5 intriguing prospects from the AL West, 1 from each team

As the second month of the baseball season nears its end, the sample sizes for prospects continue to expand. The MLB Pipeline crew is taking the opportunity to dig a little deeper to highlight players who are balling out, but might still be flying under-the-radar.

On the latest MLB Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis and Sam Dykstra, with host Jason Ratliff, continued to identify the most intriguing prospects across the Minors landscape by division. With the AL East and AL Central in the rearview, the gurus homed in on the AL West this week.

Here are the five most intriguing prospects from the American League West:

Athletics: LHP Gage Jump (ATH No. 13)

The skinny: The numbers between High-A and one start at Double-A for Jump are hard to ignore. He posted a 1.95 ERA, struck out 51 batters, and walked only six in 37 total innings. There’s some energy to the delivery, it’s a real drop-and-drive situation. That mid-90s fastball plays up, it’s in the mid The slider and curveball have also been really great with extreme whiff-rates to boot.

Dykstra's take: You look at what he was coming off of, he transferred to LSU last year, had a healthy 2024, but was coming off Tommy John surgery. So there were some questions. The stuff looked good, but how was it going to hold up? And so far it’s been really great, and I think right now if we were to vote for a guy to go on the Top-10 left-handers list, Gage Jump would be my guy to vote for with a bullet. I think he’s certainly moved into that consideration. We’ll see how the stuff holds, particularly the control. I think we thought he had average control coming into the year, and at six walks in 37 innings, it’s at least above-average right now. We’ll see what happens when he’s getting less chase at Double-A and above. But, he's certainly trending at being a Top 100 prospect now that he’s fully healthy and his stuff is playing the way it is.

Angels: SS Joswa Lugo (LAA No. 4)

The skinny: Lugo is currently in the Arizona Complex League, which is certainly what you would expect for someone who is just 18 years old. He did well in the Dominican Summer League last year with a .301 average and .836 OPS over 53 games, showed some pop with five homers, stole 18 bags, and is off to a solid start this season, slashing .309/.328/.418 with four extra-base hits through 14 games.

Dykstra's take: Nothing really screams plus for him. It might be above-average power; he’s got a decent throwing arm, [so] they’re going to keep him at short as long as they can. Maybe he moves over to third base at a certain point. He is on the taller side at 6-foot-3. But my biggest question with somebody like Lugo, when you get off to a good start like that is, we see the Angels get supremely aggressive, right? Their top prospects basically do not go to High-A. How aggressive are they going to get with Lugo? Are they going to get him some time at Single-A this year, and then push him to Double-A next year at just age 19? We’ve seen them do that before with middling results. It hasn’t always been great. So, what are they going to do with Lugo? Are they going to learn from those mistakes or are they going to continue on that train? I think this year, he’s going to be at Rookie ball and Single-A for most of the year, I don’t think they get aggressive with him yet. But maybe next year we see him go to Rocket City quick, just given the way the Angels have worked in the past.

Mariners: 2B/SS Cole Young (SEA No. 3/MLB No. 43)

The skinny: Seattle's 2022 first-round selection (No. 21 overall) is still very much a dude. The 21-year-old is at Triple-A Tacoma and he’s starting to tap into a little bit of power for the Rainiers. Yes, it’s the Pacific Coast League, but Tacoma is one of the more pitcher-friendly places in the PCL. He’s got four homers through 44 games, .787 OPS, 23 walks and only 27 strikeouts.

Dykstra's take: I think Cole Young kinda gets overlooked sometimes. You look at Cole Emerson in that system, who is presumed to be the shortstop prospect of the future for them with an exceptional hit tool. But Cole Young has a plus hit tool himself, and he’s playing at Triple-A himself right now at just 21 years old. The hit markers have all been there. He’s kind of elbowing his way into that second base conversation with the Mariners. Obviously they’re having a good year offensively, things are starting to click in ways we haven’t seen in Seattle in a while, considering we thought pitching was going to be their biggest strength. But second base has been a revolving door for them all year to this point. Young is trending towards second base over shortstop. Above-average run [tool], pretty good fielder himself; if that power could keep coming around, he’s somebody who is certainly looking at a Major League debut well before his 22nd birthday, which is July 29.

Astros: OF Joseph Sullivan (HOU No. 11)

The skinny: The grandson of 1971 Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback Patrick Sullivan, Joseph is hitting .233 in High-A, but he has a .985 OPS because his on-base percentage in nearly twice his batting average, which is hard to do. He also has 10 homers in 36 games, so he’s slugging .534. He can do a little bit of everything.

