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Braves To Select Didier Fuentes

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The Braves are going to promote right-handed pitching prospect Didier Fuentes, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The youngster will start tomorrow’s game against the Marlins. Corresponding moves will be required to add him to both the 40-man and active rosters.

It’s an extremely aggressive promotion, as Fuentes only just celebrated his 20th birthday two days ago. A fairly unheralded international signing out of Colombia, Fuentes has raised his stock as he has climbed the minor league ladder. Last year, he tossed 75 2/3 innings at the Single-A level with a 2.74 earned run average. He struck out 32.1% of batters faced while only giving out walks at a 6.9% pace.

That got him some prospect love ahead of 2025, with Baseball America giving him the #7 spot in Atlanta’s system coming into the year. They mentioned his mid-90s fastball and slider, while noting he was still working on a splitter to neutralize lefties.

Here in 2025, he has seemingly raised his stock even farther. He has gone from High-A to Double-A and Triple-A, tossing a combined 39 1/3 innings. The 4.81 ERA might not jump off the page but he has a 28.9% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate. He’s been hurt by a 58.4% strand rate, which is why his 2.81 FIP suggests he has deserved better this year.

Coming into the year, FanGraphs listed Fuentes as the #11 prospect in the Atlanta system but they now list him as third in the system and #82 in the entire league. Both FanGraphs and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN use Bryan Woo of the Mariners as a comp for Fuentes.

The Atlanta rotation has taken a few hits this year. AJ Smith-Shawver required Tommy John surgery and Reynaldo López has been sidelined by arthroscopic shoulder surgery. At the moment, the starting group consists of Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes. It’s possible that Fuentes will just be making a spot start. The club just began a stretch of playing 13 games in a row, so he can give all the other starters an extra day of rest in the midst of that, while getting his first taste of the majors.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

Angels To Promote Christian Moore

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The Angels are calling up second base prospect Christian Moore, as first reported by @kat_wrld and confirmed by multiple outlets. The Halos optioned rookie outfielder Matthew Lugo during today’s off day, according to the MLB.com transaction log. They will need to make a 40-man roster move tomorrow.

This kind of aggressive promotion for top prospects is par for the course for the Angels. They skew extremely towards the college side in the draft and push their most talented minor leaguers as quickly as any organization. Each of the Halos’ past three first-round picks (Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel and Moore) were college hitters who were in the majors within the opening half of their first full professional season. Neto was drafted in 2022 and promoted the following April. Schanuel went from Florida Atlantic to the big leagues within two months during the ’23 season.

While Moore took the longest of the three, he’s now slated for his MLB debut around 11 months after being selected. A Tennessee product, he impressed amateur scouts by hitting .375 with 34 homers during his junior season with the Vols. Evaluators have had concerns about his defense, but he has a chance to provide rare power from an up-the-middle position.

The Halos almost immediately pushed Moore to Double-A, where he hit .322 with five homers in 23 games during his draft year. That established him as the top offensive player in a weak Halos farm system. He ranked among the sport’s top 100 talents over the winter at each of Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and ESPN.

Moore returned to Double-A to open this season. He got out to a rough start in a pitcher-friendly environment. The righty hitter only managed one homer while striking out at a 27.4% clip through 146 plate appearances. The Angels nevertheless moved him to Triple-A Salt Lake on May 13. Moore has thrived in the much more favorable Pacific Coast League, collecting four homers while hitting .350 in 20 games. He has posted consecutive multi-hit games with a home run in each of his two most recent outings.

It’s a tiny sample, but it was enough to convince the ever-aggressive Halos front office to bring him up. There’s a relatively low bar to clear to upgrade the second base position. Chris Taylor went on the injured list on Tuesday with a broken left hand. Luis Rengifo has mostly been filling in at third base for the injured Yoán Moncada. The Halos have given Scott Kingery three of the past four starts at second base. He has had a monster season in Salt Lake but has played seven MLB games since the start of the 2022 campaign.

The Angels have hung around .500 through the season’s first few months. They’ve been outscored by 50 runs, but they’re coming off a sweep of the A’s that pulled them back into second place in the AL West. They’ll hope for Moore to provide an offensive spark. He joins Jac Caglianone, Nick Kurtz and Cam Smith as members of last year’s first round to reach the big leagues. He’s the second member of the Halos’ 2024 class to get there. Second-rounder Ryan Johnson broke camp in the bullpen before being optioned to High-A last month.

Moore meets the eligibility for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. He’d earn a full year of service time if he manages a long shot top two finish in Rookie of the Year balloting. (The Angels would not receive a pick in that scenario.) Moore would otherwise remain under club control for at least a full six seasons after this one. That timeline could be delayed if he requires any more time in the minors after his first look at MLB pitching.

Image courtesy of Imagn Images.

