We’ve already taken a look at the numbers behind the 2025 Florida State League and Carolina League seasons. Now, we finish our glimpse at the Low-A level from this past year with the California League. However, in what is normally a hitter-friendly league, it was the pitchers who shone brightly in 2025.
The traditional numbers
Even though the California League has largely been a hitter-friendly paradise over the years, it didn’t show up all that much in the raw home run totals this past season.
Only 13 hitters in the California League this past season had a double-digit home run campaign, the fewest in the circuit since it became a Low-A league in 2021. However, one could argue that the likes of Mike Sirota, Drew Cavanaugh, Bobby Bladnford, and Devin Taylor all could have gotten into that territory, as all four hit six — in Sirota’s case, seven — in fewer than 30 games.
Four hitters, Raudi Rodriguez (Angels), Eduardo Quintero (Dodgers), Carlos Jimenez (Mariners), and Dakota Jordan (Giants) were tied for the league lead with 14.
Giants prospect Lisbel Diaz had 139 hits in 122 games to lead the circuit in said category. Dodgers outfield prospect Jaron Elkins stole 63 bases, a league-best for 2025.
As for the pitchers, Angels prospect Peyton Olejnik led the California League with 130 strikeouts over 128 innings. Olejnik was one of eight pitchers to have at least 100 strikeouts. Perhaps the most notable out of that bunch was Giants left-hander Jacob Bresnahan, who struck out 124 over 93 innings.
Bresnahan was acquired from the Guardians in July 2024 as part of the Alex Cobb trade.
Best swing-and-miss pitchers
Let’s move on to some of the advanced numbers, starting with whiffs for pitchers. Here’s a look at the 10 best swing-and-miss pitchers in the California League from this past year:
| Player | MLB Team | Whiff% |
|---|---|---|
| Ryan Brown | Dodgers | 52.3% |
| Riley Huge | Athletics | 41.3% |
| Benny Thompson | Angels | 41.2% |
| Brody Brecht | Rockies | 40.1% |
| Darlin Pinales | Athletics | 39.6% |
| Myles Caba | Dodgers | 37.3% |
| Jaren Warwick | Angels | 36.6% |
| Christian Zazueta | Dodgers | 36.5% |
| Jacob Bresnahan | Giants | 36.2% |
| Aidan Foeller | Dodgers | 36.0% |
The top of this list belonged to former Ball State pitcher Ryan Brown, a ninth-round pick by the Dodgers in 2023. Brown had his walk problems in A-ball, as Brown walked 47 batters over 48 total innings between Rancho Cucamonga and Great Lakes. But with the Quakes, the 23-year-old struck out 79 over 41.2 IP.
Moving on, there are some familiar names on this list.
Riley Huge was one of the top strikeout pitchers in the NCAA during the 2024 campaign with Winthrop. Huge, who leveraged a very good knuckle-curve to go with a low-90s fastball, moved into relief this year. Brody Brecht, meanwhile, struck out 95 over 61 innings with Fresno. Brecht, a hard-throwing righty out of Iowa, was a first-round pick in 2024.
Christian Zazueta, a Dodgers prospect, struck out 81 and walked 16 over 67.1 IP for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga. The Dodgers acquired Zazueta from the Yankees in the Caleb Ferguson trade nearly two years ago.
Darlin Pinales struck out 56 over 39.2 IP with Visalia in the Diamondbacks’ organization. Pinales was one of several high-whiff relievers the A’s picked up in the Minor League phase of the 2025 Rule 5 Draft, along with an Astros prospect from the Carolina League.
But out of the ten, Bresnahan’s Whiff% of 36.2% might have been the most impressive. The Giants prospect put that percentage up in 763 total swings, good for a top-ten finish in that category among California League pitchers.
There were a few other interesting names who didn’t make the top-ten with this criteria but did have strong Whiff% rates. Those pitchers include 2024 Padres first-rounder Kash Mayfield (32.3%) and Mariners prospect Ryan Sloan (32.2%).
Flipping the script
Now, let’s take a look at the hitters’ whiff rates. More specifically, we’ll start with the hitters who had the worst Whiff% in 2025:
| Player | MLB Team | Whiff% |
|---|---|---|
| Myles Naylor | Athletics | 44.7% |
| Jackson Nicklaus | Dodgers | 43.1% |
| Ryan Picollo | Mariners | 42.6% |
| George Feliz | Angels | 42.0% |
| Starlin Aguilar | Angels | 41.4% |
| John Wimmer | Angels | 39.2% |
| Jacob Hinderleider | Rockies | 38.8% |
| Oswaldo Osorio | Dodgers | 37.2% |
| Kavares Tears | Padres | 37.2% |
| Mairoshendrick Martinus | Dodgers | 37.0% |
Thus far, Myles Naylor is very different compared to his big brothers.
Naylor, a first-round pick by the A’s in 2023, struck out a lot over his first two seasons as a pro. This past year, the 20-year-old slashed .185/.319/.307 with 137 strikeouts over 81 games.
Both Naylor and Padres prospect Kavares Tears were in the top four in terms of most strikeouts. Tears was a fourth-round pick by San Diego in 2024.
Other players of interest who were in the bottom 25% were Kellon Lindsey (34%) and Robert Calaz (33.4%). Lindsey, though, only played 32 games in 2025, 28 of which were in Low-A.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, former Vanderbilt outfielder Davis Diaz had the lowest Whiff% (14%), followed by Rockies infielder Roynier Hernandez (14.5%). Trevor Cohen, a contact machine who was taken by the Giants in the third round last July, had the fourth-lowest Whiff% (15.3%).
Before moving on, let’s take a look at how some of the 2025 first-rounders who played in the California League did this summer in their debuts:
- Ethan Holliday (Rockies): 42.8%
- Gavin Kilen (Giants): 15.7%
- Kayson Cunningham (Diamondbacks): 22.0%
- Luke Stevenson (Mariners): 21.4%
- Charles Davalan (Dodgers): 13.5%
Something to watch heading into 2026 is how well Ethan Holliday handles pro pitching in a full season. Holliday, who came into 2025 as a strong contender to go #1, had six extra-base hits over 18 games. However, Holliday struck out 33 times over those games.
Hard hitters
| Player | MLB Team | Modified Hard-Hit% |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Hipwell | Giants | 10.0% |
| Walker Martin | Giants | 8.9% |
| Harold Coll | Angels | 8.8% |
| Victor Figueroa | Orioles | 8.7% |
| Matthew Ellis | Mariners | 8.7% |
| Dakota Jordan | Giants | 8.6% |
| Carlos Rodriguez | Padres | 8.4% |
| Jakob Christian | Giants | 7.9% |
| Raudi Rodriguez | Angels | 7.8% |
| Lamar King Jr. | Padres | 7.7% |
Victor Figueroa was one of six prospects to be traded from the Padres to the Orioles in the Ryan O’Hearn/Ramon Laureano trade.
Best groundball pitchers
Lastly, let’s take a look at the best groundball pitchers in the California League:
| Player | MLB Team | GB% |
|---|---|---|
| Grayson Hitt | Diamondbacks | 61.2% |
| Cade Vernon | Giants | 60.5% |
| Bryan Balzer | Padres | 60.0% |
| Igor Gil | Padres | 58.1% |
| Gereimi Maldonado | Giants | 57.5% |
| Nathan Blasick | Rockies | 56.9% |
| Nathan Dettmer | Athletics | 56.3% |
| Darien Smith | Giants | 54.1% |
| Luis Gutierrez | Padres | 54.1% |
| Logan Tabeling | Dodgers | 54.0% |
Brody Brecht finished 11th, with a 53.9% GB%.
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