Minor League Baseball Weekend Recap: Dominant Performances (Week 19)

At the beginning of each week, I will provide a comprehensive breakdown of everything that happened across the landscape of Minor League Baseball. It might be a little overkill as I wrote far too much on the players that stood out on the weekend, but I hope it helps you better understand why a player performed as they did.

This report, each Monday, will feature the top 15-20 standouts beyond just the box score. I will dive into non-public pitch data and hitters’ statcast data as well. The goal is to help you find prospects that are breaking out early that you should be getting in on in your dynasty leagues.

Minor League Baseball Weekend Recap(Week 19)

Luis De León, LHP, Baltimore Orioles, 22, A+

In a 2025 season that has been marred by injury and limited De León to just 61 innings, starts like Saturday’s are encouraging to see. De León struck out 12 batters across six scoreless innings while generating 20 whiffs. He did not issue a walk and allowed just three hits. That gave De León back-to-back scoreless outings with zero walks allowed. Hopefully, it is a catalyst to get back on track for the talented lefty.

The 6’3” lefty has room to add to his frame, which has a list weight of 168, but he already has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s early in starts. It is a ground ball-inducing offering. If he does add weight, it will help the velocity sustain deeper into the starts.

The slider sits in the mid-80s with good horizontal movement, and De León throws it to both-handed hitters. His changeup sits in the mid-to-upper 80s with nice fading action. He is prone to leave it over the heart at times, leading to some hard-hit balls, but overall, it is a solid three-pitch mix.

Command and control can be issues at times, but De León has seen that improved the further he has gotten from injury. Cleaning up his mechanics slightly could lead to fewer walks and go a long way. The walk rate is down from last year, and over his last seven starts, that number has fallen to 7.9 percent to pair with a 30 percent strikeout rate.

Charlie Condon, 1B/OF, Colorado Rockies, 22, A+

It has been quite an interesting year for Condon after being selected third overall in last summer’s draft. While the promotion to Double-A has shown some flaws in the profile that did not get exposed him High-A, we have seen flashes of what made Condon such an elite player in college.

Collecting five hits between Friday and Saturday’s games, Condon did have a double. Condon has been on base in 18 of his last 21 games, showing a good approach at the plate. Condon is getting the ball in the air and to the pull side, which is exactly what we want to see.

We quickly forget that Condon produced one of the best college seasons we have seen in some time, smashing the BBCOR home run record with 37 in 60 games. In the process, he slashed an impressive .433.556/1.009; yes, that is a 1.009 slugging percentage.

The power is still, and home runs will come. While the contact rates have fallen slightly in Double-A, there are other positives, like seeing his air pull rate jump substantially. While it is a smaller sample in Hartford, Condon’s pulled fly ball rate is up over ten percentage points from where it was in High-A.

This is still a profile of a solid prospect, though he may never be an elite prospect like many hoped.

Ralphy Velazquez, 1B, Cleveland Guardians, 20, AA(Recently Promoted)

Blast two home runs and get promoted to Double-A instantly following the game? Sounds like a pretty good day for Ralphy Velazquez. Over his last 34 games, Velazquez has been on base in 33 of his previous 34 games.

Velazquez has a smooth, compact swing from the left side but has a ton of power in his 6’3”/215 lb frame. Selected in the first round of the 2023 draft out of California, Velazquez put together a strong 2024 season at the plate. After the organization said they would let him develop as a catcher, Velazquez did not play a single game behind the plate.

After getting off to a slow start to the 2025 season in which he slashed .149/.252/.340 in his first 24 games, Velazquez has really picked it up. Even through the end of May, Velazquez had just a .666 OPS. Over his last 34 games, Velazquez has blasted seven home runs with 11 doubles and a triple while slashing .328/.412/.582.

The contact skills are solid, and Velazquez is hyper-aggressive on pitches in the zone. Having an in-zone swing rate north of 80 percent is something you love to see, and he chases less than 25 percent of pitches out of the zone. The overall contact rate for the year sits at 78 percent and has continued to rise all season, and has been near 81 percent over the last several months.

The exit velocities are plus, and with blossoming contact skills, Velazquez is rebuilding his prospect status and trending back up in a big way. If Velazquez handles Double-A, he will be a top 100 prospect again.

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