Here are the hottest pitching prospects right now — one for each club

We last took a look at standout pitching prospects who were performing well about a month ago, so we figured it was time to check in on the Minor League’s hottest hurlers again.

There are actually only two repeats from last go-round, with a pair of lefties – Kade Anderson of the Mariners and Joseph Dzierwa of the Orioles – each putting together what’s looking like very special first full seasons of pro ball.

Good pitchers can come from anywhere, and this past month, we saw a lot of strong mound work from hurlers all over the Top 30 (and beyond). Anderson and Marlins right-hander Karson Milbrandt are the lone Top 100 prospects to make this look at a hot pitcher (over the past 30 days) for each organization.

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Blue Jays: Danny Thompson Jr., RHP (No. 25)
The 2025 eighth-rounder may have signed for only $5,000 as a senior out of UNC Greensboro, but he continues to elbow his way into the conversation about standout Jays arms in his first full season. Thompson struck out 15 batters over 9 2/3 innings combined over his final two starts for High-A Vancouver on June 4 and 10, and he hasn’t lost a step after a promotion to Double-A New Hampshire with nine scoreless innings over two outings with the Fisher Cats, during which he’s allowed only one hit and three walks. The 23-year-old righty sits 93-95 mph from a lower-than-average release with his fastball and has added a sweeping breaking ball (he calls it a curve) to fuel his breakout.

Orioles: Joseph Dzierwa, LHP (No. 12)
After making this list two months in a row, it’s time to stop calling Dzierwa hot and just say he’s having a great year. In five starts in the past month, Dzierwa posted a 1.98 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, with a 31/6 K/BB ratio over 27 1/3 innings. He’s split the year between High-A and Double-A and posted a combined 2.33 ERA, .178 BAA, 0.87 WHIP with an impressive 91/16 K/BB ratio over 73 1/3 IP.

Rays: Jackson Baumeister, RHP (No. 30)
Baumeister had a 7.52 ERA with Montgomery in April, went on the injured list for three-and-a-half weeks and has built himself up into a dominant Double-A arm since. Over five starts since his return, the 23-year-old right-hander owns a 2.22 ERA and 0.86 WHIP with 29 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings. He’s fanned 33.3 percent of his batters faced in that span. With 25 Double-A starts under his belt now dating back to last season, Baumeister could push for Triple-A Durham early in the second half.

Red Sox: Gage Ziehl, RHP (No. 20)
Acquired from the White Sox in February as part of the Jordan Hicks salary dump, Ziehl has recovered from a slow start with his new organization to post a 2.55 ERA with 30 strikeouts vs. 27 baserunners in his last 24 2/3 Double-A innings. He succeeds by throwing strikes and mixing six different offerings, the best of which are an upper-80s cutter and a low-90s sinker.

Yankees: Henry Lalane, LHP (No. 14)
Signed out of the Dominican Republic for $350,000 in 2021, Lalane ranked as the best pitching prospect in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League during his U.S. debut in 2023 but missed most of the last two seasons with shoulder issues that required surgery. Working with a 92-94 mph fastball that touches 97 and a low-80s changeup with big fade, he has logged a 1.59 ERA, .137 opponent average and 38/10 K/BB ratio in his last 28 1/3 innings in Single-A.

Guardians: Braylon Doughty, RHP (No. 5)
A supplemental first-round pick out of a California high school in 2024, Doughty is making a push to join the Top 100 Prospects list. He’s carving up High-A hitters with a 92-95 mph fastball that touches 98 and a pair of high-spin breaking balls, compiling a 3.86 ERA with a 35/3 K/BB ratio in his most recent 25 2/3 innings. He leads the Midwest League in walk rate (5%) and K/BB ratio (6.1) while ranking third in ERA (3.35) and fifth in strikeouts (67).

