Top Minor League Performances: May 6, 2025

The articles for the next few days will be a bit abbreviated. I am on vacation with the family, and my wife suggests I take some time away from work. Alas, there will still be daily articles, and I will be at some games. Last night, I covered an electric top-15 college matchup between Coastal Carolina and Clemson. I will also be at some Myrtle Beach and Delmarva games, and you know I will be Nazier Mulé’s start.

Today’s article will cover the top Minor League standouts from yesterday. Again, it may be shorter than you are used to, but thanks for bearing with me this week.

Minor League Standouts, May 6, 2025

Jac Caglianone, 1B, Kansas City Royals, 22, AA

Writing about Caglianone every day is getting a bit tiresome, but it’s hard not to do when he is hitting like he is. Also, for Jeff Passan to post on X about a prospect, you know they are good.

It is now three straight games with a homer for Caglianone, and yesterday’s performance brought two opposite-field shots. The power is off the charts, and you all have known that for some time. His average exit velocity is one of the highest in all of baseball.

The swing rate is down, the chase rate is down, and while the overall contact numbers are down, it doesn’t matter. Caglianone is hitting and looks ready for the next step.

Caglianone has made all the necessary tweaks to take his bat to the next level. Now, he is also getting work in the outfield, which may slow play promotions a bit. Once comfortable out there, Caglianone is going to get the call to the majors, where the bat is sure to play.

Colby Thomas, OF, Athletics, 24, AAA

A three-hit day with two home runs was Thomas’s fifth multi-hit game in the last seven. The surface numbers are off the charts right now as Thomas has a .305/.370/.557 slash with seven home runs and two stolen bases. This followed a 2024 season where Thomas led the minors in extra base hits by a wide margin and slashed .277/.342/.563 with 31 home runs and 15 stolen bases.

I did not put Thomas in my top 100, and got questions about that. Yes, there is legit power in the profile, as Thomas has a 105 mph 90th percentile exit velocity. His barrel rate of seven percent is below average, as Thomas is running higher ground ball rates than we are used to seeing from him.

Some of my questions have been answered. Last year, upon his jump to Triple-A, the contact rates faltered hard. But so far this year, Thomas has seen a nine percentage point jump in in-zone contact, and the overall contact rate is up four percentage points. The chase rate of 35 percent is still higher than I would like to see, and I still worry about Thomas’s ability to hit good fastballs.

We shall see, though, the tools are a ton of fun here.

Branden Montgomery, OF, Chicago White Sox, 22, A+

Montgomery probably should have begun the 2025 season in High-A, but he finally earned the call there last week. He has done nothing but hit since joining Winston-Salem, but fully broke out on Tuesday, blasting two home runs.

The first homer was hit to the opposite field, which looked like a routine fly out and just carried. The second was a mammoth shot to center that left the bat at 102 mph. If all clicks, I really believe Montgomery can be a star.

Last year at Texas A&M, the switch-hitter mashed 27 home runs in 61 games and paired them with a .322/.454/.733 slash line. He struck out 20 percent of the time but also walked at an 18 percent clip.

The hard-hit data was absurd. Montgomery had the highest average exit velocity in college at 98.7 mph, paired with a 90th percentile exit velocity of 111 mph. The xwOBAcon was a mind-boggling .556.

Carson McCusker, OF, Minnesota Twins, 26, AAA

McCusker has a great story, originally drafted in the 26th round of the 2017 draft by the Brewers out of Folsom Lake College. He opted not to sign and transfer to Oklahoma State, where he played through 2021. McCusker did not get drafted and went the Indy Ball route. After two strong seasons with Tri-City in the Frontier League, the Twins gave him a shot. Since then, McCusker has done nothing but hit massive home runs. In 28 games this year, McCusker is up to nine already after his two-home run day on Tuesday.

It is far from a perfect profile, but the 6’8” outfielder has juice. Having exit velocities up to 115 mph, McCusker has a 95.3 mph average exit velocity and a 90th percentile exit velocity of 111 mph. The hard-hit rate is an absurd 60 percent.

My questions with McCusker stem from contact ability. His in-zone contact sits at 76 percent, and the overall rate is below 67 percent. He struggles with breaking balls and good fastball at times. Regardless, McCusker is probably going to get a chance in the Twins outfield or DH role soon.

Jackson Kent, LHP, Washington Nationals, 22, A+

Drafted last summer in the fourth round out of Arizona, Kent has been nothing short of impressive in five of his six starts to begin his pro career. His last start against Brooklyn saw him cough up eight earned runs in four innings of work. Kent’s other five starts have combined to allow just five earned runs.

On Tuesday, Kent pitched a career high 7.2 innings, the second time this year he has completed seven. Kent allowed just two earned runs on five hits, walking one, but striking out 11. Kent posted an impressive 18 whiffs and landed 67 percent of his pitches for strikes.

Kent’s fastball sits 92-95 mph, topping out at 96, but has impressive IVB north of 18 inches with a flat approach angle. Coming from a 5’9” release height.

The changeup is Kent’s best secondary, around 83 mph, with heavy fading action of over 14 inches. The slider and curve are distinct secondaries, with the slider having a gyro shape sitting around 83 mph and the curve sitting around 77 mph with good depth and a near 12-6 shape.

Kent looks like a major up-arrow guy.

Chase Petty, RHP, Cincinnati Reds, 22, AAA

Petty made his MLB debut last week, and it was bad. Like, nine earned runs in 2.1 innings bad. But that seemed to be the motivator for Petty to bounce back in Triple-A while pitching six no-hit innings with eight strikeouts. He did allow three walks, but otherwise was flawless, generating 17 whiffs and having a 32 percent CSW.

Petty leads the way with a four-seam fastball. The pitch averages 95-96 mph this year, which has now seen a three-year improvement in velocity. His slider is the primary used secondary, having a gyro shape with two inches of arm-side movement and two inches of IVB. The pitch was his highest whiff rate of any offering, sitting between 87 and 88 mph.

Petty using his changeup to both-handed hitters is a big development, and it was an effective weapon on Tuesday, generating a 50 percent whiff rate. It sits in a similar velocity band to the slider with heavy arm-side fade, averaging around 17 inches.

Braden Nett, RHP, San Diego Padres, 22, AA

Nett’s surface stats don’t look great as he has a 5.04 ERA and a 10.4 percent walk rate, but he is striking out batters at a rather high clip. After starting the year strong, Nett’s last two saw him allow six and five earned runs. Tuesday, it was back to dominance though as he struck out seven and allowed just one run and walk across 5.1 innings.

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.