Aug. 6 is National Root Beer Float Day. It’s also National Fresh Breath Day and National Wiggle Your Toes Day. Something sweet, something comforting and something … quirky. There was a fair share of each of these elements across the Minors as new faces continued to star in new places and some of the game’s future stars put their loudest tools on display. Time to wiggle those fingers (and toes) down to see the day’s top performers:
Samuel Basallo, C/1B, Norfolk (BAL No. 1/MLB No. 9)
Another day, another Basallo home run. MLB’s top-ranked catching prospect went deep for Triple-A Norfolk for the third consecutive contest, the second time in his pro career he’s gone on such a run (High-A Aberdeen, September 2023). Basallo’s 23 home runs this season lead all primary backstops across the Minors, which is made all the more impressive by the fact he’s yet to face a pitcher younger than him in 2025. The 20-year-old leads the Triple-A International League in ISO (.343), slugging percentage (.621) and OPS (1.008). Gameday
Leo De Vries, SS, Lansing (ATH No. 1/MLB No. 3)
There’s been no rest for the weary as De Vries has suited up for all six of High-A Lansing’s games since he was acquired at the Trade Deadline in the Mason Miller blockbuster. But if the 18-year-old is phased by his new surroundings, he sure hasn’t shown it. The switch-hitting shortstop picked up a pair of knocks and plated all three runs in the Lugnuts’ victory, his sixth game this season with at least three RBIs. One of the youngest hitters at the High-A level, De Vries has seven hits and six RBIs in his brief A’s organization tenure, while his overall RBI (52, seventh) and XBH total (33, 11th) rank him in the top 12 of the Midwest League. Gameday
Kevin McGonigle, SS, Erie (DET No. 1/MLB No. 6)
McGonigle is one of just four prospects in baseball to receive a 65 grade or higher for his hit tool — and for good reason. The 37th overall pick from the 2023 Draft has hit his way to Double-A as a 20-year-old and delivered yet another three-hit outing for Erie, his ninth of the season overall. His trio of knocks was emblematic of what makes McGonigle such an exciting offensive prospect — a controlled swing for an opposite-field single, a triple to deep right-center field that just narrowly missed being a homer and a looping line drive to his pull side. Across three levels this season, McGonigle is slashing .338/.428/.584 and has 56 RBIs in 60 contests. Gameday
Cam Caminiti, LHP, Augusta (ATL No. 1/MLB No. 54)
In his final start as an 18-year-old, the Braves’ 2024 first-rounder once again flashed his future top-of-the-rotation upside. Caminiti racked up 15 swings-and-misses en route to tying his career high with eight strikeouts. His fastball consistently sat in the 93-95 mph range while he allowed just two hits, with the two runs — one earned — on his ledger coming after he turned the contest over to the bullpen. Through nine starts for Single-A Augusta, the southpaw has posted a 2.29 ERA, 12.1 K/9 rate and is holding opposing batters to a .208 average. Gameday
Jacob Melton, OF, Sugar Land (HOU No. 2)/Brice Matthews, 2B/SS, Sugar Land (HOU No. 1/MLB No. 86)
It’s easy to see the duo of Melton and Matthews and envision the pair holding down spots atop the Astros’ order for years to come. They gave a little preview, Triple-A style, in the third inning for the Space Cowboys. Melton torpedoed a homer at 104.8 mph to lead off the frame, promptly followed by Matthews, who raised the stakes with a gargantuan 453-foot shot. Houston’s top two prospects have both broken through to make their MLB debuts this season, while also impressing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League: Melton sports an .898 OPS across 22 games and Matthews has an extra-base hit and an RBI in three straight outings since his return. Gameday
Jhonny Level, SS, San Jose (SF No. 4)
The Giants have made significant in-roads on the international market over the past few years and Level is a product of that impressive group. The 18-year-old drilled his first Single-A homer as part of a three-hit, three-RBI night to continue an impressive run despite facing advanced pitching stateside for the first time. After ranking near the top of many key offensive categories in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League this year, Level was bumped up to San Jose, where he has posted a .452 OBP in his first six contests. Gameday
Tommy Troy, 2B/SS, Reno (AZ No. 5)
After posting one of the Minors’ most consistent offensive campaigns, Troy is banging on the big league door. The D-backs’ 2023 first-rounder slugged his first Triple-A homer on a multihit, three-RBI night for Reno. Troy, who recorded an OPS of at least .820 in each of the first four months of the season, has delivered three consecutive multihit outings to start his tenure at the Minors’ highest level. He’s one of just two prospects in the D-backs’ system with at least 10 homers and 20 steals in 2025. Also of note: after getting a five-game run in center field for Double-A Amarillo at the end of July as Arizona explores positional flexibility for its big league roster, Troy has made each of his first three starts for the Aces at the keystone, his primary position. Gameday
Cooper Ingle, C, Akron (CLE No. 6)
The Double-A Akron lineup garners a lot of notoriety on the presence of Travis Bazzana (2024’s No. 1 overall pick) alone. But Ingle has been a season-long standout after winning High-A Midwest League Player of the Year honors in 2024.
James Tibbs III, OF, Tulsa (LAD No. 7)
Baseball can be a funny game. As Dustin May — whom Tibbs was traded for at the Trade Deadline — made his Red Sox debut, the left-handed-hitting prospect that was a focal point of a prospect package for the second time this year, was having his best outing of the season for Double-A Tulsa. Tibbs slugged a pair of opposite-field homers and he reached base safely on all six of his trips to the dish. The 2024 first-rounder added run-scoring singles in the sixth and ninth innings to give him his first four-hit, four-RBI outing as a pro. Despite a rather pedestrian .264 BABIP this season, Tibbs has managed to post a .780 OPS across two levels and two organizations during his first full pro campaign. Gameday
Ryan Clifford, 1B/OF, Binghamton (NYM No. 7)
Ever since the Mets landed Clifford at the 2023 Trade Deadline from the Astros as part of the Justin Verlander deal, his 60-grade power has been his carrying tool. But the 22-year-old has tapped into it in abundance during 2025. After his latest fireworks display for Double-A Binghamton, Clifford has three multihomer games this year. Both of his roundtrippers came on his pull side, where he has been hitting the ball at a career-high 45.6 percent rate this season. His 23 homers lead all Double-A batters as well as all Mets Minor Leaguers while putting him one off his career high he established in ‘23. Gameday
