Elite Minor League Performances! Travis Sykora and Kevin McGonigle Dominate

I got quite soaked before we got the Travis Sykora start in, but it was worth it. He absolutely dominated and put on a show. I will break all that down here plus other top minor league performers from Thursday.

A day full of great performances is one to be celebrated. Let’s break down all the top hitters and pitchers that you need to know from across the Minors.

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Each day, I will pick a hitter and pitcher who stand out and deserve the top spot on the sheet. Those players’ reports will be free for all to read. The rest will be paywalled for Dynasty Dugout Subscribers. The article is around 3000 words, giving you detailed player reports to encapsulate everything you need to know.

Travis Sykora, RHP, Washington Nationals, 21, A+

At this point, I am not sure why Sykora is in High-A. After last night’s start, Sykora has a 0.93 ERA across 29 innings with a 54.5 percent strikeout rate and just a five percent walk rate. Last night, Sykora shoved. He tossed five scoreless innings with zero walks and just two hits allowed. Sykora struck out ten batters and generated 22 whiffs.

Sykora was among the best pitchers in the minors in 2024, posting a 2.33 ERA with 129 strikeouts to just 27 walks in 85 innings. His two playoff starts were special. Sykora threw ten scoreless innings with just two hits and one walk allowed while striking out 18 batters. He is legit one of the best pitching prospects in baseball.

The four-seam fastball has ticked up. After sitting in the 94 to 96 range last year, Sykora worked 96-98, touching 99 mph last night. He commands it well and locates it in tough spots for hitters to pick up. It showed an excellent movement profile from a three-quarters release. Given his 6’6” frame, Sykora gets good extension, allowing the fastball to play up even more.

Sykora relies heavily on his slider, and last night, he used it over 50 percent of the time. It ranged from 83-87 mph, and Sykora manipulated it into multiple shapes. It shows good depth and often has late horizontal movement. Other times, it had longer horizontal breaks.

He rounds out the arsenal with a beautiful split-changeup that is easily a plus pitch. Working 83-86 mph, it shows depth and late fading action. It is primarily used against left-handed bats, but he does bore it on righties at times.

Right now, I have Sykora ranked as SP4 in my prospect rankings. The fastball shape is holding me back from having him in the top tier. He is an excellent arm, though.

Kevin McGonigle, MI, Detroit Tigers, 20, A+

McGonigle was one of the best pure hitters in the 2023 draft class and landed with the Tigers at the 37th overall pick. He has done everything that the Tigers hoped he would and more, and has just gotten better with age. The hit tool is elite and the power has continued to develop.

Getting off to an incredible start to 2025, but hurt his ankle just one game into the season. He returned on May 10 and has not stopped hitting. Four hits on Thursday, saw McGonigle blast two doubles and a 112 mph home run. In High-A this year, McGonigle is slashing an impressive .364/.462/.636 with more walks than strikeouts and three home runs.

The contact rates are insanely impressive, running an overall mark near 84 percent with an in-zone contact rate in the upper-80 percent range. The approach has been stellar throughout McGonigle’s career with a chase rate below 20 percent.

While he may be small, McGonigle has more power than you might think. His 112 mph homer last night was the second time he has reached that mark in his career. For his size and age, he can really get into some power.

A broken hamate ended McGonigle’s 2024 season, and the ankle injury early in 2025 has some ready to label him as injury-prone, but both of these are fluky. I would buy high on McGonigle right now.

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