Brewers Promote Jacob Misiorowski

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June 12: The Brewers announced today that they’ve formally selected Misiorowski’s contract. He’ll start tonight’s game. Righty Easton McGee was optioned to Triple-A in his place, while Woodruff was indeed moved to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot.

June 10: The Brewers are calling up pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The righty will start Thursday’s game against the Cardinals. Milwaukee will need to make room for him on the active and 40-man rosters. The latter should be as easy as Brandon Woodruff being transferred to the 60-day injured list since he’s already been out longer than that.

Misiorowski, 23, is one of the top prospects in baseball. The Brewers selected him with a second-round pick in the 2022 draft and signed him with a $2.35MM bonus, more than double the $1.1MM slot value for that pick.

Since then, he has been climbing the ladder with very exciting results. His fastball sits in the high-90s and can get into triple digits. He also has a curveball, slider and a lesser-used changeup. Those pitches have helped him strike out a lot of opponents though control is clearly still a work in progress.

He got a brief professional debut in 2022, making just two Single-A appearances. In 2023, he logged 71 1/3 innings while climbing as high as Double-A. He posted a 3.41 earned run average while punching out 35% of hitters, but he also gave out free passes at a high rate of 13.4%. Last year, he split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, logging 97 1/3 innings. The Brewers moved him to a relief role late in the year as a way of monitoring his workload. He had a 3.33 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate and 14.4% walk rate.

The numbers have been similar this year. He has logged 63 1/3 Triple-A innings thus far with a 2.13 ERA and 31.6% strikeout rate. His 12.3% walk rate is an improvement for him but still about four ticks above typical major league average, which is 8% for starters this year.

Misiorowski still has some things to work on, particularly the control and the workload, but the arsenal is clearly exciting. Baseball America currently lists him as the #21 prospect in the league. FanGraphs has him at #27. ESPN’s most recent update put him at #30. Baseball Prospectus had him at #65 in the offseason. MLB Pipeline currently has him further down at #68, with a bit more concern that the control issues will eventually push him to the bullpen. Keith of Law of The Athletic had similar concerns when giving Misiorowski the #87 slot coming into the year.

Time will tell if Misiorowski is destined for the bullpen or can stick in the rotation but it’s understandable that the Brewers will keep trying the starting path until they get some clarity. There’s simply far more value in an excellent starting pitcher compared to an excellent reliever. Even if it doesn’t work out, the bullpen path will still be available as a fallback. Even Law, the most bearish of those prospect evaluators, believes Misiorowski has a future as an elite closer.

For now, the Brewers will see if Misiorowski can evolve into a big league starter. The rotation has been constantly shifting for Milwaukee this year, mostly due to injuries. Woodruff was expected to start the season on the injured list, recovering from last year’s shoulder surgery, but his rehab has also hit a few snags. He battled some ankle tendinitis and also suffered an elbow contusion from a comebacker and is still likely a few weeks away. Robert Gasser had Tommy John surgery last summer and is another guy the club knew would be on the IL to start this year.

In addition to Woodruff and Gasser, several other pitchers have missed some time. Nestor Cortes is still on the shelf, having suffered a flexor strain back in April. Tobias Myers missed time due to an oblique strain. Aaron Civale had a hamstring strain, Jose Quintana a shoulder impingement and DL Hall a lat strain.

Around all those transactions, the club has been trying to find various solutions. Quintana was a spring signing. The Brewers traded for Quinn Priester a week into April. Several minor leaguers have been called up. As the club has been spinning those plates, 12 different pitchers have started for the team already this year. Some of those have been openers, but it’s clearly been a bit of a whirlwind.

As of this moment, the rotation consists of Freddy Peralta, Civale, Priester, Quintana and Chad Patrick, with Hall doing some starting but also some long relief work. It’s not totally clear what the club plans to shift with Misiorowski’s promotion. It could simply be a spot start. Perhaps they will go with a six-man rotation for a while. Priester and Patrick both have options and could be sent down, though Patrick’s numbers this year have been far better than Priester’s.

The Brewers are still in the playoff race. Their 35-32 record currently has them just three games back of the final National League Wild Card spot. Regardless of how they perform over the next few weeks, it’s possible to imagine them trading some starting pitching this summer. Woodruff, Quintana, Civale and Cortes are all impending free agents, which would make them logical trade chips. A bolder move would be Peralta, who can be controlled through 2026 via an $8MM club option.

Sending one or more of them out of town would theoretically downgrade this year’s rotation but the Brewers could perhaps provide replacements from within the system while bolstering another part of the roster or simply adding some prospect talent. Hall could be given a more proper rotation gig. Gasser could get back in the mix later in the year. Myers, Logan Henderson and other arms are in Triple-A and could be recalled.

