Each MLB organization’s hottest hitting prospect June 2024

It’s time for our second installment of each team’s hottest-hitting Top 30 prospect over the last month. Our list includes eight Top 100 prospects, though the player with the best numbers over the last 30 days occupies the bottom spot on our Top 30 for his organization.

That’s Red Sox second baseman/outfielder Kristian Campbell, who has slashed .412/.509/.722 on a month-long tear. He leads all Top 30 prospects in runs (27), total bases (70) and slugging during that time.

Blue Jays: Riley Tirotta, 1B/3B (Unranked among Jays’ Top 30)
The 25-year-old corner infielder made his Triple-A Buffalo debut on May 23 and has been on fire since, slashing .324/.444/.676 with seven homers and five doubles over 21 games. His biggest game came last Friday at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when he went 5-for-6 with two homers. Tirotta can make loud contact, topping out at a 110.4 mph exit velocity so far, and if he can improve his in-zone contact rate, the University of Dayton standout will turn even more heads as a late bloomer.

Orioles: Samuel Basallo, C/1B (No. 2/MLB No. 12)
Still only 19, Basallo is posting his second solid month in a row with Double-A Bowie. Over the last 30 days, the left-handed hitter has an impressive .315/.396/.528 line over 102 plate appearances. He’s walked at an 11.8 percent clip while striking out just 17.6 percent of the time, helping him collect 11 extra-base hits.

Rays: Brayden Taylor, 3B/SS (No. 4/MLB No. 83)
The 2023 19th overall pick out of TCU entered pro ball with a reputation as an above-average hitter with good pop, and he’s living up to the reputation as he gets more comfortable in his first full season. Over the last 30 days, Taylor has led all Top 100 prospects with 69 total bases (no one else has more than 57) while stringing together a .353/.431/.676 line with 20 extra-base hits and 11 steals over 25 games for High-A Bowling Green. He continues to split time between short and third but is more likely to land at the hot corner, especially with Carson Williams one level above him.

Red Sox: Kristian Campbell, 2B/OF (No. 30)
Though Campbell displayed average power and plus speed at Georgia Tech, those tools didn’t show up like that in games and he lasted until the supplemental fourth round of the 2023 Draft. The Red Sox helped him incorporate some swing changes and prodded him to be more aggressive at the plate, with encouraging results so far. His hot streak, which includes a .420/.512/.710 line since his promotion to Double-A on June 4, has boosted him among the Minor League leaders in hitting (.343, fifth), on-base percentage (.448, fifth), slugging (.606, fifth) and OPS (1.054, second).

Yankees: Jasson Domínguez, OF (No. 1/MLB No. 29)
Signed for $5.1 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2019 as the most hyped international prospect ever, Domínguez could have solid or better tools across the board. He homered four times in eight big league games last September at age 20 before blowing out his right (throwing) elbow and requiring Tommy John surgery that sidelined him until mid-May. He slashed .375/.397/.696 with five homers in 15 games between Double-A and Triple-A from May 26-June 15 before straining an oblique, which will likely keep him out until mid-August.

Guardians: Jhonkensy Noel, OF/1B/3B (No. 26)
Noel owns some of the biggest raw power in the Minors and was recalled to the big league club on Wednesday after bashing at a .413/.476/.707 clip with six homers in his last 22 Triple-A games. Signed for $100,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2017, he’s slashing .295/.359/.578 overall and ranks fifth in Minors with 18 homers in 65 contests.

Royals: Javier Vaz, 2B/OF (No. 15)
The Vanderbilt product entered the season well-known for his high contact rate, and that remains part of his game. But the 23-year-old is showing a surprising amount of power of late too. After going deep only once in April and May for Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Vaz hit three homers in a four-game span from June 13-16 in Springfield. His slugging percentage has jumped from .329 entering June to .372, while his 3.8 percent swinging-strike rate is lowest among Royals full-season qualifiers.

Tigers: Hao-Yu Lee, 2B (No. 13)
Lee was acquired by the Tigers as a bat-first infielder at last year’s Deadline in a trade for Michael Lorenzen, and he’s had little trouble of late getting that bat to translate to Double-A. Over the last 30 days, Lee has a .407/.457/.703 slash line with more extra-base hits (13) than strikeouts (12) in 22 games for Erie. His .900 OPS on the season ranks third-best in the Eastern League behind only Agustin Ramirez (.942) and Carson Taylor (.921). (Note: Lee has been out since last Friday after being hit in the helmet by a pitch. He has avoided an IL stint to this point.)

