5 Underrated Hitting Prospects With Strong Underlying Data

This week, we’ve taken a look at a few different groups of hitters producing great Statcast data in 2025.

There’s the Top 100 Prospects with impressive underlying traits. We also explored a group of Dominican Summer League standouts who could soon unlock stateside success. Today, Geoff Pontes is diving into a handful of players slipping under-the-radar who have advanced plate skills, power and production to match.

These are pretty deep cuts. Only two of these five players rank within their respective clubs’ Top 30 Prospects list, and none rank within the Top 20. Each of these players shows the prerequisite contact and approach to find success at the game’s highest levels.

SAMUEL BASALLO CONTRACT EXTENSION

Does Basallo’s Extension Highlight A Troubling Trend For MLB Players?

MLB’s next collective bargaining talks will be dominated by salary caps, floors and TV money, but another trend is reshaping the economics of the game: early extensions for young stars. The Orioles just signed 21-year-old Samuel Basallo to an eight-year deal, joining Roman Anthony, Jackson Chourio, Jackson Merrill and Bobby Witt Jr. as players locked into contracts that delay free agency well into their 30s.

For teams, the math is simple. They offer life-changing money before a player breaks out, and in return secure years of prime production at below-market rates. For players, the choice is risk security now versus potentially hundreds of millions later.

The ripple effect is clear: the biggest free-agent deals are increasingly limited to high school draftees and international signees who debut young, while college players are squeezed out of the mega-contract window. There are fewer potential big deals coming because of these extensions—and MLB owners, not players, are reaping the long-term savings, J.J. Cooper argues.

TRANSFERS CONTINUE TO SURGE

Division I Transfer Portal Surge Reshapes College Baseball At Historic Rates

College baseball’s landscape has shifted dramatically in the past decade, with the transfer portal redefining roster construction. What was once a slow churn of attrition and replacement is now a high-volume cycle of arrivals, departures and internal battles that shape depth charts.

This isn’t just a trend impacting the game’s elite, either. More than 1,500 Division I players entered the portal within 24 hours of it opening this year, which is double the amount from 2024. And it’s clear that transfers are reshaping every level of the sport at a higher rate than ever before.

SEPTEMBER CALLUPS

20 September Callups We’d Love To See

The dog days of summer are fading. Evenings hint at cooler air, kids head back to school, and the rhythm of daily life begins to shift.

For baseball, though, late August is when things heat up—or wind down—depending on where your team sits in the standings. September roster expansions bring fresh faces from the minors, some with star potential, others simply fighting for a shot at the big leagues.

With postseason races tightening and callups looming, here are 20 players Baseball America would like to see get the call this September to make their MLB debuts.

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