It’s not typically that I take a pause from the prospect lists to jot down about particular person call-ups, however we’ve three huge league debuts on the docket for at present, and I wished to replace readers on these pitchers, as properly one different prospect-related bycatch that’s come up in the course of the course of me engaged on the Reds, Guardians, and Brewers org lists.
First, let’s speak in regards to the beginning pitchers making their huge league debuts at present: Chase Petty of the Reds, AJ Blubaugh of the Astros, and Noah Cameron of the Royals. All of them have up to date participant profiles over on The Board.
Chase Petty, RHP, Cincinnati Reds (50 FV)
Petty, who touched 102 in highschool, got here to the Reds from Minnesota in the course of the spring of 2022 in a commerce for Sonny Grey. After lacking time with an elbow challenge in 2023, he had a wholesome and full 2024 season by which he labored 137 innings spent largely at Double-A Chattanooga, many extra frames than he had thrown in any yr prior. Proving he might maintain huge stuff throughout that load of innings was instrumental to his inclusion among the many 2025 Prime 100 Prospects. His fastball was nonetheless sitting 94-97 mph after Petty had been promoted to Louisville on the very finish of final season, and he has carried that into 2025. As of his call-up, he has 27 strikeouts, 9 walks, and a 1.30 WHIP in 23 innings (5 begins).
Petty is an unbelievable on-mound athlete whose physique whips round like a twister all through his supply, which seems to be like a extra constant model of Abner Uribe’s. He has by no means had points throwing strikes, and now he’s confirmed he can maintain plus arm power beneath the stress of a starter’s load of innings. One other huge growth for Petty is that he’s altered his method together with his heater. He previously used it as a low-in-the-zone sinker, however beginning final yr, he started peppering the highest of the strike zone with a much bigger ratio of four-seamers, a shift that has occurred towards each lefties and righties. When Petty does throw a two-seamer, it’s producing grounders at a 60% clip to date in 2025.
Petty’s nastiest pitch is a well-located two-planed slider, although he has struggled some with commanding that pitch early this yr; it bends in at 84-88 mph more often than not. His cutter (typically 88-92 mph) and changeup (87-90) are extra about inducing weak contact from lefties. If Petty can proceed on this mid-rotation path, he’ll stand other than the routine failures that a lot of the hardest throwing highschool pitchers within the draft endure. He’s a particular athlete with particular arm power, and he appeared to make related tweaks in 2024 whereas concurrently growing confidence that he can truly begin by holding his stuff all yr.
Noah Cameron, LHP, Kansas Metropolis Royals (50 FV)
Cameron was drafted within the seventh spherical of the 2021 draft out of Central Arkansas not lengthy after he had a Tommy John surgical procedure. He had an encouraging 2023, his first full season, regardless of a 5.28 ERA, as he posted sturdy peripherals throughout 107.1 innings (28.3% Ok%, 7.5% BB%) and reached Double-A. His 2024 and early-2025 efficiency have been virtually similar. Cameron labored 128.2 innings in 2024, and in the course of the second half of the season was stretched out to 6 or seven innings per outing. His supply is easy and repeatable, and Cameron instructions all 4 of his pitches, giving him an extremely excessive ground as a prospect as a result of he has mainly no aid threat.
His finest pitch is a changeup within the 80-84 mph vary. It’s unusual for pitchers with Cameron’s almost excellent vertical arm slot to have the ability to flip over a changeup from this place, not to mention a plus one, however whilst he has climbed into the higher ranges of the minors, this pitch has been producing plus miss. It succeeds extra due to Cameron’s means to find it somewhat than its pure motion, and it’s additionally aided by how lengthy Cameron hides the baseball, and the way free and free his arm motion is. The vertical nature of Cameron’s arm stroke creates backspinning experience on his fastball. It isn’t a speedy providing — it sits about 92 mph and can peak round 96 — however, once more, deception and command season its effectiveness as a bat-misser. The mix of his below-average velo and a top-of-the-zone method to fastball location has made Cameron homer-prone for stretches within the minors, particularly in 2023 when he allowed 19 bombs in 107.1 innings, and once more to date this yr. Seemingly in response to this, he’s upped his cutter utilization in 2025, extra as a technique to keep off barrels than to overlook bats.
