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General  | Blog | 12/3/2025

Down on the Farm: NL Central

David Rawnsley
Photo: Konnor Griffin (Perfect Game)
It’s the time of the year again (i.e. the off-season) for the annual PG Down on the Farm feature.  We identify a top prospect in each of the 30 Major League organizations with as much Perfect Game background as possible and delve into that PG history for some insight into his development as a prospect.  Some of them might be high profile, high draft pick, ex-PG All-American talents who fans have been long familiar with.  Others might be more obscure prospects who have significantly improved either in college or as professionals.  Note that players who have used up their rookie eligibility are not considered.

The idea isn’t to necessarily pick the best PG background prospect in each organization but the one who might be closest to the big leagues.  Sometimes that is the same player, other times not.



And there is plenty of variation among organizations in their quantity and quality of prospects, whether it be those with PG backgrounds or not.
 
The profiles will be organized by League/Division and run on the following schedule.

American League East (November 24)
American League Central  (November 26)
American League West  (November 28)
National League East  (December 1)
National League Central  (December 3)
National League West  (December 5
 

National League Central


Cincinnati Reds  --  3B Sal Stewart
High School:  Westminster Christian School (Miami, Fla.)
Travel Team:  5-Star National
Final PG Class Ranking:  28th (2022)
Drafted:  1st Round, 2022, Cincinnati (32nd overall)
Highest 2025 Level:  MLB
2026 Age:  22

Stewart grew into his strength and coordination at an early age and was already listed at 6-1/180 when he was named the 2018 Perfect Game 14U Player of the Year and participated in the 14U PG Select Festival.  He hit .538-1-37 with only 4 strikeouts in 37 games that year in Perfect Game play, performance numbers that would become commonplace for the right-handed hitter through his five years of PG play and his four years of high school.

There was one interesting statistical blip with Stewart’s Perfect Game (largely wood bats) and high school (entirely metal bats) performance numbers.  He hit for ample doubles power in the summer and fall but only hit 5 PG home runs in over 160 games over those 5 years.  In four seasons at Westminster Christian High School, Stewart hit 30 home runs, including 17 as a junior and 9 as a senior.

The power was a vital part of Stewart’s evaluation because that evaluation was based almost entirely on his bat, as Stewart’s tools and athleticism pointed to a likely first base future on defense.  His report from the 2021 National Showcase read:

Large, athletic frame with broad shoulders and present physical strength proportioned nicely throughout. Ran a 7.23 60-yard dash. Primary third baseman, fields the ball out front with two hands, repeats actions well and does so with balance, arm strength plays across the diamond and shows accuracy with on line carry, shorter footwork on the move. Right-handed hitter, begins with a slightly open stance and a high hand set and back elbow at the plate. Easy launch at start of swing and utilizes a simple stride moving into contact, consistent feel for finding the barrel and shows home run power to the middle and pull side parts of the field. Keeps things simple in the box, ball jumps hard off of the barrel and shows present standout bat speed with leverage through the zone. Excellent student. Verbal commitment to Vanderbilt. Selected for the 2021 Perfect Game All-American Classic.

I had a number of debates with a pair of veteran scout friends about Stewart in the year prior to the 2022 draft and I was always the low man on Stewart.  They both simply said, “He’s just a hitter, pure and simple.  He’s always hit, he never has a bad at-bat and he always will hit.  I don’t care about the rest of his tools.”  I remember having one such debate while standing on the first base side of the back stop at a major tournament as Stewart weakly fouled off 3 or 4 balls over our heads off a high 80’s pitcher, at least temporarily making my points about his pure bat speed.  My scout friend was unmoved.

Stewart was ranked as the 28th best prospect in the 2022 class going into the draft by Perfect Game and held serve despite a scholarship to Vanderbilt, going to the Reds with the 32nd overall pick and signing for a $2,100,000 bonus.

2025 Summary

Stewart moved through three levels in 2025 and mashed at all three.  He hit .309-20-80/.907 OPS in 118 games across AA and AAA before hitting five home runs in 55 big league at bats after being called up in early September, all while posting very high contact ratios.  He played mostly third base in the minors, with some second base mixed in, but added first base after his big league call up.

