Hottest pitching prospects right now -- one for each team (2024)

Whoever thought it’s the dog days of summer forgot to tell these pitching prospects.

Below is one prospect for each organization who has put up sizzling numbers over the past month that match temperatures around the country. And it’s not just elite-level guys, though there are five Top 100 hurlers who made the list.

You’ll see lower-level ranked (and even one unranked) pitchers, starters and relievers coming off a terrific month of mound work.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: Kendry Rojas, LHP (No. 12)
Rojas missed more than two months in the first half while dealing with a shoulder issue but has been solid for High-A Vancouver since his return on July 9, posting a 1.98 ERA with 16 strikeouts over three starts (13 2/3 innings) in that time. His July 26 outing (6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) was his best of the year and a clear sign he’s come back in good form for the stretch run.

Orioles: Patrick Reilly, RHP (No. 15)
Just acquired at the Trade Deadline for prospect Billy Cook, Reilly joins the Orioles pitching the best baseball of his young career. The 2023 fifth-round pick out of Vanderbilt tossed 21 2/3 inning in July, posting a 2.08 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 10.8 K/9, and perhaps most encouraging for a guy who has struggled with command, 2.91 BB/9.

Rays: Yoniel Curet (No. 22)
While we’re limiting ourselves to 30 days here, we could go even farther back to illustrate Curet’s dominance. Over his last eight starts dating back to June 11, the 21-year-old right-hander sports a 0.94 ERA and an 0.89 WHIP with 52 strikeouts and only 14 walks in 38 1/3 innings for High-A Bowling Green. His fastball and slider both could be plus-plus pitches, and it’s notable that his control has been so improved in recent weeks, strengthening Tampa Bay’s hopes Curet could be more than a future reliever.

Red Sox: Hunter Dobbins, RHP (No. 24)
Dobbins missed the entire 2021 season at Texas Tech following Tommy John surgery, but the Red Sox selected him in the eighth round and landed a starter who throws strikes with a four-pitch mix highlighted by a solid mid-80s slider. He's rolling at Double-A, where he has posted a 2.25 ERA, .191 average-against and 25/7 K/BB in 24 innings over his last five starts.

Yankees: Cade Smith, RHP (No. 21)
Part of Mississippi State's 2021 national championship team and a sixth-rounder last July, Smith is dealing with a 92-97 mph fastball with riding action and an 83-85 mph slider that flashes two-plane depth. He has allowed just 14 baserunners while striking out 28 in his last 20 innings in Single-A, where he leads the Florida State League in strikeouts (109 in 82 2/3 innings) and average-against (.180).

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Guardians: Parker Messick, LHP (No. 20)
A changeup specialist who starred at Florida State before becoming a second-round pick in 2022, Messick has thrived since a promotion to Double-A in late June. In six outings, he has fashioned a 2.30 ERA, .192 average-against and 38/9 K/BB ratio in 27 1/3 frames.

Royals: Tyson Guerrero, LHP (No. 28)
Guerrero entered July with a 5.64 ERA for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. That’s down a full run to 4.64 after a particularly strong two-start stretch of late. The southpaw hasn’t allowed a run in his last pair of starts (totaling 13 innings) and has given up just two hits in that time. His curveball and slider have been especially adept at eliciting whiffs in the past week.

Tigers: Jackson Jobe, RHP (No. 2/MLB No. 11)
Throwing six innings in Double-A Erie’s July 20 no-hitter was a quick way to get onto this list. But as expected, Jobe has been fully dominant since he returned to the Double-A Erie rotation from a hamstring injury on July 5 with an 0.83 ERA and 26 strikeouts over four starts (21⅔ innings). The game’s top pitching prospect is fully caught up on workload, having thrown 102 pitches on July 26, and should push for Triple-A soon.

Twins: Andrew Morris, RHP (No. 18)
Morris began the year with High-A Cedar Rapids but has made the jump to Double-A look easy over 10 total appearances. This past month was more of the same as the right-hander posted a 1.04 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP over four starts (17 1/3 IP). He struck out 10.4 per nine during that span. For the year, the 2022 fourth-rounder has a combined 1.66 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 9.6 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 over 87 innings.

White Sox: Peyton Pallette, RHP (No. 10)
Pallette got lit up for a 7.21 ERA in the first three months of the season as a starter in High-A, but he has dominated out of the bullpen in the last month: 1.54 ERA, .153 average-against, 20/1 K/BB ratio in 11 2/3 innings. The 2022 second-rounder from Arkansas features a 92-97 mph fastball with carry and a high-spin curveball that parks around 80 mph.

