With summer officially here, it’s time to dig into the heat of the 2024 MLB, MiLB, and fantasy baseball campaigns. We’re more than two months into the Minor League season, and several prospects have put themselves in strong positions to be called up either later this year or in 2025. Here’s a look at five fantasy baseball hitting prospects to key in on over the coming weeks, starting with a scorching-hot catcher in the Diamondbacks system.
Adrian Del Castillo
We’ll start our June hitting prospects list with Diamondbacks catcher Adrian Del Castillo. Del Castillo was a second-round pick out of Miami (FL) three years ago after a strong, abbreviated college career. Since then, the 24-year-old hasn’t torn the cover off the ball in the Minors, as he posted a .648 OPS in 2022 and put up better numbers (.814 OPS over 100 G) last year. But this year with Reno (AAA), Del Castillo leads the PCL in OPS (1.021 OPS) and has 44 extra-base hits over 65 games with the Aces.
Power numbers should be taken with a grain of salt when talking about the PCL. It’s a hitter-friendly league. However, Del Castillo’s shown an adept ability to shorten up on velocity and stay back and punish mistakes in the zone. The former Miami product could be a factor for the D-Backs soon but the presence of Gabriel Moreno is a question mark.
Brooks Lee
Twins infield prospect Brooks Lee‘s only played 21 games this season thanks to a herniated disc in his back. But when Lee’s been on the field, the 23-year-old has been electric. Lee sported a .365/.413/.518 slash line in that stretch, along with two home runs and nine extra-base hits. Last season, the Cal Poly product belted 16 home runs and 58 extra-base hits over 125 games.
Lee is a plus hitter with good enough power to be a 20-home run infielder at the MLB level. There is, however, the dilemma of where Lee will play in the short term if he gets the call, as Carlos Correa and Jose Miranda have held down the left side of the infield in 2024.
Jace Jung
One Jung brother is already in the Majors, and a second one could be on the way soon. Jace Jung, a Tigers prospect and former first-round pick, has put up strong results in June. The 23-year-old cracked three home runs and eight extra-base hits through his first 16 games of the month and overall, he’s in the top 25 of the International League in OPS (.890).
Jung has seen plenty of time at the hot corner this season; 43 games at Triple-A to be exact. The former Texas Tech product has power — he hit 28 home runs last season between High-A and Double-A — and would be an upgrade in that category compared to Gio Urshela, a contact-first hitter.
Kyle Teel
We’ll finish up with two Double-A prospects, starting with Kyle Teel. The Red Sox scooped up Teel, a catcher who slugged his way to the top 15 of the 2023 MLB Draft with Virginia, last July. Since then, pitchers have had a hard time getting him out. Teel hit .363 over 26 games last year and this season with Portland, Teel owns a .320 (.910 OPS) average with seven home runs and 21 extra-base hits over 51 games.
With Connor Wong performing well at the MLB level, likely, Teel won’t be a factor this year unless an injury arises. However, those with an early eye on 2025 should keep Teel in mind, as he has the upside to be an elite hitter, something hard to find among catchers.
Carson Williams
Rays shortstop Carson Williams steadily rose through the ranks since being selected in the first round three years ago. This season, Williams, a former MiLB Gold Glove winner, is having arguably his best season at the plate. Through 50, the 20-year-old hit .289 with 10 home runs, 28 extra-base hits, and 15 stolen bases. Williams led the Southern League in OPS (.919) as of June 19.
Tampa plugged its hole at short with Jose Caballero this past winter, with the hopes that either he or Taylor Walls could provide sufficient production. Walls owns just a .405 OPS on the year, while Caballero has been better (22 SB, .668 OPS) but likely not the long-term solutions. Williams, though, may be that guy.