Twins: Brooks Lee, SS (No. 2/MLB No. 13)
Tip of the cap to Yunior Severino and the great month he’s had, but we wanted to give Lee some kudos for returning from the injured list with a hot bat. The 2022 first-rounder has a .341/.407/.585 line with a somewhat surprising five homers in 91 plate appearances. These aren’t numbers inflated by his rehab stint: Lee is slashing .344/.400/.641 since returning to Triple-A St. Paul.

White Sox: Edgar Quero, C (No. 4/MLB No. 93)
Quero scuffled in Double-A when the Angels sent him there at age 20 last season before eventually shipping him to the White Sox as part of the Lucas Giolito/Reynaldo López trade in July. An offensive-minded catcher, he’s thriving back at that level in 2024, slashing .354/.413/.545 over the last month while taking over the Double-A Southern League lead in RBIs (49) and ranking third in homers (11) and eighth in slugging (.458) and OPS (.807).

Angels: Adrian Placencia, 2B/SS (No. 12)
Placencia recently slashed .301/.437/.627 with six homers over 104 plate appearances to get a bump back up to High-A Tri-City. The 21-year-old has 11 homers for the year, just two off his career high of 13, set with Single-A Inland Empire in 2022.

Astros: Brice Matthews, SS (No. 3)
A first-round pick from Nebraska a year ago, Matthews has shown off his 20-20 potential since returning from a back injury in late May. He has slashed .355/.462/.658 with six homers and nine steals in 20 games while moving from a rehab stint in Rookie ball to High-A to Double-A.

A’s: Henry Bolte, OF (No. 10)
The A’s liked Bolte’s raw tools enough to go over slot to sign him in the second round of the 2022 Draft. He still has work to do on his overall approach to bring his K rate down, but it’s starting click. He’s slashed .322/.423/.598 with four homers and nine steals over the last 30 days. He’s now second in the High-A Midwest League with his .933 OPS and has 11 homers and 26 steals in 65 games.

Mariners: Michael Arroyo, INF (No. 9)
In a system with a ton of young hitters doing impressive things (we’re looking at you, Lazaro Montes, among others), Arroyo has really stepped up his game to stand out. The teenaged infielder slashed .341/486/.659 with seven homers over 109 plate appearances over the last month to force his way from Single-A Modesto to High-A Everett.

Rangers: Sebastian Walcott, SS (No. 1/MLB No. 75)
The Rangers landed Walcott for $3.2 million out of the Bahamas in 2023 and challenged him with an assignment to High-A at age 18. His electric bat speed gives him 30-homer upside and he has recovered from a slow start to slash .309/.350/.543 during the last month to raise his season numbers to .237/.337/.406 with six homers and eight steals in 63 games.

Braves: Nacho Alvarez Jr., SS (No. 6)
It’s exciting enough that Alvarez has a .921 OPS over the last 30 days (.320/.414/.507). Even more encouraging is that after a rough patch in Double-A, when he went 4-for-24, he was moved up to Triple-A Gwinnett and responded with a .385/.448/.654 line over 58 plate appearances.

Marlins: Joe Mack, C (No. 26)
Mack did little offensively in his first three pro seasons after the Marlins made him a supplemental first-round pick out of a New York high school in 2021, but he’s doing more damage in 2024. He paces all Top 30 prospects with 10 homers during the last month while slashing .250/.343/.620 in Double-A. Overall, he’s slashing .261/.347/.502 with 14 blasts in 67 games between High-A and Double-A.

Mets: Ryan Clifford, OF/1B (No. 4/MLB No. 74)
Even with so-so numbers at High-A, Clifford moved to Double-A Binghamton in mid-May, in part to get away from Brooklyn’s very pitcher-friendly ballpark. With the venue change, Clifford’s power has played enormously at the higher level. To wit, he is just 12-for-57 (.211) in June, but 11 of those hits have gone for extra bases. His seven homers and 20 walks both lead the Eastern League this month, while his 1.081 OPS ranks fourth.

Nationals: Dylan Crews, OF (No. 2/MLB No. 5)
Crews went 8-for-21 (.381) with a homer and two doubles over his final five games for Double-A Harrisburg, earning his Triple-A debut with Rochester on June 18. Last year’s second overall pick homered twice in his first four games with the Red Wings and almost had more dingers if not for fantastic defensive plays at the wall. His 53.3 percent hard-hit rate through seven Triple-A games is a promising sign of what’s to come.

Phillies: Eduardo Tait, C (No. 8)
Tait set the bar high for his United States debut this year after posting a .917 OPS in the Dominican Summer League last year. He’s aiming to reach it, or perhaps even clear it, if he keeps up what he’s done over the last month. The 17-year-old backstop has slashed .333/.407/.615 with five homers over his last 91 plate appearances. He currently leads the Florida Complex League with 35 RBIs.

