Ranking The 20 Hottest Prospects In Baseball Over The Previous Week

Because A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson missed time with a knee injury, his absurdist masterpiece of a season might be flying a bit under the radar. So allow us to contextualize a bit in today’s Hot Sheet.

Among full-season MiLB hitters with 150+ plate appearances, Wilson’s .463 batting average is almost 100 points better than anyone else. Chandler Simpson’s .369 batting average is next. Wilson’s 8.1% strikeout rate is also among the top 10 in the minors (150+ plate appearances).

Normally the world of MiLB hitters who never strike out is filled with Nick Madrigal types who lack power but make tons of contact. Wilson is doing it while posting a .242 isolated power and twice as many extra-base hits (26) as strikeouts (13). Extra-base hits divided by strikeouts is an invented stat, but it is a quick and easy way to see how well a hitter is driving the ball without striking out. Wilson’s two extra-base hits per strikeout are by far the best among anyone with 150+ MiLB full-season plate appearances this year. Luis Matos’ 1.53 XBH/SO is second best and you can barely get to double digits of hitters with a 1.0 or better ratio.

As you might expect, Wilson headlines today’s Hot Sheet, but he’s far from the only notable name in the midst of a hot streak.

Baseball America subscribers can find the full weekly ranking below. We’re also answering your prospect questions today at 4 p.m. ET. 

We’re less than two weeks away from the draft, so we’re joined by Baseball America draft expert Carlos Collazo to dig through the latest intel. We’re also joined by Sam Houston State catcher Walker Janek, who currently ranks No. 20 in the BA 500. We’ll close the show by discussing James Wood’s Nationals debut and other interesting pro prospects.

Breaking Down MLB Futures Game Rosters

Futures Game rosters are here! The game, a seven-inning exhibition featuring a cadre of baseball’s top prospects, will take place Saturday, July 13 in Arlington, Texas as part of All-Star Weekend.

The rosters include 33 Top 100 MLB prospects, headlined by James Wood, although it’s unlikely he participates after the Nationals called him up to the majors on Monday. Fellow Washington outfielder Dylan Crews is the next best prospect, and joins Padres C Ethan Salas as the most notable National League participants.

The American League roster features four of baseball’s 20 best prospects, headlined by White Sox LHP Noah Schultz and SS Colson Montgomery, Red Sox SS Marcelo Mayer and Orioles C Samuel Basallo.

The event will also feature the new Futures Skills Showcase challenge directly after the game. The competition includes three rounds of offensive challenges designed by MLB to highlight prospects’ all-around hitting abilities in a fun environment. You can read more about that here.

You can find full rosters here.

Additional Futures Game coverage

Digging Deeper: J.J. Cooper and Geoff Pontes detail the players we’re most excited to see, ones we wish were on the rosters and several under-the-radar players who could pop. Read more…

The Fast Track: These five Futures Game players have the quickest paths to the majors, perhaps even reaching big league rosters by the end of 2024. Read more…

Here’s what’s trending at Baseball America…

• Baseball America’s latest Rookie of the Year watch has the three favorites in each league

• James Wood’s debut marks significant moment in Nationals’ rebuild

• MLB Mock Draft 5.0 has the latest first-round projections and intel

• Our updated draft rankings have new scouting reports and tool grades for the top 200 players

Join the thousands of fans, players, coaches and front office personnel who are the backbone of the Baseball America community by subscribing today.