McGonigle, Susana Duel In Prospect Showdown

Plus: A Rangers prospect belts three homers, Hagen Smith impresses & more.

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Kevin McGonigle, SS, Tigers: Tigers top prospect Kevin McGonigle launched a home run for the ages Tuesday for Double-A Erie, turning on a 100 mph fastball from Harrisburg righthander Jarlin Susana and blasting it over the right-field structure. The shot was hit so high that Hawkeye couldn’t register its exit velocity or distance. SeaWolves broadcaster Greg Gania called it one of the longest home runs he’s seen in 19 years on the mic.

McGonigle, the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball, is in the midst of a scintillating season. He just turned 21 on Monday and entered Tuesday with a .971 OPS in 26 games since arriving in Erie. You can read more about McGonigle and his impressive underlying data here.

Jarlin Susana, RHP, Nationals: While McGonigle may have tagged Susana in an eventful night in Erie, the Nationals’ No. 2 prospect was quite impressive as well. McGonigle struck out and crushed a solo homer in the fourth—the only run Susana surrendered. Clark, meanwhile, exited in the second inning after injuring his hand on a swing. Susana was electric across five innings, striking out 13 while allowing just one run on two hits, two walks and a hit batter. He piled up 20 swinging strikes on 87 pitches, living off his 98-101 mph fastball and hard-biting slider to showcase the dominant arsenal that makes him one of the minors’ most dynamic arms when everything is clicking.

Cameron Cauley, SS, Rangers: Cauley erupted for a three-homer game Tuesday night for Double-A Frisco in a 7-4 win over Corpus Christi. All three of Cauley's homers came to the pull side and were against notable Astros arms. Cauley tagged rehabbing big leaguer Luis Garcia for a pair of longballs early, then homered off 2023 second-rounder Alonzo Tredwell, who struck out 10 batters over four innings, in the ninth. It was a much-needed power surge for Cauley, who had just a .538 OPS and zero homers in his previous 19 games. The 22-year-old ranks No. 24 in Texas' system on the strength of his plus speed and defensive ability up the middle--he's playing more center field this year--but making enough contact has long been his bugaboo.

Orioles 2025 Draft Picks: The Orioles had plenty of spending power and a significant need to replenish a thinning system in this year's draft, and did so by landing a trio of polished college performers--Ike Irish, Caden Bodine and Wehiwa Aloy--within the first 31 picks of the draft. We're a long way from knowing whether this was a wise decision, but all three are off to roaring starts in full-season ball. The trio combined to go 7-for-14 with four RBIs and five runs scored in a 12-9 Low-A Delmarva win over Kannapolis on Tuesday, with Aloy adding two doubles from his leadoff spot in the lineup. All three are hitting .333 or better through their first five games. Given their track record of college performance, it may not be long before all three are headed up to High-A.

Brandon Sproat, RHP, Mets: Sproat struck out eight Triple-A Indianapolis batters over six innings on Tuesday, allowing two hits and one run. He walked one batter. The 24-year-old Sproat topped out at 99.2 mph in this start and generated 12 whiffs on 83 pitches, most of them on his four-seam fastball and sweeper. Sproat didn't throw as many sinkers, changeups and curveballs in this start as he had in many recent starts, perhaps because six of the nine Indianapolis hitters batted righthanded. Sproat scuffled through his first 15 starts, but since his June 28 start he has been effective more often than not. He leads the International League with 57 strikeouts and a .144 opponent average in his last nine starts. His 2.05 ERA ranks second in that time.

Hagen Smith, LHP, White Sox: Smith held Double-A Rocket City to two hits, two walks and one run over five innings. It was his best start since early May, and a nice step forward. Smith lowered his ERA to 3.21. His 63% strike percentage was the best of any start since April 17 and is only the second time this year he'd thrown strikes on more than 61% of his pitches.

David Shields, LHP, Royals: Royals 18-year-old lefthander David Shields continued his impeccable start to his pro career on Tuesday, striking out five batters over 5.1 innings for Low-A Columbia. While a pair of unearned runs crossed the plate during Shields' outing yesterday, he hasn't allowed an earned run in his last 26.1 innings dating back to July 9, and he has 38 strikeouts to just five walks since the calendar flipped to July. Tuesday's outing was his longest of the season and lowered his Low-A ERA to just 1.43. Shields attacks hitters with a low-90s heater, a pair of low-80s breaking balls and a low-80s changeup.

Editor’s Picks

10 Top Prospects With Outstanding Data: Geoff Pontes dives under the hood to explain why these 10 prospects have surged up lists in 2025. Read more…

Hot Sheet Chat: J.J. Cooper answered your questions yesterday! Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Karson Milbrandt, RHP, Marlins: Not even two weeks after debuting at No. 25 on the Marlins’ Top 30 list, Milbrandt delivered one of his finest performances of the summer. The 21-year-old righthander struck out 10, walked one and yielded only a single hit across five scoreless frames for High-A Beloit on Tuesday night, overpowering Wisconsin for his second double-digit strikeout start of the year. He dropped his ERA to 3.22 and pushed his strikeout count to 93 over 74.2 innings, trending firmly upward as the season hits its late-summer stride. Milbrandt commanded all three of his top weapons—a mid-90s fastball, sharp mid-80s slider with depth and a tight, low-80s curveball—with perhaps his best control of the year, landing each in any count. Over three starts this month, Milbrandt has fanned 24 in 14.2 innings while allowing just three runs, flashing the arsenal and execution Miami envisioned when it drafted him in the third round in 2022.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

  • Rockies 2025 draft pick Max Belyeu went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI for High-A Spokane. The former Texas star has three homers in his first six pro games.

  • Blue Jays RHP Gage Stanifer was at it again Tuesday. He struck out eight batters over six scoreless innings for High-A Vancouver. He’s allowed four runs over his last 21 innings.

  • New Cardinals infielder Jesus Baez hasn’t hit for much impact since the Mets dealt him to St. Louis at the deadline, but he went 4-for-4 with High-A Peoria on Tuesday.

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