Blue Jays, Michael Stefanic Agree To Minor League Deal
Infielder Michael Stefanic and the Blue Jays are in agreement on a minor league deal. Stefanic’s agent Nate Heisler of Klutch Sports relayed the news on X while Stefanic himself took to Instagram to thank the Angels, their fans and his former colleagues for his time with that club, in addition to expressing his excitement about his new opportunity.
Stefanic, 29 in February, was an undrafted free agent back in 2018. The Angels signed him at that time and he started to garner attention as a minor leaguer due to his plate discipline and multi-positional abilities, though a clear lack of power. In 2021, he took 554 trips to the plate in the minors, walking in 9.4% of them while only striking out 13.9% of the time.
His home run total spiked to 17 that year, even though he had only hit three over the 2018 and 2019 seasons combined. Perhaps that was due to him getting up to the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but his .336/.408/.493 line that year still translated to a 132 wRC+, indicating he was 32% better than league average.
Baseball America ranked him the #22 prospect in the Angels’ system going into 2022 and he went on to make his major league debut that year. He has been sent to the plate 264 times over the past three big league seasons, walking in 8.7% of those while striking out just 15.2% of the time. But he hasn’t yet hit a home run, leading to a fairly empty slash line of .232/.317/.275 and 72 wRC+. He has continued to hit in the minors, however, with a combined line of .349/.444/.456 and 133 wRC+ over the past three years.
That wasn’t enough to get him much run at the major league level and he exhausted his final option year in 2024. The Angels passed him through waivers and outrighted him last month, but Toronto will give him a non-roster gig. Stefanic has also played every position on the diamond except for center field and catcher in his professional career, perhaps giving him a shot at carving at a utility or bench role.
The Jays have plenty of uncertainty in their position player group at present. First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and shortstop Bo Bichette are both a year away from free agency. Right fielder George Springer is now 35 years old and has just two years left on his deal. Second base, third base and left field are fairly open. Players like Spencer Horwitz, Ernie Clement, Will Wagner, Nathan Lukes, Leo Jiménez, Davis Schneider, Jonatan Clase, Orelvis Martínez, Addison Barger, Joey Loperfido and Steward Berroa are all on the 40-man roster but Clement and Schneider are the only ones of thar group with more than 112 games of MLB experience.
If Stefanic can earn his way onto the roster, he is out of options but he has just a bit more than a year of service time, meaning he can be cheaply retained beyond 2025 if he has a roster spot at season’s end.
Angels Outright Six Players
The Angels began the process of clearing space on their 40-man roster today, sending six players outright to Triple-A Salt Lake: right-handed pitchers Carson Fulmer, Andrew Wantz, and José Marte, and infielders Charles Leblanc, Jack López, and Michael Stefanic. Evidently, all six players were designated for assignment and cleared waivers earlier this week. They will be eligible to elect free agency and seek new opportunities in free agency this winter.
Fulmer, 30, made 37 appearances, including eight starts, for the Angels in 2024, pitching to a 4.15 ERA and 4.39 SIERA over 86 2/3 innings. It was the most productive season of his career, which began in 2016 with the White Sox and took him to the Tigers, Orioles, Reds, Dodgers, and Mariners before he signed a minor league deal with the Angels in 2023. While his moderate success this year was promising, the former first-round pick has a career 5.38 ERA and 4.92 SIERA in 227 1/3 frames. He offers versatility as both a bullpen arm and a serviceable spot starter, though his splits aren’t much different whether he’s pitching out of the rotation or the bullpen.
Wantz, 29, was attempting to stretch back out as a starter in 2024 after several years as a bullpen arm. However, the initial results were poor in spring training and at Triple-A. Then, he managed to make just one appearance for the big league club before he landed on the IL with an elbow injury, which ultimately required surgery. It is not clear what, exactly, the surgery was, though it was not a Tommy John procedure. The Angels originally hoped Wantz would be ready to return next spring, but according to MLB.com, he suffered a setback in his recovery and it is unclear when (or if) he will be able to pitch in 2025. Prior to this past season, he had a 3.85 ERA and 3.93 SIERA over 117 innings pitched with the Angels between 2021-23.
