Minor League Promotions: Leo De Vries, Marek Houston Moved Up

The Pirates officially promoted Konnor Griffin, one of the best hitting prospects in all of baseball, to Double-A on August 18. But Griffin wasn’t the only notable shortstop to head to Double-A on the day. Athletics prospect Leo De Vries will head to Midland after what was four strong months against advanced competition at High-A.

De Vries headed to Double-A

Athletics infield prospect Leo De Vries was officially promoted to Double-A Midland on August 18, officially ending his run in the Midwest League. De Vries exited the circuit with a slash line of .249/.354/.426 (.780 OPS) across 97 games.

It’s an incredible body of work for the 18-year-old, acquired last month for Mason Miller. It’s important to note that the average age for High-A players is roughly 22 years. And, despite facing players years older than him, he worked counts and hit for power.

Across 15 games with Lansing before the move, De Vries posted seven extra-base hits.

’25 Draft picks moving up

The Twins promoted infielder Marek Houston to High-A Cedar Rapids. Houston, the Twins’ top pick this past July, spent the last two weeks with Low-A Fort Myers.

Houston proved to be a polished power hitter in the college circuit with Wake Forest this season. He performed quite well in Fort Myers, as he hit .370/.424/.444 (.868 OPS) with four extra-base hits, six stolen bases, and nine RBI across 14 games.

He struck out 13 times with the Mighty Mussels in that span. The good news is Houston didn’t expand the zone too much; his Chase% was 18.6% in the Florida State League.

Aside from Houston, 2025 Braves first-rounder Tate Southisene was officially promoted to Low-A Augusta, joining 2024 first-rounder Cam Caminiti. Southisene will make his professional debut whenever he first steps on the field for the GreenJackets.

Cody Miller, the Braves’ third-rounder from 2025, moved up to Rome (A+). Miller, a shortstop like Southisene, hit .372 across 10 games with Augusta.

Nick Becker (2nd, Mariners) and Anthony Martinez (8th, Guardians) also were moved to full-season ball. Both were promoted to Low-A.