When looking at the months-long marathon that we call a baseball season, it is fair to assume that an organization’s depth will be equally tested across the board. But early in 2025, the trend continues to indicate that pitching depth will be tested early and often, something that feels more fact than opinion in the past few years.
For die-hard fans and winning dynasty managers, keeping tabs on the minor leagues is more important than ever. While box scores offer a quick snapshot, trusting a player’s underlying talent is tougher now than ever. The leap from Triple-A to The Show seems steeper, and a pitcher who dominates in a pitcher-friendly Pacific Coast League park might struggle once promoted to the 26-man roster.
When a pitcher’s stuff seems to matter now more than ever, PLV lets managers see which pitchers have it and which do not. Looking down on the farm, here are some of the past week’s standouts and what managers and fans should take away from the second week of the minor-league season.
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Checking in on Some Big Name Prospects:
Carson Whisenhunt, 24, San Francisco Giants
Season Stats: 3 GS/14.0 IP/3.86 ERA/27.3% K%/ 1.7% BB%/ 1.21 WHIP
Weekly Stats: 2 GS/9.1 IP/3.87 ERA/12.5% K%/ 2.5% BB%/ 1.39 WHIP
There are some pitching prospects teetering between fantasy relevancy tiers, and Giants prospect Carson Whisenhunt is one of them. The 2022 second-round selection is considered San Francisco’s top pitching prospect heading into 2025, and he lived up to that billing with a dominant opening start for the season, tossing 4.2 innings of two-run ball with nine strikeouts in the process. He followed that up with another impressive outing on Apr. 5, this time shutting out Las Vegas across six innings with two strikeouts. Whisenhunt’s calling card for years has been his changeup, and the offering is good enough that he tosses it nearly half of the time. The pitch lived up to the billing in his first two starts, posting a 5.65 PLV.
What Whisenhunt wants to pair that with is still a work in progress, though. His sinker is still a solid pitch, registering 4.96 PLV in his first two starts. The velocity is less than ideal, but he located the pitch well to start the season,n and it’s 14.3″ of IVB would be in the top-20 from MLB starters this season. Whisenhunt is throwing that offering 41.5% of the time, trying to locate it in the top half of the zone, setting up his changeup, dropping off a cliff into the dirt.
Whisenhunt labored through his Sunday start against the Tacoma Rainiers, allowing four runs on eight hits through 3.1 innings of work. The stuff wasn’t much better than the line for one of San Francisco’s top pitching prospects either. Whisenhunt is rightfully known for his elite changeup, but it is hard to deceive batters when the sinker and cutter are not landing in the zone. The Giants primarily attributed less-than-sharp stuff and decreased velocity last season to the East Carolina product not having the stamina for a full season. But, only three starts into the season, is that still the reason? Or is there an underlying issue that dynasty managers should be more worried about? Unfortunately, only time will tell for Whisenhunt, but he should be closely monitored as he still tries to figure out Triple-A competition.
Noah Cameron, 25, Kansas City Royals
Season Stats: 3 GS/16.1 IP/1.65 ERA/28.6% K%/9.5% BB%/ 0.92 WHIP
Weekly Stats: 2 GS/11.1 IP/1.58 ERA/28.6% K%/7.1% BB%/ 0.79 WHIP
The Royals’ rotation already stands out as one of the league’s most productive, powering the team’s remarkable 30-win turnaround from 2023 to 2024. Still, every one of their five starters comes with a warning sign—whether it’s age, injury history, or streakiness. Heading into spring training, many wondered if left-handed pitcher Noah Cameron could break into the big leagues following a stellar run in Triple-A to close out the 2024 season. Although the Central Arkansas product ultimately fell short of earning a spot on the roster, he’s still pitching for the Omaha Storm Chasers and remains a key piece for Kansas City’s next call-up.
Cameron’s multiseam approach mirrors that of seasoned Royals veterans Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha. In his first two starts of the season, he’s shown a tendency to mix it up, throwing four different pitches at least 10% of the time. His four-seam fastball, while serving as his workhorse, has a modest 4.69 PLV this season due to below-average velocity, extension, and control—but it does set up his changeup and curveball nicely. Speaking of the changeup, it carries a 5.41 PLV, featuring plenty of arm-side run with a 10.3-inch IVB that would rank ninth among MLB starters this season. Cameron relies on this pitch to get right-handed batters out, while his average curveball—with a 5.03 PLV—serves more against lefties. His cutter and slider, still under development, might ultimately define his ceiling at the major league level.
So far, the southpaw has proven to be remarkably reliable. In his three starts, he’s consistently pitched five innings or more while racking up at least five strikeouts each time, allowing just two runs in his two outings at St. Paul, one of the league’s more hitter-friendly International League parks. While Cameron might not offer massive fantasy upside, he feels very close to The Show and could find himself in an even more advantageous situation at the trade deadline. His work is still in progress, but he already demonstrates the qualities of a high-floor starter compared to many of his Triple-A peers.
