Ranking The 20 Hottest MLB Prospects | Hot Sheet (6/30/25)

1. Colson Montgomery, SS, White Sox

• Team: Triple-A Charlotte (International) 
• Age: 23
• Why He’s Here: .500/.522/1.227 (11-for-22), 9 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 8 RBIs, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0-for-0 SB

The Scoop: It’s been a difficult two seasons for Montgomery with Triple-A Charlotte, as he’s hit .214/.318/.391 across 182 games. This past week, things made a turn for the better. Montgomery strung together four consecutive multi-hit games to end the week, going 11-for-19 over that stretch, including a two-home run game on Thursday. Montgomery was once considered among the premium position prospects in the game, but the last two seasons have reset expectations. (GP) 

2. Joe Mack, C, Marlins

• Team: Triple-A Jacksonville (International)
• Age: 22
• Why He’s Here: .500/.524/1.000 (10-for-20), 6 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 5 RBIs, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1-for-2 SB

The Scoop: In today’s game, a catcher who can provide even a modicum of offense is an exceptionally valuable commodity. The Marlins might just have a pair of players who fit that bill. Agustin Ramirez is in the big leagues and hitting tape-measure home runs, while Mack is mashing a level below. After obliterating the Southern League, he moved to Triple-A and took a little bit of time to adjust. Now, he’s clearly got the hang of the level. The lefty-swinging catcher clubbed three home runs last week, quadrupling his previous Triple-A total in the process. And in the midst of all that hitting, Mack found time to catch Jacksonville’s first nine-inning no-hitter in two decades. (JN)

3. Hunter Barco, LHP, Pirates

• Team: Triple-A Indianapolis (International)
• Age: 24
• Why He’s Here: 1-1, 0.75, 1 GS, 12 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1, ER, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 1 BB, 13 SO

The Scoop: This month does not come close to matching Barco’s April, when he didn’t allow a run in five starts (he carried that scoreless streak into his first May start, as well, for a 25.2-inning scoreless streak). But Barco is still rolling. He kept Omaha off balance with his sinker-slider-splitter mix in a pair of starts. Barco doesn’t dominate hitters as much as he keeps them off balance. Half of his six strikeouts on Sunday were called strike threes. (JJ)

4. Chase Harlan, 3B, Dodgers

• Team: ACL Dodgers (Arizona Complex)
• Age: 18
• Why He’s Here: .389/.421/1.056 (7-for-18), 4 R, 3 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 8 RBIs, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1-for-2 SB

The Scoop: Los Angeles drafted Harlan in the third round last summer and chose to let him get his feet wet in the controlled atmospheres of the bridge and instructional leagues. Now, in games with countable stats in the Arizona Complex League, he’s showing the power and hittability the Dodgers believed were possible. The three home runs he hit this past week were one more than he’d accumulated during the season’s previous 25 games. The offensive explosion might be just the beginning of Harlan realizing his potential. (JN)

5. Ronny Cruz, SS, Cubs

• Team: ACL Cubs (Arizona Complex League) 
• Age: 18 
• Why He’s Here: .444/.474/1.000 (8-for-18), 6 R, 1 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1-for-2 SB

The Scoop: The Cubs landed Cruz in the third round of the 2024 draft, signing the then-17-year-old for $620,000. The shortstop debuted this spring in the Arizona Complex League and has performed well, hitting .274/.317/.478 while playing a majority of the time at shortstop. Cruz last week went 4-for-5 with three triples on Monday, and on Saturday, he went 2-for-6 with a home run. He could see a bump to Low-A Myrtle Beach at the end of the complex league season. (GP) 

6. Tanner McDougal, RHP, White Sox

• Team:  Double-A Birmingham (Southern)
• Age: 22
• Why He’s Here: 1-1, 0.90, 10 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 13 SO, 1 HR

The Scoop: After a pair of inconsistent seasons to begin his professional career, McDougal, a 2021 fifth-round pick, has found improved command in 2025. It’s made a big difference, as McDougal pitched his way to Double-A and has been very strong over three starts since. This week, McDougal made two starts against Knoxville, throwing five innings of one-run ball on Tuesday followed by five scoreless on Sunday. His fastball sits mid-to-high 90s, and he also blends in a two-plane curveball with lots of depth, a cutter and a changeup. McDougal’s step forward in 2025 could put him onto the prospect radar in the coming months should he continue to perform. (GP)

7. Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, RHP, Yankees

• Team: High-A Hudson Valley (South Atlantic)
• Age: 21
• Why He’s Here: 0-2, 1.69, 10 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 13 SO, 1 HR

