IBC

8. Devin Fitz-Gerald, SS / 2B

Ht: 5'10" | Wt: 185 | B-T: S-R

Age: 20
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Average

Adjusted Grade: 40

Track Record: Fitz-Gerald is the son of Todd Fitz-Gerald, the longtime head coach of Stoneman Douglas High, whose big league alumni include Anthony Rizzo, Jesus Luzardo, Roman Anthony and Coby Mayo. The Rangers drafted the younger Fitz-Gerald in the fifth round in 2024 and used a $900,000 bonus to sign him away from a commitment to North Carolina State. In his first season as a pro, Fitz-Gerald was one of the most polished players in the Arizona Complex League before earning a midseason bump to Low-A Hickory. Unfortunately, his time in full-season ball was limited to just 10 games by a left shoulder strain he suffered diving for a ball.

Scouting Report: Given Fitz-Gerald’s background in the game, it’s not surprising that he was one of the most polished players in Rookie complex ball. Scouts saw a player without a plus tool but with a wide array of skills. He controls the strike zone well and finished the year with an excellent zone-miss rate of 11.6% and an overall miss rate of just 18.6%, and he hit well from both sides of the plate. Despite a smaller build, Fitz-Gerald has above-average raw power that he could tap into more often with a bit more barrel accuracy and more balls in the air. Defensively, Fitz-Gerald could be fringe-average on the field—most likely at second base—because of limited athleticism and a wider lower half. His speed is likely to wind up as below-average, but he has the kind of instincts that should allow him to steal 12-15 bases a year.

The Future: After an offseason to recover, Fitz-Gerald will likely return to Low-A Hickory in 2026. He has the skills and polish to be a long-term big leaguer who mostly plays second base but can fill in at third or the outfield.

Scouting Grades Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Field: 45 | Arm: 40

https://www.baseballamerica.com/teams/2 ... =preseason

8. Devin Fitz-Gerald, SS

Born: 2005-08-17
B/T: Switch/Right
H: 5′ 10″ W: 185 lbs.

History: Drafted in the fifth round of the 2024 draft, Stoneman-Douglas High School; signed for $900,000.
Previous Rank: N/A
Major League ETA: Late 2028

Year Team Level Age PA R 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG DRC+ BABIP
2025 A-RAN ROK 19 130 25 6 0 6 19 17 15 5 1 .318 .423 .542 – .318
2025 HIC Lo-A 19 43 8 1 0 0 1 11 9 3 1 .250 .442 .281 114 .348

The Report: An internal favorite of the organization, Fitz-Gerald presents as a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none gamer type.

Wooed away from an NC State commitment out of high school, the Florida prep bat is a switch hitter and is likely better from the left-hand side despite being naturally right-handed. He puts up highly competitive ABs with a good feel for the zone and for picking up spin. His ability to read the ball out of the hand helps maximize his hit tool, where a quick bat helps him cover good portions of the plate. His power production will be limited by a slight 5-foot-10 frame, but his swing is maximized for pull-side loft, which should make Fitz-Gerald a threat for 15+ home runs annually in time.

An average baserunner, Fitz-Gerald is a capable defender around the infield, with his best everyday home likely coming at second. It all adds up to a valuable roster member, if not a superstar. Very reminiscent of another organization favorite currently at the big league level in Josh Smith.

OFP: 50 / second-division starter or strong utility man
Variance: Medium. Fitz-Gerald possesses the soft skills and mentality that tend to outperform raw tools. That being said, he still needs to show he can impact the ball enough to make it. —Grant Schiller

Jesse Roche’s Fantasy Rundown:

Top-500 Dynasty Prospects: 224
Potential Earnings: $5-10
Fantasy Overview: Fitz-Gerald does a lot of things well at the plate. He makes contact, he hits the ball plenty hard, and he has strong plate discipline. He likely will require a bit of a wait, but he shows intriguing hit-power potential.
Reckless Fantasy Comp: Chris Taylor

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/pros ... prospects/

10. Cristian Mena, SP

Signed: July 2nd Period, 2019 from Dominican Republic (CHW)
Age 23.0 Height 6′ 2″ Weight 170 Bat / Thr R / R FV 45

Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Curveball Changeup Command Sits/Tops
40/45 50/55 60/60 45/55 45/50 90-94 / 95

A shoulder strain in June ended Mena’s season, just a week after he’d been called up from Triple-A Reno. He thus missed a golden opportunity to audition for a spot in the D-backs rotation, as seemingly everyone else on the staff soon succumbed to injury as well. Fortunately, he’s healthy again and should be back in Reno’s starting five to open the 2026 season.