Weekly Four-Seam Standouts
Andrew Painter, 22, Philadelphia Phillies
Weekly Four-Seam Grade: 139 Fan4+ on Apr. 11, 2025 start
Season Stats: 1 GS/1.1 IP/13.50 ERA/42.9% K%/14.3% BB%/ 2.25 WHIP
Dynasty managers have been hearing for years that Philadelphia Phillies pitching prospect Andrew Painter is one of, if not the, best pitching prospect in baseball. However, it was all potential and no production as Painter hadn’t pitched since 2022. While the box score wasn’t great for Painter’s return, the stuff flashed, and his Apr. 11 start is hopefully a low point of his season.
Painter tossed 37 pitches over 1.1 innings for Low-A Clearwater, touching 100 MPH three times and averaging 98.3 MPH on his four-seam fastball. Despite his final line not being pretty, he only allowed two bloop singles and exited after his lone walk on the day, so his relief did not do well in stranding those runners. Painter generated nine whiffs on 17 swings and exited his outing with an average spin rate of 2,528 rpm on the 23 four-seam fastballs he threw.
The lanky righty still has a long way to go to live up to the hype, but the metrics evaluators pay attention to are certainly there for Painter. The Phillies have little reason to rush the 22-year-old prospect, so hopefully he has a long runway in being stretched out.
“Coming in here, I just wanted to compete and get a feel for my stuff, feel confident going into ’25 and walk out healthy,” Painter said after his strong Arizona Fall League last year. “It felt great. You can’t simulate it in bullpens and everything back at the complex. The adrenaline kicked in and did its part. Everything felt good, and I feel really good moving forward.”
There is still plenty of rust, apparent by a scattered fastball in his outing. But his fastball still has amazing velocity ,and he has the assorted breaking balls that generate coveted swings and misses.
William Watson, 22, St. Lucie Mets
Weekly Four-Seam Grade: 125 Fan 4+ in Apr. 8, 2025 start
Season Stats: 2 G/1 GS/7.2 IP/0.00 ERA/32.1% K%/7.1% BB%/ 0.65WHIP
Another Low-A selection, Watson is a relatively unheralded prospect in the New York Mets system. The NL East club drafted him 203rd overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, signing him for a modest $281,300. Any late-round pick is a gamble—akin to a lottery ticket—but the best organizations can often cash in on those tickets more consistently than their peers. New York may have something here with Watson.
Watson averaged 94.7 MPH on 13 four‑seam fastballs—the highest average among Low‑A starters on April 8. But it wasn’t just his velocity that impressed; his 1.9 HAVAA was elite, the best mark recorded among starters last week. Watson might still have a relief floor, but this performance certainly boosts his starter stock. Plus, he was locating his pitch well in his first start of the season.
I wouldn’t rush to add Watson from the waiver wire just yet, especially since he’s more polished than most of his Low‑A competition. However, his production and surrounding metrics are hard to ignore. Watson isn’t on many Mets prospect lists right now, but he could emerge by midseason.
Welcome to the Bigs
Justin Wrobleski, 24, Los Angeles Dodgers
Minor League Season Stats: 1 GS/5.2 IP/0.00 ERA/14.2% K%/9.5% BB%/ 0.88 WHIP
Major League Debut Pitching Line: Apr. 8 – 5.0 IP/14.40 ERA/15.4% K%/11.5% BB%/ 2.20 WHIP
The Los Angeles Dodgers were—and remain—the favorite team this season to add another Commissioner’s Trophy to their franchise’s name. The NL West is stacked, and although the defending World Series champions have high expectations, troubles have already begun. Big offseason addition Blake Snell recently hit the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation, opening the door for a top prospect to make his MLB return: left-handed pitcher Justin Wrobleski.
Unfortunately, Tuesday’s outing didn’t turn out to be a triumphant return; instead, it sent Wrobleski back to Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Washington Nationals pounced on the southpaw—outfielder James Wood even hit two home runs off him—which extended the Dodgers’ losing streak to three games and led to his swift demotion. Clearly, Wrobleski wasn’t viewed as a long-term solution.
“You don’t really get that kind of info. I just come up here and try to do my job every time they give me the ball, get better with each outing, get through this one. This one’s tough—it hurts, it sucks when you’re a competitor and you don’t want this to happen,” Wrobleski said. “At the end of the day, it’s about doing your job when you’re called upon, and today I didn’t do a good job of that.”
From a PLV standpoint, Wrobleski didn’t have a terrible night. His overall arsenal was above league average, with his sinker posting an elite 6.48—though he only threw it four times—and his offerings over the middle of the plate were punished. The Dodgers’ 11th-best prospect’s outing should be viewed as nothing more than a rude debut for 2025. Chances are, fans will see more of Wrobleski this season, but he still needs to work on his sequencing and getting ahead early in plate appearances.
Other pitchers that made their MLB debuts this past week:
Logan VanWey, 26, Houston Astros
Michael Darrell-Hicks, 27, Los Angeles Angels