Marte, 28, also finished the 2024 season on the IL. He pitched well for the Angels over 14 appearances, tossing 19 1/3 innings with a 2.33 ERA, and he made another 25 appearances with a 2.22 ERA at Triple-A. Unfortunately, a viral infection forced him to the IL in August. To make matters worse, he felt pain in his shoulder while attempting to return from the infection and ultimately underwent shoulder surgery in September. It’s unclear if he will be ready to pitch again by next spring. Despite his impressive ERA this past season, Marte has a career 5.56 ERA and 5.64 SIERA in 43 2/3 innings of big league work. His 4.46 ERA in 74 2/3 innings at Triple-A isn’t much more inspiring.
Leblanc, 28, made his MLB debut with the Marlins in 2022. He performed reasonably well, slashing .263/.320/.404 with four home runs over 48 games but was outrighted over the offseason. Despite continuing to produce solid numbers at Triple-A (.807 OPS), he failed to make it back to the majors the following year. He inked a minor league pact with the Angels last November and appeared in a handful of games for the big league club in August and September, putting up an impressive .869 OPS in 28 trips to the plate. Leblanc split his playing time between all three bases in 2024, though he also has a bit of experience in left field. He still has minor league options remaining and can offer a team some defensive versatility and righty pop off the bench.
López, 31, made his way back to the majors with the Angels for the first time in nearly three years. After several seasons in the Royals minor league system and a brief stint in the Braves organization, he debuted with the Red Sox in 2021. He went 2-for-13 over seven games. The infielder spent the 2022 season at Triple-A for the Tigers before joining the Angels in 2023 and finally making it back to the big leagues in August 2024. He appeared in 27 games, splitting his time between second base and shortstop while slashing .254/.286/.343 (.629 OPS). López also has minor league options remaining, and his biggest asset is his ability to play shortstop.
Finally, Stefanic, 28, appeared in 40 games for the Angels this past season, largely at second base. He continued to tear the cover off the ball at Triple-A, which he has done for the past several years, but failed to make an impact at the MLB level. He slashed .218/.301/.255, and, unfortunately, his first big league home run continues to elude him. Stefanic has played 90 games for the Angels since his debut in 2022 and has yet to hit a single home run. He will be out of minor league options in 2025.
Angels Transfer Jose Cisnero To 60-Day IL
The Angels announced they’ve transferred reliever José Cisnero from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list. They needed to open a roster spot for infielder Michael Stefanic, who is back from his own 60-day IL stint. The Halos reinstated him onto the 40-man and optioned him to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Cisnero has been on the IL since April 28 with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. His 60-day window backdates to the original placement. He’ll be eligible for reinstatement at the end of June. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, Cisnero experienced some lower back soreness when he tried to ramp up his throwing program in recent weeks. It isn’t known if he’ll be ready to return a month from now.
The Angels signed the 35-year-old righty to a $1.75MM free agent deal in February. He was one of six major league free agent signees as the Halos curiously prioritized a complete bullpen overhaul during the offseason. That hasn’t worked out, either in Cisnero’s case or in aggregate. Angel relievers entered play Wednesday ranked 26th with a 4.71 earned run average. Cisnero gave up 13 runs in his first 14 innings of the season, allowing four homers among 17 hits.
Stefanic has been out since suffering a quad strain in Spring Training. The 28-year-old hit .244/.331/.293 in 140 major league plate appearances over the previous two seasons. He’s in his final minor league option year and could soon push the struggling Kyren Paris for a spot on the bench.
Angels Select Amir Garrett
The Angels announced they’ve selected reliever Amir Garrett onto the MLB roster. They optioned righty Davis Daniel and placed Mike Trout on the 10-day injured list to create active roster space for Garrett and newly-signed outfielder Kevin Pillar. To open space on the 40-man roster, the Halos moved Michael Stefanic and Chase Silseth to the 60-day injured list.
Garrett inked a minor league deal with the Halos not long after Opening Day. The southpaw had been in camp with the Giants but issued seven walks in 6 1/3 Spring Training innings, leading to his release. Garrett has found his form with the Angels’ top affiliate in Salt Lake, where he has fanned 10 in 7 1/3 frames. He has walked four and allowed only two runs in the Pacific Coast League.
