Felnin Celesten, SS, Mariners: Celesten had a day to remember Thursday, hitting for the cycle in game one of a doubleheader for Double-A Everett and then recording two hits in game two before it was suspended in the third inning. The switch-hitter did all of his damage from the left side of the plate for his cycle, but showed an all-fields approach. 

Celesten singled to left field in his first at-bat and then homered to straightaway center field in his second. The home run left the bat at 103.5 mph and traveled 421 feet. He struck out in his third at-bat, before doubling to left field in his fourth. He finished off his cycle with a triple down the right field line in the seventh inning. 

In the second game of the doubleheader, Celesten stayed hot, singling in his first at-bat and doubling in his second. The game was then suspended due to inclement weather with Everett at the plate in the top of the third. 

Celesten raised his season line to .320/.412/.530 with his 4-for-5 performance in game one. He now has seven home runs in June and is slugging .671, after hitting just four combined in April and May.

Gage Stanifer, RHP, Blue Jays: Stanifer has had an up-and-down 2026 so far, but he had his best start of the season on Thursday. He completed six innings for the first time this season, allowing only one run on three hits and one walk with nine strikeouts. 

Stanifer tied a season high by throwing 90 pitches. He threw 59 strikes and generated 18 whiffs. After a slow start to the season, Stanifer has been excellent the last two months. The one area missing from his game was the ability to go deeper into starts. He showed he has that ability Thursday, lowering his season ERA to 4.00 with 79 strikeouts in 63 innings.

Josh Hammond, SS, Royals: The Royals 2025 first-rounder recorded his second four-hit game of the season on Thursday against Low-A Kannapolis. Hammond reached base five times overall, going 4-for-4 with a double, a walk, two runs, one RBI and a stolen base.

Hammond has been one of the most impressive high school position player draftees so far, hitting .288/.349/.420 for the year. He only has four home runs, but he is already producing above-average exit velocities. He’s firmly established himself in the Top 100 and looks to be one of the more exciting prospects in the Royals’ system. 

Lazaro Montes, OF, Mariners: Montes got off to a slow start to the season, but continued his torrid June, homering twice as part of a four-hit game for Double-A Everett. With this game, Montes raised his season line to .236/.343/.555. He now has 11 home runs in June and 23 for the year. Montes is one of the premier power prospects in minor league baseball, but he will need to continue to cut down on his strikeouts and make more consistent contact to reach his potential.

Jamie Arnold, LHP, Athletics: Arnold had one of the best starts of his professional career on Thursday, throwing six shutout innings, allowing only one hit. He walked two batters and hit two others, but also struck out four. Arnold threw 55 of his 88 pitches for strikes and elicited nine swinging strikes.

Arnold is in the midst of the best stretch of his career in June. He has a 2.31 ERA and 1.11 WHIP this month, both career lows. He’s completed six or more innings in three of his four starts and allowed three or fewer runs in all four.

Cooper Ingle, C, Guardians: After the Guardians started exposing Cooper Ingle to left field, it seemed like only a matter of time before they called him up to the majors. According to a report from Guardians Prospective, that day has come, and he will be joining the major league roster on Friday, ahead of their series against Seattle.

Ingle was originally selected by the Guardians in the fourth round of the 2023 draft out of Clemson. He hit at every level he was at during his minor league career, save for a cameo in Triple-A to end 2025. He bounced back after returning to Triple-A this year, hitting .284/.416/.551 with 12 home runs in 51 games. Those 12 home runs are one more than his season high of 11 back in 2024 and two more than his total of 10 from 2025 in 120 games.

Ingle’s power burst has coincided with improved launch angles, allowing him to drive the ball more consistently to all fields. He hasn’t sacrificed any contact to access additional power and now has a chance to hit for average and some power. Ingle has been one of the biggest risers in the prospect rankings so far, jumping from 10th in the Guardians’ system in the preseason to No. 4 right now and No. 91 in the Top 100. 

Editor’s Picks

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Christian Zazueta, RHP, Dodgers: After throwing five perfect innings in his final High-A start, Zazueta came close to matching it in his Double-A debut, allowing only one hit in five shutout innings. He did hit two batters, but also struck out eight. Zazueta threw 40 of his 60 pitches for strikes and elicited 11 swinging strikes. Zazueta lowered his season ERA to 3.52 and WHIP to 0.89 with this start. He has 74 strikeouts in 53 innings and looks to be pushing toward the Top 100, given his combination of stuff and strike-throwing.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• Rockies 1B Charlie Condon blasted a 109 mph, 461-foot homer off Angels RHP George Klassen yesterday at Triple-A Albuquerque. Condon is slashing .275/.408/.537 this season with 15 homers.

• Marlins Triple-A RHP Brandon White fired five innings and struck out seven batters. RoboScout has taken a liking to White this year.

• Rangers OF Dylan Dreiling socked a pair of homers for Double-A Frisco. He’s hitting .289 with an .828 OPS this season.

• Royals 19-year-old LHP David Shields struck out seven batters over six innings of one-run ball for High-A Quad Cities against South Bend to outduel RHP Mason McGwire. He elicited 22 whiffs, tying with Yankees RHP Allen Facundo for the High-A lead.

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