The Prospect Notebook - 6/30
- Aaron Lichstrahl
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
Wilson Rodriguez
Wilson Rodriguez entered the season as a borderline Top 30 prospect. After only playing 30 games at Low-A Tampa in his age 20 season, the 21 year old earned an aggressive promotion to High-A Hudson Valley to begin the 2026 season. It was a steep learning curve for the outfielder, but Rodriguez has recently been showcasing a ceiling much higher than a borderline top 30 prospect. Let's examine how he has improved.
4/3-5/1 (21 G): 92 PA, .162/.337/.294, .631 OPS, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 19.6 BB%, 19.6 K%, 79 wRC+
5/2-6/2 (26 G): 111 PA, .267/.382/.356, .737 OPS, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 16.2 BB%, 18.0 K%, 103 wRC+
6/3-6/28 (22 G): 98 PA, .337/.398/.651, 1.049 OPS, 5 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 9.2 BB%, 21.4 K%, 161 wRC+
Rodriguez is a patient hitter, typically refusing to expand the zone at the expense of taking strikes in the zone. With an average hit tool and untapped game power, there were concerns about the ceiling of his offensive game. Over the first two months of the season, Rodriguez kept very strong swing decisions, walking nearly as much as he struck out. However, the game power was non-existent, with only 2 home runs and 11 extra base hits in his first 47 games. The main difference between Rodriguez in April and May was his BABIP, as Rodriguez was very snakebitten over the first month with a sub.200 BABIP which then turned around to be over .300 in May. Still, without the power, Rodriguez looked nothing more than an average hitter.
In June, we have seen Rodriguez take off. One key aspect to this is Rodriguez giving up some contact for damage. In June, he has seen his zone contact rate dip from 83.6% over the first two months to 81.7% in June. This has seen negative shifts to his walk and strikeout rates, but with much more game power. By bumping his pull air rate by 5%, and getting the ball off the ground more in general, Rodriguez has seen a sharp spike in his slugging, recording 13 extra base hits in June alone.
The current version of Rodriguez is much more intriguing, as he still is maintaining excellent swing decisions with above average contact and now usable game power. Still only 21 years old, there is plenty of time for Rodriguez to establish fringe average to average power, making him a legitimate top 20 prospect in the system, if not higher. Rodriguez will inevitably cool off from the current 161 wRC+ pace, but if he can maintain some of the game power when he does find himself struggling, it’ll be a very positive sign in his development.
Luis Escudero
Luis Escudero was something of an unknown for me even just a month ago. The diminutive infielder had struggled at the FCL level last season. Despite the struggles then, Escudero has been one of the best players at Low-A since his debut at the end of May. So with his scorching start, who is Luis Escudero, and what type of player are we looking at?
Escudero was a member of the 2023 IFA class. After two good seasons at DSL in 2023 and 2024, he moved stateside for the 2025 season, where he struggled at the complex league. After just 6 games at the complex to open the 2026 season, Escudero was moved to the FSL. A 5’8” switch-hitter, Escudero has shown good swing decisions early on with a penchant for pulling the ball in the air. The swing decisions are borderline passive, as he only swings the bat 35% of the time, Even with a good ability to make contact in the zone, he will strike out a healthy amount by getting himself in deeper counts. Regardless, a sub 20% chase rate is mighty impressive.
Escudero’s ability to pull the ball in the air has helped cover some of the lack of raw power he possesses. With only a 103 90th and 107.4 max EV, Escudero definitely does not project to be a major power threat, but still finds a way to add value. With 12 of his 17 hits being for extra bases (including 6 home runs), Escudero has provided more pop than I even expected. Even when not pulling the ball in the air, he is only hitting it on the ground 32% of the time, which is very exciting.
Escudero’s ceiling is still somewhat of a mystery to me. While this start has been excellent, the sample is still somewhat small. The swing decisions being so good will always give Escudero a good floor. There is no clear hole in his swing with the good zone contact rates. The ability to maximize his game power despite fringe exit velocities reminds me of former farmhand Brendan Jones, as well as current farmhand Jace Avina. If he maintains this ability, he will continue to outperform the expectations of his size. If he can squeeze even a bit more exit velocity out of his bat as he matures, it will only make him more desirable.
Thatcher Hurd
Thatcher Hurd is one of my favorite pitchers in the Yankees system. Selected in the 3rd round of the 2024 draft, Hurd owned some of the best stuff in the NCAA, but struggled with his command, forcing him into the bullpen for LSU. Still, with the tantalizing stuff, Hurd was a player who immediately went into my top 10. There he stayed, despite receiving Tommy John surgery shortly before the 2025 season. Hurd made his Yankees debut on 5/4 at the complex league before making his Low-A debut on 5/26. While there have been struggles during the early stages of his return, Hurd just finished off his best start to date.
On 6/24, Hurd faced 17 batters across 4.2 innings, only allowing 1 hit and 2 walks while collecting 15 whiffs and striking out 10. It was a dominant performance for the 23 year old righty, who displayed the best control in his brief professional career while still maintaining the excellent stuff he was known for. The other big takeaway from this start was the velocity. Able to touch 99 pre-injury, Hurd has been slowly building up his velocity during his return. Initially barely averaging 92, Hurd averaged 93.9 mph on his four-seam fastball, his best of the season.
Outside of pure velocity, Hurd is an effective pitcher because of his extension and pitch shapes. With roughly 7 feet of an extension down the mound, Hurd approaches the plate with a very over the top arm angle. Hurd’s four-seam, cutter/slider, and curveball all blend together very well, creating very uncomfortable at-bats for hitters. With nearly 19 inches of iVB on his fastball, Hurd gets great life to the top of the zone. While the pitches look to all be plus weapons now, continuing to improve his velocity could see them become even more deadly. The thing to watch for Hurd, outside of velocity, will be the control. With a 13.4 BB% on the young season, Hurd will have to work to cut that rate down. On pure arm talent, only Carlos Lagrange clears Thatcher Hurd. If he can continue to improve the control, Hurd will become a legitimate upper rotation arm.
Every Prospect. Every Level. Every Day.