The 2025 Texas League season saw numerous prospects who excelled in Double-A and wound up making it to the Majors. And, several of those players were among the biggest statistical standouts from the 2025 Texas League.
The traditional numbers
Given that 41 players participated in at least 100 games in the Texas League, one would expect a few of those players to hit double-digits in home runs. That was the case.
Forty-three players had at least 10 home runs, headlined by league leader Kala’i Rosario (25). Notables who had at least double-digit home run totals include Gavin Cross (17), Joshua Baez (16), Zach Cole (14), Lazaro Montes (14), Sebastian Walcott (13), and Tommy Troy (12).
Diamondbacks infield prospect LuJames Groover (fka Gino) led the circuit in hits (145), as Groove slashed .309/.399/.434 over 123 games for the Sod Poodles. Bill Knight and Taylor Young co-led the Texas League in stolen bases (44). The two were part of a group of 10 players to have 30+ stolen bases.
The strikeout king was Diamondbacks pitching prospect Mitch Bratt. Bratt, a fifth-round pick by the Rangers back in 2021, struck out 148 between the Sod Poodles and Roughriders. He was one of three pitchers acquired by Arizona in the Merrill Kelly trade.
A’s prospect Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang (145) and Dodgers hurler Jackson Ferris (135) filled out the top three in the strikeout category.
Ferris led the circuit in walks, with 66 over 126 innings.
Whiff rates
Let’s take a look at the best swing-and-miss pitchers in the Texas League from 2025:
| Player | MLB Team | Whiff% |
|---|---|---|
| Luis Gastelum | Cardinals | 36.9% |
| Stevie Emanuels | Athletics | 36.7% |
| Will Johnston | Athletics | 36.7% |
| Antonio Knowles | Dodgers | 36.1% |
| Austin Love | Cardinals | 36.0% |
| Jack Ralston | Cardinals | 35.5% |
| Taylor Floyd | Mariners | 35.5% |
| Jaylen Nowlin | Twins | 35.1% |
| Micah Dallas | Athletics | 35.1% |
| Daniel Missaki | Rangers | 34.4% |
The Cardinals have developed several impressive relievers of late, most recently former Blue Jays prospect Matt Svanson. Could Luis Gastelum be the next one?
Gastelum jumped from Low-A to Double-A in 2025 and had few problems with Springfield. The 24-year-old struck out 92 over 62.2 IP out of the bullpen for the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate. He gave up just three home runs.
Most of the pitchers above are relievers, including former Texas A&M pitchers Micah Dallas and Will Johnston. There’s also 29-year-old Daniel Missaki, the former Yomiuri Giant, who was at one point a farmhand in the Mariners’ organization. Before he returned to Japan, Missaki was traded to the Brewers in 2015 along with Carlos Herrera and Freddy Peralta for Adam Lind.
Moving down the list, there are several notable starting pitcher prospects among the 138 pitchers who qualified for the above criteria.
Kohl Drake (13th, 33.1%), Tekoah Roby (15th, 32.7%), Luis Morales (32.6%), Pierson Ohl (20th, 32.4%), and Connor Prielipp (27th, 31%) were among the other top-tier pitchers in said category.
Flipping the script
Now, let’s take a look at the hitters with the highest Whiff% in the Texas League:
| Player | MLB Team | Whiff% |
|---|---|---|
| Joshua Mears | Padres | 43.6% |
| Lazaro Montes | Mariners | 41.3% |
| Carlos Linarez | Cardinals | 41.2% |
| Jack Hurley | Diamondbacks | 40.2% |
| Luis Encarnacion | Astros | 40.2% |
| Jose Ramos | Mets | 40.0% |
| Austin Deming | Astros | 40.0% |
| Sam Ruta | Royals | 39.3% |
| Marcus Smith | Rangers | 39.1% |
| Zach Cole | Astros | 38.7% |
As noted in our Northwest League recap, Lazaro Montes swung and missed a lot at the High-A level. That issue was exacerbated with Double-A Arkansas. Montes struck out 86 times over 64 games, and the young outfielder slashed .213/.319/.433 (.752 OPS). He hit 14 home runs, a big positive. However, the hit tool will be something to watch.
