Prospect News: Beavers, Basallo and A Bubba Walk Into A Bar

These days are reserved for the true cheapskates. If a minor leaguer is good enough to stress the pricing mechanisms in place to suppress his salary, the cheapskate team is obligated to keep him on a minor league contract as long as embarrassingly possible. How can you not be romantic about Baltimore promoting Dylan Beavers and Samuel Basallo on back-to-back days just after crossing the invisible barrier between trying to win games and trying to spend as little as possible for as long as possible. Or perhaps it was pure coincidence that they were both ready for the next challenge on the same weekend just in time to preserve their rookie status for 2026. It could happen. 

And oh hey look at that! The Pirates are promoting RHP Bubba Chandler to start Friday. He’s ready! Such Romance! 

Dodgers RHP Edgardo Henriquez has a 0.57 WHIP through seven innings. Los Angeles is running relay races with alternating anchor legs in the late innings, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Henriquez elbow his way into the picture. His 103 mph heater is ideal for one of these light-show closer entrances that hypes up the whole ballpark. 

Rangers RHP Jose Corniell (22, AA) was one of my favorite pitching prospects heading into 2024 before he missed the season with Tommy John surgery. He’s back in action now and has a preposterous 0.26 WHIP with 17 strikeouts and one walk through 15.2 Double-A innings. Might already be too late to get him where you can fit him. 

In his last two starts covering ten innings, Nationals RHP Jarlin Susana (21, AA) has recorded 22 strikeouts, regularly topping 100 miles per hour from his 6’6” 235 lb lighthouse view. He should be in Triple-A soon with a chance to open 2026 in the major league rotation. Should make any short list of the game’s best pitching prospects. Nationals fans will remember that Juan Soto trade for a long time. 

Angels OF Hayden Alvarez (18, A) is having no troubles with his first couple weeks in full-season ball, slashing .432/.500/.514 with five walks, two strikeouts and seven stolen bases through 11 games. Well on his way to making a bunch of top 100 prospects lists this winter. 

Pirates SS Konnor Griffin (19, AA) is more or less the consensus top prospect in baseball, but I was still a little surprised to see Pittsburgh promote him to Double-A after 51 games in High-A. He had nothing left to prove there, but what is the team going to do at the start of 2026 if Griffin dominates in Double-A for a month-plus? I’m probably overthinking it, but the Pirates have found a way to fumble just about every hitting prospect they’ve employed, so I suppose I’m just skeptical. 

If I had to run the ranks today, I’d probably put Brewers SS Jesus Made (18, A+) at the top. I love the player, but the final factor in that decision would be the organization’s aptitude for actualizing major league hitters. It wasn’t a strength all that long ago, but they’ve invested heavily in development throughout the organization, and the fruits are easy to see. Made made his High-A debut this month and is slashing .354/.426/.583 as one of the league’s youngest players. He’s a switch hitter headed to a climate controlled big league ballpark that’s excellent for offense. Griffin is a pull-heavy righty headed to perhaps the most difficult park for right-handed power hitters. 

Speaking of ballpark fits, Royals LHP David Shields (18, A) is ideal for Kauffman Stadium. He’s a long way away as a teenager in Low-A, but his command is well ahead of his years, and his pitchability is impressive for anyone but especially a young lefty. The mix is mostly fastball, slider, changeup, but guys with aptitude like this tend to add weapons across time. He repeats his delivery well at 6’2” 210 lbs and figures to add velocity as he grows into his man-strength. Oh heck I forgot to share some stats! Through 63 innings across Low-A 16 starts, Shields has a 1.43 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with 72 strikeouts and 12 walks. He has allowed two home runs. The command really shields him from the long ball. 

Thanks for reading!