Royals: David Shields, LHP (No. 4)
Entering his June 12 outing for High-A Quad Cities against Beloit, Shields’ career high for strikeouts in a single game was eight. He fanned 10 over 5 2/3 innings in that outing and then matched it over five frames six days later against Wisconsin. His 20 strikeouts in that time came against only one walk. With his fastball velocity still sitting 90-92, Shields remains a pitchability lefty but one that’s advanced beyond his years as a rare 19-year-old at High-A.

Tigers: Andrew Sears, LHP (No. 8)
Coming off a breakout 2025, Sears was going to be a closely followed arm in the Detroit system this summer but dealt with a left elbow osteophyte fracture that kept him off a Minor League mound until a Florida Complex League rehab outing on May 15. Having yet to throw more than four innings or 57 pitches in an outing since, the UConn product is still getting built up, but the results have certainly been there with a 2.11 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 29 strikeouts over 21 1/3 frames across the FCL, High-A and Double-A since his return. He posted four scoreless innings for Erie in his most recent outing on Sunday.

Twins: Marco Raya, RHP (No. 12)
Sometimes transitioning from starter to reliever can take a while. This is Raya’s first full season coming out of the bullpen and it didn’t start out so great, with a 6.97 ERA staring him in the face through the end of May. But he hasn’t given up a run since, a span of eight innings over six outings. Over the past 30 days, that’s led to a 2.08 ERA and 0.77 WHIP with 13 K’s over 13 IP. The most important number is zero, which is how many walks he allowed in that span, with the upswing in results leading to his first big league callup.

White Sox: Mason Adams, RHP (No. 11)
Adams went from a 13th-round senior sign out of Jacksonville in 2022 to one of the best pitching prospects in the White Sox system before injuring his flexor tendon during Spring Training last year and having Tommy John surgery. He returned to full-season ball on May 23 and has recorded a 2.70 ERA and 22/3 K/BB since in 20 innings between High-A and Triple-A. Adams pounds the zone with a low-90s sinker and has nice feel for spinning a low-80s curveball and a harder sweeper.

Angels: Dylan Jordan, RHP (No. 10)
The Angels have gotten in the habit of aggressively pursuing high-end high school pitching with over-slot deals later in the Draft. Jordan was one of those targets in 2024, getting $1.25 million in 2024. Just 20 for all of this season, it looks like he’s getting comfortable with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, with a 2.42 ERA and 0.94 WHIP over four starts in the last month. In his 22 1/3 innings of work in that span, he allowed just eight hits while striking out 33. He’s tied for the California League lead with 80 K’s for the year (12.5 K/9 puts him alone atop the K rate leaderboard).

Astros: Cole Hertzler, RHP (No. 21)
A 2024 fifth-rounder out of Liberty, Hertzler missed much of his first full pro season with a forearm injury but is dealing now that he’s healthy again. He has posted a 2.16 ERA, .179 opponent average and 28 strikeouts in his most recent 25 innings between High-A and Double-A. He operates with a 92-94 mph fastball that reaches 97 with huge carry and a low-80s changeup with significant fade.

A’s: Zane Taylor, RHP (No. 18)
One of the top college seniors in last year’s Draft class, Taylor was selected in the fifth round and got a full-slot bonus, so he wasn’t a money-saving senior sign. He’s been particularly effective this past month, posting a 2.10 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over four starts. He’s going deep into outings, too, averaging over six innings per start in this span. He currently leads the Midwest League with his 2.97 ERA and is second in WHIP, fifth in BAA. Now 24, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get a shot at Double-A soon.

Mariners: Kade Anderson, LHP (No. 2/MLB No. 6)
In a different organization, Anderson, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s Draft, would be in the big leagues already, or at least in Triple-A. He was about as dominant as a pitcher could be over the last 30 days, with a 0.00 ERA over four starts spanning 23 innings. He allowed just eight hits and had an absurd 32/1 K/BB ratio that led to a 0.39 WHIP. He now leads all Minor League pitchers in ERA (1.02), xFIP (2.34), K/BB (11.25), K-BB% (37.4) and WHIP (0.65).

