With the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror and Opening Day fast approaching, here are some prospects to watch during the 2025 season.
Jacob Melton: Houston Astros
Jacob Melton is poised to have a breakout season in 2025. While he is the top prospect in the Astros system, the mechanical changes that he has made with the help of Houston’s coaching staff will elevate his game even further.
Melton has toned down the big leg kick that he had in college and at the beginning of his professional career. While that allowed him to hit the ball a long way, he was predominantly a pull hitter. His smaller leg kick reminds me of the adjustments that Bryce Harper and Shohei Ohtani have made to maintain their success at the Major League level. The smaller leg kick allows the three players to hit the ball to all fields instead of being restricted primarily to their pull side. Melton has become much more dangerous at the plate due to his mechanical tweaks. While he put up solid numbers in AAA Sugar Land in 47 games in 2024, a full season with improved mechanics will allow him to reach his full potential.
Melton has good speed to both steal bases and make dazzling plays in the outfield. His play on both sides of the ball is reminiscent of Kyle Tucker. His promise as at the plate as well as in the outfield could very well be the reason Houston opted to trade Tucker (who will be a free agent at the end of the 2025 season). The trade with the Cubs allowed the Astros to make incremental improvements to their roster while Tucker’s replacement waits in the wings.
Josue De Paula: Los Angeles Dodgers
De Paula’s batting stance is reminiscent of Joey Gallo when he was mashing baseballs with the Texas Rangers. De Paula began his minor league career with a wide-open stance giving him tremendous power to his pull side. The downside of having these mechanics is that it is difficult to adjust to pitches on the outer third of the plate, due to so much torque and momentum moving towards the right side of the field. Favoring the inner and middle third of the strike zone causes opposing pitchers to pound the outside part of the strike zone to get hitters to roll over on and induce soft contact.
2024 saw De Paula alter his batting stance and swing mechanics. His stance is now square to the mound with a shorter leg kick that still generates plenty of power while allowing him to be more balanced. These tweaks lead to higher rates of hard contact no matter the location of pitches in the strike zone, allowing him to hit to all fields. While he still favors his pull side, De Paula can hit the ball to the opposite field, both for average and power. His improved hitting combined with his ability to steal 20+ bases in a season will keep the defense on their toes.
When I watch De Paula’s highlights the comparisons to Yordan Alvarez are undeniable. This high praise is backed up not only by De Paula’s mechanics but his on the field performance as well. The nineteen-year-old had an OBP and SLG both over .400 in 100 games between Low A Cucamonga and High A Great Lakes last year. He is a fantastic hitter who displays a tremendous combination of both power and plate discipline. He has shown the ability to listen to coaching and tweak his hitting mechanics to improve and progress in the Dodgers Minor League System. A winning culture, deep pockets and the best player development system in Major League Baseball have turned the Dodgers into the envy of every organization.
Tristan Smith: Cincinnati Reds
Tristan Smith was undervalued when he was taken in the fifth round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He has a three-pitch mix that shows potential, with exceptional movement on his slider and changeup. He can throw these pitches effectively to get swings and misses. While his fastball ranges between 91 and 94 miles per hour, I believe that his mechanics are what is limiting his ability. He has a jerky motion on the mound which is hindering the effectiveness of his secondary pitches and the velocity of his fastball. Smith can gain velocity on the fastball and better command by developing a more repeatable delivery and putting on some muscle in the weight room.
The slider has excellent movement, and the sinking action of the changeup can deceive hitters especially when not throwing a high nineties fastball. He is undervalued because it is much easier to help a pitcher add velocity to his fastball as opposed to developing a breaking pitch. Smith has also spent multiple seasons at Clemson University and has shown, even with mechanical flaws, that he could compete at the college level. Working out the kinks in his delivery and continuing the development of his fastball and secondary pitches can allow him to be a middle of the rotation starter or a deadly left-handed reliever out of the bullpen. The Reds likely kept Smith at their Minor League complex in Arizona after signing to work on improving his performance and setting him up for his first professional season. Smith has high upside potential and tweaks in his mechanics can pay dividends to become a reliable member of a big-league pitching staff.
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