The BAPR is a free daily morning newsletter. Please consider help spreading the word by forwarding to your friends and helping us grow the Baseball America community!

Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pirates: Chandler earned his first major league win on Wednesday, tossing four scoreless innings against the Cardinals. Chandler entered the game in the fourth inning and shut St. Louis down. He struck out three allowing one hit and a walk. Chandler has yet to allow a run across two appearances spanning eight innings. After a rough second half of the season in Triple-A, Chandler has recaptured his spark in the big leagues and looks every bit the future rotation piece fans expected to see entering the season.

Nolan McLean, RHP, Mets: There’s a youth movement underway in the Mets rotation and McLean is leading the charge. In his third big league start, McLean threw a gem against the Phillies. He needed 95 pitches to get through eight scoreless innings allowing four hits, striking out six and walking none. McLean has been dominant to begin his MLB career, allowing two earned runs over his first 20.1 innings. He's been been a difference-maker for the Mets since his promotion and could factor heavily into the Mets' playoff chances down the stretch.

Andrew Fischer, 3B, Brewers: Power is Andrew Fischer's calling card, but through 10 games the Brewers' 2025 first-rounder had yet to show it. That changed Wednesday. Fischer slugged his first professional home run in a 3-for-4 night from the leadoff spot for High-A Wisconsin. He added a walk, scored two runs and drove in two more. Fischer was one of the top college hitters from the most recent class and that’s proven true in the early going, and he's also spent all of his time defensively so far at third base.

JR Ritchie, RHP, Braves: In a down season for the Braves organization, Ritchie’s emergence has been a bright spot. Ritchie had arguably the best outing of his career Wednesday when he struck out 11 over six scoreless innings for Triple-A Gwinnett. Ritchie shutdown the opposing Norfolk lineup for six innings, allowing one hit and two walks over just 84 pitches. He improved his ERA to 3.62 during his tenure in Triple-A. Ritchie looks like a rotation piece for the Braves as soon as next season.

Joshua Baez, OF, Cardinals: Baez has been on a mission in 2025 to regain his prospect status. In a resurgent season, Baez has shown improved plate skills that have led to more game power and the best production of his career. Baez kept rolling on Wednesday for Double-A Springfield as he went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs, three runs and a stolen base. Baez’s improved contact has allowed him to get to more of his power and speed and it’s changed the trajectory of his career.

Brody Hopkins, RHP, Rays: It's been a mixed bag for the Rays' farm system in 2025, but Hopkins’ continued development stands out as a clear win. Acquired at the 2024 deadline in the Randy Arozarena trade, the 6-foot-4 righty is in the midst of an impressive second half for Double-A Montgomery and it continued Wednesday when he struck out eight Biloxi batters over five scoreless innings while surrendering just one hit. The 23-year-old has not allowed more than two earned runs in a start since June 8. Hopkins' stuff continues to tick up, and while his 12% walk rate remains on the high side, his overall 62% strike percentage is an improvement over his 60% mark a year ago. He discussed his pitch mix and improvements on our latest Hot Sheet Show.

Editor’s Picks

5 Up-Arrow Pitching Prospects: Geoff Pontes’ latest data dive spins it forward with an eye on sleepers who could break out in 2026. Read more…

10 Prospects Who Caught Our Attention: Matt Eddy curates our August organization reports to identify 10 storylines in particular that stood out across the minors. Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

David Hagaman, RHP, Diamondbacks: Hagaman struck out seven batters over four scoreless, hitless innings for High-A Hillsboro on Wednesday, and he’s someone who was on Geoff Pontes’ radar entering the day as well.

Hagaman had internal brace surgery prior to the 2024 draft and didn’t debut until this summer. Upon his return, he showed his signature stuff and drew attention throughout the industry leading up to the trade deadline. The Diamondbacks landed Hagaman in the Merrill Kelly trade and assigned him to High-A Hillsboro, where he has so far shown midrotation potential.

Hagaman sits 93-95 mph on a four-seam fastball generating 18 inches of ride and 10 inches of armside run. His slider is a mid-80s gyro with some drop, giving it a slurvy look. The D-backs have Hagaman throwing a new curveball, as well. Sitting 83-85 mph with two-plane break and heavy depth, the pitch has become Hagaman’s most-used pitch since joining the organization. He also has a fringe-average changeup that he used more heavily prior to the introduction of the curve.

Now healthy, Hagaman has three average-or-better pitches and four that he can throw for strikes. His command has taken a step forward in his return from surgery, and he looks like a player on the upswing as we head into the offseason. 

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• No. 21 Pirates prospect Carlson Reed struck out 10 batters over six scoreless innings in his best outing of the season for High-A Greensboro.

• Braves top prospect Cam Caminiti punched out nine batters over six innings of one-run ball for Low-A Augusta, lowering his ERA to 2.32 at the level.

• A’s righty Luis Morales’ superb start to his big league career continued with seven scoreless innings to help the A’s sweep the Tigers on Wednesday.

• Yankees infielder Kaeden Kent went 5-for-5 with a homer and a double for High-A Hudson Valley. You can read more about him here.

• Royals outfielder Gavin Cross (No. 14 prospect) was a single away from hitting for the cycle in a massive night for Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

In Case You Missed It

baseballamerica

246K followers

View more on Instagram