Looking at Numbers From the 2025 Texas League

Minimum 300 swings.

The Cardinals have developed several impressive relievers of late, most recently former Blue Jays prospect Matt Svanson. Could Luis Gastelum be the next one?

Gastelum jumped from Low-A to Double-A in 2025 and had few problems with Springfield. The 24-year-old struck out 92 over 62.2 IP out of the bullpen for the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate. He gave up just three home runs.

Most of the pitchers above are relievers, including former Texas A&M pitchers Micah Dallas and Will Johnston. There’s also 29-year-old Daniel Missaki, the former Yomiuri Giant, who was at one point a farmhand in the Mariners’ organization. Before he returned to Japan, Missaki was traded to the Brewers in 2015 along with Carlos Herrera and Freddy Peralta for Adam Lind.

Moving down the list, there are several notable starting pitcher prospects among the 138 pitchers who qualified for the above criteria.

Kohl Drake (12th, 33.1%), Tekoah Roby (15th, 32.7%), Luis Morales (32.6%), Pierson Ohl (19th, 32.4%), and Connor Prielipp (25th, 31%) were among the other top-tier pitchers in said category.

Flipping the script

Now, let’s take a look at the hitters with the highest Whiff% in the Texas League:

As noted in our Northwest League recap, Lazaro Montes swung and missed a lot at the High-A level. That issue was exacerbated with Double-A Arkansas. Montes struck out 86 times over 64 games, and the young outfielder slashed .213/.319/.433 (.752 OPS). He hit 14 home runs, a big positive. However, the hit tool will be something to watch.

Another name who should be familiar to fans is Zach Cole, who hit four home runs in 52 plate appearances with the Astros this past season. It was the 25-year-old’s first work at the MLB level.

On the other hand, Cole whiffed 42% of the time in his brief time with Houston, illustrating that swing-and-miss problems at the Double-A level can get worse once facing better competition.

Dodgers prospect Nelson Quiroz (10.1%) had the lowest Whiff% in the Texas League. Notable names in the top 10 include A’s infield prospect Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (11.3%) and Rangers outfielder Alejandro Osuna (14.5%).

Looking at the first pitch

Much like we did for the Southern League, we’re going to take a look at the pitchers who had the highest First Pitch Strike% in the Texas League:

Minimum 200 pitches thrown at 0-0 count.

To get an advantage, it would make sense to try to throw a first-pitch strike. And Luis Gastelum, who had the highest Whiff% in the league, did that.

Expanding this list unveils some other interesting names. James Hicks, who had a dominant run in the AFL, was 11th at 70.4%. Ahead of him at #10 was now-Yankees pitcher Cade Winquest (70.6%).

Take kings

Here’s a look at the players who had the highest Take%:

Minimum 350 pitches.

For those wondering, all of the players listed above saw at least 30% of their takes become called strikes. The only one of the bunch who wasn’t part of that group was Wes Clarke.

Among the list of players who were eligible for the above criteria, 18 had a sub-25% CS%/Take below 25%. Walker Jenkins, Lazaro Montes, and Jac Caglianone were some of the notables.

In the top-20 among this group include Kala’i Rosario, as well as former first-rounders Ryan Waldschmidt and James Tibbs III.

Hard hitters

Next up is the best hard contact hitters from the Texas League this past season:

Minimum 100 batted balls.

There are familiar names here, including Cole, Montes, and Jac Caglianone, who trucked through Double-A and Triple-A before moving to Kansas City in the summer.

Additionally, Brandon Valenzuela, a former Padres farmhand who was traded to Toronto for Will Wagner in the summer, is on this list.

Groundball masters

Lastly, let’s take a look at ground balls:

Minimum 100 batted balls.

Among the group above are Athletics pitching prospect Kade Morris and former D-Backs third-round pick Nate Savino.