Jewish Baseball News

• On May 28, Baseball America updated its projection of the Top 500 prospects for July’s MLB draft, and at least three Jewish players were listed: 2B Henry Godbout (U. of Virginia) was ranked #79; recent high-school graduate and U. of Maryland commit LHP/OF Austin Weiss came in at #154; and LHP Ryan Prager (Texas A&M) landed at #174. Prager’s stock has fallen significantly since the 2024 draft, when he was selected #81 overall by the Angels with a slot value of $948,600 but turned it down to return for his senior year at A&M — and to seize a “sizable NIL deal,” according to Baseball America (6/10/2025)
• Adapting to a higher level of minor-league ball can take some time, and different players respond differently. Take RHP Aaron Davenport (Guardians/AAA), who went 3-0 with a 2.66 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, and .170 opponent batting average in Double-A this season before being promoted to Triple-A on May 23. In his first three Triple-A starts, Davenport has an 8.68 ERA, 2.46 WHIP, and .389 opponent batting average. OF RJ Schreck (Blue Jays/AAA), Toronto’s #14 prospect according to Baseball America, has had a different trajectory. Promoted on June 4, he hit a 2-run HR in his first Triple-A at-bat the same day and finished the game 2-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs in a 7-6 loss to the Mets’ affiliate (6/10/2025)
• 2B Chase Strumpf (Cubs/AAA) went 3-for-5 with a HR, double, walk, and 3 RBIs in a double header against the Royals’ affiliate on June 6. The teams split the day one game apiece. Through 6/8/2025, Strumpf was tied for #13 in the International League with 9 HRs and tied for #24 with 31 RBIs (6/10/2025)
• 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins/AAA), who went homerless in his last 68 Marlins plate appearances before being reassigned to Triple-A, homered in his first game there, a 7-1 loss to the Rays’ affiliate on June 3 (6/9/2025)
• RHP Zack Weiss (Cardinals/AAA) earned his second save of the season in a 10-2 victory over the Pirates’ affiliate on June 7, throwing 3 scoreless innings on one hit, two walks, and 5 strikeouts. Through June 8, Weiss was 2-1 and tied for #9 in the International League with a 2.25 ERA, his lowest minor-league ERA since 2015. He also had earned one hold, 2 saves in 2 chances, a 1.06 WHIP (tied for #8), and a .180 opponent batting average (6/10/2025)
• RHP Levi Sterling (Pirates/rookie league), an 18-year-old chosen in the 1st round of the 2024 MLB draft (#37 overall), is trying to get his footing in his first pro season. On 6/3/2025, the 18-year-old gave up 7 earned runs on 7 hits and 3 walks over 1.2 innings en route to a 15-8 loss to the Red Sox’ affiliate. For the season, Sterling is 2-2 with a 10.43 ERA, 2.18 WHIP and .365 opponent batting average (6/10/2025)
• LF/1B Michael Snyder (Marlins/High-A) is on the Midwest League’s leaderboard in multiple offensive categories. Among all batters with at least 160 plate appearances through June 8, the second-year pro ranked #1 with a 21.7% walk rate, #2 with a .452 OBP, #4 with a 161 wrc+ (a measure of overall run production), #7 with a 1.00 walk-to-strikeout ratio, and tied for #13 with 14 SBs (6/10/2025)
• RHP Harrison Cohen (Yankees/AA) lowered his ERA to 2.11 with a combined 2.2 no-hit innings on June 5 and June 8, yielding 2 walks and striking out one batter (6/10/2025)
• Across four games from June 5 to June 8, 1B Lyle Miller-Green (White Sox/Single-A) hit .538 (7-for-13) with a HR, double, 3 RBIs, stolen base, and 5 walks versus 3 strikeouts (6/10/2025)
• The Reno Aces (Angels/AAA) and Las Vegas Aviators (Athletics/AAA) both will host a Jewish Heritage Night on June 12. Click a team’s name above for tickets (6/10/2025)

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