Prospect News: Yanquiel Doodle Dandy or Believers In Beavers?

Yankees OF Spencer Jones (24) graduated Double-A last week and already has two home runs in three Triple-A games. It’ll be interesting to see how the club handles him during the trade deadline because he’s still striking out a lot (33.7% in AA), and the team doesn’t have much room at the inn. They’ve been benching Jasson Dominguez and Paul Goldschmidt at times since Giancarlo Stanton returned. Bit of a double-edged sword for dynasty players because Jones might be better off in an organization with more roster flexibility, but that would quash the dream of housing the 6’7” 240 lb lefty in Yankee Stadium. 

The Rockies recalled OF Yanquiel Fernandez (22) on Tuesday and sat him on the bench against Astros lefty Colton Gordon. Maybe he’ll play today, but he’ll be back in the dugout against LHP Brandon Walter tomorrow. Fernandez had a 96 wRC+ through Triple-A 64 games this year, but he’s been locked in lately, slashing .407/.438/.729 with five home runs in 15 games while striking out just nine times (14.1 percent). Few things I hate more about tracking this space than watching a guy get recalled on a hot streak just to ride the pine for a week. Maybe that won’t be the case here, and I’m not a real big believer in Fernandez anyway, but this move has that specific smell about it. 

Orioles OF Dylan Beavers (23, AAA) has been excellent for most of the season, but he’s kicked into a higher gear around mid June. Over his last eight games, he’s slashing .357/.471/.786 with four home runs, six walks and three strikeouts. Does this matter to the player’s timeline? Impossible to say. What we can say is that Beavers is a 6’5” 206 lb lumberjack who was the 33rd overall pick in the 2022 draft and that he looks more than ready for the next step. 

Reds 3B Sal Stewart (21, AA) is looking at a promotion pretty soon here. His full-season line is .322/.425/.491 with a 16.2 percent strikeout rate and nine homers in 72 games, but like everyone else on the list so far, he’s been heating up with the weather. Six of those home runs have happened in his last 16 games, which is especially intriguing because in-game power is the last piece Stewart needed to become a true blue-chip prospect. An infield that was once filled with road blocks looks more like open road to me right now. Might be a gravel road, I suppose. Christian Encarnacion-Strand has a 54 wRC+ and isn’t as good a defender as Stewart. Noelvi Marte is still interesting, of course. He should be back in the majors this month after rehabbing his oblique. 

Diamondbacks 2B Manuel Pena (21, AA) signed for $1.2 million in 2021, the biggest bonus Arizona gave any player in that class, and while it hasn’t always been smooth, Pena has steadily progressed through the system despite never quite accessing the power many projected he’d have. His season high in home runs is five, for example. Or at least it was until a few days ago. He’s now hit five homers over his past 13 games, giving him seven in 2025. He’s 3.1 years younger than the average age at that level, and if the hits keep coming, I’ll be adding Pena in just about every league to see if this is the start of a new phase for him. 

Rays OF Angel Mateo (20, A) is slashing .426/.481/.660 over his last 12 games, amping up what had already been a successful return to Low-A. He won’t turn 21 until February and could see some extended run in spring training as he prepares to open the season in Double-A (or maybe High-A if Mateo struggles in the second half of this season). At 6’1” 190 lbs with quick hands, plus contact skills and above average speed, he fits a profile of underrated prospect I tend to really like.  

Mets SS Elian Pena started a little slow but is cooking now. He’s got nine walks and four strikeouts in his last nine games, slashing .407/.541/.889 with three home runs. He’s still hitting just .200 in his 20 professional games, but it’s nice to see him course correct so quickly. 

Athletics OF Jose Ramos (18, DSL) signed for $1.2 million but didn’t hit at all his first time through the Dominican Summer League: .141/.310/.195 with a 33 percent strikeout rate in 49 games. He’s looking much better this time around. A left-handed hitter with easy speed at 6’1” 160 lbs, Ramos has room to grow and is flashing some impressive plate skills in the early going, drawing five walks against four strikeouts and slashing .400/.500/.633 with three stolen bases in 11 games. It’d be a long wait, but you could do worse with a roster spot. 

Thanks for reading!