The Florida State League was filled with elite talent in 2025. Konnor Griffin stormed through the circuit, as did Trey Yesavage. But how did some of the other notable prospects, plus others, do in 2025? Let’s take a longer look.
Traditional numbers
Because the Low-A circuit is more of a launching pad for the high-end prospects, it’s hard to give a complete overview of the Florida State League without mentioning that. If you look at just the traditional numbers (home run, RBI, etc.), you’re missing the story.
Now, it is important to note that several big prospects spent most or all of 2025 in the FSL. Alfredo Duno did — and nearly won the circuit’s triple crown. Duno led the league in home runs (18), RBI (81), and OPS (.948). However, he couldn’t top now-Rays prospect Marshall Toole in batting average.
Duno was one of 14 players to have a double-digit home run season. That number could have been higher.
Konnor Griffin hit nine home runs over 50 games before he was promoted to High-A. Dillon Lewis hit nine in 46 games, a breakout season for the Yankees outfielder. Bryce Arnold (Blue Jays) and Axiel Plaz (Pirates) came close, as well.
As for the pitching, very few pitchers threw 100 or more innings. Only three did in 2025, while 11 in total tossed 90 or more frames.
Liomar Martinez (Marlins) and Braden Davis (Cardinals) were the only pitchers with 100+ strikeouts. Both are starters, and both also averaged more than a strikeout per inning. There were several relievers, including Michael Perez (Marlins) and Chris Veach (Yankees), who finished the year in the top-25 in total strikeouts.
Batted-ball metrics
Alright, now we can get to the fun stuff. Let’s start with total barrels in the Florida State League.
It was a big year for Pirates hitting prospects in the FSL. However, the individual with the most barreled-up baseball in the circuit this year was 25-year-old Trace Willhoite. Willhoite had a strong overall season as an overage player in the Florida State League, as he hit 14 home runs and 29 extra-base hits before he went to High-A Brooklyn. But from a quality standpoint, he stood out in a league full of young players.
| Player | Team | Barrel% |
|---|---|---|
| Tony Blanco Jr. | Pirates | 16.9% |
| Jay Thomason | Twins | 16.7% |
| Yeuni Munoz | Blue Jays | 15.4% |
| Dillon Lewis | Yankees | 14.0% |
| Randy Guzman | Mets | 13.1% |
| Trace Willhoite | Mets | 13.0% |
| Axiel Plaz | Pirates | 12.0% |
| Patrick Lee | Tigers | 11.3% |
| Carter Mathison | Phillies | 11.1% |
| Jose Rodriguez | Twins | 11.0% |
Now, that doesn’t mean that Willhoite moved himself into a prime position in the Mets’ organization. After all, he was an older player in a league filled with 20 and 21-year-olds. Plus, the former Lipscomb product slashed .186/.292/.339 in Brooklyn over 19 games.
The top 10 listed above includes two Pirates who broke out in a big way this past season. Axiel Plaz had 20 extra-base hits in 55 games, while Tony Blanco Jr. belted seven home runs across 30 games. Blanco Jr. was a menace on the field when he was healthy; the seven hardest-hit balls in the FSL belonged to him this season.
It also doesn’t include Bryce Rainer (10.5%), the Tigers’ first-rounder from 2024, who did awfully well when on the field. Konnor Griffin and Alfredo Duno finished inside the top 40, among the 192 players who qualified for our list.
As for the worst in terms of barrels, we’re not going to take into account hitters with 50-100 batted balls. There were quite a few who didn’t have any during that interval. Among 100+ batted balls, Jeremy Rodriguez (.02%) of the Mets ranked at the lowest in that category.
Blistering pitchers
Let’s move to pitching for a minute. We’ll start off with the hardest-throwing pitchers, looking at the individuals who throw the hardest four-seamers:
| Player | Team | AVG Four-Seam MPH |
|---|---|---|
| Raimon Gomez | Orioles | 100.2 |
| Antonio Gomez | Yankees | 99.1 |
| Bruno Lopez | Cardinals | 98.3 |
| Chen-Wei Lin | Cardinals | 97.9 |
| Moises Rodriguez | Tigers | 97.4 |
If we were to take two-seamers into account, Jovi Galvez (Cardinals) and Tanner Franklin (Cardinals) would be on this list. Franklin, to note, was a second-round pick by the Cardinals this past July.
