10 Prospects Who Caught Our Attention In September

Plus: Meet Baseball America's 2025 MLB All-Rookie Team.

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Each month during the season, Baseball America publishes organization reports for all 30 clubs. In September, those reports had a common theme: Minor League Player of the Year for each organization.

These reports from our major league correspondents contain a trove of player development updates and spotlight traditional reporting. And so, at the end of each month, BA executive editor Matt Eddy compiles a rundown of 10 org reports he found especially enlightening from the latest crop. Here’s a sampling of this month’s picks:

  • The Yankees helped righthander Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz fine-tune his slider while equipping him with a sinker after they acquired him from the Red Sox in a December 2024 trade. Those changes helped key a breakthrough season in which the 22-year-old pitched at three levels. “He has that six-pitch mix, but he knows how to use it,” Somerset pitching coach Peter Larson said. “And I think that’s the separator for such a young guy.”

  • Rays righthander Brody Hopkins missed bats with the best Southern League starters this season, but his 12% walk rate for Montgomery was fifth-worst among Double-A pitchers with at least 100 innings. The Rays believe in his athleticism and competitiveness, while envisioning better days ahead as the 23-year-old sharpens his control. “He can really spin the baseball,” Rays assistant GM Kevin Ibach said. “But I think it’s just being able to get ahead with his fastball or the cutter. Strike one has always been what we’ve been preaching to him, and I think he’s done a good job throughout the year of really adapting to that mentality and really trying to get ahead of hitters.”

  • White Sox 2024 second-round shortstop Caleb Bonemer didn’t face premium velocity in the Michigan prep ranks, so he sought out pitching machines that could bring the heat to prepare him for pro ball. The plan worked. Bonemer led all qualified Carolina League batters in OPS this season. “He’s physical, really strong and simple out there,” White Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller said. “That’s what I love about him. It’s really good at-bats. He knows the strike zone. When he hits, there’s a lot of authority behind it.”

Click below to see Matt’s complete September roundup. You can find the full archive of 2025 org reports here.

Baseball America’s MLB All-Rookie Team

The 2025 Major League Baseball season delivered another wave of standout rookie performances. From Nick Kurtz’s dominant debut with the Athletics to an intriguing class of first-year pitchers—many of whom figure to impact the postseason—this year’s crop of rookies was a fun one to follow.

Here’s a look at the six players who pitched their way onto the all-rookie team this season:

  • Noah Cameron, LHP, Royals

  • Cade Horton, RHP, Cubs

  • Chad Patrick, RHP, Brewers

  • Cam Schlittler, RHP, Yankees

  • Will Warren, RHP, Yankees

  • Braydon Fisher, LHP, Blue Jays

Click below to see the complete 2025 team with hitters.

Editor’s Picks

Best MiLB Fastballs: Geoff Pontes has begun a new series examining the top-graded examples of every major pitch type in the minor leagues according to Stuff+ scores. Read more…

Topps Chrome Update: Here’s a rundown of the top prospects, MLB rookies and fun new inserts we’re hunting in Topps’ upcoming set release. Read more…

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

  • Giants top prospect Bryce Eldridge is set for a surgical procedure to remove a bone spur in his left wrist.

  • Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter became just the sixth player ever to make his MLB debut in the postseason on Wednesday after getting the start in center field and batting seventh against the Tigers. It was an eventful afternoon for the soon-to-be 24-year-old, who, after making an early fielding error, drew a walk and made a key outfield assist throwing out a runner at third in the Guardians’ win.

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