Wilberson De Peña, OF, Yankees: All summer long, De Peña has been one of the brightest prospects in the Florida Complex League. His name is at or near the top of every offensive category on the league's leaderboard, and he added more distance between the rest of the competition on Tuesday when he slammed his FCL-best 14th home run. The blast put him three ahead of teammate Dexters Peralta and Tigers prospect Cristian Perez. His current total is the most in the FCL since 2023, when the Phillies' Dakota Kotowski hit 15.

Zach Root, LHP, Dodgers: With the 40th and 41st picks in last year's draft, the Dodgers chose back-to-back Razorbacks. Root went first ahead of Charles Davalan, and on Tuesday Root showed why he was coveted so highly. Facing Dayton, the lefthander lasted six shutout innings with just a hit and two walks on his ledger. He struck out 11 of the 20 hitters he faced and established a new season-high in the process. His previous peak was nine strikeouts, which he accomplished once in May and then again in June. He now has 69 punchouts in 49.1 innings.

Sammy Stafura, SS, Pirates: Last week, Stafura was one of the hottest prospects in the sport. After his effort on Tuesday, it's clear his momentum survived the off day. In a loss to Greenville, Stafura slugged his 10th home run of the season, a two-run blast off of JoJo Ingrassia. He also drew a walk, meaning he accounted for half the times the Grasshoppers were on base all night.

Andrew Fischer, 3B/1B, Brewers: It's no secret that Fischer has some of the most raw power not only in Milwaukee's scintillating system, but in all the minor leagues. His home runs are jaw-droppers, and his 28 blasts are tied with the Cardinals' prospect Joshua Baez for the most in the minor leagues. Fischer didn't homer on Tuesday, but he showed off plenty of sluggability nonetheless. Facing Knoxville, Fischer doubled twice and tripled, giving him 45 extra-base hits on the season. That total is two off the MiLB lead

Editor’s Picks

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Jesús Báez, SS, Cardinals: The Cardinals acquired Báez at last year’s deadline in the Ryan Helsley trade with the Mets. He didn’t hit much last year after the trade and started slowly this year at High-A, but since mid May, few minor league batters have been hotter than Báez. In that time, he ranks among the minor league leaders in home runs, and not even a promotion to Double-A in June has slowed him. Hard contact has always been Báez’s forte, and he packs a lot of punch into a 5-foot-10 frame. He does a good job jumping on hittable pitches but will chase out of the zone, lowering his OBP floor—and likely lineup position. While the 21-year-old lacks the range to play shortstop every day, he is a versatile infielder and has the hands and arm to fit at third base in St. Louis. Báez is one of 10 dynasty prospects who could debut in the second half.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• Jacob Humphrey (Rockes, High-A), Yassel Soler (D-backs, High-A) and Hector Rodriguez (Reds, Triple-A) each had two-homer games yesterday.

• A’s outfielder Devin Taylor continues to rake. The 2025 second-rounder went 3-for-4 with two doubles Tuesday for Double-A Midland. He now has an eight-game hitting streak and multiple hits in five of those games. Since his promotion to the Texas League, Taylor is slashing .363/.421/.657 with eight homers in 25 games. He was tabbed as a riser in our July A’s Top 30 update.

• Astros righty Jackson Nezuh struck out 11 Double-A batters over 5.1 innings while allowing just one run. He has 33 strikeouts over his last 22.1 innings and is holding batters to a .178 average over that stretch.

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