Michael Arroyo To Double-A? Is Colby Thomas A Top 100 Prospect?

Image credit: Michael Arroyo (Photo by Bill Mitchell)

Baseball America prospect expert Geoff Pontes answers your burning questions about MLB prospects.

A lot of Jaxon Wiggins love recently. Do you believe the command has improved enough to where he can be a midrotation starting pitcher or more?

GP: Wiggins is a really interesting case study, as he only had one healthy season as a starter at Arkansas. Wiggins is doing a lot of things well across the board this season. He’s throwing more strikes, he’s getting more chases and swings overall. This, in turn, has led to more whiffs. His stuff is plus, and his ability to compete in and around the zone with nasty stuff has allowed him to succeed even as he’s seen improved competition. I think, conservatively, he looks like a good No. 4 starter with midrotation upside. The two concerns historically have been control and health. At the moment neither is a concern.

While being handled with kid gloves this year, Connor Prielipp has looked pretty sharp. What positive things have you heard from scouts/coaches/etc.? Negative?

GP: Prielipp has been so limited by injuries over the last handful of seasons, the cautious approach the Twins have taken seems prudent. He has looked sharp as he’s even pitched around some really bad luck (.382 BABIP). He does have the blister issue currently, but that’s hardly an aliment on par with his prior injuries. The reports are all fairly positive. Prielipp has all the ingredients to be a midrotation or- better starter with three above-average or better pitches and above-average strike-throwing capabilities.

How excited should we be about Juneiker Caceres? Early standout with a track record before ’25. Is there star potential? Waiver wire must-grab?

GP: He’s a good prospect, I’m not sure he gets to the point where we view him as a Top 100 Prospect at any point. It’s a corner outfield profile with good-not-great plate skills and above-average raw power but iffy angles. It’s all going to come down to how much he hits at higher levels. He feels like a solid average regular with some power upside if he adds some loft.

Konnor Griffin is a good example (so far) of a prospect notably improving his hit tool. Is this jump rare or do we notice more because of his prospect status?

GP: It depends how you look at it. His professional sample is still pretty small (273 plate appearances). I think there were a lot of doubts around Griffin’s ability to hit after struggles at times against quality stuff as an amateur. He overhauled his swing, and he’s had great results so far. The walks weren’t there early, but they’ve started to come over the last month. Overall, he’s one of the most exciting players in the minors and the upside is immense. Griffin’s 2025 debut has gone about as well as it possibly could have.

When do you think Khal Stephen joins Trey Yesavage in Double-A? Looking very good his last number of starts.

GP: More than likely, we’re probably looking at the first few weeks of July. It wouldn’t be a shock if it happens in the next few weeks, but we’re sort of in that window when lots of players get promoted over the early weeks of July.

Why isn’t Colby Thomas a Top 100 Prospect? Is he close?

GP: I think the approach is still the biggest question mark. He’s hyper aggressive, and that can likely be exploited against MLB pitching. Thomas has so many other great tools between his power, speed and defense. It’s just a matter of not swinging himself into outs. Over the last year or so whenever he’s presented as a Top 100 Prospect to industry sources, he’s often a “move down” name. There’s just quite a bit of skepticism around his approach.

How far is Travis Sykora from a callup to Harrisburg, and what year is his MLB call up likely? Does Sykora’s progress make Seth Hernandez more attractive to Nationals?

GP: I think if Sykora continues to pitch well (he struggled this week), I think the all-star break seems like a reasonable timeline. Health permitting, I think a late spring to early summer of 2026 MLB debut is possible. As for the Seth Hernandez piece of the puzzle, I’m not sure. I think when you have a top of the draft that’s wide open like this, you take the player you like best.

Was surprised to see guys like Dauri Fernandez, Stharlin Torres, Ethan Dorchies and Maxton Martin miss their team’s top 30. What kept them off those lists?

GP: For many of those players, our reporting is being done while they have a handful of starts or three weeks of games at most. Our first update is primarily focused on full-season players over the first two months. On the next update we’ll see an introduction of more complex league players.

Looks like Michael Arroyo is finally heating up. How long before we see him in Double-A? Possible big league roster next year?

GP: He’s another name I would expect to see in Double-A during the second half of the year. It’s a good bat, and he has a knack for finding the barrel at good angles. The defense is still a bit of a question mark, but he’s hitting at a rate that should continue to carry him. The debut is likely more early 2027 than next season. The Mariners have felt very deliberate with how they’ve handled prospects of late. They tend to have players spending a bit of time at each stop along the way.

Is there an injury concern with Hagen Smith or is it really ‘just’ a biomechanics reset?

GP: What they’ve reported, which is a biomechanics reset, is my understanding of it. I think the White Sox pitching development under Brian Bannister has been fairly sharp. He was really struggling to command his stuff in a way I didn’t see from Smith in his last season with Arkansas. I’m not saying it would be impossible, but in all likelihood, they’re not masking an injury. There’s no real benefit to that for the White Sox.

Is there concern with Landen Maroudis? He was sitting 88-90 his last start, way down from last year.

GP: Absolutely, the feedback wasn’t great in the last rounds of reporting. It feels like he’s still struggling to recover from the surgery. He’s so young and it’s so early, it’s probably worth sitting tight for now.

Can you give us some hope on David Sandlin please? He has a few good starts, then a stinker. Is this just who he is? Are you concerned about his K rate?

GP: I think Sandlin has really good stuff, and there’s certainly reasons for optimism. I have also heard from people within the game that the fastball release traits are a concern. Hitters track the pitch fairly well out of the hand. His overall pitch mix is good, and everything has a good combination of velocity and movement. I believe it’s a matter of optimizing what he does well and hoping he finds some more efficiency.

Will Franklin Arias be a better real-life player than a fantasy player?

GP: I think so. It’s a good hit tool and approach, and it’s probably more mid-teens power with good instincts on the bases but below-average speed. He’s a good defender, and in a lot of ways, he’s not that different from what Chase Meidroth has been. Arias is a better defender at this point in his career, but that’s really neither here nor there. I believe he has more power upside than a Meidroth but is more of a good average player whose fantasy value will lay on his counting stats from year to year.