Rangers: A.J. Russell, RHP (No. 3)
The Rangers paid Russell an over-slot $2.6 million in the second round of the 2025 Draft, largely on the strength of his 93-98 fastball that features an unhittable combination of an extremely low release point, big extension and lots of armside run and carry. He’s blowing away Single-A hitters with that heater, logging a 1.17 ERA, .157 opponent average and a 25/5 K/BB ratio in his last 15 1/3 innings.

Braves: Briggs McKenzie, LHP (No. 7)
The Braves went way over slot, giving McKenzie first-round money ($3 million) to sign the projectable high-school lefty in the fourth round of last year’s Draft. The Braves slow-rolled him out and he didn’t make his pro debut until mid-May in the Florida Complex League, but he’s been on a fast track since, making three appearances in the FCL, just one in Single-A Augusta, then two in High-A. He’s struck out 18 over 15 IP in the last month and has a 2.53 overall ERA to go along with a .192 BAA aned 1.17 WHIP.

Marlins: Karson Milbrandt, RHP (No. 4/MLB No. 99)
Milbrandt has pitched his way onto the Top 100 Prospects list with his performance this season and he’s not letting up. The 2022 third-rounder from a Missouri high school, he has recorded a 1.40 ERA, .195 opponent average and 34 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings during the last month between Double-A and Triple-A. He ranks second in the Minors in ERA (1.31), fourth in strikeout rate (35 percent) and eighth in strikeouts (85) and opponent average (.179). He has a trio of formidable offerings in a mid-90s fastball, upper-80s cutter and mid-80s sweeper.

Mets: Cam Tilly, RHP (No. 27)
New York selected the Auburn righty in the seventh round last July and planned to stretch him out as a starter after he’d primarily worked in relief over his two years in school, and it’s been a process at Single-A St. Lucie. However entering Wednesday, Tilly appears to be hitting his stride of late with three straight outings without an earned run, including throwing 6 1/3 innings of the Mets’ no-hitter on June 9. The 21-year-old right-hander, who exited a June 14 outing early but was set to return to the mound Wednesday, owns a 4.56 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings on the season.

Nationals: Yoel Tejeda Jr., RHP (No. 14)
Tejeda had a 4.82 ERA for High-A Wilmington on the season entering June but has been stellar in the season’s third month with only three earned runs and 26 strikeouts over four starts (21 innings). He hasn’t allowed an earned run in either of his last two outings for the Blue Rocks and set a new career high with nine punchouts over five frames against Brooklyn on June 17. Going back even further to May 19, Tejeda has a 2.57 ERA in his last seven starts, and his 43 strikeouts are tied for second-most in High-A in that span.

Phillies: Ramon Marquez, RHP (No. 9)
Marquez’s month, with a 1.80 ERA and 0.85 WHIP, 28 K’s and seven walks in 20 IP, was capped off with a five-inning, no-hit shutout gem in his High-A debut. For the year, the 20-year-old right-hander, who signed for just $10,000 in January of 2025, has been outstanding, with a 1.59 ERA, .153 BAA, 0.85 WHIP, and a 14.0 K/9 vs. 2.9 BB/9 rate.

Brewers: Tyson Hardin, RHP (No. 16)
Hardin’s peripherals always showed he was much better than his 7.67 ERA in seven starts at Double-A Biloxi, and because of that and their belief in his stuff, the Brewers promoted the 24-year-old right-hander to Triple-A Nashville in mid-May. He’s been nails ever since. Four of his seven outings with the Sounds have been quality starts, and he owns a 2.25 ERA and 0.95 WHIP with 41 strikeouts in 40 innings at the Minors’ top level. Hardin runs the fastball triforce with a four-seamer, sinker and cutter as his three most-used pitches in Triple-A and expands on that with a changeup, slider and sweeper.

Cardinals: Luis Gastelum, RHP (No. 21)
Gastelum hasn’t allowed a run for Triple-A Memphis since May 17. Sometimes, it really is just that simple to make this list. One of the best relief prospects in baseball is riding a scoreless streak of 13 appearances and 18 innings, striking out 23 and allowing only five hits and two walks in that span. The 24-year-old righty continues to wield his 80-82 mph changeup like a primary pitch and for good reason; it has a 43.4 percent whiff rate and .130 average against on the season as a whole.

