Each Monday morning, we highlight 10 players who stood out to us based on their underlying Statcast metrics. Data will usually be through Saturday of that week, but may include some data from Sunday games. These are not full scouting reports, but often serve as good early indicators of prospects who might be ready to break out or are demonstrating MLB-ready skills.
10 Statcast Standouts
Nelson Rada, OF, Angels
The Brewers have been the best team in baseball this year, with the most wins and second most runs scored. They’ve accomplished this by building an offense that focuses more on batting average than home runs. They have only one player (Jackson Chourio) who has an isolated slugging percentage above .200 and only one player (Christian Yelich) with a chance at a 30 home run season.
Almost a generation ago in 2002, the Angels won the World Series with largely the same offensive formula. Which brings us around to Rada, who is a potential rookie of the year candidate to watch next year:
Rada is the archetypal example of how to succeed with limited bat speed. If you don’t have the bat speed necessary to generate top-end exit velocities, the best way to be a successful hitter is to maximize your batting average and on-base skills. This means having a short swing, which allows the batter to wait longer and see more of each pitch.
Per Baseball Savant, the four players with the lowest bat speed in the majors this season among qualified hitters are Luis Arraez, Steven Kwan, Jacob Wilson and Nick Allen. Here are the nine shortest swings and how those batters are faring this season:
PLAYERSwing LengthAVG.OBPSLUGOPSwRC+Luis Arraez5.8.286.320.386.707100Jacob Wilson6.1.318.359.450.809123Nick Allen6.3.221.284.249.53352Stephen Kwan6.3.275.334.377.711100Xavier Edwards6.4.280.339.353.69294Victor Scott II6.4.219.306.303.60977Nathan Lukes6.5.256.325.397.721101Jake Mangum6.5.298.333.367.70196Chase Meidroth6.6.269.347.337.68396
There is a large element of selection bias here. That means that the players on this list are here due to their outlier bat-to-ball skills, and they just happen to have short swings. However, this cohort does demonstrate the viability of creating league average batting value, despite 20-grade bat speed.
Rada is exceptionally young, and he is already showing elite plate discipline across the board (except against changeups). Pitchers will likely just challenge him with fastballs, as they won’t be worried about giving up a home run, so let’s dig into his plate discipline vs. heaters:
We see an almost-perfect cluster of swings, with practically zero bad chases. That Rada is able to make such high-quality swing decisions despite being one of the youngest players in Triple-A is probably his strongest attribute.
We also see that he has no whiffs in the bottom half of the zone against four-seam fastballs. The plan of attack against him will be to hit the top third of the zone with fastballs, where he’ll need to improve a little bit.
We also see evidence of potentially elite pitch recognition and decisions against sliders. The only in-zone sliders he takes are hangers at the top of the zone. It’s quite striking how empty the zone box is for takes against sliders.
Rada may never hit double-digit home runs in a season, but he looks very much like Steven Kwan, who has been 13% better than league average through 2,500 plate appearances and accumulated almost 15 wins. Samuel Basallo figures to be the popular pick for AL rookie of the year next year, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Rada makes a case for himself, as well.
Joe Mack, C, Marlins
Per Baseball Prospectus, which player has the most defensive value in Triple-A? That would be Mack. As the old adage goes—defense wins championships.
Currently, the Marlins are giving Agustin Ramirez an extended look at catcher. But the defensive results have been abysmal, leaving the door open for Mack to carve out a role as the primary catcher for the Marlins. The question then becomes: is Mack a good enough hitter?
We have a fairly robust sample of data for Mack, and with it we see a clear, educated approach to maximizing batting value. Mack’s raw power looks to be roughly league average, but he does a great job making better contact in the air, with potentially 60-grade game power. Mack’s 15.7 degree average launch angle on balls hit 95 mph or harder is well above-average, which should allow him to hit 20 to 25 home runs consistently.
