Minor League Baseball Weekend Recap (Week 5)

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 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 5)

Payton Tolle, LHP, Boston Red Sox, 22, A+

As good as you thought Payton Tolle was, it was not good enough. His start that I sat on for Sunday’s game was one of the more impressive starts I have seen in person in a while, and easily the best in 2025. Tolle struck out 12 batters in five scoreless innings while not issuing a walk and generating 20 whiffs. The more impressive thing was Tolle’s command and control as he landed 75 percent of his pitches for strikes.

After making his first start of the season in Asheville and coughing up six earned runs in 1.2 innings with three walks, Tolle has looked like the arm we thought he could be since. After tossing four innings of one-run ball and having his start skipped due to scheduling, Tolle returned to the mound for the first time in two weeks last Sunday. In the last three starts, Tolle has allowed just one earned run in 13 innings with two walks and 26 strikeouts.

Standing at 6’6", Tolle has a hulking presence on the mound and gets extreme extension toward the plate as high as 7’10” in the start. His fastball is up three ticks from 2024, sitting north of 95 mph but topping out at 98 mph. It is unique, given his 5’5” release height and extremely flat VAA. The movement profile was inconsistent, but the IVB was consistently around 16.5 inches, but Tolle topped at 19.5 on an individual fastball.

After throwing a slider and curve in college, Tolle is now throwing a slider and sweeper. The sweeper sits in the 83-84 mph range with a long horizontal break. The upper-80s slider plays more like a cutter with some depth to it. At times, the upper-80s slider played like a death ball with 0 inches of IVB and 0 inches of horizontal. Others it was 5 inches of IVB and 6 inches of sweep.

The biggest sticking point for Tolle was a dominating 90 mph changeup. It showed inconsistent movement, but at peak was up to 15 inches of fade and around five inches of IVB. It looked better than I have seen at any point in his career.

Talking to scouts and people around the game, Tolle might be the best arm in the Red Sox system at present. Even when Luis Perales comes back, Tolle could make a fun competition at the top of the system between them. This is a stud arm who is a top 100 prospect.

Tyson Hardin, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers, 23, A+

The Brewers struck gold again out of Mississippi State, grabbing Tyson Hardin in the 12th round of last summer’s draft. In 2023, it was KC Hunt, who also came out of State.

On Saturday, Hardin shoved and pitched deeper into the game than ever. Throwing seven innings, Hardin did not allow a run or walk and struck out nine batters. While he generated 12 whiffs, Hardin added 16 more called strikes while landing 75 percent of his pitches for strikes.

Hardin's fastball is in the mid-90s, touching 97 mph, but it is the pitch's unique traits that make it great. The vertical approach angle is relatively flat from the release point and misses bats at the top of the zone.

The arsenal is fairly deep, as Hardin uses a cutter as his second-most-used offering, but he also mixes in a sinker to give him three fastball variations. The sweeper and changeup are both solid offerings.

While I was skeptical of Hardin after one start, he looks legit and here to stay at this point.

Jac Caglianone, 1B/OF, Kansas City Royals, 22, AA

Caglianone has made all the necessary tweaks to take his bat to the next level. Now, he is also getting work in the outfield, which may slow play promotions a bit. Once comfortable out there, Caglianone is going to get the call to the majors, where the bat is sure to play.

After mashing 33 home runs in 2023 at Florida, Caglianone followed it up with an impressive 35 in 2024 while improving all significant metrics. The slash line ended at .419/.544/.875, and he improved his walk rate from 5.3 percent in 2023 to 18.4 percent in 2024. All the while, he cut his strikeout rate from 18 percent to 8.2 percent.

The gains were real. Caglianone made contact at a near 80 percent mark, with an impressive 91 percent in-zone rate. He covers the plate exceptionally well with his long levers and fights off pitches with ease. The biggest knock is a 38 percent chase rate. While it is very high and one of the highest marks in the draft, Cagalinone will naturally run higher chase rates with his long levers.

The good news is Caglianone has cut his swing and chase rate in 2025. After hitting the ball on the roof of the training facility for a 417-foot home run on Saturday. Caglianone smoked a line drive homer 115 mph off the building on Sunday. His average exit velocity this year is hovering around the triple-digit mark. Yes, you read that right.

We know the power is off the charts here with Caglianone. It is a special power bat.

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