Minor League Baseball Weekend Recap: Dominant Performances (Week 20)

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 20)

Mick Abel, RHP, Minnesota Twins, 24, AAA

Abel took a massive step forward with command this year and saw his fastball velocity tick back up. Across 89.1 Triple-A innings, Abel has a 2.22 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP, a substantial difference from the 6.46 ERA we saw in 2024. Abel also made his MLB debut with the Phillies before being traded to Minnesota at the 2025 deadline for Jhoan Duran.

This weekend, Abel turned in a highly impressive start as he struck out 11 batters across six innings of two-run ball. Abel allowed just two hits, one being a home run, and did not issue a walk. Generating 20 whiffs across 46 swings, Abel also added 11 called strikes for a 36 percent CSW.

Abel’s fastball is averaging 96 mph this year and has topped at 99 mph with solid traits. The bat-missing has ticked up on the pitch, and Abel is creating more than 16 inches of IVB from a 5'6" release height. The flat VAA stands out in a big way, and Abel also creates eight inches of horizontal movement while having exceptional spin rates and active spin. The sinker plays well off it, giving him the ability to get groundball outs when needed.

The slider averages around 87 mph with a gyro shape, but is almost close to bullet spin. While it has missed plenty of bats, it is the curve that has been the best breaking pitch of the two breakers. The curveball shows excellent depth and a two-plane break, sitting around 82 mph.

Abel has not used the changeup much, but the upper-80s offering does have good fading action to it and respectable whiff rates. The improvements in the arsenal and command this year have been notable. Having a more open opportunity in Minnesota, don't be surprised if we see Abel in the Twins rotation in the next two weeks. Stash now!

Austin Overn, OF, Baltimore Orioles, 22, AA

I talked up Overn a lot this spring after seeing four separate games on the backfields and in Spring Breakout. That hype did not go well as Overn really struggled out of the gate during the regular season. There seem to be signs of life, though, as over his last 35 games, Overn has a .264/.376/.456 slash line with six home runs.

Two of those home runs came on Sunday, coming off the bat at 101 mph and 108 mph, respectively. Overn is now up to ten home runs on the year with 51 stolen bases. The strikeout rate continues to fall, and the contact has trended upward all season.

He has speed and is an impressive athlete. He plays strong outfield defense and has a good arm. There is even some power in the profile. It just comes down to how much contact he makes.

Starting slightly open, Overn uses a leg kick to get back to square and uses his whole body to create impressive bat speed. Overn has a natural upper-cut swing that sprays line drives to all fields, and he has shown plenty of over-the-fence power. This could be a 20 home run/30 stolen base type player.

Michael Forret, RHP, Baltimore Orioles, 21, AA

Double-A debut for Forret? Check. Forret was nearly flawless across six scoreless innings with just two hits allowed. He did not issue a walk and struck out seven batters while generating 12 whiffs.

Forret saw his fastball tick up from 91-93 to averaging 95 mph last season, and the velocity remains steady, topping out at 97. Forret really cleaned up his mechanics, refined the breaking balls, and is throwing a gyro slider, sweeper, and changeup. The velo gains stuck, and the results backed it.

With the two slider variations, the sweeper sits in the low 80s with a long horizontal movement, and the gyro sits closer to the mid-80s. The kick-changeup he developed at Tread showed some impressive traits and sits between 86-88 mph.

Forret now has five straight scoreless starts and the last time he allowed an earned run was on July 12. He now owns a 1.37 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP with a 34 percent strikeout rate to just a seven percent walk rate.

How good is Aron Estrada’s data? A DSL prospect not rostered at all on Fantrax? I have you covered with all you need to know!

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