Mack refuses to chase breaking balls and sliders, essentially forcing pitchers to attack him with fastballs. While his 42.9% chase rate against fastballs looks poor on the surface, let’s look at a couple of charts that suggest it may actually be a strength:
First, take a look at how sparse certain areas of the take chart is. Middle-middle is particularly barren, indicating Mack is rarely letting those fastballs sneak in for called strikes. We also see almost no takes on pitches just above the zone and over the heart of the plate.
And here we see three home runs at the very top of the zone, as well as three homers well above the top of the zone. Up and away, we see very few whiffs and a ton of barrels. Mack very clearly has optimized his swing to punish high fastballs, and he has the plate discipline and pitch recognition to target those pitches.
Mack’s underlying data lends a lot of confidence to project him as a league average or better hitter who provides tons of defensive value behind the plate. In 2025, Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez is third in rookie fWAR, with league average offense and plus-plus defense. Look for Mack to potentially follow a similar path to success.
Trey Yesavage, RHP, Blue Jays
Next, let’s take a look at Yesavage, the Blue Jays’ 2024 first-round pick who was just called up the majors.
The Blue Jays are expected to call up their No. 2 prospect Trey Yesavage, per @bnicholsonsmith.
MLB’s No. 54 prospect quickly climbed four minor league levels this season.
He has a 3.12 ERA and 160 strikeouts across 98 innings. pic.twitter.com/ajmXnysNMs
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) September 14, 2025
Yesavage’s arsenal is highly unusual, starting with his extreme over-the-top delivery seen in the video above. His fastball gets 20 inches of vertical ride, which is roughly what batters will expect given his arm slot. But that’s also a lot more ride than batters are used to. The slider is the most unusual of his pitches, getting almost five inches of armside movement. The vast majority of sliders move glove side, making this pitch very different. Generally speaking, different is good when it comes to pitching. The splitter gets a ton of depth given his release, and it’s easy to see in the chart how many whiffs it generates.
Both the slider and the splitter have been whiff machines for Yesavage in Triple-A. The slider generated 47.2% whiffs per swing and 20.2% per pitch, including a 31.6% whiff rate in zone. The splitter was even better, with 57.5% whiffs per swing (including an incredible 47.8% zone whiff rate) to go with a 27.1% whiff per pitch rate. That’s two plus-plus secondaries, with a likely plus fastball.
Yesavage looks very much like a potential ace. He doesn’t need a fourth pitch, but the curveball he flashed in Dunedin might be another plus pitch, too.
Tony Blanco Jr., 1B/OF, Pirates
Blanco has more power upside than any prospect currently in the minor leagues. He might have the second-highest present raw power of any player in organized baseball behind fellow Pirate Oneil Cruz.
While Blanco is miles away from the majors, the archetype he reminds me of is one of the premier sluggers of the past decade:
Although we’re glossing over an abysmal zone-contact rate, unlike other power/whiff guys like George Wolkow and Elijah Green, Blanco has performed well, with a batting line 35% above league average in the FSL.
Blanco’s chances of being a successful major league hitter are still slim given his whiff issues, but his raw power is world class and might just be enough to carry him.
Edward Florentino, OF, Pirates
Florentino is showing three potentially plus-plus or better tools at just 18 years old. His ability to get the ball in the air is exceptional, and he combines that with a zone-contact rate north of 90%. Most importantly, he spits on non-fastballs out of the zone, forcing pitchers to attack him with fastballs.
Currently, Florentino is showing about 50-grade raw power. Let’s translate that into a range of outcomes, beginning with the lower-end outcome:
If we assume no growth in raw power, Davis Schneider has a broadly similar profile to Florentino, with superior swing decisions. Schneider has a batting line that’s 30% better than league average this year, so this outcome would still be fantastic for Florentino.
If we assume significant growth in raw power, we could get something that looks like Cal Raleigh:
Raleigh isn’t a direct comp, but he’s the typical example of just how important launch angles are. You’ll notice that all three players here have extreme launch angles, and all three do a ton of damage on contact. Florentino’s highly-optimized swing gives him a high floor and also gives him an enormous ceiling if he grows into plus-plus raw power.
