. I’m not sure much is actionable, but Etzel has a manageable walk and strikeout rate and plays in an outstanding developmental organization.
- After months of speculating, Cade Povich finally got his call to the Major Leagues. The 24-year-old southpaw dominated Triple-A before his call-up, going 5-1 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 75 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings. Povich has made five MLB starts with mixed results. His best outing was against the Braves on June 12th when he struck out six hitters over six shutout innings. His success with missing bats has not translated to the big leagues, as he’s only managed a 14.6% rate thus far compared to 32% in the Minors.
Notable Performances:
- Orioles #2 prospect Coby Mayo returned from a fractured rib sustained in late May and has continued his terrific 2024. In 15 games, Mayo is batting .412 with seven homers, six doubles, and 16 RBIs. Mayo has also walked nine times compared to 11 strikeouts. There’s not much left for Mayo to accomplish at Triple-A, but there is no obvious fit on the Orioles’ roster.
- 2023 second-round pick Mac Horvath is heating up. Horvath had a slow start to 2024, batting just .195 at the end of May. In June, the third base prospect slashed .314/.395/.614 with four homers and eight steals over 18 games. Strikeouts remain a concern for Horvath, but he cut his strikeout rate to 25.7% on the season with a strong month. The blend of power and speed is enticing, but Horvath must continue to make strides with his contact and batted ball profile.
Top 10 Prospects
Notable Promotions:
- The name Yoeilin Cespedes is very familiar to those who read my work. Cespedes has reached my top 60 prospects and is ascending higher by the day. The 18-year-old shortstop was promoted to Low-A Salem this month after dominating the Complex level early on. Cespedes dominated the DSL in 2023, hitting .346 with six homers and 25 extra-base hits in 46 games. In 2024, he’s batting .319 with five homers and three steals in 25 games. He has an impressive 12:21 walk-to-strikeout ratio while playing across two levels this season.
- Miguel Bleis, a former Top 50 overall prospect, was promoted to High-A Greenville on June 10th. Bleis missed all of 2023 with a shoulder injury and got off to a slow start in 2024. Bleis has an elite blend of power and speed in his profile, although his power has been slow to bounce back following the injury. Bleis has just four homers this season but does have 16 extra-base hits and 22 steals.
Notable Performances:
- High-A third baseman Cutter Coffey had an impressive home run streak mid-month. The 20-year-old hit seven home runs over six days, including two homers in a game on June 14th against Asheville. Overall, Coffey has 12 home runs and 38 RBIs on the season. He is a fringe Top 30 organizational prospect with no obvious carrying tool. Despite his recent power surge, Coffey does not project to have anything more than average power.
- Kristian Campbell continues to crush in 2024. Following his promotion to Double-A Portland, Campbell has been incredible. In 22 games, he’s slashing .420/.515/.667 with four homers, four steals, and a 16% walk rate. Campbell looks like a steal in the 2023 Draft, where he went in the 4th round. At this rate, the 22-year-old should reach Triple-A by the end of the season and has ascended rapidly in the organizational ranks.
Top 10 Prospects
Notable Promotions:
- “Big” Ben Rice went from Double-A to the Majors in a minute (sorry, that’s a bad dad joke, and I’ll see myself out). Rice joined Triple-A on June 5th and played in just 11 games before replacing an injured Anthony Rizzo in New York. In those 11 games, he mashed three home runs and had a 1.059 OPS. In the Bronx, Rice has impressed in a small sample. He’s got a .273 average, and Rice has walked more than he’s striking out. In 33 at-bats, Rice has two doubles and has a 91.5 mph average exit velocity.
- The fastest-rising prospect in baseball has reached Triple-A. For those who don’t know, I’m referring to Agustín Ramírez. Ramirez, who turns 23 in September, has been a nightmare for Minor league pitching this season. Ramirez has 17 home runs and 54 RBIs this season (mostly at AA) and has reached the elite tier of catching prospects. Ramirez has an advanced feel for the zone, impressive raw and in-game power, and has some of the higher exit velocities in the Minors, including a 100mph 90th-percentile EV. Given the struggles of the Yankees’ catchers this season, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Ramirez in the Bronx this year.