That was enough to get the 31-year-old (32 next month) back to the majors for what’ll be his eighth season. Garrett was a quality setup arm for the Reds early in his career. His results have been less consistent over the last couple years, largely because of scattershot control. Garrett walked over 15% of batters faced in each of the last two seasons. A near-18% walk rate led the Royals to release him last summer even though he had a reasonably solid 3.33 ERA in 27 appearances.
Matt Moore stands as the top lefty setup man for skipper Ron Washington. José Suarez has occupied a long relief role, where he has struggled to a 10.13 ERA across 16 frames. Garrett adds a third southpaw to the bullpen mix, where he’ll pitch mostly in single-inning stints.
Silseth has been sidelined since April 8 with inflammation in his throwing elbow. He has been playing catch but hasn’t progressed to mound work. Today’s transfer backdates to Silseth’s original IL placement, so he’ll be out until at least the first week of June. Stefanic, meanwhile, is out until the end of May thanks to a Spring Training quad strain. He hit .290/.380/.355 in 25 big league contests a year ago.
AL Notes: Angels, Bradish, Carrasco
The Angels infield depth has taken a bit of a hit in recent days, as Sam Blum of The Athletic noted that second baseman Luis Rengifo is dealing with a hamstring issue and pulled himself from yesterday’s team workouts. While Blum notes that Rengifo won’t be participating in baseball activities for the next few days, manager Ron Washington remained “adamant” that Rengifo would be ready for Opening Day. That same certainty doesn’t appear to be present regarding infielder Michael Stefanic, who (as noted by Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) exited today’s game with a left quad strain and will be re-evaluated tomorrow.
That Rengifo’s hamstring issue doesn’t appear to be serious is surely a relief for Halos fans, as Rengifo is looking to build on last year’s career season in 2024. While shuffling between shortstop, second base, third base, and all three outfield spots last year, the switch hitter managed to hit .264/.339/.444 in 445 trips to the plate. Solid as that production was, Rengifo’s second half last year was even more impressive as he slashed a whopping .318/.374/.587 after the All Star break before his season came to an end in early September due to a biceps issue that ultimately required surgery. That strong second half leaves Rengifo likely to earn the lion’s share of playing time at second base with the Angels this season, so long as he can stay healthy.
As for Stefanic, the 28-year-old has just 50 games of big league experience under his belt across the 2022 and ’23 seasons, though last year he managed to hit a respectable .290/.380/.355 in 71 trips to the plate while splitting time between second and third base. Stefanic entered the spring likely competing with the likes of Kyren Paris and Livan Soto for a spot on the Angels’ bench to open the year alongside the likes of Aaron Hicks, Matt Thaiss, and Jo Adell. With that being said, the club has been frequently connected to utility man Enrique Hernandez and earlier today was reported as one of four finalists for the 32-year-old’s services. Should the Angels succeed in landing Hernandez, that could crowd the club’s bench mix significantly and potential push Stefanic into a depth role at Triple-A to open the season.
More from around the American League…
- Orioles fans received an encouraging update from GM Mike Elias today regarding right-hander Kyle Bradish, who is rehabbing from a UCL sprain. As noted by Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun, Elias said that while Bradish’s recovery process is “going to take some time,” the club feels that the right-hander’s recovery is “moving in a really positive direction” following the platelet-rich plasma injection he received earlier this month and him resuming his throwing program. Bradish was the club’s ace during his sophomore season in the majors last year, pitching to a sterling 2.83 ERA with a 3.27 FIP across 30 starts. With the righty expected to open the season on the injured list, any time missed by the right-hander is sure to be a blow to the Orioles, though the club’s recent addition of Corbin Burnes should help to mitigate the loss of Bradish.
- Veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco made his spring debut for the Guardians today, suiting up for the organization for the first time since he was traded to the Mets alongside Francisco Lindor prior to the 2021 season. Carrasco, who turns 37 next month, struggled to a 6.80 ERA in 20 starts with the Mets last year but told Zack Meisel of The Athletic recently that he hopes to continue pitching through his 40th birthday, following in the footsteps of his former Mets teammates Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. While it remains to be seen if Carrasco will be able to recapture the form that allowed him to post a 3.41 ERA and 3.16 FIP in 194 games with Cleveland across his final seven seasons with the club, the Guardians were eager to give him the opportunity to earn a spot with the club this spring; Meisel notes that talks regarding a reunion began back in December, well before the deal was reported near the end of January.