The Brewers don’t have a lot of spending capacity, so this kind of tough balancing act is normal for them. Recent years have seen them trade away guys like Josh Hader and Corbin Burnes while still trying to field a competitive team. Those trades usually see them targeting a mix of MLB-ready talent and prospects or draft picks. Given the number of rotation options they have in the mix now, another move of that nature may be in the cards this summer.

That will be a situation for the next few weeks. For now, one of the most electric arms in the minor leagues is coming up to the show. As a consensus top prospect, Misiorowski is eligible for the prospect promotion incentives. The Brewers can’t earn an extra draft pick based on his performance in awards voting this year because they didn’t call him up early enough. Misiorowski can earn himself a full year of service time if he finishes in the top two in Rookie of the Year voting, though that will be a long shot. The race is still fairly wide open but Misiorowski is getting called up late and is already near his personal high in innings pitched in a season, so it’s possible the club eases off his workload at some point later in the year.

Photo courtesy of Dave Kallmann, Imagn Images

Red Sox Promote Roman Anthony

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It’s finally Roman Anthony time. The Red Sox announced that the top prospect in baseball has been selected to the roster. Fellow outfielder Wilyer Abreu has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left oblique strain. First baseman/outfielder Ryan Noda has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot.

Anthony, now 21, has been at or near the top of prospect lists for a while now. The Sox grabbed him with the 79th overall pick in 2022, a compensation pick they received after Eduardo Rodríguez rejected a qualifying offer and signed with the Tigers.

After a brief professional debut in that 2022 season, he took off in 2023. He climbed from Single-A to High-A to Double-A, putting up a combined .272/.403/.466 line and 140 wRC+. That made him a consensus top 25 prospect in the sport coming into 2024. He raised his stock even higher last year, slashing .291/.396/.498 for a 147 wRC+ between Double-A and Triple-A.

In addition to that work at the plate, Anthony tallied double-digit stolen base totals in both 2023 and 2024. He is also considered a strong outfield defender. By the end of 2024, he was already the #1 prospect in the league for some outlets. Some publications bumped him to #2 once Roki Sasaki was signed by the Dodgers, though others kept Anthony in the top spot.

Between Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, and Kyle Teel, the Sox had four tremendous prospects generating excitement this past offseason. The four were often mentioned in trade rumors and Teel was eventually flipped to the White Sox as part of the Garrett Crochet deal, though the other three remained and still provided a lot of optimism about the future.

Coming into 2025, with that hype and already having 35 big league games under his belt, a quick promotion for Anthony seemed possible. However, his time in Triple-A has dragged on, despite murmuring from all corners of the baseball world.

Initially, some of that was justified. He was dealing with some shoulder soreness in April and spent some time where he was only serving as the designated hitter and not playing the field. But that quickly passed and he kept putting up huge numbers at the plate. The question then became one of playing time in Boston. The Sox have spent most of this year with a crowded outfield mix consisting of Abreu, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela, with Rob Refsnyder and Campbell also factoring in.

That didn’t leave a clean path for Anthony to get playing time, especially with Rafael Devers taking up the designated hitter spot on an everyday basis. Still, many were calling for the Sox to simply call him up and figure it out.

Those calls grew louder when the Sox lost both of their corner infielders. First, Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury. That led to much speculation about Devers getting plugged in at first in order to open at-bats for Anthony, or perhaps Anthony taking first base himself. Understandably, the Sox didn’t want to mess with Anthony’s development as an outfielder, so they never gave much consideration to that. Devers was unwilling to try his hand at first base. Then third baseman Alex Bregman went on the IL with a quad injury that could keep him out for a couple of months, but the Sox never seemed to really consider the possibility of asking Devers about going back there.

As all that was going on, Anthony continued to put up massive numbers for Worcester. As of today, he has a .288/.423/.491 line and 146 wRC+. He has ten home runs and three steals in 58 games. His 19.2% walk rate is almost as high as his 21.1% strikeout rate. Now, finally, it seems like this Abreu injury will open the door for him to get to the big leagues.

As the season drags along, the playing time puzzle might return. That will depend on Abreu’s injury and how long it will take him to get back. At some point, maybe Masataka Yoshida will finally get healthy and re-enter the equation.

It’s possible things will work out organically. Other injuries may arise before those guys heal up. Anthony might struggle, as even the best prospects can sometimes need a bit of time to get their feet wet in the big leagues. Campbell also followed a hot April with a rough May. If he doesn’t get back on track, perhaps he could get optioned to the minors with Rafaela moving to the infield. But on the other hand, Rafaela is the best defensive center fielder of the bunch. Duran and Anthony can play up the middle but each is considered a better fit for a corner. There’s also the shortstop question, as Trevor Story has been heating up of late but is having a bad season overall. Mayer is up to cover for Bregman at third but hasn’t quite fully clicked in the big leagues yet.

