Prospect Team of the Month, April 2024

Beck breaks down the top prospects from the month of April

I’m really excited to bring the series I started last year back for another season. They’re fun to look back on as a helpful-if-shallow reminder of the shape of the season and what was top of mind in real time. I hope you enjoy!

As a reminder, while this is technically my team of the month, it’s only my team insofar as it’s comprised of prospects that appeared (or will appear) on my latest ranking update. The rest is up to the players. Those who performed the best in April made the cut. 

SP: Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates (AAA)

April: 0.39 ERA, 46.6% K%, 6.8% BB%, 35.7% CSW in 23.0 IP

His usage has been bizarre, but his results have been outstanding. He’s still toiling in Triple-A, which would be fine if it weren’t under the guise of “stretching out”. We’re all trying to figure out who kept him from going longer than 65 pitches in his first four outings, Mr. Cherington.

C: Agustin Ramirez, New York Yankees (AA)

April: .247/.370/.610 with 9 HRs and 4 SBs in 92 PA

It seemed like every day I’d pop open box scores, and Ramirez had gone yard again. He has phenomenal swing decisions and plus pop that make him a formidable hitter. He’s my top choice for the catcher position in the Yankees system at present and should be a top-100 prospect in my next rankings update (Ben Rice is not far behind him).

1B: Coby Mayo, Baltimore Orioles (AAA)

April: .327/.405/.654 with 8 HRs and 3 SBs in 116 PA

Mayo has been simply undeniable, especially of late. He’s on a four-game home run streak at the time of writing and has cut his K-rate to 22.0% after striking out in 35.6% of his plate appearances through the first 12 games of his season (although he still ran an 1.101 OPS during that stretch despite the Ks). I’m not sure how all the pieces in Baltimore fit together, but I think we'll see Mayo in the big league lineup shortly.

2B: Mike Boeve, Milwaukee Brewers (A+/AA)

April: .449/.556/.623 with 0 HRs and 1 SB in 90 PA

It’s pretty rare that we get a guy without a dinger on his resume on the team of the month, but an on-base percentage over .500 for a full month while earning an early promotion is hard to leave off. In fact, Boeve has the sixth-highest OPS of any qualified hitter in affiliated ball without going deep, which is patently absurd. He looks like one of the biggest steals in the 2023 draft early on.

3B: Ben Cowles, New York Yankees (AA)

April: .351/.433/.623 with 3 HRs and 3 SBs in 90 PA

It made my heart sing a little to put Ben Cowles on the team of the month (deservedly so, not playing favorites here). I’ve written about him a few times this year in addition to a few times last year, and the scuttlebutt is that the Yankees are very high on him internally. It’s likely he debuts in the Bronx late this year as a high-contact utility man (complimentary).

SS: Jacob Wilson, Oakland Athletics (AA)

April: .409/.429/.667 with 3 HRs and 2 SBs in 70 PA

I’m as surprised as you are. Double-A is not a walk in the park in terms of immediate assignment in the spring after the draft, but he’s handled it with aplomb and hit for more surface game power than anticipated, albeit in the Texas League. We know Wilson has exceptional bat-to-ball, but a leap in damage on contact would be a significant development for his fantasy profile.

OF 1: Emmanuel Rodriguez, Minnesota Twins (AA)

April: .294/.507/.686 with 4 HRs and 9 SBs in 73 PA

The EmRod we all know and love has been doing EmRod stuff. He’s walking in 28% of his plate appearances, striking out in 28% of his plate appearances, and hitting home runs in 5% of his plate appearances, putting his total three-true-outcomes rate at 61%. And it’s working! He’s showing off the wheels more than he has in the past, which is both encouraging and troubling, as we’d like him to stay as healthy as possible.

OF 2: Joey Loperfido, Houston Astros (AAA/MLB)

April: .289/.404/.667 with 10 HRs and 5 SBs in 109 PA (AAA stats only)

Lope’s exploits in April were rewarded with a call up on April 29th and he’s been used sparingly since, racking up only 9 plate appearances at the time of writing. It’s tough to tell what to expect from him – his underlying EVs took a big jump this year and he has tremendous ability to do damage in the air to the pull side, but he also has a bit of Ed Julien syndrome where he watches far too many pitches and gets into trouble deep in the count.

OF 3: Heston Kjerstad, Baltimore Orioles (AAA/MLB)

April: .324/.421/.770 with 10 HRs and 1 SB in 88 PA (AAA stats only)

Like Loperfido, Kjerstad’s hot start earned him a spot on the 26-man roster on April 23rd. His usage since then has been befuddling – he’s appeared in just three games and compiled a measly eight plate appearances over the last ten days. Baltimore has a lot to sift through to ensure playing time for their high-end Triple-A bats, but I don’t fully understand the purpose behind bringing him up and not using him. At least let him swing the bat while he’s hot.