Gomez was the king of velocity, so much so that he threw, at the time, the hardest-recorded pitch earlier in the season. The Orioles acquired him in July when Baltimore traded Cedric Mullins to New York.
Additionally, he also ranked as having one of the hardest sliders in the circuit. Juanmi Vasquez (Blue Jays) and Gomez both had sliders that averaged over 90+ MPH.
Another interesting player here is Antonio Gomez, a catcher who reached as high as Triple-A. Gomez only hit .167 this season before the Yankees gave him a four-game audition as a reliever with Low-A Tampa. He walked two and gave up four hits — but he throws hard. Gomez struck out three over two innings.
Flipping the script
Earlier, we wrote about hitters who did the best in terms of well-hit contact. Let’s flip it around for a second and look at the pitchers:
| Player | Team | Barrel% |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Brutti | Reds | 0.0% |
| Luis Avila | Phillies | 0.0% |
| Natanael Polanco | Marlins | 0.0% |
| Trent Hodgdon | Reds | 0.0% |
| Wellington Aracena | Orioles | 0.6% |
| Johan Simon | Blue Jays | 0.8% |
| Keyner Benitez | Marlins | 0.9% |
| Bryce Hubbart | Reds | 0.9% |
| Luke Lashutka | Marlins | 1.0% |
| Gabe Starks | Reds | 1.1% |
Just because a player is here, though, doesn’t mean that individual is void of problems. Take, for example, Marlins prospect Natanael Polanco. A heavy ground-ball pitcher, Polanco walked 34 over 32 innings with Jupiter.
Keynar Benitez, a starter, walked 24 over 37 innings.
However, it is a good indicator. Johan Simon, for example, went through three levels this season, starting in Dunedin and ending in Double-A New Hampshire.
Another interesting name here is Wellington Aracena, the former Met prospect sent to Baltimore for Gregory Soto. We noted in July that Aracena’s stock was rising, thanks to a strong arsenal, headlined by a triple-digit fastball. The advanced numbers back it up.
Whiffs
We’re going to segment this by pitchers & hitters. Let’s start with the best swing-and-miss pitchers in the FSL:
| Player | Team | Whiff% |
|---|---|---|
| Jorge De Leon | Mets | 44.2% |
| Franklin Sanchez | Marlins | 44.0% |
| Trey Yesavage | Blue Jays | 43.4% |
| Raimon Gomez | Mets | 42.4% |
| Franyer Herrera | Yankees | 42.2% |
Well, look at that. Trey Yesavage is on this list.
Yesavage went on a tear in the Minor Leagues before he helped the Jays win the American League pennant. He only pitched a handful of games with Dunedin. Those starts were impactful, to say the least.
The pitcher on top, though, is Mets prospect Jorge De Leon. De Leon has some interesting stuff, headlined by a hard four-seamer that topped out at 99 MPH. He’ll also mix in a curveball and two-seamer but his primary secondary pitch was a slider.
Aside from Yesavage, the pitcher to watch among those top five might be Franyer Herrera. A 20-year-old left-hander who pitched well between the FCL and Low-A, Herrera struck out 12 over 10 innings out of the Tampa bullpen. Mid-90s fastball, along with a changeup.
If we expand beyond the top five in total Whiff%, there are some interesting names within the top-50. Braden Davis (40.4%) was a machine on Low-A before he moved to Peoria. Davis was a fifth-rounder in 2024.
Griffin Herring (36.6%), Wellington Aracena (36.5%), and Dasan Hill (34.5%) were also there, as well.
If we flip this around to the hitters, you’d get a good idea of how raw the talent can be at this level.
Among the 189 hitters who had at least 150 hacks in the FSL, 70 had Whiff% above 30%. The worst was Jose De La Cruz (49.3%), the ex-Tigers prospect who was released in August. It was his fourth run in the FSL.
The worst offenders included Tony Blanco Jr. (43.1%) and Mason Neville (41.5%), who ranked among the bottom six. Blanco Jr. and Neville, the latter of whom was a big power hitter with the Oregon Ducks, are power hitters. The same can be said for Roderick Arias (35.3%), who’s taken a big step back in the past two seasons.
On the reverse, the best include hitters who don’t strike out a lot (what a shock) and don’t have a lot of raw pop. Players like Woody Hadeen (Tigers), Starlyn Caba (Marlins), and Dante Nori (Phillies) all finished in the top-20.
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