Baseball’s 10 Hottest Prospects From The Past Week (3/14/23)

The Hot Sheet is back! Baseball America’s staff ranks the 10 hottest prospects from the previous week. This installment of the Prospect Hot Sheet considers what minor league players did through March 13. Contributing this week was Josh Norris.

This simply recognizes what the hottest prospects in the minors did in the past week—it’s not a re-ranking of the Baseball America Top 100 Prospects.

1. Josh Jung, 3B, Rangers
Age: 25
Why He’s Here: .417/.417/1.167 (5-for-12), 4 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 3 RBIs, 0 BB, 1 SO

The Scoop: The math with Jung is simple: When he’s on the field, he hits. After recovering from a shoulder injury suffered before last season, he blitzed Triple-A and made his big league debut. He ran into a bit of a rough patch in his big league debut but made some swing changes in the offseason and has come on strong in the spring. He’s 9-for-29 this spring with a pair of home runs.

2. Casey Schmitt, 3B, Giants
Age: 24
Why He’s Here: .500/.500/1.000 (7-for-14), 2 R, 0 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 0 BB, 5 SO

The Scoop: After a 2022 season that started at High-A and ended in Triple-A, Schmitt established himself as one of the best prospects in San Francisco’s system. He’d already long been known as a stellar defender, but a burgeoning offensive game was the icing on the cake. He’s been red hot this spring, going 12-for-26 with a pair of home runs in nine Cactus League games. He also has two triples, which equals the total he produced in 126 minor league games in 2022.

3. Oscar Colas, OF, White Sox
Age: 24
Why He’s Here: .417/.462/.917 (5-for-12), 4 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 2 RBIs, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0-for-1 SB

The Scoop: Colas has a good shot of landing in the White Sox’s outfield on Opening Day, possibly pushing Eloy Jimenez to a DH role. The Cuban signee was impressive on both sides of the ball in his first season after signing with Chicago. Across three levels, he hit .314/.371/.524 with 23 home runs. He’s been scorching this spring, too, with a 1.052 OPS and two longballs in 14 games.

4. Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 3B, Reds
Age: 23
Why He’s Here: .444/.444/1.111 (4-for-9), 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBIs, 0 BB, 1 SO

The Scoop: If he doesn’t make it as a big leaguer, Encarnacion-Strand might have a future with the grounds crew … because the dude rakes. The former Twins farmhand has crushed all spring and added his fourth Cactus League home run this past week. He’s played in 12 games and recorded multiple hits in half of them, including a 3-for-3…