The Daily Briefing — Friday, August 21
By Morgan Davis ·
Is Colorado's Jackson a Top 50 Guy?
Daniel Jackson went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, two RBI, and two walks Thursday against Low-A pitching in Fresno, a box score that fits neatly inside the best eight-game stretch a 21-year-old Rockies catcher has produced at this level in recent memory. The numbers across that full sample are genuinely eye-opening: .296/.472/.593 with two home runs, a 34.2% swing rate that ranks among the most selective in the Low-A field, and eight walks against six strikeouts across 36 plate appearances. That last piece is the one worth sitting with. The primary scouting concern with Jackson has always been swing-and-miss, the argument being that his power-oriented approach and some length in the swing leave him vulnerable to quality velocity and spin. Eight games is far too small a sample to dismiss that concern outright, but a 64.2% contact rate paired with such selectivity suggests he is not surviving by accident. He is seeing pitches deep, choosing his spots, and when he swings, he does real damage. The 60 power grade is already credible; what Thursday's line and this stretch are challenging is the 50 hit tool, which could prove conservative if the zone management holds.
The projection carries him as an everyday catcher with middle-of-the-order impact potential, provided the receiving continues to develop and the hit tool reaches playable. His athleticism, a legitimate plus for a catcher, and a 55 arm grade give him enough defensive foundation to stay behind the plate rather than sliding to a corner. Thursday's game does not settle the developmental questions around his receiving or game-calling, and it does not guarantee the approach holds once pitchers start spinning him more consistently. But Jackson is a 21-year-old right-handed catcher who runs well, carries 60 raw power, and is currently walking more than he strikes out in his first Low-A exposure. The floor of a bat-first backstop already feels too conservative for this profile; the ceiling conversation is worth having now. He sits at 89 on our top 100 but the arrow is pointing higher.
Quick Hits
Seaver King, SS, Nationals (AAA, Rochester) · #88 · crushed two home runs and drove in six on four hits across six plate appearances Thursday, his eighth and ninth home runs over his last 17 games at Triple-A. The 23-year-old right-handed shortstop is slashing .400/.481/.800 over the last 30 days in Rochester with nine walks against 20 strikeouts in 81 plate appearances; on the season across 391 combined plate appearances between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester, he is at .325/.405/.565 with 18 home runs. A 50 hit tool paired with sustained Triple-A damage makes the second-division regular projection feel like a floor if the contact holds against better spin.
Ralphy Velazquez, 1B, Guardians (AAA, Columbus) · #43 · went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI Thursday, his 13th home run over his last 23 Triple-A games. The 21-year-old left-handed first baseman is slashing .287/.347/.747 over that same stretch with 26 RBI in 98 plate appearances, a power surge that has pushed his combined season line to .290/.378/.543 with 24 home runs across 455 plate appearances between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. A 55 hit and 60 power grade on an everyday first-base projection is already a lot of profile at 21; the last month of data is making the first-division ceiling a real part of the conversation.
Anthony Eyanson, RHP, Orioles (AA, Bowie) · #49 · held Double-A hitters to one earned run on five hits over 6.1 innings Thursday, walking nobody and striking out eight. The 21-year-old right-hander is sitting on a 2.59 ERA across his last five Double-A starts with 39 strikeouts and a 39.3% whiff rate in 24.1 innings, numbers that back up the 55-grade fastball sitting 94-98 and the 55-grade slider as a legitimate bat-misser at this level. The season ERA across 85.2 combined innings between High-A and Double-A stands at 1.58, and a 40.7% whiff rate on the year suggests the stuff-to-results connection is real rather than run-prevention luck. The #3 starter projection has teeth.
Emil Morales, SS, Dodgers (A+, Midland) · #52 · drove in two on a pair of hits including a home run Thursday, his seventh homer over the last 23 games at High-A. The 19-year-old right-handed shortstop is slashing .329/.457/.635 over that stretch with 18 walks against 23 strikeouts in 105 plate appearances, and his swing rate has pulled back to 40.1% in that window compared to his season-long 44.6%. On the year across 486 combined plate appearances, he has 24 home runs and 108 RBI. The contact rate remains the question at 68% for the season, but the approach has been trending in the right direction alongside the production.
