Prospect Team of the Month, July 2024

Beck breaks down the top prospects from the month of May

Here we are, folks. The minor league season is almost on its way out. Time flies when you’re talking ball! Be on the lookout for call-ups as we approach September, both for roster expansion and for the unofficial deadline to pass after which it will be impossible for a rookie to exhaust their eligibility (45 days on the active roster).

This is a really fun edition of the Team of the Month that is entirely composed of newcomers to the series this year. Dillon Dingler just got his call to the show, Zach Dezenzo has returned from injury and balled out, and Leo De Vries looks like a candidate for top prospect in baseball.

Without further ado, let’s jump in!

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 July made the cut. 

SP: Travis Sykora, Washington Nationals (A)

July: 2.12 ERA, 46.3% K%, 11.9% BB%, 37.5% CSW in 17.0 IP

The early returns on Travis Sykora have been stellar. His July line is not a massive departure from his full-season line, and he’s simply got nothing left to prove at Single-A. His fastball and slider are overwhelming and his splitter could be an average to above-average offering in time. There are some reliever-ish traits here – largely that he’s been known as a thrower more than a pitcher with overpowering stuff – but so far he’s demonstrated proficiency as a strike-thrower. The overslot deal Washington cut him last summer seems like a shrewd investment thus far.

C: Dillon Dingler, Detroit Tigers (AAA)

July: .358/.469/.746 with 7 HRs in 81 PA

I had a chance to see Dillon Dingler live a few weeks ago and he played like he knew I was watching. To be fair just about everyone teed off against Louie Varland in that contest – the Mud Hens scored 20 total runs – but he was 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs and seven RBIs. He’s put together a nice collection of under-the-hood to go with his phenomenal surface line and everything looks average to above-average at the Triple-A level. His 90th percentile EV would be a full tick above the MLB average, he was making contact in the zone at an 86.8% rate, and he kept the free-swinging in check at just 25.3%, all while managing a pretty solid distribution of grounders and fly balls. There’s legitimate intrigue with Dingler as there’s scant competition for a full-time gig in Detroit.

1B: Zach Dezenzo, Houston Astros (AAA)

July: .297/.395/.514 with 3 HRs and 2 SBs in 86 PA

Despite missing a large chunk of the season with a wrist injury that dates back to Spring Training, Dezenzo has ascended to Triple-A and performed extremely well in a limited sample. Astute readers will note that he’s in the PCL but Sugar Land is the least friendly Triple-A park for right-handed hitters over the last two years and we can feel relatively good about his statistical performance – in fact, he’d be performing far better in Albuquerque or Las Vegas. Alex Bregman is a free agent at the end of the year and it remains to be seen whether he’ll remain an Astro, which opens another avenue to an eventuality where Dezenzo opens the 2025 season with a full-time gig at a corner position. Jon Singleton is holding down the first base role to the best of his ability, which is to say flimsily, and in the absence of a major free agent signing the system is bereft of other options. 

Note: This blurb was written on Monday, well before the announcement that Dezenzo would make his Major League debut. He’ll bat seventh and DH on Tuesday. He’s the first MLB Draft League alum to make their debut.

2B: Termarr Johnson, Pittsburgh Pirates (A+)

July: .319/.443/.528 with 4 HRs and 3 SBs in 89 PA

Hell of a month for Termarr, but the unfortunate truth is I’m still far from sold on him. He’s drawing a lot of walks but it’s unclear whether that’s the result of true talent zone control or simple passivity. He’s shown a tremendous amount of difficulty with breaking pitches, particularly same-side spin, and his total hit tool inclusive of pitch recognition, bat-to-ball, and swing decisions accumulates to something like below-average. Not all is lost; he has plenty of juice especially when adjusted for age, but he’s hindered by an inability to attack breaking and off-speed pitches with the same conviction he does fastballs, and the offensive profile is all the more tenuous as a result. All said, if he’s able to improve on two fronts – his willingness to swing and his ability to put his A+ swing on breaking pitches (and make contact consistently) – the results could be very loud. That is easier said than done.