There will also be long-term things to be sorted out. The crowded outfield situation has led to trade rumors surrounding Duran. Bregman could opt out after this season and it’s unclear if the Sox would be willing to return Devers to that spot. Casas is expected back by next year’s spring training but he has also been in trade rumors. Devers isn’t willing to play there now but perhaps he would be more amenable with an offseason to prepare. Campbell has dabbled with some first base drills but hasn’t officially played there yet.

In time, there should be more clarity on the club’s long-term plans. For now, Sox fans can get excited about Anthony’s emergence and hope that it helps turn around a middling season. The Sox are currently 32-35, fourth in the American League East and four games back of a Wild Card spot. Even if they can’t engineer a comeback this year, players like Anthony, Mayer, Campbell, Rafael, Duran, Abreu and others can be affordably controlled for years to come, giving the club an exciting core to build around.

As a consensus top prospect, Anthony is eligible for the prospect promotion incentive. Since the Sox didn’t promote him early enough to get a full service year the traditional way, they won’t be able to earn an extra draft pick based on awards voting this year. Anthony can technically earn himself a full year of service time by finishing in the top two of Rookie of the Year voting, though that will be tough to do. Players like Jacob Wilson, Shane Smith and even Anthony’s teammate Carlos Narváez have a big headstart on him. Even if he performs well, it would be hard to catch up to those guys with more than a third of the season already in the books.

If Anthony manages to pull that off, he would hasten his path to free agency by a year. Otherwise, he would be on pace to hit the open market after 2031 at the earliest, though future optional assignments could also impact that timeline.

Noda, 29, was just acquired from the Angels a few weeks ago in a cash deal. He’s a three true outcomes guy, with lots of homers and walks but also strikeouts. In 606 big league plate appearances, he has a 34.2% strikeout rate, 15% walk rate and 17 homers. That adds up to a .212/.344/.369 line and 107 wRC+. Dating back to the start of 2022, he has 574 minor league plate appearances with 25 home runs, a 16% walk rate and 28.2% strikeout rate. That leads to a .259/.395/.474 line and 125 wRC+.

The Sox grabbed him for extra first base depth with the Casas injury but now risk losing him. DFA limbo can last as long as a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, so Boston could take five days to explore trade interest. He is still optionable for the rest of this year and one additional season. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the Sox as non-roster depth.

Christopher Smith of MassLive first reported that Anthony was being promoted. A few minutes earlier, Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported that a promotion was possible. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first noted that Abreu was going on the IL, though Alex Speier of The Boston Globe had previously suggested that an IL stint for Abreu was likely.

Photos courtesy of Ashley Green, Imagn Images

White Sox To Promote Grant Taylor

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The White Sox are promoting pitching prospect Grant Taylor, reports James Fox of FutureSox. The club will have to make a corresponding move or moves to make space for him on both the active and 40-man rosters.

Taylor, 23, will be getting the call for the first time. The Sox selected him with a second-round pick in 2023, 51st overall, even though he had undergone Tommy John surgery earlier that year. Prior to that surgery, there were some who considered him the top pitcher for LSU, ahead of Paul Skenes. But Skenes obviously took off from there while Taylor has largely been on the shelf.

Taylor did make his professional debut last year, though in somewhat limited fashion. He tossed 19 1/3 innings between the Complex League and Single-A last year, allowing 2.33 earned runs per nine innings. He had a massive 44.4% strikeout rate and 2.8% walk rate in that small sample. Those outings took place in May and June. His last appearance was June 7th but he suffered a lat strain at that time, per James Fegan of Sox Machine. He did get healthy enough in time for some Arizona Fall League action, tossing 7 2/3 innings there, allowing eight earned runs but striking out 15 batters.

Despite the limited workload, he’s been generating some prospect hype. Baseball Prospectus gave him the #90 spot on their top 101 list coming into the year. FanGraphs gave him the #94 spot, hyping up his arsenal from the AFL. The FanGraphs report noted that he flashed “four average or better pitches,” noting that his fastball velocity was in the mid-to-upper 90s. He also throws a curveball, a slider and a changeup, the latter apparently being a new pitch that he didn’t have in college.

This year, it seems the Sox have been focusing on a relief role for Taylor. He started the year with six starts, though none of those went longer than three innings. Since then, he has largely been kept in a single-inning relief role. It’s hard to argue with the numbers on a rate basis. Taylor has logged 26 2/3 Double-A innings this year with a 1.01 ERA, 36.6% strikeout rate, 10.9% walk rate and 56.9% ground ball rate.

The Sox are apparently excited enough that they are going to skip Taylor over Triple-A and let him face some major league hitters, presumably in the same bullpen role he’s been in recently. It’s unclear if the Sox view that as a permanent move or just a temporary situation while he builds up a foundation of innings to build from.