Justin Lebron, SS, Reds (A+, Dayton) · #48 · went 2-for-4 with a double and his fourth homer of the last eight games Thursday, driving in a run. The 21-year-old right-handed shortstop is slashing .353/.371/.794 across his first 35 plate appearances at High-A, with four home runs and three doubles; he is swinging at 51.8% of pitches with a 75% contact rate, an aggressive approach that has not cost him much yet. Graded as a plus defender with a 60 arm and 60 field score, the everyday shortstop projection is already grounded in defense; this early High-A stretch is making the 60 power grade look like a real asset rather than a projection.
Bo Davidson, OF, Giants (AAA, Sacramento) · #174 · went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, an RBI, and a walk Thursday, his fifth home run over 26 games at Triple-A Sacramento. The 24-year-old left-handed corner outfielder is slashing .313/.405/.545 over his last 30 days in Sacramento with 22 RBI and a contact rate that has climbed to 81.1%, a meaningful step up from his 72.8% season-long mark. Combined across 451 plate appearances between Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento, he is at .284/.353/.514 with 24 home runs and 18 steals. The 55 power grade and everyday contact are doing enough; the second-division left-field projection looks reachable if he can sustain that contact uptick against better pitching.
Braylon Doughty, RHP, Guardians (AA, Akron) · #51 · struck out five and allowed no runs on two hits over 3.2 innings Thursday, walking one. The 20-year-old right-hander has a 2.53 ERA across his last three Double-A starts with a 37.2% whiff rate over 10.2 innings, a stretch that shows the 60-grade curveball and 55-grade slider doing real work against advanced hitters. The season ERA of 3.32 across 89.1 combined innings between High-A and Double-A understates where he is right now; Thursday's outing was cut short but was his cleanest run-prevention effort in weeks.
Luis Peña, SS, Brewers (AA, Biloxi) · #19 · went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI Thursday, his third homer of the year at Double-A in just 12 plate appearances at the level. The 19-year-old right-handed shortstop has a 70 speed grade and 29 stolen bases on the season across 243 combined plate appearances; over his last 30 days at High-A Wisconsin he was slashing .306/.359/.482 with a 55.3% swing rate and 72.1% contact rate, an aggressive approach that still produces. The everyday second-base projection gets more interesting every time he handles a step up without flinching.
Jaxon Willits, SS, Angels (A, Rancho Cucamonga) · #251 · went 3-for-5 with a double and a hit by pitch Thursday, posting his third multi-hit game over his first 14 games at Low-A. The 21-year-old switch-hitter is slashing .234/.429/.404 across 63 plate appearances with 15 walks against 15 strikeouts, a 34.4% swing rate that reflects genuine zone discipline rather than passivity. A 55 hit grade with below-average power means the value is built on contact and on-base production; the walk-to-strikeout balance through 63 plate appearances is the foundation the second-division shortstop projection is built on.
Kemp Alderman, OF, Marlins (AAA, Jacksonville) · #394 · drew two walks and crushed a three-run homer Thursday, going 1-for-3 with a walk-heavy approach. The 24-year-old right-handed corner outfielder has 18 home runs in 355 Triple-A plate appearances this season with a 60 raw power grade that has translated; over his last 23 games, though, he is hitting .183 with a 58.9% contact rate and 33 strikeouts in 97 plate appearances, a stretch that puts the 40 hit grade in sharp focus. Thursday's homer was his fifth over that rough stretch, which confirms the power is real even when everything else is noisy.
Josiah Hartshorn, OF, Cubs (A+, South Bend) · #209 · went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and no strikeouts Thursday. The 19-year-old switch-hitter is slashing .304/.400/.554 over his last 30 days at High-A with four home runs, seven doubles, two triples, 28 RBI, and a 78.9% contact rate across 110 plate appearances. On the season across 481 combined plate appearances between Low-A Myrtle Beach and High-A South Bend, he is at .281/.397/.509 with 19 home runs and 71 walks. A 50 hit grade, 55 power, and a patient approach suggest the second-division first-base projection could be a conservative read if the power continues to show up this consistently at 19.