The Daily Briefing — Friday, September 18
By Morgan Davis ·
Yesterday's best performances across the minor leagues, with scouting context from 80Grade.
Made Goes Deep at Biloxi While Still Too Young to Rent a Car
Jesús Made, the Brewers' shortstop prospect ranked #1 overall, went 2-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBI at Double-A Biloxi on Thursday, drawing a walk and finishing without a strikeout in five plate appearances. That line would look solid from anyone; from a 19-year-old facing Double-A arms, it sits in a different category entirely. The switch-hitting shortstop carries a 60 hit tool and matching 60 athleticism grade, and the season numbers at Biloxi back it up: a .271/.344/.430 line across 122 games with 14 home runs, 37 stolen bases, and a contact rate of 80.8%, which is exceptional for a teenager in the upper minors. His 55 raw power grade makes the home run feel like a real weapon rather than a fluke, and the combination of speed and contact skill means pitchers have no obvious opening to exploit against him.
The last 30 days have looked slightly softer on the surface.250/.300/.388 across 90 plate appearances, but the strikeout rate in that stretch is a tidy 12.2%, the walk rate sits at 7.8%, and he has continued to make quality contact against better sequences. The main developmental threads remain the same: a tendency to get a little eager against quality breaking balls below the zone, and defensive consistency that still runs behind his offensive upside. The footwork and exchange issues at shortstop are real, and the scouting report acknowledges some risk that the glove eventually settles at second base rather than short. Thursday's clean two-walk-plus-homer line shows the profile working as designed, a switch-hitter who can punish a mistake without giving away at-bats, and at 19 years old at Double-A, the ceiling conversation still has a long runway ahead of it.
Quick Hits
- Kemp Alderman, OF, Marlins (AAA, Jacksonville) · #331 · crushed a grand slam to right field, going 2-for-5 with 4 RBI and a walk Thursday, his 19th home run of the season at Jacksonville. The 24-year-old right-handed corner outfielder owns a 60 raw power grade, and the grand slam was a clean expression of what that grade looks like when the swing is on time. His contact-rate concerns are real, a 65.7% contact rate and 32.6% strikeout rate on the year, and the last 30 days have been rough: .200/.282/.293 with 30 strikeouts in 85 plate appearances. The power is the carrying tool, and Thursday it carried.
- Ralphy Velazquez, 1B, Guardians (AAA, Columbus) · #34 · went 3-for-5 with three doubles and 2 RBI, a vintage line for a hitter whose profile is built on hard contact and gap thump. The 21-year-old left-handed first baseman is slashing .329/.410/.700 over his last 19 games at Columbus with 7 home runs and 22 RBI, and the full-season numbers across Triple-A and Double-A sit at .293/.381/.555 with 29 home runs. He carries a 60 power grade and a 55 hit tool; the three-double game is a reminder that the damage does not always come via the home run, and the combined numbers make him one of the strongest bats at his age anywhere in affiliated ball.
- Jefferson Rojas, SS, Mets (AAA, Syracuse) · #127 · drove in 3 runs on 2 hits, including a home run, his third long ball in just 14 plate appearances since his promotion to Triple-A. The 21-year-old right-handed infielder already had 27 home runs between Double-A Knoxville and Double-A Binghamton this year, and the Syracuse debut is building on that pace; his combined Triple-A line now reads .583/.643/1.417. The 55 hit tool and 50 power grade undersell what the production has looked like in the back half of the season: over the last 30 days at Double-A he was slashing .310/.368/.724 with 10 home runs in 95 plate appearances. He projects at second base long term, and the bat is running well ahead of that conservative positional projection right now.
- Sebastian Walcott, DH, Rangers (AA, Frisco) · #11 · went 2-for-5 with a home run, an RBI, and a walk Thursday. The 20-year-old Rangers shortstop prospect hit his 10th home run of the year across 178 plate appearances in his first full season back from UCL surgery, and the recent form has been remarkable: .333/.446/.631 over his last 21 games at Double-A with 7 home runs and a 14.9% walk rate. He carries 60 grades in athleticism, speed, and arm strength, and the scouting profile still projects him at shortstop long term if the elbow holds. The combination of age, tools, and performance at Double-A keeps the ceiling conversation pointed well above the level he is currently playing.
- Gabriel Gonzalez, RF, Twins (AAA, St. Paul) · #335 · went 2-for-6 with a home run, 3 RBI, and 2 hit-by-pitches Thursday, reaching base four times. The 22-year-old right-handed corner outfielder has picked up his production over the last 18 games at St. Paul, slashing .315/.413/.500 with 3 home runs and a contact rate of 81.6%, noticeably better than his season-long 78.4%. He carries a 50 hit and 50 power grade and projects as a bat-first corner man; the season-long line of .260/.328/.431 with 16 home runs at Triple-A is right in line with a second-division regular trajectory, and Thursday's multi-RBI game fits the profile of a hitter who can do damage when pitchers make mistakes in the zone.