2026 Perspective

Stewart’s offensive potential would seem to be too much to keep out of the offensively starved Reds line up in 2026.  With Gold Glover Ke’Bryan Hayes at third base, it seems likely that Stewart will continue to develop his defensive skills at first base. 

2024 Featured PG Player:  RHP Rhett Lowder

2025 Update: A series of injuries, starting with a forearm strain and moving into oblique and shoulder issues limited Lowder to 9 minor league innings in 2025, after the 2023 first round pick’s outstanding 2024 big league debut.

2023 Featured PG Player:  RHP Connor Phillips
2022 Featured PG Player:  SS Edwin Arroyo
2021 Featured PG Player:  RHP Graham Ashcraft

 
Chicago Cubs  --  RHP Jaxon Wiggins
High School:  Roland HS (Roland, Okla.)
Travel Team:  Rawlings Arkansas Prospects
College:  Arkansas
Final PG Class Ranking:  129th (2020)
Drafted:  2nd Round, 2023, Chicago Cubs
Highest 2025 Level:  AAA
2026 Age:  24

Wiggins made sporadic appearances on the summer circuit in high school but seemed to be as much a primary basketball player as he was a pitcher, which was easy to understand since he was All-State Oklahoma in hoops but merely a hard throwing but unpolished athlete on the mound.

In all, Wiggins threw at five PG tournaments in 2019 before his senior year and in 2020 after the pandemics and after he graduated and topped out at 93-94 mph every time.  He threw wonderfully easy and athletically and the velocity came very effortlessly and was as projectable as you would ever want to see.  He was a 17-18 year old who it was easy to say “He’s going to throw 100 one day and that day may be pretty soon.”

Arkansas has traditionally had lots of success with this profile and with Roland already located on the Oklahoma/Arkansas border, was a natural place for Wiggins to develop.

Wiggins had some success as a freshman in 2021, going 3-1, 5.09 with 4 saves out of the bullpen while striking out 28 hitters and only walking 14 in 23 innings.  He was transitioned into a starting role in 2022 and went 6-3, 6.55 in 15 starts and 66 total innings.  Unfortunately, Wiggins hurt his elbow in the spring of his junior year and underwent TJ surgery and missed the entire season.

Every team had seen Wiggins sitting 94-96 and touching 98-99 as a sophomore and weren’t scared off by injury and surgery, almost expected now for such a hard thrower at that age.  The Cubs picked him in the second round with the 68th overall pick and signed him for a $1,401,500 bonus.

2025 Summary

Wiggins continued his recovery from 2023 TJ surgery, throwing 78 innings in 18 starts in 2025, posting a 2.19 ERA and striking out 97 hitters while only allow 44 hits across three minor league levels.  He was especially dominant in AA, allowing only 22 hits in 42 innings over 10 starts.

2026 Perspective

Could Wiggins be the Cubs 2026 version of ROY runner up Cade Horton, a fellow TJ survivor?  He still needs more stretching out given his limited innings as a starter post-surgery but the stuff and athleticism is all there.  If not 2026, then maybe 2027.

2024 Featured PG Player:  RHP Cade Horton

2025 Update:  Horton was called up the second week of May and was outstanding in 22 starts, going 11-4, 2.67 in 118 IP before going down late in the year with a rib injury, which likely cost him the opportunity to start the Cubs first playoff game.  He finished as the runner-up in the National League ROY balloting.

2023 Featured PG Player:  OF Pete Crow-Armstrong
2022 Featured PG Player:  1B Matt Mervis
2021 Featured PG Player:  OF Brennen Davis


Milwaukee Brewers  --  SS Cooper Pratt
High School:  Magnolia Heights HS (Senatobia, Miss.)
Travel Team:  BPA
Final PG Class Ranking:  35th (2023)
Drafted:  6th Round, 2023, Milwaukee
Highest 2025 Level:  AA
2026 Age:  21

Pratt played in most of the major summer and fall showcases and tournaments from 2019 to 2021 and was consistently a strong performer, winning 14 All-Tournament selections, many as both a hitter and pitcher, and seven Top Prospect List designations at showcases.  He played at 2022 PG National Showcase and received the following report and was named to play in the PG All-American Classic.