The Scoop: All season long, Rodriguez-Cruz has been a reliable force in a Hudson Valley rotation stocked full of prospects. The righthander was excellent in two starts this past week, racking up 13 strikeouts and walking just four hitters. He has a deep mix of pitches and improving command, which has helped the former Red Sox farmhand run up an impressive trio of spots atop the league’s leaderboard, as he leads the SAL in ERA (2.47), strikeouts (91) and batting average against (.181). After a bit of rocky May, Rodriguez-Cruz closed June with a flourish. In the season’s third month, he finished 2-2, 0.94  with 34 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. (JN)

8. Kevin Alcantara, OF, Cubs

• Team: Triple-A Iowa (International)
• Age: 22
• Why He’s Here: .500/.545/.900 (10-for-20) 6 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBIs, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1 CS

The Scoop: Don’t hang a breaking ball to Alcantara. Twice this week, he made Columbus’ pitchers pay for that mistake with a pair of no-doubt home runs (both had 107+ mph exit velocities). Alcantara has had a very solid month at the plate, but the path to a big league job in Chicago remains blocked by one of the best outfields in baseball with Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki all more than holding their own. (JJ)

9. Cam Schlittler, RHP, Yankees

• Team: Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (International)
• Age: 24
• Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: Last year, Schlittler was the Yankees’ minor league pitcher of the year. This year, the only thing that might stop him from repeating is a trip to the Bronx. The Northeastern alum has added some zip to his fastball and turned his slider into a weapon. So far, the results have been quite loud for the newest member of the BA Top 100 Prospects list. The righthander has a system-best 97 strikeouts, which also places him sixth among all minor leaguers. He’s missed nary a beat since moving to Triple-A, where he’s punched out 33 hitters over his first four starts. (JN)

10. Tyson Hardin, RHP, Brewers

• Team: Double-A Biloxi (Southern)
• Age: 23
• Why He’s Here: 1-1, 0.82, 11 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: Promoted to Double-A Biloxi on June 18, Hardin has now made three starts with the Shuckers and has continued to impress against Southern League competitors. In his two starts this week against Columbus, Hardin allowed just one earned run across 11 innings, as he walked one and struck out 11 over the two outings. Hardin’s fastball is a plus pitch due to its flatter plane of approach and his ability to get more induced vertical break than expected from his release height. He sits 94-95 mph and mixes a low-90s cutter, a sweepy low-to-mid-80s slider and a changeup. Hardin is one of the top breakout pitching prospects in the minors this season and a great draft find by the Brewers. (GP) 

11. Carlos Jorge, OF, Reds

• Team: High-A Dayton (Midwest)
• Age: 21
• Why He’s Here: .417/.500/.750 (10-for-24) 7 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 4 BB, 3 SB

The Scoop: Jorge needed both a week like this one and a month like he’s had in June. An infielder earlier in his career, he’s proven to be a solid defender in center since moving to the outfield, but he came into the month hitting .196/.320/.311. This month, he’s looking more like the slashing, line-drive contact hitter he can be. He hit .302/.394/.419 in June, and he has now stolen 21 bases in 23 tries this year. (JJ)

12. Kyle Karros, 3B, Rockies

• Team: Double-A Hartford (Rockies)
• Age: 22
• Why He’s Here: .348/.423/.783 (8-for-23), 6 R, 4 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 3 RBIs, 3 BB, 5 SO

The Scoop: When he’s been healthy, Karros has been a steady force in the middle of the Hartford lineup. The UCLA alum and son of former big leaguer Eric Karros was identified by scouts during spring training as an up-arrow prospect, and those predictions are looking like bull’s-eyes. Karros missed a month on the injured list but has shown throughout June that the time away didn’t leave any rust. Karros’ excellent week put a capper on an outstanding month that saw him hit .329/.413/.519 with a pair of home runs with equal success against lefties and righties. (JN)

13. Blake Burke, 1B, Brewers

• Team: High-A Wisconsin (Midwest)
• Age: 22
• Why He’s Here: .429/.520/.810 (9-for-21) 5 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBIs, 3 BB, 6 SO, 2 SB, 1 CS

The Scoop: After being a very consistent hitter at Tennessee, Burke has been every bit as advertised in the Midwest League this year. He’s proven to be slump-proof, and he gets on base at a .403 clip. The one knock on Burke this year is he’s not showing the power that was part of his game with the Vols. Burke has five home runs all year after hitting 20 in his final season in Knoxville. (JJ) 

14. Elian Peña, SS, Mets

• Team: DSL Mets (Dominican Summer)
• Age: 17
• Why He’s Here: .600/.706/1.700 (6-for-10), 7 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBIs, 6 BB, 1 SO

The Scoop: Most of Peña’s sparkling week boils down to one exemplary game. On June 26, Peña slammed three home runs in a seven-inning win featuring a final score score of 20-19. On its own, Peña’s feat would stand as the signature moment of the early days of the DSL season. This, however, was not your standard three-homer game. Two of them came in the sixth inning—both three-run shots off of Yankees lefthander Ronald Tejada. It was the first three-dinger game in the league since 2023, and Peña’s 14 total bases were the league’s most since 2019. The start to Peña’s season has been rough, but he’s already got a game he’ll likely remember for the rest of his career. (JN)

