Minor League Roundup - 4/8/24

A look at some recent standouts from across all levels

With no minor league action today, I wanted to highlight a few players from last week that caught my eye. As a reminder, we have access to Hawkeye data from all Triple-A parks, as well as from the Florida State League (Single-A), but not across the rest of the minor leagues. Throughout the year, expect more weekly summaries like this, and let me know in the comment section if there is anything specific you want me to focus on in these recaps. Now, on to the players.

Heston Kjerstad - BAL (AAA)

I could have put any hitter on the Norfolk Tides on this list. The Tides put up 71 runs across 6 games, including a 26 run game on Wednesday and Heston Kjerstad was a big reason why. He went 12-27, with 6 home runs and 3 doubles, along with a 5/6 BB/K ratio, which is good for a slash line of .444/.531/1.222 for the week. The underlying data was strong as well, his 90th percentile exit velocity on the week was 105.8 MPH, his sweet spot percentage was 52.4%, and his whiff rate was just 20.7%, indicating that he earned these results and they weren’t a function of luck. With Austin Hays hitting just .087, I wouldn’t be shocked if we see Kjerstad back up with the Orioles by the end of the month. Weeks like these will make it hard for the front office to not promote him.

Colt Emerson - SEA (A)