Notable Performances:
- Don’t look now, but Spencer Jones is red hot. After a dreadful May that saw Jones hit .170 with one homer and a 45% strikeout rate, the 6’7″ outfielder capped an incredible June with a two-homer, 7 RBI game on June 30th. In June, Jones hit .296 with six homers and 29 RBIs. The 40.7% strikeout rate in the month is not ideal, but at least his production is coming around. If Jones can cut his swing-and-miss by 10%, he’s got the tools to be a 30-30 player in his sleep.
- Reliever Jack Neely was another player who received a recent promotion, and based on his recent performance, he could join the big club soon. Neely was moved to Triple-A on June 19th and has pitched four scoreless innings with five strikeouts in his three appearances. Neely is drawing the eye of the Yankees’ fan base as he’s produced a 38.1% strikeout rate this season and has a near-40% K rate for his career. Neely is a 6-foot-9 right-hander with two dominant pitches, his four-seam fastball and slider. Both offerings have produced whiff rates north of 50%.
Top 10 Prospects
Notable Promotions:
- 6’5″ right-hander Trevor Martin was promoted to Double-A Montgomery this month. The 2022 third-rounder has been rock solid since debuting last season. Martin was a collegiate reliever at Oklahoma State that the Rays worked their voodoo magic on to convert into a starter. He’s made 38 career starts across three levels, pitching to a 3.26 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 21.0 K-BB rate. Before his promotion, Martin made a start against Asheville, where he tossed seven innings of one-run baseball and a career-high 14 strikeouts. Martin has a smooth, repeatable delivery with four pitches that have plus potential. He’s a name to keep an eye on in Dynasty.
Notable Performances:
- Lefty hurler Ian Seymour has been incredible this season and completed an amazing June. The 25-year-old is now two years removed from Tommy John surgery and looks better than ever. In June, Seymour tossed 29 innings, yielding just 4 ER (1.24 ERA) with 22 strikeouts to six walks. On the season, his ERA is down to 1.96 with a 0.79 WHIP and 23.9 K-BB rate. Seymour has three offerings that grade plus or better, but his best pitch is the changeup. Aside from Shane Baz, Seymour should be next in line to fill an open rotation spot for the Rays.
- The Dominican Summer League is one month in, and 17-year-old outfielder Leonardo Pineda is off to a hot start. In 18 games, Pineda is slashing .297/.446/.484 with one homer and four steals. In addition, he’s drawn 16 walks in just 64 at-bats (25% walk rate). Pineda just turned 17 in April, so he’s one of the younger players in the DSL and a name to keep an eye on moving forward.
Top 10 Prospects
Notable Promotions:
- The Jays haven’t made many internal promotions this season, but outfielder Alan Roden got the bump to Triple-A. Roden performed well last season in High-A and AA, batting .317 with ten homers and 24 steals. His average has dipped a bit this season, but Roden already has eight homers, and he’s walked 34 times to 44 strikeouts. Roden will likely end up in a strong side platoon due to issues with LHP splits. But with his feel for the zone and plate approach, I can see Roden getting an extended look in the big leagues in 2025.
- First baseman Spencer Horwitz was recalled to the Majors early in June for his second stint as a big leaguer. Horwitz has fared well in his first 20 games, hitting .310 with two homers and a .452 on-base percentage. As per usual, Horwitz is walking more than he’s striking out and making above-average contact. Horwitz will hit everywhere he goes, but his upside is limited by middling power.
Notable Performances:
- Ricky Tiedemann has returned to the mound, pitching in Vladdy Jr’s favorite park in Dunedin. The lefty is on rehab from an elbow injury that has limited him to just 12 2/3 innings this season. He’s had mixed results since his return, but Tiedemann did toss 2 1/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts in his most recent start. In any event, a healthy Ricky Tiedemann is a welcome sight for Blue Jays fans and baseball fans alike.
- Josh Kasevich, a 2nd round pick in 2022, is quietly having a great season at Double-A. The 23-yeard-old shortstop is batting .304 with three homers, eight steals, and a .347 OBP. Kasevich is a defensive-minded infielder, but has shown a knack for solid bat-to-ball skills and consistently puts together quality at-bats. He likely settles in as a utility player but has the overall skill set to make the Majors in that role.