Angels Reinstate Jo Adell, Place Kyren Paris On 60-Day IL
The Angels have reinstated outfielder Jo Adell from the 60-day injured list, the team announced. Utility player Kyren Paris has been placed on the 60-day IL himself, freeing up space on both the active and 40-man rosters. In other news, the Angels have optioned Jordyn Adams and recalled Michael Stefanic from Triple-A.
Adell had been on the IL with an oblique strain since the All-Star break. After a particularly disappointing 2022 season, the former top prospect spent the first half of the 2023 campaign at Triple-A, where he posted a .956 OPS and a 121 wRC+. He earned the call back to the big leagues in early July following Mike Trout‘s hamate fracture, but he only managed to play four games before landing on the IL himself. With 12 games left on the schedule, he will have a brief opportunity to impress the Angels brass before the offseason.
Paris felt soreness in his left thumb ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Tigers, and it has since been diagnosed as a torn ligament. With so little time remaining in the season, his placement on the 60-day IL is hardly more than a formality; the Angels will have to add him back to the 40-man roster during the offseason.
However, the season-ending injury comes as particularly disappointing news for Paris, who was enjoying his first taste of big league action at just 21 years old. Selected out of high school in the second round of the 2019 draft, he has quickly risen through the ranks in the Angels system. After a strong 2023 campaign at Double-A with the Rocket City Trash Pandas, he bypassed Triple-A and earned a major league call-up when rosters expanded on September 1. While the youngster struggled to adjust to big league pitching (he slashed .100/.200/.100 in 15 games), he showed off his versatility across the diamond, taking reps at shortstop, second base, and center field. Paris currently ranks as the no. 5 prospect in the organization, per MLB Pipeline. He will retain his prospect status next season.
Adams, the Angels no. 15 prospect according MLB Pipeline, has appeared in 17 games at the MLB level, slashing .128/.125/.128 in 40 trips to the plate. He will be replaced on the active roster by Stefanic, who has been on fire this season at Triple-A, posting a .930 OPS and a 139 wRC+. With Adell returning and Paris headed to the IL, it’s no surprise the Angels have swapped out Adams, an outfielder, for Stefanic, an infielder.
Angels Select Brett Phillips
The Angels announced they have optioned infielder Michael Stefanic and selected the contract of outfielder Brett Phillips. No corresponding 40-man move will be required as the club still has several vacancies after losing various players off waivers in the past week.
Phillips returns to the majors for the first time since May. Signed to a $1.2MM free agent contract over the winter, the defensive specialist spent two months on the Halos’ bench. He got into 20 games, mostly as a defensive replacement or pinch runner. Phillips only hit 16 times before being designated for assignment and passed through outright waivers.
The 29-year-old has spent the past few months at Triple-A Salt Lake. He’s striking out in just under a third of his Triple-A plate appearances, posting a .230/.352/.366 line through 264 plate appearances. Strikeouts have prevented Phillips from assuming a regular role at the big league level, as he’s gone down on strikes in 38% of his MLB trips. He’s a career .187/.272/.343 hitter.
Phillips adds a defensive complement to the starting outfield of Mickey Moniak, Randal Grichuk and Luis Rengifo (who moved from shortstop to right field after the Halos waived Hunter Renfroe and promoted Kyren Paris). Now that he’s back on the MLB roster, Phillips is technically controllable via arbitration through 2026, though it seems likely he’ll be non-tendered at season’s end.
Angels To Promote David Fletcher
12:04PM: Walsh and infielder Michael Stefanic have been optioned to Triple-A to make room for Fletcher and Escobar, Sam Blum reports (Twitter link).
10:13AM: Back in April, the Angels optioned David Fletcher to Triple-A and then outrighted him off the 40-man roster. After two months in the minors, Fletcher is heading back to the Show, as FanSided’s Robert Murray (via Twitter) reports that the Angels are calling Fletcher back up to the active roster. The corresponding move isn’t yet known, but it marks something of a mini-overhaul of the Angels’ infield, between Fletcher’s return and yesterday’s acquisition of Eduardo Escobar from the Mets.
