Bubba Chandler has little left to prove in the minors as he hasn't allowed a run in back-to-back Triple-A starts while striking out 13 over 12 innings. The Pirates' brass will say the 22-year-old phenom needs to work on his command, which isn't necessarily a lie while also not something that should keep him out of the Majors. Pittsburgh is once again headed nowhere at the big-league level, and we've seen how their offensive struggles have even affected someone like Paul Skenes and has ugly record despite regular sparkling pitching performances. It's only a matter of time for Chandler as the Pirates could sell off parts at the trade deadline and open up a spot so he can make his debut.
Here are some other notable neophytes as we head into the All-Star Break for this edition of the Minor League Barometer.
Check out where future major league baseball stars slot into RotoWire's MLB Top Prospects & Rankings for 2025!
UPGRADE
Emil Morales, SS, LAD – Going way down on the farm, Morales is torching the Arizona Complex League after similarly dominating the competition in the Dominican Summer League last season. He's currently slashing .308/.389/.490 with seven homers, 37 RBI and six steals in 52 games. One of the top prospects from the 2024 international class, Morales was the MVP of the DSL and has the look of a future slugging star. In fact, he already boasts elite size, bat speed and athleticism with even more room to fill out and mature. Morales is
Bubba Chandler has little left to prove in the minors as he hasn't allowed a run in back-to-back Triple-A starts while striking out 13 over 12 innings. The Pirates' brass will say the 22-year-old phenom needs to work on his command, which isn't necessarily a lie while also not something that should keep him out of the Majors. Pittsburgh is once again headed nowhere at the big-league level, and we've seen how their offensive struggles have even affected someone like Paul Skenes and has ugly record despite regular sparkling pitching performances. It's only a matter of time for Chandler as the Pirates could sell off parts at the trade deadline and open up a spot so he can make his debut.
Here are some other notable neophytes as we head into the All-Star Break for this edition of the Minor League Barometer.
Check out where future major league baseball stars slot into RotoWire's MLB Top Prospects & Rankings for 2025!
UPGRADE
Emil Morales, SS, LAD – Going way down on the farm, Morales is torching the Arizona Complex League after similarly dominating the competition in the Dominican Summer League last season. He's currently slashing .308/.389/.490 with seven homers, 37 RBI and six steals in 52 games. One of the top prospects from the 2024 international class, Morales was the MVP of the DSL and has the look of a future slugging star. In fact, he already boasts elite size, bat speed and athleticism with even more room to fill out and mature. Morales is obviously far away from making a big-league impact, though he should be viewed as one of the more promising teenage prospects heading into 2025 and his likely debut in full-season ball.
Daniel Eagen, P, AZ – A third-rounder out of Presbyterian last year, Eagen has found little resistance during his first full campaign. The 22-year-old righty has posted a 2.60 ERA and 94:32 K:BB across 69.1 innings while opposing batters are hitting .198 against. Eagen also tossed six no-hit innings from his last start on Thursday. The 6-4, 205lb hurler uses a filthy curveball as his wipeout pitch, but his fastball has also gained some ticks of late. If Eagen can maintain his command, he has the chance to jump up the rankings.
Alfonsin Rosario, OF, CLE – Rosario is an intriguing, toolsy prospect who's been able to cut down on his strikeouts. He racked up 16 home runs and 20 steals through 109 games at Low-A in 2024, yet fanned 147 times en route to a .230 BA. Rosario was also not afraid to draw a walk and moved up to High-A for the current campaign, where he's produced a .275/.374/.506 line with 14 homers and 10 stolen bases with only 70 strikeouts alongside 33 free passes. It'll be interesting to see if his aggressiveness and big swing will work against him at the higher levels, though he's got plenty of pop and above-average speed in a fairly solid frame.
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, P, NYY – The Yankees have seen some positive developments this season with pitching prospects as Will Warren has become a staple in the New York rotation while demonstrating standout strikeout stuff and Cam Schlittler is fresh off a decent MLB debut and should get at least one more turn as Clarke Schmidt will undergo Tommy John surgery. In the system, Carlos Lagrange is in the midst of a breakout campaign while Ben Hess has shown massive swing-and-miss potential. Rodriguez-Cruz may be the most intriguing story as the lanky right-hander came over from the Red Sox in a rare deal between the two rivals last offseason. The 21-year-old recorded a 2.26 ERA and 99:37 K:BB from 83.2 innings at High-A before a recent move up to Double-A and is among the minor-league leaders in strikeouts. Rodriguez-Cruz is athletic with exceptional extension and a four-pitch arsenal. If he can add some muscle (160lb), he could emerge as one of the organization's best pitching prospects - though he may already be there.
