The 2024 minor league season has been over for quite some time, and with the Major League postseason wrapping up it’s time to take one final reflection back at the prospects we chose to highlight before the season started. Here’s how each of our highlighted prospects did in their 2024 campaigns.
American League East
Baltimore Orioles: Jackson Holliday SS/2B (Current Level: MLB)
Holliday did what everyone thought he’d do in 2024 and broke into the big league club. He made his big league debut on April 10th, but saw his first stint in the majors last only until the end of that month, as he hit for a slashline in April of .059/.111/.059 for a .170 OPS. Holliday would spend some additional time in AAA before getting recalled in the summer months.
Holliday made his return to the Orioles on July 31st, and stayed with the club until the end of the season. While he hit only .189 this season, he showed noticeable improvement his second time up. This upcoming 2025 season should be a big one for Holliday’s development at the major league level.
Boston Red Sox: Kyle Teel C (Current Level: AAA)
The Red Sox have a solid amount of their prospects in AAA ready to break the big league club. In 112 games between the AA and AAA levels in 2024, Teel hit for a slashline of .288/.386/.433 for an .819 OPS. He flashed some power hitting 13 home runs and also stole 12 bases. In only his first full professional season, Teel looked great at the AA level, and will most likely spend some time in AAA before making an expected debut in 2025.
New York Yankees: Spencer Jones OF (Current Level: AA)
The buzz around one of the Yankees top prospects Spencer Jones only continued throughout the 2024 season. While he didn’t post jaw-dropping numbers, he managed to put together a very solid season. He hit for a .788 OPS while slugging 17 home runs and stealing 25 bases. If Jones can lower the number of strikeouts and develop a bit more consistent hitting, we could very well see his debut this season in the Bronx.
Tampa Bay Rays: Carson Williams SS (Current Level: AA)
Carson Williams at the time before the season seemed like an odd pick for the Rays with Junior Caminero in the farm, but Williams has shot up the ranks and now sits fourth in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects. Williams had a great 2024, recording an .821 OPS in 115 games.
He flashed some power as well, hitting 20 home runs and stealing 33 bases. The Rays top prospect is looking to debut this season, where he could hopefully start a career of being a perennial 30/30 guy.
Toronto Blue Jays: Ricky Tiedemann (Current Level: AAA)
2024 was a tough season for the Blue Jays best left handed pitching prospect. While he held opponents to a .206 batting average in eight starts, injuries plagued his season as he reportedly had Tommy John surgery late in July. With an ETA of 2026 now it’s not a devastating setback, but it certainly hurt what should have been a promising season for Tiedemann.
American League Central
Chicago White Sox: Colson Montgomery SS (Current Level: AAA)
Montgomery had in all honesty a very underwhelming season recording a .214 batting average and an 88 wRC+. He did almost hit 20 home runs in 130 games, and still got on base at a .329 clip. While it wasn’t amazing production, there’s still optimism that he can improve and develop enough to debut in 2025.
Cleveland Guardians: Daniel Espino RHP (Current Level: MLB)
Daniel Espino’s 2024 season was derailed by a shoulder capsule and rotator cuff injury that required surgery that kept him off the field all year. Besides the injury, Espino’s ETA to the MLB is still listed at 2025 per MLB Pipeline and with an 80 grade fastball, he would be an immediate impact to the rotation if he can stay healthy.
Detroit Tigers: Max Clark OF (Current Level: High-A)
Max Clark made a name for himself in 2024. He now ranks as the sixth best prospect in baseball and sits at the High-A level in West Michigan. Clark hit for a .286 batting average in 73 games at the Low-A level before earning a promotion to High-A. In 34 games Clark tallied 37 hits with a .344 on base percentage and a .765 OPS. 2025 should be a big year for Clark’s development, as he looks to take one step closer to debuting with the Tigers.
Kansas City Royals: Blake Mitchell C (Current Level: High-A)
Mitchell started off the season at the Low-A level and put up some solid production. He had an .805 OPS in 106 games with 18 home runs and 25 stolen bases. While he didn’t perform great in a brief handful of games at the High-A level, he seems to be someone that will slowly develop into a solid everyday catcher at the big league level. By the time Salvador Perez is on the way out, Mitchell should be ready to take the spot.
Minnesota Twins: Walker Jenkins OF (Current Level: AA)
Walker Jenkins is one baseball’s most highly touted prospects ranking as the second best prospect in the MLB Pipeline Top 100. He moved through four levels starting in the rookie complex, and making it all the way to the AA level. Jenkins excelled at every level minus a brief six game stretch in AA, hitting for a season slashline of .282/.394/.439 for an .833 OPS. Once Dylan Crews graduates from prospect status, it seems that Jenkins is next up to be named baseball’s top prospect.
American League West
Houston Astros: Jacob Melton OF (Current Level: AAA)
Melton has been the Astros top prospect for some time now, but in 2024 had a pretty average season as far as offensive production goes. In 105 games between the AA and AAA levels, Melton hit for a slashline of .253/.310/.426 for a .736 OPS. He hit 15 home runs and stole 30 bases as well, and while the numbers aren’t jumping off the paper he still can provide depth to the Astros outfield very soon.
Los Angeles Angels: Nolan Schanuel 1B (Current Level: MLB)
Schanuel got his first full season in 2024 playing 147 games for the Angels. In that timeframe, Schanuel was a slightly above league average hitter with a 101 OPS+. He hit for a .250 batting average and got on base at a .362 clip. He showed more power in the first half, and will hopefully look to improve in that area a little more in 2025.
Oakland Athletics: Jacob Wilson SS (Current Level: MLB)
Jacob Wilson surprised many and broke his way onto the big league roster. In 53 games between three levels of the minor leagues this season, Wilson hit for a slashline of .433/.473/.668 with a 1.141 OPS. Wilson wasn’t amazing in his first professional stint, but he has even more time now to develop at the major league level.
Seattle Mariners: Colt Emerson SS (Current Level: High-A)
The Mariners top prospect had a solid 2024 season between three different levels. He looked great in 40 games at the Low-A level, hitting for a .293 batting average and recording a .440 on base percentage. At just 19-years old, Emerson is developing just fine for Seattle.
Texas Rangers: Wyatt Langford LF (Current Level: MLB)
Langford had a great first full season at the major league level with the Rangers in 2024. He hit for a .253 batting average in 499 at bats, but was a well above league average hitter with a 111 OPS+. He found his power swing towards the end of the season, hitting eight home runs in September and October. His second full season should be one filled with more home runs, and more production overall from the Florida Gators alum.