Who’s Hot, Who’s Not: May

The weather is warming up and the balls are starting to fly. With now two months of minor league play behind us, guys are knocking off the rust and starting to settle in. In this edition of Hot/Not we will dive into the May stat lines and help you put some meaning behind the numbers. Enjoy and come back again next month.
*stats accumulated from 5/1 to 5/31

Hot

Ryan Ritter, SS (Rockies #13)
Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes
(97 AB, .381/.445/.918/1.363, 37 H, 10 2B, 3 3B, 112HR, 31 RBI, 27 R, 12 BB, 17 K, SB)
There is no doubt that Ritter is on a heater right now. Over the last six games, he has hit seven homeruns and is slugging over 1.400. A look at the Statcast data for the season tells a mixed story. His barrel rate (14.4%), max EV (110.5) and expected SLG (.490) are outstanding but his zone contact (81.3%), swinging strike rate (12.9%) and whiff rate (30.7%) are all below average. The difference in a utility player and an impact regular will come down to how much he can limit the swing and miss against big league pitching. The Rockies are not a good big league team so why not see what they have?
Fantasy Take: Worth a waiver claim/bid. Just don’t overpay, long-term there are still some questions.

Gage Jump, LHP (Athletics #24)
High-A Lansing Lugnuts & Double-A Midland RockHounds
(5 GS, 32 IP, 16 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 37 K, 0.66 WHIP)
Gage garnered strong consideration for inclusion in last month’s article. The numbers were there, but his short stature, high-effort delivery and the fact that he was a former SEC pitcher carving up High-A hitters gave me pause. Now that he is repeating that success at the Double-A level, he looks legit. I waited too late in both of my dynasty leagues. Don’t make the same mistake I did.
Fantasy Take: Jump on him now, if you still can.

Gage Jump Highlights! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/SW0UI32e3F

— Midland RockHounds (@RockHounds) May 21, 2025

David Davalillo, RHP (Rangers #35)
High-A Hub City Spartanburgers
(5 GS, 28 IP, 15 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 35 K, 0.68 WHIP)
This makes back-to-back months that Davalillo has made the “Hot” list and May was even more impressive than April. Thanks to only four walks in 28 innings this month he lowered his WHIP to 0.72 on the season. The Rangers Double-A affiliate, the Frisco RoughRiders, play in the notoriously hitter friendly Texas League making his next challenge a tough one.
Fantasy Take: Last month I said to get him on your watchlist. Depending on league size it might be time to add. 8% owned in Fantrax.

RJ Schreck, OF (Blue Jays #37)
Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats
(97 AB, .320/.411/.670/1.081, 31 H, 5 2B, 3B, 9 HR, 17 RBI, 19 R, 13 BB, 23 K, 4 SB)
The Jays acquiring Schreck from the Mariners for Justin Turner at last years trade deadline might not have received much attention at the time, but that could soon change. The former Vandy Boy is really heating up, currently sporting a wRC+ of 164. He won’t offer much in the way of speed but his combination of zone awareness and power make him very interesting.
Fantasy Take: Watchlist him. 4% owned in Fantrax.

Tyson Hardin, RHP (Brewers NR)
High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
(5 GS, 30 IP, 26 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 33 K, 0.95 WHIP)
Here is another former SEC pitcher excelling against High-A hitters. At Mississippi State, Hardin pitched primarily out of the bullpen, but after a pitch mix change, the Brewers are giving him run as a starter. I trust the Brewers development team, but I still want to see how his stuff works against more advanced hitters before I buy all the way in. Ugh, I hope I didn’t just do it again.
Fantasy Take: Watchlist unless your league is deep. 5% owned in Fantrax.

Victor Figueroa, 1B/RF (Padres NR)
Arizona Complex League & Single-A Lake Elsinore Storm
(77 AB, .429/.500/.896/1.396, 33 H, 6 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 18 R, 11 BB, 14 K, 2 SB)
Figueroa is a big human. The lefthanded hitter stands 6’5″ and comes in at 240 pounds. The Padres took the former Junior College All-American in the 18th round of the last years draft. After proving to be too much for the complex league the Padres moved him up to Single-A halfway through the month. The power is real and if he can make enough contact, he could be very interesting. He is limited defensively so there will be pressure on his bat to carry the profile.
Fantasy Take: I would take a chance in any league where 3oo+ prospects are owned. 14% owned in Fantrax.

