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Josue Briceño, C/1B, Tigers: There’s dominance, and then there’s what Briceño delivered Thursday for High-A West Michigan. The 20-year-old put on a power show, launching three home runs and even swiping home plate on a double steal. Briceño has hit six homers in his last eight games, looking more like the slugger we saw last fall. After missing three months sidelined with a knee injury in 2024, he went to the Arizona Fall League to regain lost time and he made the most of it. He crushed 10 home runs, not only leading the league but becoming the first player to reach double digits since 2011. It was a warning shot for what 2025 might hold, and he's now up to 11 homers and a .992 OPS through 34 games in West Michigan.

Noble Meyer, RHP, Marlins: After a rocky beginning to May, Meyer closed out the month on a high note, delivering three consecutive encouraging performances. In his final outing of the month, the 20-year-old righthander delivered five innings and racked up a season-high seven strikeouts for High-A Beloit. He threw 69 pitches—44 for strikes—and continued to show improved control and effectiveness. Over his last 11 innings, Meyer has notched 15 strikeouts while issuing just four walks, a promising sign of progress as he gains momentum heading into June. 

Jonah Tong, RHP, Mets: Tong proved why he's a newly-minted Top 100 Prospect on Thursday. The 21-year-old was in command once again for Double-A Binghamton, spinning six strong innings with seven strikeouts while allowing just three hits. The Mets righthander has been stellar in May, posting a 1.35 ERA over five starts (26.2 innings) and surrendering only one extra-base hit during that stretch. His consistent dominance has solidified his status as one of the game's most exciting young arms. His strikeout rate is among the best in the minors, and has been propelled by his fastball, which has added some zip, and a new changeup grip.

Kumar Rocker, RHP, Rangers: Rocker looked dominant on Thursday in his second rehab outing since landing on the injured list April 24 with a right shoulder impingement. The Rangers righty fired four hitless innings, striking out five while walking just one batter. Perhaps more importantly, his fastball averaged 97.3 mph over his 53-pitch outing—a full 2 mph faster than his 95.3 mph average amid a rocky start to the year in the big leagues. Rocker has now tossed seven scoreless innings across two rehab outings in the upper minors. Rocker is slated for more a couple more rehab outings before returning to the Rangers.

Ronny Mauricio, 2B, Mets: It's been a long road back for Ronny Mauricio, who tore his ACL in December 2023 just four months after making his Mets debut and missed all of last season. But he's been sensational since New York activated him from the injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. On Thursday, the 24-year-old continued his scorching return, launching a solo homer—his third in the last six games—and collecting two hits on the night. He’s now slashing .560/.586/.960 with a 1.546 OPS through seven games at the level.

Brady House, 3B, Nationals: Robert Hassell III's arrival in the majors earlier this month naturally brought attention to the high-profile return the Nationals received in the Juan Soto trade. But don't forget about their homegrown talent. House, the Nationals’ 2021 first-round pick, launched his 10th homer of the season for Triple-A Rochester on Thursday. It left the bat with a 111.2 mph exit velocity. He's now hitting .285 with an .841 OPS amid a much more effective showing in his return to Triple-A, although he has walked just six times in May compared to 26 strikeouts. The Nationals are getting solid contributions at third base, but with a youth movement underway in the nation's capital, it may only be a matter of time before House, who turns 22 next week, joins the next wave.

Editor’s Picks

NCAA Tournament Live Results: We’re tracking every score and notable performance from regionals. Follow along here.

May Standouts: Geoff Pontes takes a look under the hood to identify 10 hitting prospects who stood out in May. Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Blaze Jordan, 1B, Red Sox: Just when you think it’s safe to write a player off, baseball has a way of flipping things in its head. That’s certainly the case with Jordan. A highly-touted prep hitter renowned for his big raw power as an amateur, Jordan has taken some time to gel. Now in his third year in Double-A, things have taken off for the 2020 third-rounder.

In May, Jordan has hit .377/.482/.681 with six home runs and 12 walks to nine strikeouts. For the first time in his career, his swing rate is below 50%, and it’s proving to be a notable development. Jordan’s chase rate year-over-year has dropped by 13 percentage points, as he’s gone from below-average on swing decisions to slightly above-average this season. The difference in approach is resulting in better production and more consistent game power.

Jordan is still limited by his defensive shortcomings, and he’s likely headed to first base long-term. This will put even more pressure on his bat to perform, but so far in 2025, Jordan looks up for the challenge.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• The D-backs optioned Jordan Lawlar back to Triple-A after he went hitless over 22 plate appearances.

• While it benefitted greatly from a misplay in center by Justin Gonzales, Brewers prospect Jesús Made hit an inside the park homer last night.

• Another Mets righty, Blade Tidwell, struck out 11 Triple-A hitters over 5.2 innings yesterday.

• Red Sox shortstop Franklin Arias went 4-for-5 with a double for High-A Greenville. He’s hitting .374/.415/.535 with a pair of homers and nearly as many walks (7) as strikeouts (9) through 23 games at the level.

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