10 MLB Prospects Who Caught Our Attention In May
Image credit: Justin Gonzalez (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
Each month during the season, Baseball America publishes one organization report for all 30 clubs.
These reports by our major league correspondents contain a trove of player development updates and spotlight traditional reporting. Here are 10 updates I found to be especially enlightening from our May reports.
Actually, this month it’s 11 updates, because I counted incorrectly. Enjoy!
Top May Prospect Takeaways
1. The Red Sox saw all they needed to see from outfielder Justin Gonzales in one game in Rookie ball. Boston quickly promoted the 18-year-old to Low-A Salem, where he became one of the Carolina League’s youngest players. Gonzales stands out for more than his youth. He has outlier size for his age and outlier power for any age. Find out why the Red Sox now believe he is an even better pure hitter than they initially thought when they signed him in January 2024.
2. Low-A Columbia center fielder Asbel Gonzalez led all minor leaguers with 30 stolen bases in April. The 19-year-old Venezuelan paired that speed and baserunning savvy with only one extra-base hit that month, but the Royals like that Gonzalez is leaning into his bat-to-ball strength and believe power could manifest down the road. “As he gets stronger and gets more repetitions under his belt at higher levels, he’ll eventually drive the baseball a little more,” Royals farm director Mitch Maier said.
3. Righthander Kenny Serwa did not sign his first MLB-affiliated contract until he was 27 years old. But that’s OK. In knuckleballer years, he’s still just an infant. The Tigers signed Serwa out of a workout at Tread Athletics in January, and he was off to an encouraging start with High-A West Michigan. He was throwing strikes and limiting contact using two knuckleball varieties—a power version and his patented “Yoshi” variant.
4. An offseason session in the Mets’ hitting lab helped 21-year-old third baseman Jacob Reimer show out for High-A Brooklyn. He won South Atlantic League player of the month honors in April and kept on mashing in May. “Now, he’s in a better position to stay behind the ball and keep rotating through the zone to get the ball in the air, especially to his pull side,” Brooklyn hitting coach Bryan Muniz said.
5. Phillies second baseman Aroon Escobar is cousins with big leaguers Ronald and Luisangel Acuña, but now the 20-year-old Venezuelan is making a name for himself. Escobar participated in two of the Phillies’ high performance camps in the offseason and placed an emphasis on strength and conditioning, which helped him get off to a fast start with Low-A Clearwater and crack the BA Top 100 Prospects list. “He’s been a very good hitter his entire life who’s just gotten bigger, stronger, and learned how to get behind the ball,” Phillies farm director Luke Murton said.
6. The Cardinals have called up righthander Gordon Graceffo five separate times in the past two seasons. This time, St. Louis hopes the 25-year-old is here to stay. Graceffo visited a pitching development facility in the offseason to augment his stuff and “generate velocity with more consistent forward movement and extension” in his unique delivery. He has shown his best stuff and best location yet following an April 6 blowup appearance.
7. Mariners center fielder Jonny Farmelo did not let major knee surgery slow his ascent. The 20-year-old used his rehab from ACL reconstruction surgery he had last June to develop other areas of his game. The end result was a sooner-than-expected return to the field and instant acclimation to High-A. “Jonny is about as optimized from a health standpoint as anybody I’ve ever met and as diligent about taking care of his body,” Mariners minor league hitting coordinator CJ Gillman said.
8. The Orioles’ 2023 draft class looks surprisingly strong on the pitching side and now includes eighth-rounder Braxton Bragg among its success stories. The 24-year-old righthander quickly advanced to Double-A Chesapeake this spring on the strength of his mid-90s velocity and two secondary pitches that are both up a full grade, including one popular new pitch type he added to his bag in the offseason.
9. “He’s had a little bit of a swing change that has allowed him to elevate the ball a little bit more,” Astros farm director Jacob Buffa said of 22-year-old High-A Asheville outfielder Joseph Sullivan. Houston was all-in on the South Alabama product in last year’s draft based on his advanced hitting approach and athleticism. Now, Sullivan must strike a balance between his newfound power and his bat-to-ball skills.
10. White Sox first baseman Tim Elko defied the odds by turning himself from a fifth-year college senior and 10th-round budget pick into a big leaguer. The 26-year-old will never hit for a high average, but his power is real and can impact games if he optimizes his zone contact. “When he swings at pitches over the heart of the plate and makes contact, his capabilities damage-wise are so high,” White Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller said.
11. Talk about a notable career change! Angels shortstop prospect John Wimmer originally planned to attend The Citadel for four years and then enter the work force. But then a summer ball coach convinced him to attend a high-profile scouting showcase. The Angels liked what they saw and went over slot to sign the South Carolina prep in the 11th round in 2023. Now, the 20-year-old Wimmer is working with a new hitting approach while sharpening his bat-to-ball skills for Low-A Inland Empire.