Hector Rodriguez, OF/2B, Reds
Let’s flip the script a little. When it comes to launch angles, Rodriguez is the inverse of Florentino. He showcases present plus power, but most of that is on the ground.
While this can often be a frustrating profile, Rodriguez’s combination of raw power and bat-to-ball ability are two very clear major league-quality tools. The real issue stems from an overly aggressive approach with very poor swing decisions:
Rodriguez can’t lay off the high fastball but also rarely puts any of those pitches in play:
In the zone, he’s a contact machine, especially in the lower half,. But above the zone, he’ll struggle. Patience and pitch selection are often the hardest things to develop, so it remains to be seen if Rodriguez will be able to fully actualize his plus power and contact skills.
JR Ritchie, RHP, Braves
Ritchie is a prime example of modern pitching development in what might be dubbed the “Year of the Pitch Mix.”
When you don’t have a plus fastball, the approach is to throw two or three different fastball shapes. Ritchie’s fastball and sinker come out of the hand with identical spin but have dramatically different shapes. He also mixes in a bridge cutter at 90 mph, giving him three fastball shapes to help mask what would otherwise be a below-average fastball.
The changeup is a tremendous pitch, averaging negative ride. It gets huge vertical differentiation from the fastball and generates plenty of whiffs and chases. The pitch should be good enough to operate as both a contact management pitch and a whiff pitch.
Ritchie rounds out his arsenal with a dynamic sweeper/curve combination. The two pitches operate with similar horizontal movement and velocity profiles but differ by about 13 inches vertically.
Ritchie optimizes his pitch mix depending on the handedness of the batter, preferring the sinker/sweeper against righties and the change/curveball against lefties. This allows him to have a deep, five-pitch arsenal against lefties and power sinker/slider-dominant profile against righties.
If there’s a pitcher in Triple-A who embodies the “Year of the Pitch Mix,” it’s Ritchie.
Jonathan Stevens, RHP, Twins
When you look at a crisp arsenal chart like Ritchie’s above, one might think it’s not an extremely hard thing to accomplish. On the contrary. Let’s take a look at a pitcher who might have a similar development path as Ritchie, but with an arsenal that isn’t quite as polished.
If we squint, we can see the makings of a diverse pitch mix with Stevens. His fastball has poor shape, so he’ll need to develop a sinker to play off the pitch. He already has a solid bridge cutter, so he’s on the path to the three fastball approach. We also see the makings of a sweeper touching 15 inches of sweep and a curveball that operates in a similar horizontal movement and velo band to the sweeper. He does a tremendous job killing spin on the splitter, but it’s very inconsistent.
Stevens’ path to success should look a lot like Ritchie’s. If he can refine and execute his mix as he develops—while adding a true seam-shifted wake sinker—this could be an arm that quickly rises through the ranks.
Ryan Clifford, OF, Mets
We took a brief look at Clifford at the start of his Triple-A career and concluded that his early data looked very much like a 60 hit/60 power bat. With a couple more weeks of data, the picture is now starting to crystallize.
The power is very real and has ticked up since his debut. It’s looking comfortably plus, with the realistic potential for plus-plus raw and game power at the major league level. The bat is now looking more average than plus, but he’s making more than enough contact for his power to carry him.
If Clifford can boost his average launch angles a few degrees, he’ll be perennial 30 home run threat. If he remains as is, he’s looking something like a .260/.360/.480 hitter, which every team would be happy to have in their lineup.
Junior Perez, OF, Athletics
Perez is showing what looks like 65-grade raw power with perhaps 80-grade plate discipline. He has decent enough launch angles, which might let him get to most of his raw power. The zone contact is underwhelming, but the quality of contact is sublime, with zone slugging on contact over 1.000 on all pitch types except sinkers.
What does it all add up to?
Perez is slashing .297/.416/.664 in 154 Triple-A plate appearances. This is coming off a .201/.318/.398 line in Double-A this year, but the Athletics clearly saw enough in the profile to warrant a mid-season promotion. He’s unlikely to hit for a high batting average, but the on-base skills look very real, and he has more than enough power to maybe make it all work.
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