Morning Rundown: MiLB weekly preview - Second Chances in the Second Half
Greensboro fell half a game shy of first half title, but mid-season promotions opens up door for all affiliates in second half
Indianapolis Indians: 42-32
Last Week: 2-4
Opponent: Omaha (Royals)
Quick Overview:
Shouldn’t expect too many promotions from Double-A to Triple-A with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but maybe the Kansas City Royals will push a few to make this series pop. It would’ve been Jac Caglianone week, but he didn’t last very long in Triple-A, playing only 12 games.
The top-ranked healthy prospect, Chandler Champlain, was acquired as part of a trade back in 2022 for outfielder Andrew Benintendi. He has an 8.75 ERA in 60.2 IP this year. Next is Tyson Guerrero, who has a 5.91 ERA in 10.2 IP. Tyler Genry is a 26-year-old outfielder with five career MLB at-bats and current .704 OPS with Omaha. Then Eric Cerantola has a 5.16 ERA in 29.2 IP.
Luca Tresh (unranked) was an interesting catcher from the 2021 MLB Draft. He was a part of the NC State Wolfpack club that went to the College World Series against the Leiter and Rocker-led Vanderbilt team. The 17th round selection has a .861 OPS and 116 wRC+ in 32 games.
On the horizon is Royals 2021 MLB Draft third-round selection Carter Jensen. The young backstop has a .780 OPS in 68 games with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and was noted as having been promoted late Monday afternoon.
The roster otherwise has a collection of familiar names you may have heard at one point or another: Joey Wiemer, MJ Melendez, Nick Pratto, Cavan Biggio, Diego A. Castillo (Yes, that one, not the other), Luke Maile, and Rich Hill. Yes, Rich Hill is still pitching.
Carter Jensen | C | 3
Pipeline Top 100: #81
Fangraphs Top 100: #55
Luinder Avila (7-Day IL) | RHP | 19
Chandler Champlain | RHP | 20
Tyson Guerrero (Full Season IL) | LHP | 24
Tyler Gentry | OF | 25
Eric Cerantola | RHP | 28
Altoona Curve: 30-38
Last Week: 2-3
Opponent: Chesapeake (Orioles)
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Quick Overview:
This is where things look to be fun, as promotions are coming in, and the Altoona Curve so far seems to be the one that will see the biggest boost. So far, Antwone Kelly, Ryan Harbin, Brandon Bidois, and Duce Gourson have been mentioned by MiLB Central and Chase Ford as having been promoted. An issue, but not really, will be who moves to Greensboro. It could be a collection of performing players in Bradenton or underperforming players in Altoona. Esmerlyn Valdez and Javier Rivas are two more players who should likely move up. Should.
On to the Curve’s opponent, the Chesapeake Baysox. It’s a list that is a 180 from what would usually be seen from the Baltimore Orioles’ Double-A club. There are nine prospects, but only two are hitters. Even though there are seven pitchers, four of them are on the injured list, including a recent acquisition from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Patrick Reilly, who is out for the year after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.
The top-ranked prospect is 2023 MLB Draft first-round selection (17th overall) Enrique Bradfield Jr., who is in his second taste of Double-A. Known for his speed, he has 13 stolen bases in 33 games. He has struck out an identical 21 times to 21 walks. His average is down from .287 in 2024 to .240 in 2025, but his on-base percentage remains on the high end with .378 OBP.
Creed Willems is an interesting bat, ranked 11th out of the Orioles’ top 30, drafted in the 8th round of the 2021 MLB Draft. He was talked out of a commitment to TCU, and has showcased some intriguing power. After hitting 17 home runs in each of the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he currently has eight through 57 games.
Since there are a lot of arms (although not healthy), we could probably stand to talk about one, such as Braxton Bragg, who is ranked 15th. He was drafted in the 8th round of the 2023 MLB Draft and signed for only $100K out of Dallas Baptist University. This is his second full season of pro ball, and he has thrown 39.0 IP with only a 1.85 ERA, striking out 54 batters and walking 12.
Enrique Bradfield Jr. | OF | 2
ESPN Top 100: #70
Patrick Reilly (Full Season IL) | RHP | 9
Nestor German | RHP | 10
Creed Willems | C/1B | 11
Trey Gibson | RHP | 14
Braxton Bragg | RHP | 15
Juan Nunez (Full Season IL) | RHP | 20
Trace Bright (7-Day IL) | RHP | 25
Alex Pham (7-Day IL) | RHP | 29
Greensboro Grasshoppers: 47-21
Last Week: 5-1
Opponent: Winston-Salem (White Sox)
Quick Overview:
This list probably has the highest chance of looking very different before games kick off on Tuesday. The top-ranked prospect is Boston Red Sox first-round pick Braden Montgomery, who was traded to the Chicago White Sox in the offseason. The collegiate outfielder has 20 extra-base hits in 46 games, along with 27 RBI to go with his .795 OPS.
White Sox 2024 MLB Draft fifth-rounder is having a phenomenal season and is easily pushing for a mid-year promotion. In 46 games, shortstop Sam Antonacci is slashing .311/.459/.491 while hitting four home runs and knocking in 26 runs. He’s added 20 stolen bases on the year as well, while with the Winston-Salem Dash.
18th-ranked prospect Jeral Perez is showcasing a great deal of pop, hitting 13 home runs. This puts him tied for second place, along with Javier Rivas, but well behind the league leader, Esmerlyn Valdez, with 19.
It also begs the question of who would backfill if players were promoted. One name that could draw intrigue from the Dash side is White Sox 2024 MLB Draft second-round selection (43rd overall) Caleb Bonemer. The young shortstop is off to a strong start in Low-A and is flying up prospect lists.
Pirates have promoted quite a few up to Altoona, as was mentioned in the Double-A preview.
Braden Montgomery | OF | 4
Pipeline Top 100: #31
Baseball America Top 100: #53
ESPN Top 100: #80
Christian Oppor | LHP | 16
Jeral Perez | 2B/SS | 18
Aldrin Batista (7-Day IL) | RHP | 22
Sam Antonacci | 2B/3B | 27
Bradenton Marauders: 32-37
Last Week: 3-3
Opponent: Dunedin (Blue Jays)
Quick Overview:
The last time these two teams faced each other, the Bradenton Marauders had to go up against a buzzsaw of pitching. Since then, Toronto Blue Jays’ prospects Khal Stephen (High-A) and Trey Yesavage (Double-A) have both since moved up, and Spencer Turnbull has returned to the majors. That leaves the Dunedin Blue Jays roster with three listed top 30 prospects at the moment, and one is rehabbing starter Kendry Rojas.
Seventh-ranked Landen Maroudis was a 2023 fourth-round pick out of high school, who has made only two starts for the Blue Jays’ Low-A affiliate this year, with eight scoreless innings. The 24th-ranked prospect for the Blue Jays is 2023 ninth-round selection out of Canada, Sam Shaw. The 20-year-old has an .843 OPS through 48 games. Collecting six home runs and 23 RBI, while striking out a nearly identical 43 times to 41 walks.
Landen Maroudis | RHP | 7
Kendry Rojas (Rehab) | LHP | 8
Sam Shaw | 2B | 24
C Richard Ramirez and RHP Dariel Francia promoted from FCL to Bradenton.
Should be more official transactions today. They tend to dribble out.
Eddie Rynders just hit his first pro HR.