Fredrick's Week 5 MiLB Review

A look at prospects of note from week 5

By Tyler Fredrick · May 2, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

{"template":"baseball-prospect-risers","subtitle":"A look at prospects of note from week 5","readTime":"10","intro":"Ethan Salas has been an incredibly divisive prospect since coming into the league in 2023. He flew up rankings after his impressive debut year, but I found it hard to get excited about a 17 year old catcher that would likely take years and years before really producing in the bigs. Two years later, after two years of disappointing numbers, many were ripping the Padres for moving him up too quickly, yet I suddenly found myself on the opposite side and defending him. He's now off to a fantastic start to the season and the player that so many got excited about is producing in AA at an age of just 19 years old. The reality is that many of these young guys will struggle at some point in their minor league career, it's just the nature of baseball. That doesn't mean we should immediately label them busts and many, including myself, need to remember that. ","tiers":[{"id":"tier-1","label":"% Owned on Fantrax As mentioned above, Ethan Salas is back. He's currently slashing .319/.390/.565 while putting up impressive contact rates and showing power and speed as well. I usually find it difficult to rank young catchers highly due to the difficulty of the position and how it often takes them longer to progress through the minors but Salas will likely be an exception on my next rankings update. The Padres have already shown a willingness to move him aggressively and his elite defense plus the tools he's shown on the hitting side this year make him a very good prospect. Kudos to him for bouncing back like this after two difficult years. "},{"name":"Mike Sirota","team":"LAD - A+","position":"OF","age":"22","pctOwned":"37","writeup":"Sirota was one of my favorite targets in FYPD's a year and a half ago and he's done nothing but hit since being drafted. It's unfortunate that an injury ended his 2025 season early because his 1.068 and 1.098 OPS from last season and this season show that there's nothing left for him to prove in the low minors. With Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, and Kendall George all performing well above him, I'm a little worried that a promotion may take a bit of time but it's clear that Sirota needs AA AB's ASAP. "},{"name":"AJ Ewing","team":"NYM - AAA","position":"OF","age":"21","pctOwned":"36","writeup":"After hitting .349/.481/.571 in 18 games in AA to begin the year, Ewing earned himself a promotion and has already hit the ground running. I have a difficult time evaluating Ewing because the stats have been extremely impressive and it's hard to argue with his production. But after a closer look though, I see someone with a solid, but not spectacular hit tool, questionable power, and extremely high BABIP's throughout his minor league career. His speed is impressive and he's doing this all at just 21 years old so I wouldn't be surprised if he's a really good player in the bigs, but I also wouldn't be surprised if he's just a speed guy that doesn't provide a ton of fantasy value either. I won't get as excited as some seem to be but my heart tells me not to completely be out on him either. "},{"name":"Braylon Payne","team":"MIL - A+","position":"OF","age":"19","pctOwned":"23","writeup":"Payne was another of my favorite targets in FYPD's a year and a half ago and I ended up being a bit disappointed by his 2025 season. He wasn't bad but the hit tool looks to be very questionable and might become a problem as he advances levels. It certainly isn't harming him now though, as he's slashing .311/.425/.672 with 6 homers and 6 steals at just 19 years old in A+ ball. The tools are extremely exciting and are why I liked him in the first place, so it's nice to see him performing well. The 69% contact rate is certainly near the danger zone so I'd like to see him do it at higher levels before going all in. "},{"name":"Ronny Cruz","team":"WSH - A+","position":"3B/SS","age":"19","pctOwned":"21","writeup":"Cruz is one of this season's biggest surprises after getting promoted to A+, he's done nothing but continue to put up big numbers. I'm going to pour cold water on any hype though, the contact numbers are way too scary for me. He's got a 21% swinging strike rate between A and A+ ball and the 62% contact rate is just not good enough. He's kept the K's down by swinging at a high rate but I have a hard time believing that it's sustainable. "}]},{"id":"tier-2","label":"Hartman has been one of the biggest breakouts in 2026 and it's hard not to get excited about him. The power gains look real and if they hold as he advances through the minors, then there aren't many prospects with a power and speed combination like his. If he's available then he should be owned in most leagues thanks to his high ceiling. "},{"name":"Miguel Sime Jr","team":"WSH - A","position":"SP","age":"18","pctOwned":"18","writeup":"Sime Jr was dominant the other day as he struck out 9 of the 13 batters he faced while walking none. There's just something exciting about watching a 6'4\" 18 year old that is built like a linebacker throwing 100+ MPH fastballs and nasty sliders past hitters. That's exactly why he's one of the most fun pitchers to watch in the minors in my opinion. I'm not sold on the command so the relief risk is astronomical but it's hard not to like the kid. Sometimes you have to take a risk on guys with amazing stuff and Sime Jr is the type that I want to take a risk on. "},{"name":"Juneiker Caceres","team":"CLE - A","position":"OF","age":"18","pctOwned":"16","writeup":"The numbers don't jump off the page for Caceres but his hit tool is worth talking about. His 3.9% swinging