Cubs: Grant Kipp, RHP (No. 28)
Signed as a nondrafted free agent out of Yale in 2022, Kipp has some of the best feel to spin in the Cubs system and relies heavily on his mid-80s slider and low-80s curveball. In his last 17 Double-A innings, he has compiled a 3.18 ETA with an 18/3 K/BB ratio.

Pirates: Levi Sterling, RHP (No. 13)
Sure, the 2024 Draft will forever be known as the Konnor Griffin Draft in Pittsburgh, but Sterling was also a good get as a young, projectable and athletic high school right-hander taken at No. 37 overall. The former two-way standout scuffled at the outset of his career, but might be figuring some things out now with Single-A Bradenton, posting a 3.38 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in the last month. He yielded just 20 hits over 32 IP, while striking out better than a batter per inning.

Reds: Julian Aguiar, RHP (No. 17)
Aguiar had reached the big leagues in 2024, but ended up needing Tommy John surgery after seven starts with Cincy, forcing him out for all of 2025. Just getting back on the mound has been a win, and the 25-year-old right-hander has gotten back up to Triple-A and has thrown the ball well in the last month, with a 3.26 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 20 K’s (vs. just four walks) over 19 1/3 innings.

D-backs: Junior Ciprian, RHP (Not ranked among Top 30)
The 21-year-old right-hander is expanding his workload at Single-A Visalia and dominating enough to earn the longer looks along the way. Entering Wednesday, Ciprian has posted quality starts in three of his last five outings, and he was just one out shy last time out on June 18 of making that four of five. He has a 2.60 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings in this stretch. The Dominican Republic native can run his fastball to the upper-90s, and his upper-80s slider has generated a ton of whiffs to fuel this success.

Dodgers: Adam Serwinowski, LHP (No. 11)
Acquired from the Reds as part of a three-team trade that shipped Hunter Feduccia to the Rays last July, Serwinoski has righted the ship since battling his control and command and getting rocked for a 11.00 ERA in the first month of this season. He has posted a 2.08 ERA, .180 opponent average and 29 strikeouts in his last 26 Double-A innings. He works with a 93-95 mph fastball that tops out at 99 mph with good carry, while his sweeping low-80s slider is his best secondary option.

Giants: Joe Whitman, LHP (No. 23)
After struggling in Double-A last season and in April, Whitman conquered that level and is pitching well in Triple-A. The 2023 supplemental second-rounder from Kent State has added velocity to his fastball (now averaging 93 mph and peaking at 97) and turned an ineffective slider into a harder, nastier upper-80s cutter. In his last 28 innings between the two levels, he has logged a 2.57 ERA with a 34/5 K/BB ratio.

Padres: Winyer Chourio, RHP (Not ranked among Top 30)
The 22-year-old right-hander has been building momentum all season long. He threw six innings for Single-A Lake Elsinore the first time in 2026 on June 9 (allowing two earned runs and striking out nine against Ontario) and then did it again one week later (that time allowing one earned run and fanning five). Thanks to a fastball that plays up with exceptional extension and an impressive upper-70s curveball, Chourio entered this week ranking seventh in the Minors (min. 50 IP) with a 34.6 percent strikeout rate. The Padres subsequently promoted him to High-A Fort Wayne, and he made his TinCaps debut Wednesday.

Rockies: Gabriel Hughes, RHP (No. 16)
The Rockies’ first-rounder back in 2022, Hughes has had his share of injuries, missing all of the 2024 season with Tommy John surgery, then being shelved for a month this year with an oblique strain. He’s been really sharp since getting back on the mound, starting with six shutout innings on a rehab assignment with High-A Spokane and continuing with 9 2/3 blank frames in two starts back in Triple-A. He gave up just four hits and struck out 20 over 15 2/3 IP over the past 30 days.