Brewers: Jadher Areinamo, 2B/3B (No. 22)
The 20-year-old infielder is riding a nine-game hitting streak for High-A Wisconsin heading into Wednesday, during which he’s gone 14-for-36 (.389) with six extra-base hits, six walks and only one strikeout. He’s slashing .356/.421/.526 over 19 games in June, and that stretch has pushed his season OPS up from .690 to .771. Areinamo continues to be a contact-heavy presence at the plate with a 12 percent season K rate that ranks second-best among Brewers full-season qualifiers.

Cardinals: Chase Davis, OF (No. 5)
The former Arizona star’s opening assignment to Single-A felt passive, but he struggled out of the gate with Palm Beach, especially in May when he had just a .440 OPS in 21 games. A switch has been flipped in June, however, and the left-handed slugger has posted a .333/.459/.667 line with three homers and six doubles in 15 games. For comparison’s sake, he managed only two homers in April and May combined.

Cubs: Moises Ballesteros, C/1B (No. 6/MLB No. 90)
Ballesteros is gunning for his second straight Cubs Minor League Player of the Year Award and his first big league promotion. Signed for $1.2 million out of Venezuela in 2021, he earns some Alejandro Kirk comparisons for his hitting ability and soft hands. He has been raking at a .366/.408/.613 clip for the last month, including a 1.057 OPS following his promotion to Triple-A on June 18, and is slashing .311/.377/.514 overall with 10 homers in 63 games.

Pirates: Charles McAdoo, 3B/OF (No. 29)
Taken in Round 13 of the 2023 Draft, McAdoo served notice he might be more than even the Pirates realized with a .922 OPS with Single-A Bradenton during his summer debut. He hasn’t slowed down since, slashing .355/.444/.634 with five homers and six steals over the last month, a stretch that includes a recent promotion to Double-A Altoona, where he homered twice in his first three games.

Reds: Adolfo Sanchez, OF (No. 21)
You don’t want to put too much weight into what a recent international signee does during his debut in the Dominican Summer League, but it is always encouraging when the teenager you gave $2.7 million to sign puts a solid first step forward. That’s what Sanchez has done, with an OPS of .896 over the first 15 games of his career. He’s drawn walks (17.4 percent BB rate), stolen bases (6-for-6) and has six extra-base hits in 69 plate appearances.

D-backs: Deyvison De Los Santos, 1B/3B (No. 14)
On May 21, De Los Santos went from hitter-friendly Double-A Amarillo to … hitter-friendly Triple-A Reno. Even with that in mind, you have to credit the 21-year-old for continuing to play to his strengths (specifically his top-of-the-scale raw power) at the Minors’ highest level. De Los Santos has a .314/.364/.602 line with seven homers in 30 games since joining the Aces. There have been nine batted balls with exit velocities at 114 mph or above in the Pacific Coast League this season, and in his limited experience, De Los Santos is already responsible for three of them.

Dodgers: Joendry Vargas, SS (No. 11)
One of the top prospects in the 2023 international class, Vargas signed for $2,077,500 out of the Dominican Republic with the potential for four solid-to-plus tools and average speed. He has lived up to his billing in two years of Rookie ball and has slashed .353/.444/.603 in his last month in the Arizona Complex League.

Giants: Jairo Pomares, OF (No. 26)
Part of a banner Giants 2018 international crop that also included Marco Luciano and Luis Matos, Pomares signed for $975,000 after leaving Cuba. An all-bat prospect, he finished second in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League batting race (.368) in his 2019 pro debut and slashed .334/.378/.629 with 20 homers in 77 games during his first full season in 2021, but an overly aggressive approach and recurring quadriceps and back injuries have slowed him since. He’s starting to heat up, however, slashing .291/.341/.557 with five homers in his last 23 Double-A contests.

Padres: Tirso Ornelas, OF (No. 25)
Ornelas has gone deep four times over his last seven games for Triple-A El Paso as he continues to warm up in the desert. The 24-year-old outfielder’s monthly OPS has crept up from .840 in April to .906 in May to its current position at .930 through 19 games in June. Through 245 plate appearances with the Chihuahuas in 2024 (nearly equal to his 2023 total of 240 PA), Ornelas has seen his yearly wRC+ jump from 92 to 116 as he’s striking out less, walking more and getting his pop to play better in games.

Rockies: Cole Carrigg, OF/SS/C (No. 8)
While he missed a little time and is on a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League (his 4-for-5 with three triples performance in his first ACL game certainly doesn’t hurt his line over the last month), he was ridiculously hot before he was sidelined. The 2023 Competitive Balance Round B pick had a .382/.427/.539 line over his last 97 plate appearances with High-A Spokane, with eight extra-base hits and eight steals over that span.