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

Angels: Ryan Costeiu, RHP (No. 12)
In his first season back from Tommy John surgery, the Angels have understandably proceeded cautiously with Costeiu. He’s thrown a grand total of 44 innings to date, but he’s been effective. He gave up just four runs over 16 IP this past month (2.25 ERA) with a 1.25 WHIP and 20 K’s. For the year, he has a 2.66 ERA, .189 BAA and a 1.20 WHIP. There’s work to be done on the command, but he’s racking up a strikeout per inning.

Astros: Anderson Brito, RHP (No. 9)
The Astros excel at finding quality pitchers on the international market and landed Brito for just $10,000 out of Venezuela in November. His 94-99 mph fastball and low-80s slider have been unhittable at three levels this month, resulting in a 0.56 ERA, .105 average-against and 31/2 K/BB ratio in 16 innings.

A’s: Gunnar Hoglund, RHP (No. 17)
The key part of the prospect package the A’s got for Matt Chapman in 2022, Hoglund is finally providing some return on that investment. With Tommy John surgery clearly in his rearview mirror, Hoglund is over 100 IP for the first time in his career and currently leads the Double-A Texas League in ERA (2.84) and WHIP (1.00), numbers bolstered by his past month, when he posted a 1.80 ERA, 0.60 WHIP and an 18/2 K/BB ratio over 20 innings of work.

Mariners: Troy Taylor, RHP (No. 23)
Making his way from High-A to Double-A this year, Taylor is staking his claim as a serious contender for relief prospect of the year honors with a 1.40 ERA, .136 BAA, 0.80 WHIP and 17 saves. He appeared in eight games this past month spanning 11 innings and allowed just one earned run (0.82 ERA) with a 0.73 WHIP while striking out 14 and walking only two.

Rangers: Mitch Bratt, LHP (No. 21)
Bratt can't overpower hitters but his precocious feel for three average pitches gets them out. The 2021 fifth-rounder from a Georgia high school has allowed just one earned run in four July starts, recording a 0.49 ERA, .175 average-against and 26/3 K/BB ratio in 18 1/3 innings. He leads the High-A South Atlantic League with a 1.01 WHIP.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Luis De Avila (No. 18)
The 5-foot-9 lefty has climbed into the top 10 among Southern League pitchers with his 3.42 ERA thanks to the month he just had. De Avila posted a 1.88 ERA (and 1.04 WHIP) over 24 innings. His 2.13 GO/AO ratio brought his mark for the year up to 1.69, good for second-highest on the Double-A circuit.

Marlins: Max Meyer, RHP (No. 4/MLB No. 79)
The No. 3 overall pick in 2020 out of Minnesota, Meyer is known for his wipeout upper-80s slider and mid-90s fastball. He allowed just four runs in three big league starts to open the season before the Marlins sent him to Triple-A, ostensibly to handle him with care as he continued his comeback from Tommy John surgery two years ago. After he logged a 0.95 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 19 innings in Jacksonville in July, he got summoned back to Miami.

Mets: Brandon Sproat, RHP (No. 5/MLB No. 94)
Sure, Sproat’s 4.60 ERA in July may not sparkle for Double-A Binghamton, but all of his other numbers in the month (0.96 WHIP, 21 strikeouts, five walks in 15 2/3 innings) serve as reminders why he has so much helium. The 2023 second-rounder also deserves credit for retiring all three AL batters he faced in the Futures Game while touching 99.2 mph, per Statcast.

Nationals: Travis Sykora, RHP (No. 13)
This is a coin flip between Sykora and fellow young arm Jarlin Susana, but we’ll give the nod to the 2023 third-rounder here. After understandably being eased in to his first full season, the 6-foot-6 righty has been red-hot in July with a 2.12 ERA and 31 strikeouts over four starts (17 innings) for Single-A Fredericksburg. His 10 punchouts (over only 17 batters) on July 27 against Delmarva marked a career high.

Phillies: Seth Johnson, RHP (No. 10)
One of the newest Phillies prospects, coming from the Orioles via the Trade Deadline deal for Gregory Soto, Johnson appears to be getting stronger in his first full season of health since 2022 Tommy John surgery. In his previous four starts before the trade, the right-hander posted a 2.12 ERA and 0.82 WHIP over 17 IP. He gave up only 12 hits and encouragingly yielded just two walks, bringing his season BB/9 rate down to 4.8.