Fletcher had only two hits in his first 16 plate appearances of the 2023 season, leading the Halos to finally make a tough decision on a player who looked like a building block just a couple of years ago. Anaheim signed Fletcher to a five-year, $26MM contract extension in April 2021, and unfortunately, the infielder’s productivity has since tailed off. Fletcher hit .260/.295/.327 over 893 PA in 2021-22, with a hip injury costing him a big chunk of the 2022 campaign.
However, it looks like Fletcher might have found something at Triple-A Salt Lake, as he is hitting .378/.432/.478 over 197 PA. Fletcher does have a huge .407 BABIP, and numbers from the Pacific Coast League should be taken with a grain of salt in general given the league’s hitter-friendly nature, but it’s hard to argue that Fletcher hasn’t been doing all he can to earn another shot on the Angels’ roster.
In an interview yesterday with The Athletic’s Sam Blum (prior to the news of Fletcher’s call-up), Fletcher said he wasn’t sure why the Angels hadn’t already called up back up to the big leagues. There also seemed to be something of a lack of communication between Fletcher and the front office, as the infielder said “I haven’t heard much from them” since the Triple-A demotion, and that the team was somewhat vague on what it exactly wanted Fletcher to work on hitting-wise.
Anthony Rendon and Zach Neto are both on the Angels’ 10-day injured list, while Gio Urshela‘s season may be over due to a pelvic fracture. These injuries have left Anaheim very thin in the infield, and while there may have been some question over why Fletcher hadn’t already been called up, the time is now for the Halos to again turn to the 29-year-old.
It remains to be seen how this new-look Angels infield will shake out, considering that both Fletcher and Escobar are multi-position players, and because some 40-man roster moves will have to be made to accommodate Fletcher’s return. Escobar will likely rotate between second and third base, while Fletcher could play either shortstop or second base. Brandon Drury has played the bulk of time at second base this season, but he has also seen a lot of time at first base, which could be a more viable option since Jared Walsh has struggled since returning from the injured list.
Angels Place Gio Urshela On Injured List With Pelvic Fracture
The Angels announced they’ve placed infielder Gio Urshela on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left pelvis. Michael Stefanic was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake to replace him on the active roster.
Urshela was forced out of yesterday’s win over the Rangers in the first inning. He was on crutches postgame and imaging has evidently revealed a fracture. The team hasn’t provided any kind of timetable but it seems likely he’ll be out past the minimal ten days.
It’s a brutally timed injury for team and player alike. The Halos lose a starting infielder for the second straight day. Rookie shortstop Zach Neto landed on the shelf last night with an oblique strain. Anthony Rendon isn’t on the injured list but is out of tonight’s starting lineup after being hit in the wrist with a pitch. Rendon finished last night’s game despite being in too much discomfort to swing because of the Halos’ lack of infield depth.
That’s not the case tonight — Brandon Drury was serving a one-game suspension for arguing with an umpire yesterday, while Stefanic is now on hand — but it highlights how quickly the Angels have been put in a precarious position. Losing Urshela likely thrusts Jared Walsh into everyday first base duty for the time being. The former All-Star has been off to a brutal start after returning from a season-opening IL stay. Walsh is hitting .119/.257/.186 in 27 games.
Urshela, acquired from the Twins over the offseason, has had a fine but unexciting first season in Orange County. He’s hitting .299/.329/.374 over 228 trips to the plate while splitting his defensive work between the two corner spots and occasional shortstop reps. He’s made plenty of contact offensively but is walking at a meager 4.4% clip and only has two home runs.
That’s a downgrade from the .285/.338/.429 line Urshela posted during his lone season in Minnesota. The injury will prevent him from building towards last year’s production for the time being. Depending on how long he’s sidelined, it could deal a hit to his market value. He’s slated to hit free agency for the first time in his career next offseason, making this a pivotal season for him.
The Halos enter play tonight with a 39-32 record. They’re four and a half back of Texas in the AL West and a game out of the Wild Card race. It’s shaping up to be an aggressive summer for Perry Minasian and his staff as they try to capitalize on Shohei Ohtani’s final season of arbitration control and push into the playoffs. Infield additions looked like a potential deadline goal even before the injuries to Neto and Urshela. That’d be all the more true if one or both is out for a long period of time.
