Prospects Turning Heads! Joshua Baez Breakout, Carlos Lagrange Shoves!

Thursday’s slate of games might have featured the most multi-homer games in the minors that I can remember in some time. While they came from some big name prospects, there were several that also are by emerging prospects that it is time to sound the alarm on. At this point, I have written up all of these hitters this year multiple times, but it is time to take some of these prospects serious.

I am off to Augusta shortly to see Braylon Doughty and Rayven Antonio square off in what should be a fun pitchers’ duel. Before we do, we have baseball to talk about from yesterday’s action.

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Joshua Baez, OF, St. Louis Cardinals, 21, AA

The impressive run continues for Baez, who had a multi-homer game on Thursday. Those were Baez’s ninth and tenth homers of the season, and they were no ordinary home runs, leaving the bat at 111 mph and 112 mph. After hitting the development list last year, a few mechanical tweaks seem to have paid off as Baez has not stopped hitting.

Baez mashed his way through High-A and has not missed a beat in Double-A, having a combined slash line of .316/.402/.544. After striking out in 35.5 percent of plate appearances last season and having a 63 percent contact rate, Baez has seen the contact rate jump by ten percentage points and the strikeout rate fall by 12 percentage points.

The approach change is good, and Baez is showing to be a much more selective hitter at the plate. The chase rate hovers just north of 20 percent. The power is off the charts, having exit velocities north of 115 mph this year. On top of that, the athlete is very impressive and Baez is a strong runner with 25 stolen bases and has been caught just three times.

I think I am firmly in on Baez. Hopefully, you took a shot a month ago, but it is not too late. Act now.

Carlos Lagrange, RHP, New York Yankees, 22, AA

Lagrange just keeps getting it done. What seemed like a sure-fire reliever before the year has looked incredible in a starter’s role in 2025. After dominating High-A hitters, Lagrange got the bump to Double-A, where he looked human for his first two starts. Lagrange did not look human though on Thursday as he struck out 12 and generated 20 whiffs across 5.1 impressive innings.

Lagrange runs his fastball up to triple digits regularly, but routinely sits 97 mph. Given the 6’7” frame, Lagrange creates a good downhill plane on his fastball, but he still creates solid IVB(17 inches) from a 6’3” release height. The pitch gets good arm-side run and creates tough looks for hitters.

The slider works in the upper-80s at times, but he does throw a couple of shapes with it. The harder slider averages near 85 mph and has six inches of sweep. Then, Lagrange could drop it back to 81 mph and run the sweeper with 15 inches of glove-side movement.

Lagrange also has a strong changeup at 89 mph. It has good carry and nearly 14 inches of fade, creating good horizontal separation between the sweeper and slider. The arsenal is good, no doubt about that, but the strike throwing can be inconsistent at times.

Considering the frame, Lagrange running a 66 percent strike rate overall this year is a huge step forward. It has stuck for 11 starts this year, leading me to believe it might be legit.

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