3B: Matt Shaw, Chicago Cubs (AA)

July: .373/.414/.647 with 4 HRs and 4 SBs in 59 PA

Shaw has been better than his surface line for a good part of the year and the ball started bouncing his way in July. He’s run a below-average BABIP despite a 44% groundball rate, ultimately deflating his traditional triple-slash. The Southern League has also been a more challenging run environment in 2024 than 2023, all of which is to say it’s smart to practice some skepticism with back of the baseball card stats. The fundamental ingredients that make a good hitter – the ability to put bat on ball, discern pitch types and locations, and hit the ball hard – are all present in Shaw’s profile. He earned a promotion to Triple-A this weekend and will make his first appearance at the level on Tuesday.

SS: Leodalis De Vries, San Diego Padres (A)

July: .318/.442/.694 with 8 HRs and 5 SBs in 104 PA

Leo De Vries would be draft eligible as a high schooler in 2025 were he born in the United States, but he’s instead competing in full-season ball as a 17-year-old and coming into his own at the level. He’d started slow (again, because he’s 17 years old) and spent some time figuring out his swing mechanics, ultimately ditching right-handed hitting for a stretch in May and returning to it just a few weeks later. The results since the calendar turned to July have been staggering, especially in terms of over-the-fence impact (eight of his nine home runs came in July) and K/BB. He’s posting underlying data that looks like a future #1 overall prospect in the sport.

OF 1: Kevin Alcántara, Chicago Cubs (AA)

July: .365/.417/.581 with 4 HRs and 1 SB in 84 PA

Alcántara is tremendously gifted and equally streaky. That’s been evident for the duration of his pro career, but when he’s on it’s really hard for any player in minor league baseball to match his ceiling potential. It’s been difficult for him to harness that potential for a number of reasons; he has a penchant for hitting the ball on the ground and his groundball/flyball rates have trended in the wrong direction at every stop in his development. He has also had come-and-go plate discipline and bat-to-ball ability. Those dynamics really mute the advantage he gets from pure athleticism and a 6-foot-6 frame. His defense is strong enough to play all three outfield positions, which should warrant him enough playing time to figure it out at the big league level, and he’s just one stop away from making his debut after an early August promotion to Triple-A.

OF 2: Max Clark, Detroit Tigers (A+)

July: .386/.449/.657 with 2 HRs and 9 SBs in 96 PAs

Clark is perhaps the most famous professional baseball player not currently playing in MLB. It’s a double-edged sword – he gets a lot of attention, with it comes scrutiny – but he’s seemingly managing the transition to pro ball, and all that comes with it, quite well. The traditional slash line and counting stats don’t jump off the page, at least at A-ball, but that’s mostly to do with a lack of in-game pop and no other real deficiencies. He’s a premium athlete with well above-average proficiency in center field, has a knack for controlling the zone and putting the bat on the ball, and is a plus-plus runner. He’s geared for line drives (a 23.9% LD rate in Lakeland is phenomenal), but the hope is that he’ll both beef up (his 102.2 mph 90th EV leaves something to be desired) and lift with more consistency (a 7 degree launch angle doesn’t portend a lot of extra-base hit potential). Neither are necessary for him to project as an above-average regular.

OF 3: Aidan Smith, Tampa Bay Rays (A)

July: .413/.518/.609 with 1 HR and 6 SBs in 56 PA 

Smith was traded to Tampa Bay as part of the package that landed Randy Arozarena, and in the days immediately after that transaction just about everyone on Twitter rushed to be the high guy. I’m not sure that’s an enviable place to be. I like Aidan Smith for a number of reasons: he’s athletic, has a frame that can ostensibly carry more future power, and he’s already in possession of a swing that generates a healthy number of pulled fly balls. It’s hard to say he’s a future difference-maker at this junction, though. I’d have him just outside of my top 100 at present.