Trying To Find Hidden Gems With BB/K – 2022-23 Edition
Last offseason, I tried to find under-the-radar minor league prospects by looking at how much a hitter walked and struck out. Sometimes, these stats can indicate a hitter has a keen eye at the plate which will help them succeed as they move up the minor league ladder. I used Mookie Betts and Jose Ramirez as examples of young players who had strong BB/K rates in the minors who then went on to have greater MLB success than many prospect evaluators had projected.
Looking at 2021 stats, I highlighted players who had 300 or more plate appearances at Double-A and/or Triple-A and a BB/K rate of 1.00 or higher. Did this help us find hidden gems? Let’s look at the results before moving on to this year’s crop. The names on the list were Alejo Lopez, Isaac Paredes, Steven Kwan, Tyler White, Cooper Hummel and Jonah Bride.
Two of these players had breakout years in 2022. Kwan made his MLB debut and had a tremendous season on both sides of the ball. He provided excellent outfield defense and continued his great work at the plate, walking more than he struck out at the major league level. He had a season strong enough he could have won Rookie of the Year honors in another year, but he had to settle for third this year due to an incredible batch of rookie campaigns that also included Julio Rodriguez and Adley Rutschman. The other breakout was Paredes, who was traded to the Rays in April as part of the Austin Meadows deal. He hit 20 home runs in 111 games while posting walk and strikeout rates that were both better than league average. Paredes is less of a hidden gem since he snuck onto the back end of Baseball America’s top 100 in 2019 and 2020, though he had fallen off in the two subsequent seasons. Kwan never made it onto the top 100 and only made the top 30 among Cleveland farmhands for the first time going into 2022, coming in at #27. FanGraphs, it’s worth noting, was far more bullish, slotting Kwan third in the Guardians system and 57th overall heading into the year.
Most of the rest of the group is TBD, as they only got limited MLB appearances. Lopez was frequently optioned and got into 61 games in the majors, still proving very tough to strike out but not doing much damage when he did connect. Hummel struggled in his first 66 games but still hit very well in the minors, walking in 15.4% of his plate appearances and slashing .310/.423/.527. The Mariners must be intrigued by him, since they just traded Kyle Lewis to get him from the Diamondbacks. Bride made his MLB debut and scuffled in 58 games but hit .342/.453/.568 in the minors while still walking more than he struck out. As for White, he was 31 last year and only really plays first base, making it hard for him to carve out a role on a major league team. He started the year in the Brewers’ system but was acquired by the Braves in a midseason trade. Between the Triple-A teams of the two organizations, he had another decent season at the plate, walking in 16% of his appearances while striking out just 20.1% of the time.
Out of six guys highlighted last year, two became MLB regulars, two didn’t immediately hit the ground running but still hit well in the minors and another two were sort of mediocre. It’s not a perfect system but not a bad shorthand, in my opinion. A common theme you will see with the players below is their strike zone discipline often comes with a lack of power. In order to turn this profile into a breakout, that usually means the hitter needs to get stronger or change their approach slightly. In the case of Paredes, he seems to have started selling out more in 2022, as his strikeout rate climbed but so did his isolated power. Kwan didn’t add power, only going deep six times, but his on-base skills were combined with speed and defense to help him be an all-around producer.
If we look at the 2022 numbers, can we find next year’s Kwan or Paredes? Even if that’s setting our sights too high, some of these guys are Rule 5 eligible and could be candidates to be nabbed in next month’s draft. Let’s take a look at the players with a BB/K rate at 1.00 or above with 300 or more plate appearances at Double-A and/or Triple-A in 2022.
Michael Stefanic, infielder, Angels, BB/K rate at Triple-A: 2.18
Stefanic got 346 plate appearances in Triple-A this year, walking in 13.9% of them while striking out just 6.4% of the time. He didn’t provide much power, however, hitting only four home runs in that time despite playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His final batting line there was .314/.422/.425 for a wRC+ of 122. He also got into 25 major league games without finding much success. It’s a somewhat similar profile to another Angels infielder in David Fletcher. Stefanic was an undrafted free agent, has never been on BA’s top 100 and only cracked the Angels’ top 30 for the first time a year ago. He’ll turn 27 in February.
