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Hottest hitting prospects right now — one for each team
It’s time for our second installment of each team’s hottest-hitting Top 30 prospect over the last month. Our list includes eight Top 100 prospects, though the player with the best numbers over the last 30 days occupies the bottom spot on our Top 30 for his organization.
That’s Red Sox second baseman/outfielder Kristian Campbell, who has slashed .412/.509/.722 on a month-long tear. He leads all Top 30 prospects in runs (27), total bases (70) and slugging during that time.
AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
Blue Jays: Riley Tirotta, 1B/3B (Unranked among Jays’ Top 30)
The 25-year-old corner infielder made his Triple-A Buffalo debut on May 23 and has been on fire since, slashing .324/.444/.676 with seven homers and five doubles over 21 games. His biggest game came last Friday at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when he went 5-for-6 with two homers. Tirotta can make loud contact, topping out at a 110.4 mph exit velocity so far, and if he can improve his in-zone contact rate, the University of Dayton standout will turn even more heads as a late bloomer.
Orioles: Samuel Basallo, C/1B (No. 2/MLB No. 12)
Still only 19, Basallo is posting his second solid month in a row with Double-A Bowie. Over the last 30 days, the left-handed hitter has an impressive .315/.396/.528 line over 102 plate appearances. He’s walked at an 11.8 percent clip while striking out just 17.6 percent of the time, helping him collect 11 extra-base hits.
Rays: Brayden Taylor, 3B/SS (No. 4/MLB No. 83)
The 2023 19th overall pick out of TCU entered pro ball with a reputation as an above-average hitter with good pop, and he’s living up to the reputation as he gets more comfortable in his first full season. Over the last 30 days, Taylor has led all Top 100 prospects with 69 total bases (no one else has more than 57) while stringing together a .353/.431/.676 line with 20 extra-base hits and 11 steals over 25 games for High-A Bowling Green. He continues to split time between short and third but is more likely to land at the hot corner, especially with Carson Williams one level above him.
Red Sox: Kristian Campbell, 2B/OF (No. 30)
Though Campbell displayed average power and plus speed at Georgia Tech, those tools didn’t show up like that in games and he lasted until the supplemental fourth round of the 2023 Draft. The Red Sox helped him incorporate some swing changes and prodded him to be more aggressive at the plate, with encouraging results so far. His hot streak, which includes a .420/.512/.710 line since his promotion to Double-A on June 4, has boosted him among the Minor League leaders in hitting (.343, fifth), on-base percentage (.448, fifth), slugging (.606, fifth) and OPS (1.054, second).