Recorded a 6.72 second 60-yard dash time. Long and athletic frame with a high waist, present twitch, and lots of room for physicality. Primary shortstop with plus hands and excellent arm strength up to 91 mph across the diamond. Great balance and body control with good fluidity to movements. Lateral agility is solid too and projects to stick at shortstop long term. Right-handed hitter who gets extended really nicely and meets the ball out in front. Upright and even stance with plus bat speed. Lots of well struck contact to all fields and can show the pop to the pull side. Very balanced and well-rounded prospect with exciting athleticism in the backdrop. Tremendous student. Verbal commitment to Ole Miss. Named to the 2022 PG All-American Classic.

Despite his long resume and very consistent performance, Pratt was a difficult evaluation as he really didn’t have a carrying tool aside from just being a really good baseball player.  At 6-4/195, you could project power on one hand as a positive but take that away by noting his size lessened his chances of staying at shortstop.  He was a 6.7 runner with 91 mph arm strength on both sides of the ball, nice tools but hardly standout areas for him.  As a scout you knew he would keep getting better and knew that his make up would be a big asset as well but you just didn’t have a good feel where his ceiling was. 

Pratt had an outstanding senior season at Magnolia Heights (MS) High School, winning Mississippi Player of the Year honors by hitting .469-4-50 with 38 steals and going 10-0, 0.14 on the mound but pro scouts were in much the same boat as described above about Pratt.  He lasted until the sixth round of the 2023 draft before the Brewers selected him and signed him for a $1,350,000 bonus, well over twice what any other player in the sixth round received that year.  Pratt had been signed with Mississippi.

2025 Summary

Pratt spent all season in AA as a 20-year old, playing 120 games and hitting .238-8-62/.691 OPS and stealing 31 bases while proving to be a sure handed defender and high contact hitter.

2026 Perspective

Pratt is obviously ahead of his age/prospect schedule already having posted a solid AA season but might be a candidate for repeating the level and looking to add to his bat speed, power and physical maturity.  The Brewers system is loaded with high level middle infielders and it will be worth following whether the Brewers expand Pratt’s defensive experience outside of shortstop, where he’s played exclusively as a pro.

2024 Featured PG Player:  RHP Logan Henderson

2025 Update:  Henderson had one of the strangest big league debuts in memory, going 3-0, 1.78 in five piece-meal big league starts over three separate call-ups but spending the rest of the year in AAA due to the Brewers extreme pitching depth and an early August injury. 

2023 Featured PG Player:  RHP Jacob Misiorowski
2022 Featured PG Player:  IF Brice Turang
2021 Featured PG Player:  OF Joe Gray Jr.

 
Pittsburgh Pirates  --  SS Konnor Griffin
High School:  Jackson Prep (Florence, Miss.)
Travel Team:  Knights Knation
Final PG Class Ranking:  2nd (2024)
Drafted:  1st Round, 2024, Pittsburgh (9th overall)
Highest 2025 Level:  AA
2026 Age:  20

One of the ironies of Konnor Griffin’s development curve is that he was originally in the class of 2025, although his age always fit in better with the 2024 class he eventually re-classified to in 2022.  What was more obvious and clear from the beginning was that Griffin was completely different from his peers, whether they be 2024’s or 2025’s, in terms of his across the board athletic ability.

I personally first saw this difference at the 2021 14U PG Select Festival, where the then 6-3/180 Griffin was already running in the 6.7’s, throwing near 90 mph off the mound and launching balls out of JetBlue Park in Fort Myers. 

Basically, Griffin was the type of athlete who if he had decided at to focus on football, he could have been a five-star type wide receiver with a clear NFL future.  If he had liked basketball the best, it’s easy to imagine him as an SEC level wing with viral You Tube dunk video from high school.  It wouldn’t have mattered the sport, Griffin was going to out-athlete everyone.  It was obvious from when he was 14 years old.  It’s what has enabled Griffin to make a seemingly easy transition from center field to shortstop, a position he had barely any experience playing, as a professional.

The only crack that emerged in Griffin’s prospect evaluation as a baseball player was about his projection as a hitter.  The bat speed and power potential were huge but the swing was steep into the zone and could get long at times.  One of the dangers in scouting any sport is a type of paralysis by over analysis and in retrospect that what was happening with Griffin’s swing.  Everyone had seen him so much and such high expectations for him that scouts were going to find something to question.  For Griffin, it was his swing and ability to get to his power against high level pitching.