Mena’s profile is well established at this point. As an athletic guy with a clean arm swing, a big frame, and a deep arsenal, he has most of the ingredients you want in a starting pitching prospect. He has great feel to spin two breaking balls, and both he and the D-backs deserve credit for diversifying his mix after they acquired him from the White Sox prior to the 2024 season.

Despite flirting with the upper 90s, Mena’s four-seam fastball isn’t a bat misser at all, and his two-seamer does not reliably generate groundballs. He needs to lean on spin more than most starters, and could perhaps benefit from using his breaking balls even more than he did in 2025, when he threw them a shade under 50% of the time. His change has also taken strides in recent years and flashes plus. Maybe Mena will be able to execute it more consistently when he gets out of the Pacific Altitude League.

Shoulder and forearm strains have limited Mena to 29 starts over the last two seasons. Assuming those injuries are behind him, he should get a chance in the rotation sometime this coming season. He projects as a no. 4 starter long-term, though the spin-heavy nature of his game could push him toward the lower end of the innings volume we expect out of starters, as he tends to run deep counts.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/arizona-dia ... prospects/

1. Jacob Melton, OF

Ht: 6'3" | Wt: 208 | B-T: L-L

Age: 25
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Mild

Adjusted Grade: 45

Track Record: Melton wasn’t heavily recruited out of his Oregon high school, so he attended Linn-Benton (Ore.) JC and earned all-conference honors in his single season there. He transferred to Oregon State as a sophomore, but his season was cut short by the pandemic. Melton enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2021 by hitting .404/.466/.697 in 32 games before a shoulder injury ended his season. He went undrafted in 2021 and returned to OSU for a third year in 2022, when he hit .360/.424/.671 to earn first-team All-America honors and won the Pacific-12 Conference player of the year award. The Astros selected Melton in the second round of the 2022 draft and signed him for an under-slot $1 million. Over Melton’s first three full seasons, he climbed two levels a year, reaching Triple-A in the second half of 2024. Melton began 2025 back with Triple-A Sugar Land, missing a little over a month over the first six weeks of the season with upper-back discomfort. He returned in mid May and earned his first MLB callup on June 1. Melton sprained his right ankle on June 13 and was placed on the injured list. He returned in late July but was optioned back to Triple-A on Aug. 1. Melton was recalled two more times before the end of the season.

Scouting Report: Melton is a toolsy outfielder who has found success despite a very unusual swing and bat path. Throughout his minor league career, he has shown above-average contact skills, particularly in-zone with strong swing decisions. That was not the case in his scattered MLB time. Melton struggled against offspeed pitches on the outer half of the plate and breaking balls down and in. Elevated fastballs also gave him fits. It took some time for Melton to adjust to each level, and it’s possible the stop-and-start nature of his season messed with his timing. Melton still projects as an average hitter and shows plus raw power. He has produced eye-popping high-end exit velocities and has gotten to more of his power with improved batted-ball angles in recent seasons. Melton’s 90th percentile exit velocity of 107.7 mph hints at more game power to come. He showed more power in Triple-A in 2025 than at any point in his career. Melton is a plus runner who has been a successful basestealer. He’s capable of stealing 20 or more bases a year, with the ability to leg out extra bases. His speed translates to the outfield, where he’s above-average at all three spots but is best in center field, where he’s adept at making plays against the wall. He shows good range and takes good routes to the ball. Melton has an average arm.

The Future: Melton looks ready to join the Astros full-time in 2026 and should quickly provide average everyday value in center field.

Scouting Grades Hit: 50 | Power: 55 | Run: 60 | Field: 55 | Arm: 50

https://www.baseballamerica.com/teams/2 ... =preseason

6. A.J. Blubaugh, RHP

Ht: 6'2" | Wt: 190 | B-T: R-R

Age: 25
BA Grade/Risk: 45/Mild

Adjusted Grade: 40

Track Record: In 2023, Blubaugh’s first full professional season, he exceeded 100 innings and reached Double-A. After returning to the level in 2024, he was promoted to Triple-A after one start. Blubaugh returned to Triple-A in 2025 but quickly got called up to Houston on April 30. He had three different stints with the Astros and amassed 32 innings.

