Minor League Pitcher and Hitter of the Week: August 5-11
One of the breakout prospects of the MiLB season finds himself as the Hitter of the Week, while a rebuilding team has a pitcher take honors.
Some familiar faces have found new places and, even in new environments, they have not skipped a beat in production.
While some were underwhelmed with how the MLB Trade Deadline went, we saw so many prospects make their way onto their new teams’ top prospect lists and will now look to continue to ascend through the Minor Leagues and make an impact at the Major League level sooner than some may have anticipated.
The best part about all the movement and influx of draft prospects littered throughout the Minors was the mid-season Top-100 Prospect list that Aram Leighton released. If you have not seen the updated list yet, please find the link below.
For more information on the Top Prospects that find themselves on Just Baseball’s Top 100, you can find that list here.
Pitcher of the Week: Travis Sykora (RHP) – Washington Nationals (Single-A Fredricksburg Nationals)
Weekly Stats: 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 10 K
Season Stats: 15 GS, 63.1 IP, 21 BB, 96 K, 2.42 ERA, 13.6 K/9
The Nationals have something special going on throughout the entirety of their organization.
While their record at the Major League level might not be indicative of that to some, they have exceeded the pre-season expectations that essentially everyone set on them. The most impressive part has been their Minor League development as of recent, and Travis Sykora has been a prime example of that.
Coming off of his latest start where he went six perfect innings, Sykora has been a spark plug for Single-A Fredricksburg. The 2023 third-round pick is only 20 years old but has held his own throughout his first season of professional baseball.
Not only do the peripheral stats look good, but the underlying metrics have been even better. Pitching to a 2.06 FIP, and a near 14% K/9, the main thing Sykora will need to try to focus on going forward is bringing his 3 BB/9 down a bit. Even then, to be pitching the way he has already, the future certainly look bright for the young right-hander.
Hitter of the Week: Kristian Campbell (2B) – Boston Red Sox (Double-A Portland Sea Dogs)
Weekly Stats: .444/.600/1.544, 3 HR, 5 RBI, .500 ISO, 308 wRC+
Season Stats: .380/.484/.592, 7 HR, 32 RBI
I have referred to the man walking on fire gif when comparing prospect’s production throughout this series. The latest, and probably the best one to date, is Red Sox prospect Kristian Campbell.
Campbell is coming off an end to this weekend’s series against Altoona having hit a home run in three consecutive games. Aside from this weekend, Campbell has dominated High-A and Double-A in 2024. This has been supported by the rise in the prospect rankings throughout the industry.
He has minimized the strikeout rate across both levels, improving from his 26.6% in High-A to the 14.8% he currently has in Portland—all that while maintaining his 14.5% BB%
In an organization desperate for consistency in the middle of their infield, if Campbell is able to continue to progress the way he has, I have no doubt he will be a staple in the Red Sox lineup in the near future.
Honorable Mentions:
Pitcher: Kumar Rocker (RHP) – Texas Rangers (Double-A Frisco RoughRiders)
Weekly Stats: 1 GS, 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 8 K
Pitcher: Robby Snelling (LHP) – Miami Marlins (Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos)
Weekly Stats: 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 7 K
Hitter: Bryce Eldridge (OF) – San Francisco Giants (High-A Eugene Emeralds):
Weekly Stats: .471/.615/1.380, 5 XBH, 5 RBI, .294 ISO, 265 wRC+
Hitter: Roman Anthony (OF) – Boston Red Sox (Triple-A Worcester Red Sox):
Weekly Stats: .435/.480/1.219, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .304 ISO, 240 wRC+
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