Reds OF Rece Hinds has splurted out of the big league gate like catsup that’s been sitting upside down on a warm summer’s day or a chocolate bar in the hands of a toddler on that same summer day. They’re having a picnic, maybe, and listening to the Cincinnati Reds game because this is the 1970’s in middle America we’re talking about now through the power of sentences. In that era, a guy like Rece Hinds might hang around on the strength of 30 home run thump with the sort of off-the-bus skills that played well in those days, but which I mean he looks good getting off the bus, or sitting on the plane, or taking batting practice on the field. It’s hard to predict how free swingers will react to advanced scouting, but everything we’ve seen so far suggests pitchers will figure out they don’t have to throw strikes against Hinds, and that’ll put the squeeze back in the bottle real quick, as the kids say. Hinds struck out 38.4 percent of the time in 77 Triple-A games this year in part because he can’t catch up to the high cheese, and he can’t lay off the sauce down and out. Ingest at your own risk.
Guardians SS Angel Martinez has played center field and left field the last two games, hitting his first Major League home run as the number two hitter playing left field. Could be a godsend to a few of my fantasy teams if he adds outfield eligibility and finds a lineup spot. He’s a switch hitter with a Lindorian, metronomic quality (similar swings from both sides of the plate) that should help him stay in rhythm, theoretically speaking. I thought he was going to win the shortstop job out of spring training, but he got injured late then came back on fire and has kept it burning in the majors, slashing .346/.500/.538 with one home run, two strikeouts and eight walks through eight games.
Over his last 45 games, Rays 2B Ronny Simon (24, AAA) is slashing .346/.422/.545 with four home runs, nine stolen bases and a 14.4 percent strikeout rate. A switch-hitter at 5’7” 150 lbs, he’s a versatile athlete who can play infield or outfield, but it’s hard to see how he fits in the short term. Simon says you could probably just leave him in free agency in most leagues and simply outbid the league if you want him if and when he does get recalled or traded. I like this player though. Feels like he’s good every time I’m watching.
The 20th overall pick in 2023 largely due to his explosive rotational talent and raw power, Blue Jays SS Arjun Nimmala (18, A) is making a lot more contact than he did early in the season after a side quest to the developmental list. He returned to Low-A on June 27th and is slashing .345/.441/.690 with a 14.7 percent strikeout rate in eight games since. Sample sizes don’t get much smaller, but Nimmala struck out 30 percent of the time in his first look, so this is an encouraging development.
Coming off an impressive debut season in the DSL in which he started hot but faded late, switch-hitting Guardians SS Welbyn Francisca (18, CPX) has flipped the sequence this season. He was okay early but has heated up with the weather, slashing .442/.520/.674 with three home runs and three steals in his last ten games. He’s on course to be a near-consensus Top 100 prospect heading into 2025.
Through 22 games as a professional, Brewers SS Luis Pena (17, DSL) is slashing a preposterous .439/.489/.634 with 24 stolen bases and a 7.6 percent walk rate. Video game stat lines are not unique in the Dominican Summer League, but Pena passes the eye test easily at 5’11” 185 lbs with graceful actions and the kind of quick-burst speed that ages well, and Milwaukee is living a blessed life (built through good infrastructure) throughout the organization.
Brewers SS Jesus Made (17, DSL) is looking at a long career of awkward puns if he can keep playing like he has so far as a professional, slashing .395/.490/.716 with five home runs, three stolen bases and a 14.6-to-13.5 percent walk-to-strikeout rate. Made as a highly ranked, highly paid signing, but I’m fascinated by Milwaukee’s process as they’re getting results like this while much of the incoming international class is struggling to make contact or has yet to debut. Made is a switch-hitter at 6’1” 187 lbs who is more physically developed than a lot of his peers, so that’s probably a factor, he said, his brain working in step with his fingers, his mind only discovering his thoughts as they appeared on the page in front of him.
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