Taylor hasn’t built up to a huge workload but there clearly lots of potential in the arm. Though he may be a work in progress, the Sox are in a position to experiment. Their 22-44 record is the worst in the American League and ahead of just the Rockies overall.

Though Taylor was on a few top 100 lists coming into the year, the prospect promotion incentive doesn’t apply here. To qualify for PPI, a player must be on two of the three lists between Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and ESPN. Taylor wasn’t on any of those three.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

White Sox To Promote Kyle Teel

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The White Sox scratched top catching prospect Kyle Teel from today’s Triple-A lineup and plan to promote him to the majors, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The team has not made the move official, but the social media account for TeelsBaseball — a training facility run by his father Garett — has announced the call-up. Chicago will need to select his contract and make corresponding moves for the active and 40-man rosters.

It’s an exciting day for White Sox fans. Teel was the centerpiece of the Garrett Crochet return. (Chase Meidroth was the first prospect from the group to debut and has played his way to everyday work in the middle infield.) Boston’s first-round pick in 2023, Teel has ranked among the sport’s most talented catching prospects throughout his time in pro ball.

The University of Virginia product was essentially the consensus #4 prospect in the Red Sox’s system. He was behind Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer but was viewed as one of the sport’s 50 or so best minor leaguers in his own right. Teel ranked between 32nd and 52nd on the preseason lists at MLB Pipeline, ESPN and Baseball America. He slotted 42nd on BA’s most recent in-season update, which came out this week.

Baseball America now ranks Teel as the White Sox’s #2 prospect and their top position player talent. The left-handed hitter has a well-rounded profile that gives him a good chance to be a long-term starter behind the plate. He has been particularly good offensively throughout his minor league career. Teel has a .300/.401/.456 batting line in pro ball. He has kept up a similar pace during his first season in the Chicago system.

Teel has played 50 games this year with Triple-A Charlotte. He carries a .295/.394/.492 slash with eight home runs through 213 plate appearances. As he has throughout his career, he’s taking free passes at an excellent 14.1% clip. Teel has struck out a little more than a quarter of the time, but the overall production has been strong. He was on fire throughout the past month, hitting .333/.444/.613 in May after posting a .626 OPS in April.

There isn’t a whole lot left for Teel to prove against minor league pitching. He’ll probably strike out a decent amount in the majors, but his plate discipline should give him a solid on-base floor. The Sox are certainly going to have him in the lineup on most days, though it’ll be interesting to see how they deploy him defensively. Scouting reports suggest he’s a solid defensive catcher.

The Sox already have a touted rookie catcher in Edgar Quero, who began the season playing alongside Teel in Charlotte. He and Korey Lee are splitting the work behind the plate. The switch-hitting Quero isn’t hitting for any power, but he’s batting .250 with a .341 on-base percentage in 37 games. He has hit at every minor league stop and deserves continued playing time. Lee is unlikely to be more than a long-term backup, but the White Sox probably won’t want to carry only two rookie catchers.

Teel said this week that he has begun taking first base drills. He has not played anywhere other than catcher in a minor league game. Teel could mix in at first base, where the Sox have gotten nothing all season. They’ll probably also use both rookie catchers somewhat frequently at designated hitter. That’d push Andrew Benintendi into more of a full-time left field role while cutting the playing time for journeyman outfielder Joshua Palacios.

As a consensus Top 100 talent, Teel meets the eligibility for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. That means he could earn a full service year if he finished in the top two in AL Rookie of the Year balloting. The A’s Jacob Wilson may have already locked up one of those spots, but there’s at least an outside chance for Teel to play well enough to get consideration for the other. The White Sox would not receive a bonus draft choice if that happens because they didn’t promote him early enough to spend 172 days in the majors. If he doesn’t earn the full service year, Teel will remain under club control for at least six seasons beyond this one. He likely wouldn’t reach arbitration eligibility until the 2028-29 offseason.

Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.

Royals Promote Jac Caglianone

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June 2: The Royals formally announced that Caglianone’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Omaha. Their 40-man roster is now full. Outfielder Dairon Blanco was optioned to Omaha to clear a space on the active roster. Kansas City is off today, so Caglianone’s debut will come tomorrow in St. Louis against Cardinals righty Andre Pallante.

June 1: One of baseball’s top hitting prospects is headed to the majors, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Royals are calling up Jac Caglianone.  The Royals have an off-day on Monday, which lines Caglianone up for his big league debut on Tuesday when the Royals start a series in St. Louis against the Cardinals.  There are only 39 players on Kansas City’s 40-man roster, so the club can select Caglianone’s contract on Tuesday and then make just one corresponding transaction to create space on the active roster.