Another name who should be familiar to fans is Zach Cole, who hit four home runs in 52 plate appearances with the Astros this past season. It was the 25-year-old’s first work at the MLB level.
On the other hand, Cole whiffed 42% of the time in his brief time with Houston, illustrating that swing-and-miss problems at the Double-A level can get worse once facing better competition.
Dodgers prospect Nelson Quiroz (10.5%) had the lowest Whiff% in the Texas League. Notable names in the top 10 include A’s infield prospect Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (11.3%) and Rangers outfielder Alejandro Osuna (15.2%).
Looking at the first pitch
Much like we did for the Southern League, we’re going to take a look at the pitchers who had the highest First Pitch Strike% in the Texas League:
| Player | MLB Team | First Pitch Strike% |
|---|---|---|
| Luis Gastelum | Cardinals | 72.6% |
| Micah Dallas | Athletics | 70.7% |
| Kohl Drake | Diamondbacks | 70.5% |
| Trey Supak | Rangers | 68.8% |
| Mitch Bratt | Diamoondbacks | 68.0% |
To get an advantage, it would make sense to try to throw a first-pitch strike. And Luis Gastelum, who had the highest Whiff% in the league, did that.
Expanding this list unveils some other interesting names. James Hicks, who had a dominant run in the AFL, was 9th at 66.5%.
Take kings
Here’s a look at the players who had the highest Take%:
| Player | MLB Team | Take% |
|---|---|---|
| Lucas Spence | Astros | 64.2% |
| Wes Clarke | Astros | 63.9% |
| Marcus Smith | Rangers | 63.3% |
| Clark Elliott | Athletics | 62.3% |
| Taylor Young | Dodgers | 62.0% |
For those wondering, all of the players listed above saw at least 30% of their takes become called strikes. The only one of the bunch who wasn’t part of that group was Wes Clarke.
Among the list of players who were eligible for the above criteria, 18 had a sub-25% CS%/Take below 25%. Walker Jenkins, Lazaro Montes, and Jac Caglianone were some of the notables.
In the top-20 among this group include Kala’i Rosario, as well as former first-rounders Ryan Waldschmidt and James Tibbs III.
Hard hitters
Next up is the best hard contact hitters from the Texas League this past season:
| Player | MLB Team | Modified Hard-Hit% |
|---|---|---|
| Moises Gomez | Padres | 14.3% |
| Zach Cole | Astros | 14.0% |
| Jac Caglianone | Royals | 13.6% |
| Carson Roccaforte | Royals | 13.1% |
| Clark Elliott | Athletics | 12.9% |
| Wes Clarke | Astros | 12.8% |
| Kyler Fedko | Twins | 12.7% |
| Brandon Valenzuela | Blue Jays | 12.4% |
| Brayan Buelvas | Athletics | 12.1% |
| Lazaro Montes | Mariners | 12.1% |
There are familiar names here, including Cole, Montes, and Jac Caglianone, who trucked through Double-A and Triple-A before moving to Kansas City in the summer.
Additionally, Brandon Valenzuela, a former Padres farmhand who was traded to Toronto for Will Wagner in the summer, is on this list.
Groundball masters
Lastly, let’s take a look at ground balls:
| Player | MLB Team | GB% |
|---|---|---|
| Colton Johnson | Athletics | 56.1% |
| Christian Suarez | Dodgers | 55.8% |
| Nick Davila | Mariners | 55.5% |
| Alimber Santa | Astros | 53.2% |
| Henry Baez | Athletics | 52.9% |
| Kade Morris | Athletics | 52.8% |
| C.J. Culpepper | Twins | 52.6% |
| Nate Savino | Diamondbacks | 52.4% |
| Shohei Tomioka | Athletics | 52.2% |
| Reid VanScoter | Mariners | 50.9% |
Among the group above are Athletics pitching prospect Kade Morris and former D-Backs third-round pick Nate Savino.
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