15. Connelly Early, LHP, Red Sox

• Team: Double-A Portland (Eastern)
• Age: 23
• Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 SO

The Scoop: At this point, it’s hard to come up with a MiLB rotation better than Portland’s. With Payton Tolle (see below) joining Early, David Sandlin and Blake Wehunt (and Yordanny Monegro before he injured his elbow), it’s not a fun week for hitters whenever Portland is in town. Early spun a no-hitter last week, being pulled after 82 pitches. Reliever Jeremy Wu-Yelland immediately gave up a single to end the no-hitter. Early now has a 1.94 ERA over 55.2 innings and opponents are hitting .189. (JJ)

16. Payton Tolle, LHP, Red Sox

• Team: Double-A Portland (Eastern)
• Age: 22
• Why He’s Here: 0-0, 1.80, 1 GS, 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO

The Scoop: Making his Double-A debut, Tolle was excellent once again. Twice he walked a batter and then watched that batter steal second. And the second time Nick Morabito then scored on the only single Tolle allowed all day. He responded by striking out the side in the fifth. Tolle has struck out 43.1% of batters this year, while also walking only 7.8%. He’s been exceptionally reliable, allowing one or fewer runs in nine of 12 outings this season. (JJ)

17. Alex McFarlane, RHP, Phillies

• Team: High-A Jersey Shore (South Atlantic League)
• Age: 24
• Why He’s Here: 0-0, 0.00, 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: McFarlane missed last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and most of this season has been rocky. There have, however, been a few flashes of the form that make scouts believe he has a big league future. His last start was the brightest flash yet. Facing Brooklyn, McFarlane went five hitless innings with nine punch outs. The strikeout total was a season high, and the start overall was McFarlane’s third this season allowing one or fewer hits in an outing. (JN)

18. Ryan Johnson, RHP, Angels

• Team: High-A Tri-City (Northwest)
• Age: 22
• Why He’s Here: 1-1, 2.57, 14 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 13 SO, 2 HR

The Scoop: Johnson has had an unusual beginning to his professional career, debuting in the major leagues before he had ever pitched in the minors. The Angels then sent Johnson to High-A, and since then he’s been impressive. This week, he made two starts against Vancouver, going seven innings in each apperance. Johnson’s line in his first start looks worse than it was, as he was scoreless through five before allowing four runs between the sixth and seventh. Johnson got his revenge on Sunday, however, tossing seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits, a walk and striking out eight. Johnson will likely get another shot in the major leagues before long. (GP)

19. Nate George, OF, Orioles

• Team: Low-A Delmarva (Carolina)
• Age: 19
• Why He’s Here: .421/.476/.842 (8-for-19) 4 R, 2 2B, 3 3B, 5 RBIs, 2 BB, 3 SO, 2 SB, 2 CS

The Scoop: If you are looking for the best performers of the 2025 MiLB season so far, don’t forget about George, who is hitting .371/.432/.571 between the Florida Complex League and now 15 games in the Carolina League. George’s three triples this week were all things of beauty. He flies out of the batter’s box as if he’s been chased by a cheetah, and he doesn’t let up until he’s standing up at third base. All three triples saw him just line the ball over the head of outfielders—one apiece in left, center and right field—and he didn’t have to slide on any of them. (JJ)

20. Victor Figueroa, 1B, Padres 

• Team: Low-A Lake Elsinore (California)
• Age: 21
• Why He’s Here: .368/.458/.842 (7-for-19), 5 R, 3 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 3 BB, 5 SO, 0-for-0 SB

The Scoop: The Padres landed Figueroa in the 18th round of the 2024 draft, signing him for $150,000. He had an expectedly strong debut in the Arizona Complex League, clubbing five home runs and hitting .605 over 11 games. Since being promoted to Low-A Lake Elsinore, Figueroa has slowed down but continued to show impressive game power. This week, he had a pair of multi-hit games, and he launched a pair of home runs on Thursday in a 3-for-5 effort at the plate. Figueroa is off to a solid start to his professional career but will need to hit to get to the major leagues. (GP)  

HELIUM

Nate Payne, LHP, Marlins

Miami has done a solid job in recent years producing promising pitching prospects. Their latest gem might be Payne, a lefthander from Pennsylvania the Marlins took in the 18th round last summer. They used a $235,000 bonus to sway him from a commitment to George Mason. In the Florida Complex League, Payne is already showing signs of scratching at his upside. Armed with a four-pitch mix fronted by a low-90s fastball and backed by a kick-changeup, a slicing slider and an inconsistent curveball, Payne has held his opponents to just 17 hits in 31 innings and struck out a league-best 44 hitters. His .167 average against is second in the league and his 1.00 WHIP places third. (JN)