More Strong Complex League Starts
Complex league pitching leaves a little to be desired so you have to keep the offensive numbers in context. That said, in deeper dynasty leagues you have to get some of these young kids on your radar early. Let’s take a look at a few names to know.
Rainiel Rodriguez, C (Cardinals #16)
Florida Complex League
(54 AB, .370/.520/.852/1.372, 20 H, 5 2B, 7 HR, 16 RBI, 22 R, 16 BB, 14 K, SB)
Rodriguez is the best known name of these three thanks to a strong 2024 Dominican Summer League and could be owned already in deeper leagues. He is absolutely mashing the ball in complex ball and looks ready for more of a challenge. The bat is special. I would like to see him move out from behind the dish so the bat can move faster.

Nate George, OF (Orioles NR)
Florida Complex League
(63 AB, .429/.500/.619/1.119, 27 H, 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 18 R, 8 BB, 12 K, 11 SB)
The Orioles went well over slot value ($455K) to sign the 16th-round prep outfielder in last years draft. When an organization as good at scouting and developing talent as Baltimore believes that much in a kid, it gets my attention. He is athletic, has great bat speed and is showing great instincts. Baltimore might have got a steal.

Devin Fitz-Gerald, MI (Rangers #45)
Arizona Complex League
(62 AB, .339/.449/.645/1.094, 21 H, 4 2B, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 17 R, 11 BB, 9 K, 2 SB)
The Rangers selected the switch hitting Fitz-Gerald in the 5th round of last year draft. The son of a high school coach has a great feel for the game with a well rounded set of tools. I love to see a young kid walking more than striking out in the complex league. He is one to watch very closely.

Top prosects that are red hot
Chase Burns, RHP (Reds #2)
Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts
(6 GS, 31 IP, 18 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 44 K, 0.68 WHIP)
A 3/44 walk-to-strikeout ratio is just nuts. He is making a strong argument to be the top pitching prospect in baseball.

Cole Young, SS (Mariners #2)
Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers
(96 AB, .385/.487/.708/1.195, 37 H, 10 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 28 R, 16 BB, 7 K, 4 SB)
To quote Prospects1500 President (@Scotty_Ballgame) from his preseason writeup, “I expect an impactful 2025 for Young, and a potential call to the Majors.” Check and check.

Jac Caglianone, 1B/OF (Royals #1)
Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals & Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers
(107 AB, .346/.405/.682/1.087, 37 H, 3 2B, 11 HR, 33 RBI, 22 R, 12 BB, 21 K, SB)
The Royals are struggling to hit for power and drive in runs. Jac could have his struggles early but the upside is too high to keep him down much longer, and in fact, Cags just got the call to the bigs!

Jac Caglianone has his 6th Triple-A homer!

This one flew 442 feet ‼️ pic.twitter.com/ynF9mlgjc5

— Omaha Storm Chasers (@OMAStormChasers) May 30, 2025

Not

Gavin Cross, OF (Royals #5)
Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals
(99 AB, .152/.167/.313/.480, 15 H, 2 2B, 3B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 15 R, 2 BB, 26 K, SB)
Cross had a good year in Double-A last year hitting .261 with 15 HR and 30 stolen bases. When he started this year back in Northwest Arkansas I figured it would be a short stay. I was wrong. It has been a rough start to 2025. The walk rate is down (5%) and the K rate is up (30.5%) leading to a scary .206 OBP. The struggles are concerning but there is time to turn things around.
Panic Meter: Moderate

Brayden Taylor, SS/3B (Rays #3)
Double-A Montgomery Biscuits
(81 AB, .198/.287/.321/.608, 16 H, 5 2B, 3B, HR, 9 RBI, 8 R, 11 BB, 27 K, 3 SB)
Coming out of college Taylor looked like a potential stud and headed to an organization like Tampa, I was excited. He had a sweet lefthanded stroke with natural loft and good plate awareness.  However, double-A pitching has been a problem for Taylor. Including the 125 plate appearances at the level last year, he is striking out at a 33% rate. To make matters worse, the power isn’t there this season. I still believe in the potential but the hit tool has to get better if he is going to make it to the big leagues.
Panic Meter: Low to Moderate

Thomas Harrington, RHP (Pirates #5)
Triple-A Indianapolis Indians
(5 GS, 24 IP, 29 H, 21 R, 11 BB, 21 K, 1.67 WHIP)
Harrington has never had overpowering strikeout stuff instead the key to his success has been elite control/command and the ability to keep hitters off balance. Unfortunately, that has not been the case this year. His walk rate has doubled (4.1% last year to 8.7% this) and opponents are hitting close to .300 against him. He did receive an April 1 call up but it didn’t last long. In his nine-day big-league stint, he tossed a total of eight innings allowing nine runs. The hope is that he is trying to work on somethings while back down in Triple-A but it has not been pretty.
Panic Meter: Moderate