Prospect News: Hurtado So Good or Frias From Evil

White Sox 1B Jacob Gonzalez (24) got promoted this week to replace the injured Munetaka Murakami. He earned the chance by going nuclear in Triple-A, launching 19 home runs in 52 games while slashing .317/.419/.688 with eight stolen bases and a 20.6 percent strikeout rate. In each of his last two seasons, he’s topped out at eight homers in 134 and 130 games, respectively. The main change is his contact point, as he’s taking his A swing (max effort) more frequently and trying to attack pitches he can pull out in front of the plate. Essentially, he was a contact hitter who’s no longer worried about striking out. It feels on the ground like this breakout is being dismissed as a quad-A type thing where an older guy beats up on pitchers who don’t have big league caliber command. I’m not so sure. Gonzalez was a high-floor first-round pick at 15th overall out of Ole Miss in 2023, and he’s a relatively big dude at 6’2” 205 pounds from the left side. I don’t have him on any dynasty teams, but I do feel a little Fox Mulderish about this one: I want to believe. It’s fun to see the White Sox playing competitive baseball again. 

With Ramon Laureano and Jake Cronenworth on the injured list, the Padres turned to former Pirates OF Jase Bowen (25) to play left field rather than rely on Nick Castellanos out there. Bowen has been a legitimate prospect throughout his development with Pittsburgh, leading AJ Preller to pounce when Bowen became available at the end of his draft contract in November. Bowen responded to the new lease on life by slashing .292/.362/.600 with 13 home runs and seven stolen bases to earn his first look at the big leagues. Preller has a knack for bringing in cheap corner bats and revitalizing their careers via playing time at the opportune moment. Can’t hurt to kick the tires on this one. 

The Giants surprised me this week by recalling OF Jonah Cox (24) from Double-A, where he was slashing .400/.453/.644 with six home runs, 27 stolen bases and a 16.9 percent strikeout rate. A right-handed hitter at 6’2” 204 pounds, he’s bigger than the typical speedburner, and while this is likely a brief stint based on his defensive ability in center field while Harrison Bader and Heliot Ramos recover from their injuries, Cox could change his spot on the org chart with a competent couple weeks. 

Angels RHP Joel Hurtado (25, AA) might make a similar leap the next time Los Angeles of Anaheim needs a starting pitcher. Their group at Triple-A is underwhelming, and the club has shown little hesitance toward jumping their prospects over a level if the moment felt right. On the season, Hurtado has a 2.89 ERA and 1.18 WHIP, but he’s a command and control guy who features a dynamic changeup-slider combo, and once he found his rhythm and started landing those, smooth sailing awaited. Over his last six starts, he’s sporting a 1.09 ERA and 0.88 WHIP 33 innings. All those numbers look nice, but the innings stands out to me as a reason he might get the next chance. Averaging even a smidge more than five per turn can be pretty useful these days. 

Cubs OF Josiah Hartshorn (19, A+) has been playing center field in High-A: something of a surprise considering his six-foot, 220-pound frame. The switch-hitter has three home runs through just seven games at the level, slashing .400/.469/.800 with five walks and five strikeouts, bringing his season-long totals to 39 walks (18.7%) against 32 strikeouts (15.3%). He might be ready for his next challenge already and makes for an intriguing trade target in dynasty leagues. Perhaps it’s already too late to buy low, but you could probably still buy on the rise at a reasonable rate. 

Milwaukee’s newest breakout prospect is Brewers OF Alexander Frias (18, CPX). A 6’2” corner outfielder listed at 177 pounds, Frias features easy plus power from the left side and a double-plus throwing arm from the right, which suggests some extra twitch in his core. Through 19 games, he’s slashing .388/.474/.627 with three home runs, seven stolen bases and a 20.5 percent strikeout rate. Good time to get him where you can fit him. 

PS: This tarps-off thing is some kind of strange extension of the manosphere, right? Let’s keep this fad as brief as possible, please. I mean holy shizz I’m seeing whole sections of bro-bruhs rip their shirts off and swing them around in the stands. Excuse me, Sirs, the WWE event is down the block. Though to be fair, that organization has been aggressive at incorporating women into their shows and inviting women into their audiences. Perhaps this is actually good for the game? Heckifino. At least it’s not something AI could do. Take that, robots! 

Thanks for reading!