- Nelson Rada, CF, Angels (AAA, South Jordan) · #262 · went 3-for-6 with 2 walks Thursday without driving in a run, a line that suits his profile perfectly. The 21-year-old left-handed center fielder carries a 30 power grade and a 60 field grade; the season at Salt Lake reads .273/.371/.355 across 571 plate appearances with 41 stolen bases and a 70-walk showing. His last 30 days have been softer at the plate.235/.337/.309, but the zone management and speed remain constants. The value of a three-hit game with two free passes is real for a profile built entirely on contact, patience, and plus defense in center.
- Kane Kepley, OF, Cubs (AA, Knoxville) · #376 · went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, an RBI, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch at Double-A Knoxville. The 22-year-old left-handed outfielder has one of the more distinctive profiles in the system: a combined 20.2% walk rate and 70 stolen bases across 595 plate appearances this season, driven by a 60 speed grade and an approach that produces a 21.3% walk rate at High-A and 16.7% at Double-A. The power is a 35 grade, and it shows; his combined slugging sits at .401 across both levels. The double and triple Thursday fit him well, a hitter who does his best work finding gaps and getting on base rather than running counts for lift. He projects as an everyday center fielder if the bat holds up against Double-A arms, and Thursday's line was a clean argument for that path.
- Jhostynxon Garcia, CF, Pirates (AAA, Indianapolis) · #257 · went 2-for-5 with a home run, 4 RBI, and a walk Thursday. The 23-year-old right-handed outfielder has been split between the major leagues and Indianapolis this year; his MLB line (.167/.200/.188 across 50 plate appearances) reflects the contact-and-strikeout exposure that the scouting report flags, while the Triple-A numbers (.268/.331/.424 with 9 home runs in 278 plate appearances) are more workable. Over the last 11 games at Indianapolis before Thursday his numbers were soft: .214/.250/.357 with 15 strikeouts in 44 plate appearances. The 55 power grade showed up Thursday when it mattered, and a 4-RBI day against Triple-A pitching is the production the profile needs to sustain if he is going to carve out more than an up-down role.
- Liam Doyle, LHP, Cardinals (AA, Springfield) · #49 · struck out 8 over 3.2 innings Thursday, holding hitters hitless while generating 13 swinging misses on 86 pitches, though 5 walks and a run limit the grade on the outing. The 22-year-old Cardinals left-hander carries a 60 fastball (95-98 mph) and a 60 slider, and those two pitches are doing most of the heavy lifting at Double-A this year: a 30.0% strikeout rate across 103 innings with a 1.88 ERA and 0 home runs allowed over the last 30 days. The walk problem is the persistent thread; 54 free passes on the season and 12 in the last 24 innings reflect the command (50 grade) that keeps the profile from projecting to an upper-rotation ceiling. The stuff plays, the zone control still needs to follow.
- Jared Thomas, OF, Rockies (AA, Hartford) · #326 · hit a home run and drove in a run on 2 hits Thursday in 4 plate appearances, his 4th home run at Double-A Hartford in 28 games. The 23-year-old left-handed corner outfielder has a 60 speed grade and projects to left field, but the strikeout exposure at Double-A is the number that stands out most: a 37.1% strikeout rate across 124 plate appearances this year. His last 30 days are more of the same, 36.5% strikeout rate in 96 plate appearances; the 55 hit tool grade lives upstream of what the Double-A contact numbers currently show. Thursday's homer was a legitimate power display from a profile with a 50 grade, and the 12 stolen bases suggest the athleticism is real even while the swing needs refinement against upper-level pitching.
- Daniel Eagen, RHP, Cardinals (AA, Springfield) · #266 · fanned 5 over 3 innings Thursday but allowed 2 earned runs on 1 hit and 2 walks, generating 9 swinging misses on 58 pitches. The 23-year-old right-hander carries a 60 curveball and a 55 four-seamer sitting 94-96 mph; the curve has been his primary swing-and-miss weapon across the year, and a 30.7% strikeout rate over 122 innings confirms the arsenal is real. The walk rate (8.0% for the season) and home-run exposure (24 allowed) remain the profile's limiting factors; Eagen's release consistency from the high slot can wander when he falls behind, and Thursday's two free passes in three innings kept the outing short. He projects as a back-end starter, and the stuff supports it, but the command still needs to close the gap.