Callis' take: He was a good player for South Alabama, but he never had a great year. He hit .271 in three seasons there, he was Draft eligible as a 21-year-old sophomore in 2023 and didn’t get picked. He had a hamate injury last spring which kept his numbers down a little bit and he lasted until the seventh round, where the Astros took him. He’s been kind of a revelation as a pro. Of all of the players on all of our Top 30 lists, he has the biggest disparity between his OPS and his batting average. He draws a ton of walks, he takes a lot of pitches, he actually gets hit by a lot of pitches too. He’s got some bat-to-ball skills, he’s got average power, tends to hit a lot of ground balls, but when he gets the ball in the air it tends to go out. He’s a plus runner. He’s a good defender in center. He has good instincts on the bases and in center field. I think he’s the best sleeper prospect in the Astros system right now. I think if I was updating the Astros list today, he’d be a lot closer to their top five.

Rangers: LHP Kohl Drake (TEX No. 12)

The skinny: The 24-year-old had a breakout campaign last season and is keeping it going this year. In 2024, Drake compiled a 2.29 ERA, a .196 average against, and a strikeout-walk ratio of almost 5:1 in mostly Single-A and High-A (he came up to Double-A at the end of the season). Through six starts with Frisco this year, he is sporting a 2.96 ERA, a .155 average against and has amassed 40 punchouts over 27 1/3 frames.

Callis' take: He’s a guy who bounced around in college. He went from Arkansas Tech to Walters State Community College, where he was the National JUCO Pitcher of the Year in 2022. He was an 11th-round pitcher, and he just got crushed in his pro debut in 2023. He had a 6.36 ERA and was heading towards non-prospect land really quickly. And then after that first full year in pro ball, he dedicated himself to strength and conditioning. He got a lot stronger in his core, with improved balance, much better athleticism. Started throwing a lot more strikes, and as he got stronger his stuff got better. He went from an upper-80s fastball to low 90s with carry. He showed a better ability to spin the ball with more power to his curveball and his slider. His changeup fades and sinks, and as he threw harder, the changeup played even better. I’ve got a 2026 ETA on him, and I’d still stick with that, but if he keeps this up, it’s not out of the question that he could force his way to Texas by the end of the year if they need pitching or they need a lefty.

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Bonus: SS Devin Fitz-Gerald (TEX No. 30)

The skinny: Only 19 years old and just getting his career underway, the fifth-round pick has only played in 12 games, but he's 13-for-38 with four doubles, a home run, 10 walks and only three strikeouts.

Callis' take: He's a recent addition to the list and he’s kind of your classic coach’s son. His father was the coach at American Heritage [high school], he coached Eric Hosmer there. And he’s been at Stoneman Douglas, where he coached Roman Anthony, Jesús Luzardo and Coby Mayo. You know, it’s skills and instincts over loud tools. The Rangers think he really has a chance to hit. Really knows his strike zone well, doesn’t try to do too much at the plate. Hits the ball gap-to-gap, more doubles than a home run guy. Fringy-to-average speed, but high baseball IQ that helps him make plays on the bases and in the field. Everybody I talk to in the Rangers system just loves Fitz-Gerald’s makeup and the high baseball IQ he brings to the park.

Bonus: RHP David Davalillo (TEX No. 29)

The skinny: The righty began the season as Texas' No. 30 prospect. Last year, Davalillo broke out with an 8-2 record, a 1.88 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 110 innings over 22 appearances (21 starts) across two Class A levels. This season, the 22-year-old is picking up where he left off at High-A, sporting a 2-0 mark and 1.08 ERA through his first seven starts.

Callis' take: He led the Minor Leagues in ERA last year. His younger brother, Gabriel, just signed with the Angels for $2 million in January. While David was not nearly the same type of prospect, he signed with the Mets for $30,000 in 2021 [and] had the deal voided two months later. Wound up turning pro with the Rangers for $10,000 in 2022. He’s not a guy who lights up the radar gun. He sits around 90-93 mph, he’ll touch 96. He does have the feel to ride four-seamers up in the zone or sink two-seamers down the zone. But his pitch is a splitter. Last year it had a 58% swing-and-miss rate. Low 80s. Guys do not hit it. When you have these pitchers who are more about deception than pure stuff and strike-throwing, those guys always have to prove themselves every step of the way. And, it’s not a full season, but he’s got a 45:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio at High-A, and the league’s hitting .153 off of him. He’s just been untouchable. The swing-and-miss rate on his splitter is 65% this year. For a guy who signed for $10,000, there’s something there.