strike rate and 90% contact rate is extremely impressive and would give him one of the best hit tools in the minors if it holds. He's hitting too many ground balls right now and I'm not sure if the power will ever be something to get excited about but his hit tool gives him a chance to make the most of any power he may get to. Someone to watch for me. "},{"name":"Yoeillin Cespedes","team":"BOS - A+","position":"2B/SS","age":"20","pctOwned":"11","writeup":"Cespedes smashed 4 homers in the past week and is off to a fantastic start to the season. It's good to see him playing well after a disappointing 2025 but I'm not ready to declare him back. Despite being listed at 5'8\", the power he generates is real but the hit tool leaves something to be desired. He's not a great fielder and if he ends up at 1B or one of the corners I'm not sure that the bat is good enough to carry. "}]},{"id":"tier-3","label":"\"Tugboat\" Wilkinson has been off to an amazing start to 2026, giving up only 3 runs in 23.2 innings while striking out 30. He was very good in 2024 but I was quite disappointed with his 4.24 ERA last season while repeating A+ so it's good to see him bounce back with a good start to the year in AA. The fastball still seems to be sitting around 90 MPH so his ceiling looks to be more of a 4 or 5 than anything else despite the dominant numbers. "},{"name":"Henry Godbout","team":"BOS - A+","position":"2B/SS","age":"22","pctOwned":"8","writeup":"Godbout hit two homers this past week and is getting back on track after a slow start to the season. I'm not sold on the power but the hit tool and plate approach are absolutely legit and he's hitting fly balls at a good rate as well. He's going to need to keep all of that up to make this sort of profile work. Overall, I'm hesitant to invest in light hitting 2B's without plus athleticism after seeing too many of these types turn into utility players so I'm not going to be in on Godbout but I know plenty are. "},{"name":"Ryan Wideman","team":"SD - A","position":"OF","age":"22","pctOwned":"7","writeup":"San Diego's 3rd rounder from this past draft is off to a great start to the season, hitting .299/.405/.505 with 3 homers and 18 SB's so far. I'd like to see a college bat do this at higher levels before getting excited but he's at least worth watching for the moment. He's 6'4\" and has great speed, there could be something here. There's also a strong chance that it's just an older player taking advantage of lesser competition. "},{"name":"Robert Arias","team":"CLE - A","position":"OF","age":"19","pctOwned":"7","writeup":"Shoutout to a reader that asked about Arias on my prospect risers article post on reddit. At the time I responded with, \"I think he's a very good prospect, he easily could've been mentioned. Still super far away and I'm not sure I see a whole lot of power potential so he's not one of my guys, but he could easily prove me wrong and break out too. Definitely a candidate.\" Since then he's hit .341/.434/.529 with 4 homers and 11 steals and been one of the best hitters in A ball. I'm still not sold on the power potential but the bat is legit. Right now the ceiling still isn't all that big but he's a very interesting prospect and I'm starting to really like him. "}]},{"id":"tier-4","label":"Maldonado smashed 6 homers while I was on vacation the week before this one and now owns an impressive .330/.419/.641 slash line. It's a college bat in A ball so I want to see him do it at higher levels but he's a strong athlete with size and speed and he has all the tools you want to see from an outfielder. He should absolutely be owned in 30 teamers and is someone to keep an eye on in all other leagues. "},{"name":"Colby Shelton","team":"CHW - A+","position":"2B/SS","age":"23","pctOwned":"3","writeup":"Shelton was a 6th rounder out of Florida and has been one of the best hitters in the minor leagues to begin the season. His .384/.490/.721 slash line in 104 PA's is extremely impressive and comes with 6 homers and 5 steals as well. Seeing him hit like this is interesting because his 136 wRC+ and 7 homers at Florida in his final college season wasn't anything to write home about. Though he did hit 25 homers as a freshman at Alabama so it's not like he hasn't shown power in the past. There is still a bit of swing and a miss in his profile so I'm not ready to say he's real yet but at 3% owned, he's absolutely worth grabbing in deep leagues. If he can do this in AA then he is going to fly up rankings. "},{"name":"Kaeden Kent","team":"NYY - A+","position":"2B/SS","age":"22","pctOwned":"3","writeup":"Kent was a 3rd rounder out of Texas A&M and has been very good to begin the year. His debut last season was dreadful so it's great to see him bounce back and start the season well. He hit two homers this past week and now owns a .330/.402/.516 slash line to go with 3 homers and 7 steals. The hit tool has been good but the power looks closer to average than anything else and the low fly ball rate certainly won't help in that department. Without any carrying tools it's hard to see more than a utility player but his play to begin the season has definitely made him someone to keep an eye on. "},{"name":"Mac Heuer","team":"NYY - A","position":"SP","age":"21","pctOwned":"1","writeup":"Heuer got a late start to the season and looked fantastic in his debut the other day, going 3.1 innings, giving up 3 hits, 0 walks, and striking out 4. His cutter was the favored pitch of his two fastballs and sat 95. He threw a slider and curveball as well which both generated whiffs. He's still a college pitcher in A ball but his size and pitch mix are strikingly similar to Cam Schlittler so we've seen the Yankees do great work with this type of profile before. I'm grabbing him in deep leagues wherever possible to get in early. "}]}]}