It was less than a year ago that Caglianone was still awaiting his draft call, as the University of Florida product was selected just in the 2024 draft when Kansas City took him sixth overall.  Caglianone joins Cam Smith and Nick Kurtz as 2024 first-rounders that have already made their way to the Show, and Caglianone has (as you might expect) forced the issue by obliterating minor league pitching.  While he had only a .690 OPS in 126 plate appearances at high-A ball in 2024, Caglianone has a combined .323/.391/.600 slash line in 225 combined PA at the Double-A and Triple-A levels this year.

Caglianone just played in his 12th Triple-A game today, so as dominant as the 22-year-old slugger has been, a case can be made that the Royals are being hasty in bringing him up to the majors this early in his pro career.  That said, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted just a few days ago, K.C. might’ve felt a bit of added motivation due to how little the team has gotten from its lineup, particularly in the outfield.

Today’s 1-0 loss to the Tigers marked the Royals’ sixth shutout loss of the season.  Kansas City is tied with the Pirates for the second-lowest run total (194) in baseball, ahead of only the woeful Rockies.  With the Royals ranking at or near the bottom of the league in several other major offensive categories, something had to give, especially since the team’s strong rotation was almost single-handedly keeping K.C. in the AL Central race.

The seeds for Caglianone’s quick promotion were planted when he made his first appearance as an outfielder with Double-A NW Arkansas back in late April.  Both a star first baseman and pitcher during his college days, Caglianone gave up on pitching to solely focus on hitting as a professional, and he has received a regular dose (though not an exclusive position change) of right field work over the last five weeks of minor league action.

With Vinnie Pasquantino playing first base in K.C. and several players getting cycled through the DH spot, putting Caglianone into right field is a logical way on paper for the Royals to both get a star prospect to the majors, and to help solve their longstanding need for outfield help.  Even as the Royals reached the playoffs in 2024, their entire outfield was a major weak link, and Kansas City’s attempts to upgrade the position over the offseason just didn’t really pan out.  Caglianone’s promotion is the latest step in a shake-up that has already seen MJ Melendez optioned to Triple-A in April, and Hunter Renfroe released earlier this week.

The left-handed hitting Caglianone figures to split time between right field, first base, and probably DH on occasion.  Drew Waters and Kyle Isbel will continue to platoon in center field, while Mark Canha, Michael Massey, and Jonathan India will likely share left field duties, with Massey/India also playing at second base and Canha likely getting some time in right field spelling Caglianone against some southpaws.  Broadly speaking, manager Matt Quatraro could be creative with his lineup given how Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia are the only regulars with above-average production, and even Witt’s 121 wRC+ is a sizeable step back from his MVP runner-up season in 2024.

It makes for a pressurized situation for Caglianone in his first taste of MLB action, as K.C. fans have, if anything, felt Caglianone was overdue for a promotion.  Royals GM J.J. Picollo spoke of the situation to Passan earlier this week, saying “The hardest part about this for us is we’re trying to do what’s best for the player.  That’s ultimately what this is.  You want the player to be as prepared as he can when he comes in the major leagues.  It’s not fair to any player, whether it’s Jac Caglianone or whoever, when a team may be scuffling offensively, to try to put it on him and hope he’s going to come save the day.”

Caglianone’s minor league numbers indicate that he is ready for a step up in competition.  MLB Pipeline ranked him as the 22nd-best prospect in baseball prior to the season, ESPN had him 29th, and The Athletic’s Keith Law (60th) and Baseball America (63rd) also had the slugger deeper in their rankings.  The pundits agree that Caglianone is a gifted hitter with huge power and exit-velocity numbers, but the only question is whether or not there’s too much swing-and-miss in his game to handle big league pitching.  Caglianone has done well in posting respectable strikeout rates in the minors this year though his chase rate is still ungainly.

Due to his inclusion in the top-100 lists, Caglianone qualifies as a Prospect Promotion Incentive player.  This means that if he finishes in the top two in AL Rookie of the Year voting, he’d earn a full year of service time despite not being called up until June.  The timing of Caglianone’s call-up means that if he stays in the majors for the remainder of 2025, he’d be on pace to earn Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility down the road.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea — Imagn Images

Astros Promote Jacob Melton

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June 1: The Astros today announced Melton’s promotion to the big leagues. In corresponding moves, Dezenzo was placed on the 10-day injured list due to left hand inflammation while right-hander Ronel Blanco was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

May 31: The Astros are poised to select the contract of outfielder Jacob Melton, per a report from Ari Alexander of KPRC2. A corresponding move is not yet known, but Houston will need to create room on both the 40-man and active rosters in order to promote Melton.

Melton, 24, was Houston’s second-round pick in the 2022 draft. He is rated as the club’s #2 prospect by MLB Pipeline and became the club’s top prospect according to Baseball America’s ranking when fellow youngster Cam Smith graduated from prospect status earlier this month. Scouts have typically viewed Melton as a roughly average offensive performer, with above average raw power and solid bat-to-ball skills that are held back by an aggressive approach at the plate that leads to poor swing decisions and struggles identifying certain offspeed pitches.

