Five Standouts Entering The Weekend

Plus: Starlyn Caba already has 24 steals and Luisangel Acuña catches our attention.

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Prospect Standouts

Starlyn Caba, SS, Phillies: Caba has been one of the most impressive complex-level players all season long. His combination of speed, table-setting offensive skills and elite defense puts him near the top of Philadelphia’s system and has earned him a place on the Top 100. On Thursday, in one of the few FCL games to escape the rain, Caba put together another strong performance. Facing the Tigers, he went 2-for-3, scored twice, walked twice and stole a pair of bags. The steals brought his season total to 24, far and away the most in the FCL, which he also leads in runs scored and walks.

Jake Eder, LHP, White Sox: It’s no secret that the White Sox’s Double-A affiliate in Birmingham has one of the most talented pitching staffs in the minors. It’s also no secret the system as a whole has been beefed up in recent years via trades. Eder is at the center of that Venn diagram. He came over from the Marlins in 2023 in the deal that sent Jake Burger to Miami. On Thursday, he continued the Barons’ run of dominant moundsmanship by punching out 10 hitters in six innings of three-hit, one-run ball. The outing brings his season strikeout total to 75, the second-most in the Southern League, behind only Montgomery lefty Ian Seymour.

Luke Keaschall, INF, Twins: In spring training, scouts highlighted Keaschall as a player to watch heading into the regular season. They were right. After taking apart the competition at High-A, the former Arizona State infielder has kept on chugging at Double-A. On Thursday, Keaschall went 4-for-5 with a double and a home run in Wichita’s loss to Midland. The homer was Keaschall’s first in the Texas League. So far, he’s hitting .344/.444/.492 in 16 Double-A games.

Luisangel Acuña, SS, Mets: Acuña, who came over from the Rangers last season in the trade that sent Max Scherzer to Texas, has had a solid season in Triple-A since the weather warmed up in the northeast. On Thursday, he tied a season-high with four hits and established a new high-water mark with four RBIs in his team’s trouncing of Lehigh Valley. The 4-for-5 effort also included a double and a walk and brought his 2024 slash line to .259/.313/.359 with three homers and 22 stolen bases.

Echedry Vargas, 2B, Rangers: In 2023, Vargas was one of the best players in the Arizona Complex League. He’s missed time this season with injuries, but on Thursday gave Rangers fans a blast from the past. Two of them, actually. Facing Charleston, Vargas homered in the third and seventh innings as part of a 3-for-4 night with a walk and two RBIs. The outburst doubled Vargas’ season homer total and marked the third multi-homer game of his career.

Vance Honeycutt Is One Of Draft’s Most Polarizing Prospects

Want to get ahead? Each day we’ll surface one prospect from recent Baseball America coverage who could be on the rise.

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina: The College World Series kicks off today and annually provides a glimpse at plenty of potential first-round draft talent. This year’s field isn’t quite as star-studded as last year, which featured three of the top four picks in the subsequent July draft, but it still features 10 of our top 50 draft prospects. Honeycutt may be the most polarizing. As Carlos Collazo details, on some days Honeycutt looks like the best player in this year’s draft. On others, there’s a concerning amount of swing-and-miss. We dive deep on Honeycutt, who will be at the heart of North Carolina’s final push for a national championship.

In case you missed it…

You can check out Honeycutt’s swing below.