Scouting Report: A lanky but athletic 6-foot-2 righthander, Blubaugh is a strong mover on the mound and does a good job getting downhill and creating above-average extension. He can struggle to repeat his mechanics and will lose his release point. Blubaugh mixes a four-seam fastball, curveball, sweeper, cutter and changeup. His four-seam fastball sits 93-94 mph and touches 98 with average ride and above-average armside run. The sweeper is Blubaugh’s best breaking pitch and sits 82-83 mph with 14 or more inches of sweep on average. His changeup is his go-to pitch against lefties and he shows average command of the pitch with good velocity and vertical separation off his fastball. His changeup is more of a weak-contact pitch than a swing-and-miss offering. Blubaugh uses his cutter as a bridge pitch between his four-seam fastball and sweeper. Blubaugh also throws a curveball as a change-of-pace pitch with two-plane break, but it’s a below-average offering. He has average control and his strike-throwing has improved. He struggled to adjust to the ABS challenge system at Triple-A and the tighter strike zone. Blubaugh could find more strikes with greater consistency in his mechanics.

The Future: Blubaugh could find his way into a rotation spot in 2026 but offers the Astros a bulk reliever immediately.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/teams/2 ... =preseason

12. Hayden Alvarez, CF (Low-A Inland Empire)

Over the years I’ve written up a lot of Low-A Angels bats who have some tools—or at least the veneer of tools—but not much of a hit tool. They usually perform fine enough in the Cal League while being young for their level, and peter out at one of the stops further up. Alvarez bucks that trend a little bit. The 18-year-old outfielder got a high six-figure bonus in 2024 and has some actual bat-to-ball skills. Alvarez maintained his contact ability jumping stateside—and even up to full-season ball—and hit the ball a little bit harder. He’s a lean 6-foot-3 with a pretty loose and easy swing, so you can project at least average power if you are so inclined. He’s an above-average runner with a shot to stick in center field, so he’s checking off the “some tools” box while keeping his head above water against much older pitching. The present swing isn’t designed for much lift, pull, or damage, but that’s easier to fix than “a lot of swing and miss in the low minors.”

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/pros ... prospects/

13. Jesus Rodriguez, C (Triple-A Sacramento)

Acquired in the Giants’ deadline deal for Camilo Doval, Rodríguez DH’d for the River Cats for three weeks because of shoulder soreness before finally throwing on the tools of ignorance. Rodríguez gives the Giants catching depth in theory, though that’s largely because their upper-minors catching core is almost entirely organizational players. His real value is in his bat-to-ball skills—Rodríguez ran a zone contact rate upwards of 94% in Triple-A in 2025. That makes Rodríguez a decent foil for Patrick Bailey and the newly acquired Daniel Susac, both of whom can be charitably described as light hitters.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/pros ... prospects/

New York Mets

Eli Serrano III, OF

Serrano’s 6-foot-5 height stands out immediately. Drafted by the Mets in the fourth round in 2024, he played 17 games with Low-A St. Lucie after signing. He was sent to High-A Brooklyn for his first full season in 2025, hitting .222/.332/.358 with seven home runs, a 13% walk rate and 20% strikeout rate.

Though Serrano’s baseball card stats are relatively modest, his underlying data stands out. He hit the ball extremely hard, as evidenced by a 90 mph average exit velocity, 105.3 mph 90th percentile EV and 110.7 mph max. He also showed he could elevate the ball to the pull side and posted a solid barrel rate of 22.8%. Even though players with his height and long levers tend to struggle to make consistent contact, Serrano’s underlying contact metrics were solid, too. His contact rate and in-zone whiff rate were both above-average, and he made solid swing decisions.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories ... tat-lines/

Rays president Erik Neander said Friday that they view newly-acquired top prospect Jacob Melton as a potential 20-homer, 40-steal centerfielder.

