Jesús Báez, SS, Cardinals: Báez carried a .612 OPS through his first 30 High-A games this season. He was hitting .218 with four home runs at the time. In 24 games since that point, he hit .280 with 10 homers and a .999 OPS. That power barrage earned the 21-year-old Báez a ticket to Double-A Springfield. His 14 homers ranked seventh in the Midwest League at the time of his promotion.

Báez is a powerfully-built, 5-foot-10 infielder who has the arm to play the left side and the hands and actions to play up the middle. St. Louis acquired him from the Mets at the 2025 trade deadline as part of the return for Ryan Helsley.

Chase Harlan, 3B, Dodgers: The Dodgers are promoting their 2024 third-rounder to High-A Great Lakes. The soon-to-be 20-year-old third baseman batted .329/.438/.571 with 10 home runs in 57 games for Low-A Ontario.

Harlan ranked second in the California League with a 1.009 OPS. He hit seven of his 10 homers in home games in an Ontario park that is playing homer-friendly initially. The Tower Buzzer are a new Cal League franchise playing in a new park, so the data is far from complete—but to date, Ontario home games have featured more than twice as many home runs as Ontario road games.

Harlan is a 6-foot-3 righthanded hitter drafted from Central Bucks High outside Philadelphia.

Marek Houston & Walker Jenkins, Twins: The Twins made minor league roster maneuvers with two of their top prospects on Monday, promoting shortstop Marek Houston from High-A Cedar Rapids to Double-A Wichita and reinstating Triple-A St. Paul outfielder Walker Jenkins from the injured list.

Minnesota drafted Houston out of Wake Forest with the 16th pick in the 2025 draft. He had a sterling defensive reputation in college, and that has continued to be the case in pro ball. What's new is that Houston has been a High-A hit machine, batting .325/.406/.461 with five home runs and 24 stolen bases in 56 games for Cedar Rapids. He ranks second in the Midwest League with 74 hits.

Jenkins last played in a Triple-A game on May 3, when he crashed into the St. Paul outfield wall and injured his shoulder. Following four rehab appearances at Class A stops, the 21-year-old is ready to resume his time at Triple-A, with an eye toward making his MLB debut in the second half. In 25 games for St. Paul, Jenkins batted .256/.396/.389 with two home runs and one stolen base.

Juan Flores, C, Angels: The Angels pushed Flores to High-A Tri-City on June 21, 2024 at 18 years old. He remained at that level for two full years until he slugged his way to Double-A as a 20-year-old this week.

Flores joins Rocket City of the Southern League fresh off a .275/.341/.538 season for Tri-City, one that includes 11 home runs in 46 games. He led the Northwest League in slugging percentage and ranked fifth in the circuit with an .880 OPS.

The Angels signed Flores out of Venezuela in 2023, and he is a potential impact defensive catcher with a chance to hit for enough power to carve out a starting role.

Ryan Wideman, OF, Padres: Wideman leads the minor leagues with 43 stolen bases in 65 games. So it only makes sense that the Padres rapidly promoted him to High-A Fort Wayne.

San Diego drafted Wideman in the third round last year out of Western Kentucky. He is a 6-foot-4 righthanded batter who drew the Padres' attention for his speed, athleticism and power potential as a mid-major standout.

Wideman is focusing on hitting the ball hard with backspin to the middle of the field this season as he tries to naturally manufacture more power. He was too advanced for the California League as a 22-year-old collegian, but the initial pro success should serve him well.

Wideman batted .314/.389/.504 with six home runs, 24 walks and 58 strikeouts. He ranked among the Cal League leaders with 83 hits and 20 doubles.

Editor’s Picks

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Alexander Frias, OF, Brewers: It looks like Milwaukee has found another gem. The newest bopper on the block is Frias, a hulking 18-year-old loaded with the kind of skills and tools that fill up box scores, light up data sheets and send scouts to their thesaurus. From the left side, Frias shows hittability and massive impact potential—especially if he gets the ball in the air a bit more often—thanks to a smooth stroke and a solid understanding of the strike zone. He’ll probably wind up in a corner-outfield spot, where his offense will easily profile. His time in the Arizona Complex League is over, and he went out with a bang. He collected 12 hits in his final week in the desert, including a 6-for-6 effort on June 19. Next stop, Low-A.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• A pair of Royals prospects had monster days in the Dominican Summer League. Warren Calcano went 4-for-4 with a double and three steals. Not to be outdone, Angeibel Gomez went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk and a stolen base. RoboScout has been a fan of Gomez so far, drawing some comparisons to Giants breakout prospect Josuar Gonzalez.

• Red Sox LHP Jake Bennett turned in the best start of his young pro career, at altitude no less. The lefthander struck out nine Rockies batters over six scoreless innings and was in line for his second win of the season until Colorado rallied to walk off Boston in the ninth inning.

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