Nick Dunn, infielder, Cardinals, BB/K rate at Double-A: 1.50
The Cardinals seem to have a knack for turning their lesser draft picks into solid major leaguers, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to see a couple of them on this list. Dunn was selected in the fifth round in 2018 and has never cracked a BA list of top prospects in the system, though he was mentioned at FanGraphs, where Eric Longenhagen called him “a free-swinging Brendan Donovan — same hair and everything.” In 2022, Dunn got 472 plate appearances and walked 13.3% of the time while striking out at just a 8.9% clip. Similar to Stefanic, it hasn’t resulted in much power, with Dunn only hitting seven long balls on the year, which was a career high. He’ll be 26 in January. He’s eligible to be selected in next month’s Rule 5 draft.
John Nogowski, first base/outfielder, free agent, BB/K rate at Double-A and Triple-A: 1.08
Nogowski got some brief MLB looks in 2020 and 2021 and couldn’t do much with them. He split 2022 between Atlanta’s and Washington’s system, getting 483 plate appearances while walking more than he struck out. Similar to the players above him, it didn’t result in much power, as he went deep eight times and produced a batting line of .248/.366/.362. A 34th-round draft pick from 2014, he’s never been on a team prospect list at BA or FanGraphs. He’ll turn 30 in January.
Willians Astudillo, utility player, free agent, BB/K rate at Triple-A: 1.06
It’s likely that you’re already familiar with “La Tortuga” since he’s appeared in the majors for the past five years and has become a fan favorite. He hardly ever strikes out but also hardly ever walks or goes deep, which is why he’s had trouble sticking in the majors despite incredible bat-to-ball skills. He spent most of this year in Triple-A for the Marlins, hitting very well down there. However, he’s now 31 and hasn’t produced much over 588 career plate appearances in the majors.
Vinnie Pasquantino, first base, Royals, BB/K rate at Triple-A: 1.03
This one is the hardest to call a hidden gem since Pasquantino is already on display. That being said, the 11th round draft pick from 2019 wasn’t a highly-touted prospect until a strong 2021 campaign got him onto the list of top farmhands in the Royals’ system from both BA and FanGraphs going into 2022. He got called up in late June and acclimated to big league pitching immediately. He had already walked more than he struck out at Triple-A in the first half of the year and then did the same in the show. He also went deep 18 times in Triple-A and 10 times in the majors. He only has 298 MLB plate appearances but the signs are pointing to him being the real deal. He just turned 25 last month.
Evan Mendoza, infielder, Cardinals, BB/K rate at Triple-A: 1.00
Another Cardinal, Mendoza was an 11th round draft pick in 2017. In 421 plate appearances this year, his strikeouts and walks came out even at 56. Unfortunately, like some others on this list, his contact wasn’t terribly productive, resulting in a slash line of .247/.348/.325. He did add a speed element to his game recently, though, swiping 15 bags last year and 17 this year. With the new rules coming into play that encourage more baserunning, perhaps his on-base skills will help him prove valuable. He’s never cracked the top 30 prospects in the system at either BA or FanGraphs, though FG did put him at #34 back in 2018. He’s eligible to be selected in the upcoming Rule 5 draft.
Tanner Morris, infielder, Blue Jays, BB/K rate at Double-A and Triple-A: 1.00
Morris began his year in Double-A, getting 186 plate appearances with matching 16.1% walk and strikeout rates. He hit five homers in that sample while slashing an excellent .312/.430/.468. He got bumped to Triple-A but couldn’t keep things rolling, perhaps due to a .233 BABIP, as he hit .173/.352/.173 in 126 plate appearances there. However, he again posted matching walk and strikeout rates of 19.8%, meaning he finished the year with rates of 17.6% over 312 plate appearances between the two levels. He then went to the Arizona Fall League and got into 15 games, walking 15 times against nine Ks for a batting line of .279/.466/.372. A fifth round pick from 2019, he’s been on the back end of Toronto prospect lists over the past few years. He recently turned 25 and is Rule 5 eligible.
Bryce Windham, catcher, Cubs, BB/K rate at Double-A: 1.00
A 32nd round pick of the 2019 draft, Windham got 304 plate appearances at Double-A this year, finishing with walk and strikeout totals of 44, a 14.5% rate for each. It was quite tepid production overall, leading to a batting line of just .202/.322/.289, though his .227 BABIP was well below his previous seasons. He’s never been listed as a top prospect in the system by either BA or FanGraphs. He recently turned 26 and is Rule 5 eligible.