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Eduardo Tait, C, Phillies: In the feedback used to formulate BA's newest Top 100 Prospects update, Tait received some of the most consistently positive feedback of any player on the list. On Thursday, he showed why. Tait collected three hits against St. Lucie, including his first triple of the season. The three-bagger was particularly impressive considering the pitch he hit. In his third at-bat of the day, Tait connected on a cutter that was little more than a foot off the ground and rifled it into the corner in right field. The pitch was hit at 104.4 mph, his second-highest EV of the day behind a 107.8 mph rocket of a single.

Miguel Ullola, RHP, Astros: Ullola used his outing on Thursday to remind everyone that the best away to avoid the pitfalls of pitching in the Pacific Coast League is simply to get hitters to swing and miss. Over five innings of 10-strikeout ball, Ullola coaxed 22 whiffs out of Triple-A Salt Lake hitters. The bulk of those misses came on his four-seamer, which averaged 92.6 mph and got batters to come up empty on eight of 17 swings. He added five more misses on his slider, four on his changeup and one apiece on his curveball and sweeper.

Connor Prielipp, LHP, Twins: There's little doubt about the quality of Prielipp's stuff. He drew raves in spring training for his ability to draw swings and misses with an array of high-end offerings. On Thursday, he turned in his best outing of the regular season. The Alabama alum went four innings against Northwest Arkansas and allowed three hits, walked nobody and struck out six. Just nine of his 46 pitches were balls. The innings and strikeout totals each represented season high-water marks.

Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Braves: At his best, Waldrep can dominate a lineup. For most of his outing on Thursday, he was at his best. He finished the evening with 10 strikeouts and 22 swings and misses over the course of 5.1 innings against Triple-A Durham. Twenty of those whiffs came on his splitter (7) and slider (13). The other two were on his curveball, which he threw just five times. He didn't get any whiffs on his four-seam fastball, which averaged 95 mph. The outing was Waldrep's first with double-digit strikeouts since June 2, 2024, when he punched out 11 Norfolk batters.

Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies: For the first 2.2 innings of his Triple-A debut, Andrew Painter was dynamite. He struck out five hitters and didn't allow a three-ball count. After two quick outs in the third inning, Roman Anthony, the game's top prospect, turned an 0-2 hole into a walk and set in motion a stretch of shoddy control for Painter. He walked the next two hitters—Marcelo Mayer and Nick Sogard—before getting Blake Sabol to pop out on the infield to end the inning.

Painter's final line: Three innings, one hit, no runs, three walks and five strikeouts. He got eight swings and misses over the course of his evening, including 100% whiff rates on both his curveball and changeup. The outing was Painter's first above Double-A after four tune-up starts at Low-A to begin his year.

Editor’s Picks

Early Top 100 Concerns: These seven prospects haven’t played their way off the list yet, but they’re facing growing concerns early in 2025. Read more…

Rookie of the Year Watch: Matt Eddy wonders if the 2025 MLB Rookie of the Year may actually still be playing in the minors. Read more…

Tolle To The Top 100: Now committed to full-time pitching, Red Sox LHP Payton Tolle is ascending in his first full pro season. Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

Each day, we’ll pick a prospect that has our attention.

Tim Elko, 1B, White Sox: Rarely does a 26-year-old first baseman make the Helium spot, but rarely does a 26-year-old first baseman improbably emerge as a prospect, especially in a suddenly flush White Sox system. But that’s what Elko, a star at Ole Miss, has done this season. We detail Elko’s white-hot start to the year and wonder how long the run-starved White Sox can afford to keep his potent bat in the minors. 

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• The Cubs are calling up Cade Horton for his big league debut this weekend.

• Yankees RHP Ben Hess struck out nine over 6.2 innings for High-A Hudson Valley, allowing just one hit and an unearned run. Hess now has a 3.24 ERA with 39 strikeouts over 25 innings. We wrote about Hess earlier this week.

• After rising to No. 12 on our Top 100, Chase Burns struck out eight more batters over five innings for Double-A Chattanooga. Burns has 41 strikeouts in 25.2 innings across two levels this season, and has allowed more than one earned run in a start just once.

• Dodgers outfielder Eduardo Quintero blasted a pair of home runs for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga.

• Is Travis Bazzana starting to heat up in Double-A? He went 3-for-5 last night with a double and has at least one hit in eight of his last nine games.

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