Major Minor Matters 7/2

Joshua Baez (OF, STL, AAA)

It took some time for Baez to acclimate to Triple-A. He opened the year with a 35.2% strikeout rate in March and April with an outrageous chase rate and a mediocre .221/.315/.474 line, but he’s made significant strides as the season has worn on. His K-rate fell to 28.8% in May and dropped even further to 26.2% in June, both figures that will allow his 108.4 mph EV90 to play. His overall and zone contact rates still look iffy but have been better of late, and I remain bullish on his profile translating to MLB competition. While his 34.8% chase rate is troubling, it’s significantly less important than how hard he impacts the baseball and whether he makes enough contact in the zone to ward off deleterious whiff issues. Baez finished Thursday’s slate with a pair of home runs, his 27th and 28th of the year (336 plate appearances), in a 3-for-3 showing that included a double and a walk.

Zyhir Hope (OF, LAD, AA)

June wasn’t kind to Zyhir Hope. He struggled his way to a .218/.337/.402 line, which isn’t outright awful, but it came with a concerning 31.7% strikeout rate. He entered the month with a much more encouraging 114 wRC+ and 24.3% K-rate, and his four-hit performance on Thursday represented something of a return to form. He clubbed a homer and refrained from punching out. I’ve been holding the line on him since I ranked him #12 entering the 2025 season, noting that he had plenty of bat-to-ball to give back given his underlying exits, angles, and athleticism, but his ability to put the bat on the ball consistency has come and gone more than anticipated and remains the key variable for his future projection. He’s running a manageable 73.6% overall contact rate through 73 games this year.

Dylan Jordan (RHP, LAA, A)

Jordan has been effective if erratic over 66.2 innings with Rancho, pitching to a 3.78 ERA, 33.0% strikeout rate, and 12.3% walk rate. He’s coming up on 100 total innings at the level, and it’s a little puzzling that the Angels seem disinterested in moving him through the system at a normal pace. His scattershot pitch plot may have something to do with it but he’s managing a ~40% whiff rate on the year and is clearly overpowering Single-A hitters. His fastball has taken a leap largely grounded in velocity gains and he’s reshaped his primary breaking ball to give it more sweeping action to great effect. It’s difficult to buy in fully for a couple of reasons, chief among them being his parent club, and I’d value him around ~200 overall today.