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

Brewers: Craig Yoho, RHP (No. 23)
You won’t often find relievers on these lists because of limited workloads, but this run by Yoho is too dominant to ignore. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last 13 appearances (14 1/3 innings) for Double-A Biloxi, striking out 28 in that span while holding batters to a .154 average. Yoho’s upper-70s changeup acts like a true plus-plus pitch, and his sweeping slider has helped contribute to this run too, making him a heck of a find in last year’s eighth round.

Cardinals: Pete Hansen, LHP (No. 25)
Hansen has posted quality starts in each of his last four appearances for High-A Peoria and has fanned eight batters or more three times in that span, topping out with a career-high 10 strikeouts on July 13 against Quad Cities. He hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in a start since May 21, and after a rough patch in April, he sports a 2.91 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings since the start of May.

Cubs: Connor Noland, RHP (unranked on Cubs Top 30)
Noland keeps a low profile in the Cubs system, but he pounds the zone with four pitches and quickly has climbed to the top level of the Minors since he turned pro as a ninth-round pick out of Arkansas two years ago. In his last four starts between Double-A and Triple-A, the former Razorbacks quarterback has fashioned a 1.82 ERA, .207 average-against and 25/5 K/BB ratio in 24 2/3 innings.

Pirates: Thomas Harrington, RHP (No. 6)
Paul Skenes understandably gets the Pirates’ pitching headlines these days, and Bubba Chandler continues to grow as one of the best pitching prospects in the game. But don’t sleep on what Harrington’s been doing: 0.70 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, .170 BAA and 32 K’s in 25 2/3 IP over the past month with Double-A Altoona. Don’t be surprised to see him get bumped up to Triple-A soon.

Reds: Rhett Lowder (No. 1/MLB No. 20)
We do believe he’s figuring it out. The No. 7 pick in the 2023 Draft, Lowder was billed as the most advanced arm in the class, one who would move quickly. He scuffled a while after his promotion to Double-A, but Lowder has lived up to that billing with a 2.66 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over his last four starts. He finished up the month with 11 scoreless innings over two starts, allowing just four hits and two walks.

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

D-backs: Landon Sims, RHP (No. 22)
Someone tell Sims the sport is meant to get harder the higher you climb in the Minor Leagues. The 23-year-old righty was promoted to High-A Hillsboro on June 13 and has a 0.92 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 34.5 percent K rate in 13 appearances (19 2/3 innings) since. The D-backs are keeping Sims in relief, knowing his fastball-slider combo plays up there, and he’s performing as well in that role as he did as the closer for Mississippi State’s 2021 championship squad.

Dodgers: Jackson Ferris, LHP (No. 6)
Ferris signed for an over-slot $3,005,000 as a Cubs second-rounder in 2022 and joined the Dodgers as part of the Michael Busch trade in January. He has parlayed a 92-97 mph fastball and a pair of sharp breaking pitches into a High-A Midwest League-leading 113 strikeouts in 90 1/3 innings, including 31 whiffs along with a 1.04 ERA and .135 average-against in 26 July frames.

Giants: Trevor McDonald, RHP (No. 12)
McDonald missed April and was slowed in May by a groin injury, but he's healthy now and has compiled a 2.79 ERA with a .203 average-against and a 13/5 K ratio in 19 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A the past month. Signed for $797,500 as an 11th-rounder out of a Mississippi high school in 2019, he works with a 93-98 mph fastball and a pair of quality breaking pitches.

Padres: Henry Baez, RHP (No. 23)
San Diego fans concerned the farm system is in rough shape following a busy Trade Deadline might want to pay attention to Baez. The 21-year-old right-hander had a 1.38 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP over his final seven starts with High-A Fort Wayne and debuted with Double-A San Antonio on July 27 with two earned runs allowed over 5 1/3 frames. His fastball touches 97 mph, and he has enough of a changeup to fight off major splits concerns.

Rockies: Chase Dollander (No. 1/MLB No. 36)
We were hoping the Rockies would challenge Dollander with a bump up to Double-A after the Futures Game, and they did just that. He’s handled it pretty well over his first two starts, giving him a 2.20 ERA and a 14.3 K/9 rate in July. The 2023 No. 9 overall pick has some pretty eye-popping numbers for the year: 2.86 ERA, 13.6 K/9, .226 BAA.