CHECK STATUS
Colt Emerson, P, SEA – Emerson started off the season slow, but has really picked it up hitting .320 over the last week while collecting at least one hit in 16 of the last 20 games at High-A. He's now slashing .266/.365/.419 with eight homers, 38 RBI and five steals through 72 contests. The Mariners are stacked with young middle infield talent, including Cole Young, Michael Arroyo and Felnin Celesten. Emerson's power stroke appears to be coming around, yet he's still viewed more as a "hit-over-power" type of prospect. At only 19, he may only be scratching the surface of his potential, but he'll have to contend with a glut of players vying for at-bats at the same or similar positions as he continues to make his way through the minors.
Carter Jensen, C, KC – Blake Mitchell was selected with the eighth overall selection in 2023 and could be considered the heir-apparent to Salvador Perez at catcher, though Jensen will reach the bigs first as he's recently pummeled the ball. After opening the year at Double-A, he was promoted to Triple-A after 68 games and has already gone deep six times across 13 outings. Jensen notched 18 home runs last season and just turned 22. Like Mitchell, he's also not afraid to work the count and take a walk. A local product, Jensen could get a cup of coffee in the Majors during September as the Royals push for the Wild Card.
Santiago Suarez, P, TB – Suarez has been on the Injured List since May with tightness in his right shoulder and triceps. Though the injury wasn't initially considered serious, there's certainly cause for concern as he hasn't gotten live action in two months. Suarez's eventual return, whenever that may be, will be watched with great anticipation as he dominated at High-A with a 1.78 ERA and 28:5 K:BB over 25.1 innings (six starts) with the opposition only batting .143 against. He's known for exceptional control and a nasty curveball, though his fastball can also reach the upper-90s. The 20-year-old righty may not have the physical size of other hurlers in the Tampa system, yet it's difficult to argue with his results. Keep an eye on Suarez when he gets back on the mound.
Charlie Condon, OF, COL – Condon's 2025 was delayed due to a wrist fracture suffered in spring training. The No. 3 selection from the 2024 Draft eventually ended up at High-A, where he showed his skills going .312 with a .431 OBP through 35 games - but only managed three home runs. The Rockies still saw enough to give Condon a jump to Double-A, where he's yet to go deep in nine appearances while also fanning 14 times. The sample size is small, though he could still be bothered by the wrist issue, which can sometimes drain power from recovering hitters for a while. Condon could also be getting used to the increase in competition as he's only logged 78 minor-league games. His prodigious blasts should soon follow, but the lack of power is slightly concerning when that was supposed to be his strength.
DOWNGRADE
Henry Bolte, OF, ATH – A minor downgrade for Bolte, who's found himself on the IL at Double-A the last two weeks with an undisclosed injury. Prior to that, he was slashing .273/.375/.421 with seven homers, 35 RBI and 31 stolen bases. The toolsy outfielder has also accumulated 87 Ks during 76 contests. While Bolte's strikeout percentage is down from a year ago, it appears that will always remain an issue and that's not the greatest sign considering he's only displayed mediocre pop in the minors. With the revamped Athletics outfield doing surprisingly well with plenty of young talent - including fellow top prospect Colby Thomas at Triple-A - it could be a while before Bolte gets to the bigs despite his age (will be 22 in August), pedigree and current performance.
Thomas Harrington, P, PIT – On the flip side of the aforementioned Chandler, 24-year-old Harrington has largely struggled at Triple-A. After eight fairly successful starts at the same level to end 2024, he's been bitten by the long ball having given up 14 of them through 16 outings. Harrington's strikeout ratio has also decreased while opposing batters are hitting a respectable .261 against leading to a 5.47 ERA. While he did get his feet wet withe the Pirates during two April appearances, there's little reason to believe he'll be anything more than a backend rotation option with Chandler certainly getting to Pittsburgh first.
