These Prospects Went Off Yesterday! (Minor League Baseball Standouts 4/16/25)

Happy Thursday, it is almost the weekend! Minor League Ball feels like it is in full swing, and there is plenty to talk about. I have been around the ballpark regularly since the start of the Minor League season and will continue with my Live Looks reports.

But first, let’s recap what happened across the entire landscape of pro baseball yesterday. If you are unfamiliar with the Dynasty Digest, it is a daily newsletter covering the previous days’ action. While the main focus is usually Minor League Baseball, I will also be hitting on MLB performances to know as well. 

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Ben Hess, RHP, New York Yankees, 22, A+

When I saw Hess in the Spring Breakout game, I was incredibly impressed with the arsenal, and when he was assigned to High-A, I knew he would dominate. After striking out nine in his first start last week without allowing a run, Hess tossed five more scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and two walks. He allowed three hits and an unearned run, but he still generated 17 whiffs and landed 67 percent of his pitches for strikes.

He repeats well and throws plenty of strikes, starting with his fastball that works in the mid-90s mph range. Hess gets a ton of ride on the pitch, generating north of 19 inches of IVB and over ten inches of horizontal movement regularly. It has a flat -4.5 VAA, making it challenging for hitters to pick up from his 5’6” release height.

The curve shows incredible depth, sitting in the upper 70s. It gets negative 15 inches of IVB while also having 15-18 inches of sweeping action, an impressive two-plane pitch that resembles a sweeper at times. It generated a 58 percent whiff rate in college and has looked sharp in his pro starts.

Hess will mix a mid-80s slider and changeup in similar velocity bands, with both having good horizontal movement. The changeup regularly gets 17-20 inches of fade and is dominating hitters. This arsenal is impressive.

Moisés Ballesteros, C, Chicago Cubs, 21, AAA

One of the more polarizing players in the minors, Ballesteros is on the smaller and stockier side, which leaves questions about his long-term body outlook. Listed at 5’7”/195 lb, Ballesteros is slightly below average behind the plate, and if he were to need to move off the position, he would be the shortest first baseman in MLB history. 

Putting the questions behind, Ballesteros can hit. Splitting the year between Double-A and Triple-A, Ballesteros slashed .289/.354/.471 with an impressive 127 wRC+ in 2024. This has carried into 2025 as Ballesteros has six multi-hit games, but Wednesday was his best performance yet.

Ballesteros blasted two home runs, had a single and a double, and reached base a fifth time via walk. The weakest hit of his five batted balls registered at 98.8 mph, and Ballesteros had three over 102.5 mph. The exit velocities have taken a small step forward for the young 21-year-old, as Ballesteros has a 106.4 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and a 48 percent hard-hit rate.

The contact skills have been impressive for Ballesteros’ entire career as he posted a 78 percent overall mark this year with an in-zone mark north of 85 percent in 2024. The overall contact rate has jumped north of 80 percent this year. Ballesteros is aggressive, but is also one of the younger players in Triple-A. His bat is impressive.

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