The Top 10 Minor League Baseball Standout Performances

I had a nice night at home last night, which was relaxing not being at the park for once. But that allowed me to still watch some baseball. There were a ton of good pitching performances across the minors yesterday and some notable hitter performances as well.

Let’s break down everything that stood out yesterday!

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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.

Braden Nett, RHP, San Diego Padres, 23, AA

Nett shoved again this week in what was his best start of the year against a good Frisco lineup. He tossed 5.2 scoreless innings with just six hits and two walks allowed. He punched out ten batters with 18 whiffs.

The start lowered Nett’s ERA down to 3.58, and both the FIP and xFIP are below the ERA. The walk rate sits just shy of ten percent and Nett has a strong 28 percent strikeout rate.

Nett has only gotten better as the year has gone on. Since the start of May, Nett has a 2.27 ERA and has an 8.6 percent walk rate despite having two four walk outings in there. If the command continues to improve this kid is going to be a stud.

The fastball has outlier traits as it sits 95-97 mph and has 18 inches of IVB from a 5’8” release height. The -4 VAA approach angle is elite and creates such a flat plane that helps generate whiffs. Nett also mixes in a sinker with 15 or more inches of horizontal movement and uses it to get ground balls.

Net mixes a 90 mph cutter and an upper-70s curve to keep hitters on their toes. The cutter has good carry and short horizontal movement. The curveball shows heavy depth and 15-20 inches of sweeping action. Nett’s slider is probably the best secondary, sitting in the low-to-mid 80s with sweeping action.

Kahlil Watson, SS, Cleveland Guardians, 22, AA

Is Watson back? After being selected 16th overall in the 2021 MLB Draft by the Marlins, things never really panned out in the Marlins organziation, which led him being traded to Cleveland. Off the field issues made headlines and Watson also struggled to make contact. The tools are the off the charts here as Watson has plenty of power and speed, the question has just been, can he put it all together.

On Wednesday night, Watson blasted two home runs to push hit total up to six this year in 43 games. He has also stolen six bases, but been caught 40 percent of the time. The surface stats do look better and under the strikeout rate is down, but what can we see if we look a little deeper.

First, Watson is being more aggressive at the plate. He is swingign more often than we have previously seen and is prone to running higher chase rates. He is still managing to walk at an 11.5 percent clip, which is great, but you do worry that could trend down as he moves up.

The overall and in-zone contact rates are both up as well, but right now I would still say the hit tool profiles below average. More line drives have led to a rise in BABIP and batting average, but a drop in fly balls has led to less home runs.

At the end of the day, Watson profiles as a player who will be a major leaguer, but how much he hits will determine the future outcomes. He just turned 22 and given the past, it could be a slower development for him. He is likely to see Triple-A soon though and we will see how he handles more advanced pitching.

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