Those flaws at the plate may restrict Melton’s offensive upside, but he’s universally lauded as a solid contributor both in the field and on the basepaths. Additionally, whatever concerns scouts may have about Melton’s approach haven’t stopped him from succeeding in the minors to this point. In 17 games at the Triple-A level so far this year, Melton has hit an impressive .254/.371/.508. That’s good for a 132 wRC+ even in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League. Given those solid numbers, it’s not hard to see why the Astros have decided to give their young outfielder a shot at the big league level.

The timing of Melton’s promotion is especially prudent considering Houston’s current lineup situation. The switch-hitting Victor Caratini has been the club’s only regular hitter who bats from the left side ever since Yordan Alvarez went on the injured list in late April. Meanwhile, center fielder Jake Meyers is the club’s only true outfielder on the roster at the moment; longtime second baseman Jose Altuve has begun to split time between left field, DH, and the keystone this year, while both Smith and Zach Dezenzo have become fixtures in the corner outfield mix as well despite spending the vast majority of their minor league careers at third base.

Chas McCormick was also on the roster as a true outfielder alongside Meyers, but he was placed on the injured list today due to an oblique strain and replaced by infielder Shay Whitcomb on the roster. Altuve, Smith, and Dezenzo may have been enough to handle the outfield corners even without McCormick, but Dezenzo left today’s game with what the organization referred to as “left hand discomfort” and (according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle) is scheduled to undergo imagine tomorrow morning. With Dezenzo potentially out as well, it makes plenty of sense for Houston to get a lefty bat back into the lineup and shore up an outfield mix in desperate need of reinforcements by bringing Melton into the fold.

Mariners Promote Cole Young, Activate Bryce Miller

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TODAY: The M’s officially announced Young’s selection and Miller’s reinstatement from the IL. Right-hander Casey Legumina and infielder Leo Rivas were optioned to Triple-A in corresponding 26-man roster moves, and righty Will Klein was designated for assignment to open up space for Young on the 40-man roster.

Klein made his MLB debut in 2024 and posted an 11.05 ERA over 7 1/3 combined innings with the Royals and Athletics.  Sent to the A’s as part of the deadline deal that brought Lucas Erceg to Kansas City, Klein was then flipped to Seattle in another trade this past January.

MAY 30: The Mariners will promote top infield prospect Cole Young this weekend, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. He is not yet on the 40-man roster, so the team will need to make a move in that regard. They’ll also need to create active roster space for Young and starting pitcher Bryce Miller, who’ll be reinstated from the 15-day injured list to start tomorrow’s game against the Twins.

A Pittsburgh-area native, Young signed with Seattle out of high school in 2022. He received a $3.3MM bonus as the 21st overall pick. Scouting reports praised a potential plus hit tool and ability to play somewhere up the middle. While Young doesn’t have huge power projection in a 5’11” frame, he was viewed as a very polished player for his age.

That has been borne out in his systematic progression through the minors. He reached base at a .399 clip between two A-ball levels in his first full professional season. Young spent all of last season in Double-A, batting .271/.369/.390 as a 20-year-old in a tough league for hitters. The M’s bumped him to the more favorable Pacific Coast League this season. Young has taken to it well, running a .278/.391/.463 slash with more walks than strikeouts in his first look at Triple-A pitching.

The lefty-hitting Young actually began his Triple-A career mired in a slump. He hit .200 without a home run over 25 games in April. He’s been on an absolute tear since the calendar flipped. Young has raked at a .370/.466/.680 clip over 118 plate appearances in May. He has connected on five home runs, 10 doubles and three triples among a total of 37 hits. He has added another 15 walks while striking out all of eight times.

Young couldn’t have done more this month to force his way to the big leagues. He has divided his time evenly between shortstop and second base this season. Baseball America wrote over the offseason that he’s likely better suited for second base because of average arm strength. That figures to be his long-term home in Seattle. They’re committed to J.P. Crawford at shortstop. The path to playing time at the keystone is much more open. Ryan Bliss will miss most of the season recovering from biceps surgery. Miles Mastrobuoni and Dylan Moore have split the second base work over the past few weeks.

Moore is having a strong year, though his bat has tailed off following a huge April. He’s a right-handed hitter with a long track record of producing against lefty pitching. Moore figures to take some starts at second base against southpaws, but he’s versatile enough that it doesn’t need to be a strict platoon. Moore can spell Leody Taveras in right field or play regularly at third base over rookie Ben Williamson, who is hitting .246/.278/.297 through his first 38 games. Mastrobuoni, acquired in an offseason DFA trade with the Cubs, carries a .221/.306/.284 line through 111 plate appearances. He’ll be bumped to a utility role if not optioned to Triple-A.

