Prospects Turning Heads! Thursday's Standout Minor League Baseball Performers

Happy Friday, it is almost the weekend. It is also David Davalillo day for me as I will see him for a second straight week as he is likely making his final start in High-A if all goes well. Before I get the bag packed and hit the road, we have some baseball to cover.

Let’s recap what happened across the entire landscape of pro baseball yesterday. If you are unfamiliar with the Dynasty Digest, it is a daily newsletter covering the previous days’ action. From star prospects, to players under the radar, I broke down everything you need to know that happened.

Let’s get to it.

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Free Minor League Baseball Recap Previews

Each day, I will pick a hitter and pitcher who stand out and deserve the top spot on the sheet. Those players’ reports will be free for all to read. The rest will be paywalled for Dynasty Dugout Subscribers. The article is around 3000 words, giving you detailed player reports to encapsulate everything you need to know.

Kyle Teel, C, Chicago White Sox, 23, AAA

Real deal Teel put together his best game of the year, smacking two home runs and reaching base a third time via single. He scored three times and drove in three while extending his hit streak to 18 games. The more impressive thing is that Teel has been on base in every game since April 10, a 29-game streak.

Teel is up to six home runs and four stolen bases on the season, while also showing good skills behind the plate. Teel has thrown out 31 percent of attempted base stealers in Triple-A, a pretty strong mark.

Under the hood, Teel has actually shown some regression in contact numbers, running a 77 percent in-zone contact rate and a 73 percent overall mark. The chase rate is up to 27 percent, but it is still a respectable mark as Teel is looking to damage early in counts.

While Teel has a max exit velocity of 111.8 mph, his 90th percentile is 103.2 and his average exit velocity is 88.7, both average marks. Teel will never be a huge home run threat, but 15 home runs a year is where he could settle in with a respectable batting average and OBP.

Edgar Quero has been respectable for the White Sox so far in his big league time, but it seems likely Teel could come up and replace Matt Thaiss and split time with Quero behind the plate.

Tyson Hardin, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers, 23, A+

I think it is clear at this point that Hardin is way too good for High-A hitters and has been for a while. Six innings of one-run ball with zero walks and eight strikeouts brought Hardin’s ERA down to 1.21 in 44.2 innings. Hardin landed 55 of his 76 pitches for strikes and generated 15 whiffs in the start.

Hardin's fastball is in the mid-90s, touching 97 mph, but it is the pitch's unique traits that make it great. The vertical approach angle is relatively flat from the release point and misses bats at the top of the zone. He creates a legit ride from a 5’3” release height.

The arsenal is fairly deep, as Hardin uses a cutter as his second-most-used offering, but he also mixes in a sinker to give him three fastball variations. The sweeper and changeup are both solid offerings.

Hardin's sweeper works in the low-to-mid 80s with long horizontal movement, and the upper-80s changeup has good horizontal separation the other way. Pair that arsenal with a 70 percent strike rate and the ability to miss bats, and you have a fun arm. Hopefully, Hardin’s next start is in Double-A Biloxi.

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