Prospect All-Buy Team: Hitters

Chris Clegg looks at a prospect at each position to buy in dynasty leagues.

Over half of the Minor League season has come and gone. Plenty of buzzy names out there, but there are also plenty of prospects who are performing well who have not generated buzz. So we are here to talk about some very solid acquisition targets for prospects that are not getting enough love.

Use this as an opportunity to buy these prospects before others do or they continue to grow in value.

Hitting Prospects to Buy

Catcher: Adrian Del Castillo, C, ARI, 24, AAA

Maybe he is not a full-time catcher, but that is okay. So far this year, Del Castillo has caught 46 games and DH’d for 31. What matters here is the bat, and Del Castillo is mashing, and no one is talking about it.

Del Castillo was a second-round pick in the 2021 draft out of the University of Miami who has always shown some pop and good OBP skills but seems to be taking it to the next level this year. His slash line now sits at .327/.405/.606 with quite solid underlying data as well. The home run total sits at 17, which is toward the top of Minor League leaderboards.

His exit velocities are quite strong, with an average exit velocity of 91 mph and a 90th percentile of 105.5 mph. The contact numbers are reflective of his batting average as well as Del Castillo has a 78.5 percent overall contact rate and an 86 percent in-zone clip. The chase rate is a modest 26 percent, showing quite a well-rounded profile.

The profile looks good, and there is a real chance Del Castillo will be in Arizona soon. With the underlying data, performance, and an opportunity for at-bats soon, Del Castillo is an easy buy.

1B: Ryan Clifford, 1B, NYM, 20, AA

Clifford can mash, there are no questions about it and he has looked like a different hitter since joining Double-A. His stock fell considerably after 31 High-A games in which he hit just one home run. The slash over that span an abysmal .216/.412/.304 with a 31.6 percent strikeout rate.

Since the move to Double-A, Clifford has ten home runs in 44 games. He is lifting the ball much better and getting to his pull-side power with ease. Strikeouts are still a bit of an issue, checking in with a 27 percent clip in Double-A, but the power is good to see after he hit just one home run in 31 games in Brooklyn.

The contact rates have steadily improved all season and over the last month has trended upward and sitting around 75 percent. This is an encouraging sign after the very slow start to the season. Buy why people might still be down.

2B: Demetrio Crisantes, SS, ARI, 19, A

After dominating the complex to the tune of a .355/.431/.521 slash line with a home run and 13 extra base hits in 29 games, he continues to dominate upon being promoted to Single-A.

Crisantes now has a .433/.525/.627 slash in Single-A over 17 games. The 19-year-old has a smaller frame but can mash. Running a contact rate of 80 percent, he puts a ton of balls in play and has a great swing path. The power is blossoming, and Crisantes has hit three home runs so far in Visalia.

When you factor in the speed aspect, Crisantes looks like a player to invest in now, before the stock gets too high.

3B: Charles McAdoo, 3B, PIT, 22, A+

A dominant showing for the 2023 13th rounder in Greenboro earned McAdoo a promotion to Double-A Altoona. The results have not been quite as good, but still a .941 OPS will play.

Maybe you think that Greensboro is aiding his power, because its true, Greensboro is a hitter friendly park, but his power would transcend any park with how hard he is hitting the ball. With a 90th percentile exit velocity of 107 mph, McAdoo sits in a similar range to elite sluggers like Orelvis Martinez and Junior Caminero.

McAdoo finished his time in Greensboro with a 76 percent contact rate and a highly respectable in-zone mark. It has fallen in Double-A to 69 percent, which is a little concerning. But McAdoo has been one of the best hitters in the Pirates org to this point, and my live looks have been very impressive. He still seems quite undervalued.

SS: Juan Brito, MI, CLE, 22, AAA

I probably was on an island liking Juan Brito a ton after his Single-A performance with Colorado in 2022. His data was extremely impressive then and he has since grown and added to his frame and power. In 2023, Brito moved onto several lists in the backend of top 100s. And after a relatively slow start to the season in 2024, he became an after thought for many.

Through his first 33 games of 2024, Brito was slashing just .174/.342/.287. After that date, his swing rate jumped five percentage points which may not seem like much, but has made all the difference. He has walked 12 percent of hte time and struck out just 12.3 percent of the time over those 51 games and has a slash of .296/.387/.527 with ten home runs and five stolen bases.

The contact rates have been good all year with an 80 percent overall mark and 86 percent in-zone. The exit velocity data is not off the charts, but pretty close to average with an 88.5 mph average exit velocity and a 102 mph 90th percentile. The power plays up beyond the exit velocities due to a healthy fly ball rate and a 47.3 percent pull rate.

OF: Colton Ledbetter, OF, TB, 22, A+

Over the last calendar month, few hitters have been hotter than Ledbetter, who has a .356/.394/.678 slash with seven home runs and 12 extra-base hits. It has been an up-and-down season for him so far, but the numbers look much better as Ledbetter has a .270/.337/.488 slash with 11 home runs and 21 stolen bases. Things are trending in the right direction, though, as Ledbetter has three straight multi-hit games.

Ledbetter has actually struggled with contact overall this year after exhibiting strong skills last year in college. Ledbetter chased less than 15 percent of pitches out of the zone and posted an 83 percent overall clip and 91 percent zone contact in 2023. His power is more to the pull side, but he has a frame to tap into more.

Ledbetter posted a 104 mph 90th percentile with aluminum last year, but a disappointing 86 mph average exit velocity, which gave me some pause. But after seeing him and getting some exit velocities this year, I do think he has tapped into a little more power. The contact rates have also consistently improved this year and over the last month he is sitting near 73 percent.

Here is a video of him obliterating a 111 mph home run earlier in the year.

OF: Jhostynxon Garcia, OF, BOS, 21, A+

Garcia mashes and has so ever since joining High-A Greenville. He is up to 16 home runs on the year in 52 games to pair with a .293/.375/.606 slash. The strikeout rate sits at a strong 21 percent. In High-A things look even better. A .321/.383/.679 slash with 11 home runs in 28 games.

Garcia has easy power and controls the barrel well. He lifts the ball with ease and rarely puts the ball on the ground. The contact rates are above average, and he handles fastballs extremely well. He has quite a filled-out frame, and I wonder if he will be able to handle the outfield long-term, but there is no denying this bat.

The profile is a lot of fun and the power outburst this year has been a welcomed sight after he hit just four last year. The exit velocity data is registering well above average right now and he has multiple home runs of at least 108 mph this year, which shows the power we are talking about.

OF: Denzel Clarke, OF, OAK, 24, AA

Clarke took a hit in my prospect rankings this last update and I kind of regret that. If I had paid closer attention to what he had been doing as of late, that move might not have happened. The overall line of .248/.299/.455 with a 35 percent strikeout rate looks quite bad, but things are looking up. When you think of toolsy, upside-type players, Clarke checks many boxes, which is very similar to the Henry Bolte mold. He has a 6’4”/220 frame with plus raw power and plus speed.

So far this season Clarke has ten home runs and eight stolen bases. The issue, he has a sub-.300 OBP with a 35 percent strikeout rate. His contact rate sits at 62 percent which is a touch scary.

It is worth noting that since the start of June, Clarke has a .327/.346/.653 slash with just a 25 percent strikeout rate. In the process, he has seven home runs, and 16 extra-base hits over those 25 games. The contact rate has improved to 67 percent over that span, which is encouraging, but it is still lower than you would like to see.