Young was a consensus Top 100 prospect over the offseason. He meets the criteria for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. If he plays well enough to finish in the top two in Rookie of the Year balloting, he could earn a full year of service time. A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson seems as if he’ll run away with the award, but the runner-up spot is still there for the taking. That would not earn the Mariners any kind of draft compensation, which only applies if the team carries a top prospect in the big leagues for at least 172 days.

If he doesn’t earn the top-two Rookie of the Year finish, Young will fall short of a full service year and remain under club control for at least six seasons beyond this one. He’d be well-positioned to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player during the 2027-28 offseason if he’s in the big leagues for good.

Red Sox Promote Marcelo Mayer; Alex Bregman To IL With “Significant” Quad Strain

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4:27pm: The Red Sox have officially announced the selection of Mayer’s contract. Bregman was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right quad strain to create room for Mayer on the active roster, while Casas was placed on the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot. Cora told reporters (including Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic) this afternoon that Bregman’s injury is “significant” and compared it to a quad strain Bregman suffered in 2021 that ultimately caused him to miss around two months.

1:39pm: The Red Sox are promoting top infield prospect Marcelo Mayer, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Katie Morrison-O’Day of MassLive observed that Mayer was being congratulated by his teammates in the clubhouse at Triple-A Worcester. Her MassLive colleague Christopher Smith first reported that the former first-round pick is headed to Fenway Park.

The promotion comes as Alex Bregman navigates a right quad injury that seems likely to send him to the 10-day injured list. Bregman came out of yesterday’s blowout win over the Orioles in the fifth inning. He came up a bit gimpy after making an aggressive turn around the first base bag on a single off the Green Monster. He immediately exited in favor of Abraham Toro. The team is still awaiting MRI results from this morning. Manager Alex Cora told reporters (including WEEI’s Rob Bradford) that the star third baseman woke up with more soreness than he’d expected today.

Boston did not place Bregman on the IL before the first game of today’s doubleheader. There’s a good chance that’ll come between games tonight. They’ll also need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Mayer, but that can easily be achieved by transferring Triston Casas to the 60-day injured list.

Cora has already shot down the idea that Rafael Devers could see any third base time in Bregman’s absence. He’ll remain a full-time designated hitter. That means the 22-year-old Mayer should be in the lineup on a near everyday basis at third base. He obviously can’t be expected to replace the production they’re losing with Bregman’s absence. The two-time All-Star takes a .299/.385/.553 batting line to his likely stint on the injured list.

Mayer has very little experience at the hot corner. He started one game there in Double-A in each of the 2023 and ’24 seasons. He’s added four appearances in Triple-A this year. Mayer has taken the vast majority of his professional reps as a shortstop. He’d moved more frequently to second base over the past few days. That wasn’t because of any question about whether he can hold up at shortstop. It was instead in preparation for what seemed to be his best path to an MLB debut — playing second base with Kristian Campbell preparing to slide to first base after the Casas injury.

While there may be some growing pains given Mayer’s lack of experience at the hot corner, it’s common for shortstops to move to other infield positions. He has the plus arm for the position and is generally regarded as a sure-handed infielder. At 6’3″, Mayer is on the bigger side for a shortstop. His range, while adequate, has never been the strongest point of his defensive profile. That’s less of a concern at third base.

Mayer certainly brings a higher offensive ceiling than the utility options (Toro and David Hamilton) who may otherwise have replaced Bregman. The fourth overall pick in 2021, Mayer has been a feature on top prospect lists throughout his professional career. The left-handed hitter has moved a little more slowly than anticipated, largely because of injuries to his left shoulder and right wrist that affected him in 2022-23. Scouts have remained enamored with his power, polished strike zone discipline and overall natural athleticism.

That has been on display over the past two minor league seasons. Mayer hit .307/.370/.480 in Double-A a year ago. He’s out to a solid .271/.347/.471 slash with nine homers in 43 games during his first Triple-A action. He’s drawing walks at a strong 10.4% clip compared to a 19.7% strikeout rate that matches last year’s mark for the lowest of his career.

While the Bregman injury is the immediate impetus for Mayer’s promotion, there should be opportunity to stick past Bregman’s return if he performs well. The Sox may feel comfortable using Campbell at first base by that point, potentially opening second base. Mayer could also eventually supplant Trevor Story as the starting shortstop. Story began the season with a power barrage but has done almost nothing offensively for the better part of six weeks. He’s hitting .159 with one home run and 38 strikeouts in 122 plate appearances since his two-homer game on April 18.

Mayer will not reach a full year of service time unless he triggers the Prospect Promotion Inventive by finishing in the top two in Rookie of the Year voting. The Sox would not receive an extra draft choice under the PPI because they did not carry Mayer on the big league roster for at least 172 days. He would be on track to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player during the 2027-28 offseason if he’s in big leagues for good, though future optional assignments could certainly change that timeline.

Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.

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