The crown jewel of Tampa Bay’s prospect haul from the Astros as part of a three-team swap that also included the Pirates, Melton struggled in his first taste of the big leagues this past season during a brief 32-game cameo where he batted .157 (11-for-70) with 29 strikeouts. Still, the Rays clearly view the 25-year-old as their long-term answer in center field, with veteran Cedric Mullins signed to a one-year deal as a temporary bridge. Neander added that Melton is not terribly far off and will have an opportunity to compete for a spot on the Rays’ season-opening roster next spring. He boasts an enticing power-speed profile for fantasy purposes and his immediate path to playing time feels more likely in the outfield corners which are occupied by Chandler Simpson and Josh Lowe for now. The move to Tampa Bay offering a clean reset — positioning him as a potential core piece of a younger roster rather than a fringe component behind Houston’s veteran-heavy group. He checks in as a borderline top-100 dynasty outfielder with the athleticism and upside to take a meaningful leap if everything clicks in spring training.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/jacob-melton/69365

White Sox: .433 on-base percentage

Sam Antonacci, 2B/3B (No. 11)

After a standout junior-college career, Antonacci posted a .523 OBP in his lone season at Coastal Carolina, a number that helped push him into the fifth-round pick in 2024. He carried that discipline nicely into pro ball with a system-best .433 OBP in 116 games, spent mostly at High-A and Double-A. He struck out in only 14.1 percent of his plate appearances, while walking only 13.3 percent of the time, balancing high contact with low chase rates.

Padres: 29.4 K%

Miguel Mendez, RHP (No. 5)

Unranked at the start of the year, Mendez turned his starts into must-follow events in the San Diego system with a dynamic upper-90s fastball and a plus mid-80s slider. The 6-foot-2 right-hander climbed from Single-A to Double-A in his age-22 season and used that quality stuff to post a 3.22 ERA with 118 strikeouts in 95 innings. You’d have to lower the minimum to 60 frames to find a Padres Minor League pitcher with a better K rate in 2025. Rule 5-eligible this offseason, Mendez was protected with a 40-man roster spot.

Rockies: .166 BAA

Griffin Herring, LHP (No. 9)

Herring put up most of his eye-popping stats with the Yankees, but the Rockies deserve kudos for getting him as part of the return for Ryan McMahon at the Trade Deadline. The 2024 sixth-rounder threw very well in seven starts post-trade to help him finish with that .166 BAA, a 1.89 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 11.2 K/9 rate, all reasons why he was our LHP pick on our Prospect Team of the Year.

https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/best-pros ... e-coverage

[Jacob] Melton is in theory Mangum’s ready-made replacement. He played 32 forgettable games in Houston this year, where he hit .157/.234/.186 with no home runs and a ton of strikeouts. Ugly numbers to be sure, but I’m not inclined to move off of him over that. He never had a sustained run in the lineup, and it’s hard to expect much of a rookie playing a game here and a game there. He still projects as a solid fourth outfielder, and he’s a playable center fielder. Doubts about his ability to get to his considerable raw power and questions about whether he’ll perform against left-handed pitching make him more of a good prospect than a great one. The Rays have historically had a ton of success getting the most out of players on the line between everyday guy and quality role player, and they’re rolling those particular dice again here.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/pittsburgh- ... eam-trade/

Jacob Melton, OF
Age: 25

The Astros selected Melton in the second round in 2022, signing him for $1 million. He ranked as the club’s top prospect in two of the last three seasons, including heading into 2026. The outfielder made his major league debut in 2025, though a sprained right ankle limited his time. He had been the subject of trade rumors for much of the last month as the Astros pursued options to fortify their rotation. Melton is a talented all-around player, showing above-average bat-to-ball skills, above-average power, plus speed and above-average outfield defense. He could play his way into an everyday job with the Rays in 2026.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories ... team-deal/

[Jacob] Melton, 25, split this past season between the Astros and Triple-A Sugar Land. He had a Major League slash line of .157/.234/.186 with seven stolen bases in 78 plate appearances over 32 games. In 35 Triple-A games, he slashed .286/.389/.556 with six homers and 12 steals.

A second-round pick out of Oregon State University in the 2022 Draft, the left-handed-hitting Melton owns a career .255/.334/.462 line in the Minors. Ranked as the Astros’ No. 2 prospect at the time of the trade, Melton is regarded as a plus runner and a quality defensive center fielder with power at the plate.

“We think he's someone that has the potential to be a 20-homer, 40-steal, plus center fielder, elite outfielder wherever he is out there, and not terribly far off,” Neander said.

The Rays will let Melton compete for a spot on their Opening Day roster, but they have enough outfield depth that they don’t need to rush him. Cedric Mullins will start in center, and they will create plenty of competition in camp with the likes of Josh Lowe, Jake Fraley, Chandler Simpson, Jonny DeLuca, Palacios and Ryan Vilade.

https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/jacob-mel ... 3-way-deal