An analogous situation in recent sports history was in the 2018 NBA Draft with Luka Doncic.  Doncic was the best player in all of Europe regardless of age as a 17-18 year old.  He was clearly a transcendent talent and already one of the most recognized players in the world, but scouts focused on his perceived lack of elite athletic ability.  So he went third in the draft behind Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III and was promptly traded for the 5th overall pick, Trae Young. 

So while Griffin was still the first high school prospect selected in the 2024 draft, he did fall all the way down to 9th overall, where the Pirates signed him for a $6,532,025 bonus.  He had been committed to LSU.

2025 Summary

Griffin’s first professional season was one of the best minor league seasons, in context, in history.  The 19-year old hit .333-21-94/.941 in 122 games across three levels while stealing 65 bases AND learning to play shortstop after being an outfielder previously.  He’s generally considered the top prospect in baseball regardless of whether he ends up at shortstop or in center field.

2026 Perspective

Aside from his spending enough time in the minor leagues to keep his big league time clock in order, 2026 is pretty limitless for Griffin.  There is nothing standing in his way in Pittsburgh and the organization need a position star to match their promising young pitching staff.

2024 Featured PG Player:  RHP Bubba Chandler

2025 Update: Chandler was outstanding after making his debut on August 22, going 4-1, 4.02 with only 25 hits and 4 walks allowed in 31 innings.  He will retain his rookie status in 2026 and would seem a shoe-in for a spot in the Pirates rotation.

2023 Featured PG Player:  RHP Jared Jones
2022 Featured PG Player:  C Henry Davis
2021 Featured PG Player:  RHP Quinn Priester

 
St. Louis Cardinals  --  IF JJ Wetherholt
High School:  Mars Area HS (Gibsonia, Penn.)      
Travel Team:  Team Ohio Pro Select
College:  West Virginia
Final PG Class Ranking:  500th (2021)
Drafted:  1st Round, 2024, St. Louis (7th overall)
Highest 2025 Level:  AAA
2026 Age:  23

Wetherholt was a four-year starter at shortstop at Mars Area High School in the Pittsburgh area but was relatively lightly recruited out of high school despite posting impressive hitting numbers starting in his sophomore season. 

He didn’t participate heavily on the travel circuit, either, never playing at a PG showcase and competing at a couple of WWBA National tournaments, including the 2020 WWBA 17U National Championships, where he was named All-Tournament after hitting .431 in seven games.

Wetherholt started to make a name for himself when he went to the Prospect College Summer League as an 18-year old after graduating from high school and hit .414-1-22/1.043 OPS in 36 games against older competition.  He won the starting job at third base at West Virginia as a freshman and hit .308-5-39/.882 OPS before moving to second base as a sophomore and putting up dominant .449-16-60/1.304 numbers with 36 steals and gaining true national attention.

While moving to his natural shortstop position as a junior, Wetherholt was on the early short list for consideration for the first overall pick in the 2024 draft.  He was bothered by hamstring problems all spring however, getting into only 36 games, many of those at less than full strength, and hitting .331-8-30/1.061. 

In one of those ironic situations that can happen with drafts in any sport, Wetherholt fell to the Cardinals at seventh overall and signed for a $6,900,000 bonus due to his injury, then immediately had pundits saying that the Cardinals may have got the biggest break of the draft.

2025 Summary

Wetherholt was outstanding in his first professional season, hitting .306-17-59/.931 OPS with 23 steals and 72 walks compared to only 73 strikeouts, all between AA and AAA.  He played a majority of the time at shortstop, although he mixed in starts at second and third base as well.

2026 Perspective

Wetherholt seems likely to be ready for a big league job to open the season and there has been plenty of talk of trading All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan or moving him to his former super utility role to make a spot for Wetherholt.  It seems highly unlikely that Gold Glove shortstop Masyn Winn will be going anywhere.

2024 Featured PG Player:  RHP Markevian Hence

2025 Update: 2025 was a lost year for the 22-year old Hence as he injured his rib cage in April and was only able to pitch 21 innings all season.  He’s only thrown 101 innings over the past two years.

2023 Featured PG Player:  RHP Adam Kloffenstein
2022 Featured PG Player:  OF/3B Jordan Walker
2021 Featured PG Player:  IF Nolan Gorman
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