Minor League Baseball Weekend Recap (Week 8)

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 8)

Chase Burns, RHP, Cincinnati Reds, 22, AA

Burns legitimately looks like one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. A two-start week facing the same team is never easy, but that is what Burns did, and he shoved again. Ten strikeouts on Sunday with no walks saw him allow just three hits across five innings of work. I honestly am struggling with not putting Burns as the SP1 this week in my new prospect rankings.

In 40.2 innings pitched, Burns has a 2.21 ERA with 65 strikeouts to just eight walks. That is good for a 43 percent strikeout rate, while walking just 5.3 percent of hitters. The only flaw you can find in his profile is home runs, which he has allowed five of this year. That was also a problem at Wake Forest, but it has not hurt him to this point.

The fastball averages 99 mph and can touch 102 mph with 20 inches of IVB on average. He cut-rides it, which actually plays well, and misses bats at a very high clip. The slider is the primary secondary, and between it and the four-seam, Burns uses those two around 90 percent of the time. The slider sits around 90 mph with good depth and six inches of sweeping action.

The added curveball gives him a pitch with nine north-to-south movements but also maintains the sweep. It registered at -7 IVB compared to his -1 IVB slider, but kept the eight inches of horizontal movement. It sits in the low 80s.

The changeup has solid traits as well, showing good carry and fading action while sitting around 90 mph. Burns will need to utilize more than just his fastball and slider, but right now, it is working.

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

If I am honest with you, I was a bit worried about Sykora coming back from a hip injury. Sure, it was not that serious, but the hip could definitely affect a pitchers mechanics and it take them a while to get back to what feels normal. That has not been the case for Sykora at all.

After two dominant starts at the complex and two at Single-A, Sykora made his first start with High-A Wilmington on Sunday and was dominant. Sykora built back up to four innings and faced a season high 13 batters. He was nearly flawless, allowing just one hit and walk a piece while striking out nine batters. He generated an impressive 16 whiffs as well.

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.

The four-seam fastball sits in the 94 to 96 range, touching 99 mph, and he commands it quite well. 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’s slider is used nearly as often as his four-seam, with both being thrown around 40 percent of the time in 2024. It ranges from 81 to 84 mph. It shows good depth and often has late horizontal movement. He rounds out the arsenal with a beautiful split-changeup that is easily a plus pitch. Sitting between 82 and 85 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.

The fastball shape is the biggest worry here and how it is going to play against better hitters moving up, but it sure hasn’t been an issue to this point. Sykora is one of the most talented arms in the minors.

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

Caglianone is inevitable. His call-up to Kansas City could be right around the corner, and the hype is insane. Caglianone blasted two home runs on Sunday and added a single. The homers were hit at 107.6 mph and 108.6 mph. This followed up home runs in the previous three games to push his total to 14 in 44 games this year. Caglianone’s first week in Triple-A saw him put up numbers that you would only see in video games.

Running a 90th percentile exit velocity of 111.6 mph across both levels is a mark that is only bested by Oneil Cruz, Aaron Judge, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. this year. This is not a new thing though, we have know the power is elite for a long time with Caglianone.

The approach has been cleaned up a bit, and Caglianone is making more than enough contact. The overall contact rate is up to 74 percent, with an in-zone mark of around 84 percent. That, paired with an improved chase rate, is good.

Right now, Caglianone is chasing around 34 percent of the pitches he has seen out of the zone. In his first week at Triple-A, the mark was around 40 percent, which makes me wonder what it would look like against Major League pitching.

Regardless, Caglianone can swing it. It is some of the best power in all of baseball. 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 Kansas City.

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