Cameron additionally has an 80-84 mph 12-to-6 curveball with form that mirrors that of his fastball. He’ll manipulate its path considerably towards lefties to provide it a little bit extra of a slider look. The depth of his curveball and the standard of his changeup provides Cameron two methods to tilt with righties and generate whiffs. In opposition to lefties, he turns into closely reliant on his fastball. This man is a really secure rotation piece with two plus attributes and two different common ones. Although it’s his worst pitch, the cutter is an integral a part of why Cameron’s FV grade is getting bumped on this replace, as a result of the vulnerability of his fastball was a supply of fear final listing cycle. Lefties with plus command of plus changeups are inclined to pan out, and that’s precisely what we’re speaking about right here. Although he lacks star-level stuff, Cameron is a secure, polished no. 4 starter prospect.
AJ Blubaugh, RHP, Houston Astros (40+ FV)
Blubaugh’s mother was a two-sport athlete at Akron and AJ was a three-sport convention champ in highschool earlier than matriculating to UW-Milwaukee, the place he later change into a seventh spherical choose. He’s being pressed into spot begin obligation because of the Astros’ litany of pitcher accidents; long-term, he initiatives as extra of lengthy reliever. His below-average command and painful wanting supply are major drivers for this projection. Blubaugh has a starter’s repertoire. He’ll contact 97 (his velo has been fairly erratic begin to begin, and was down a little bit bit in his final outing) and pepper the highest of the zone (and sometimes method above) with fastballs, then bend in low-80s sliders and mid-80s power-sink changeups. Blubaugh can profit from being successfully wild, and he’ll throw both of these two secondary pitches to hitters of both handedness; they each end all over, particularly the changeup. A sluggish, mid-70s curveball acts as a show-me pitch to finish his repertoire. Once more, Blubaugh ought to ultimately settle right into a significant position in Houston’s bullpen, although whereas he has choices left, he needs to be deployed as a five-and-dive spot starter within the hope that the prolonged reps will assist him sharpen his command. That’s a fantastic consequence for a seventh rounder.
Didier Fuentes, RHP, Atlanta Braves (50 FV)
One different factor to tack on right here is an replace to Braves righty Didier Fuentes, who enters the 50 FV tier. Fuentes was initially written up on this cycle’s Braves listing as a 40+ FV prospect with a traits-heavy fastball who might get away if enhancements to his conditioning facilitated a lift in arm power. Nicely, that has occurred. He carved in three Excessive-A begins and was given a fast hook as much as Double-A.
There have been occasions final yr when Fuentes was paving over A-ball lineups though he was utilizing his fastball at a 70-80% clip. On the season, he used it 70% of the time and nonetheless struck out 32.1% of opponents. For additional context, the typical huge league fastball generated a 23% miss fee in 2024, whereas Fuentes’ was properly above 30% though he was sitting solely 93.
This season, his fastball has routinely been within the 94-96 vary and touched 97-98 a number of occasions in his first Double-A begin. Fuentes’ fastball was already dominating due to its form and angle, and now it additionally has plus velocity. This man explodes down the mound and generates almost seven ft of extension, though the 19-year-old righty is just listed at six ft tall. His drive off the rubber is so explosive that, in his most up-to-date begin, the umpires stopped the sport a number of occasions to speak to him about how far he was coming off the mound.
Fuentes continues to be a two-pitch man and his slider isn’t constantly good but, however his fastball goes to hold him to a significant huge league position as a starter, very like Bryce Miller or Joe Ryan. Given the Braves’ penchant for pushing their good prospects, there’s an opportunity Fuentes retains climbing and will get moved to Triple-A if he pitches properly at Columbus in Might. He’s formally a Prime 100 prospect and a possible mid-rotation weapon.
