Recapping Week 5 of the 2025 MiLB Season

It felt like every at-bat — including the ones I saw earlier in the year — with Lombard Jr. became a battle. The 19-year-old possesses above-average discipline, even holding up well on pitches he checks swings at. He walked 23 times compared to 22 strikeouts with the Renegades.

Lombard Jr. has the speed and hitting ability but the one thing that’s yet to come is home run power. He can catch up to balls and get out in front of them. But right now, much of his contact is oriented to the ground, getting on top of balls.

Another former first-round pick, White Sox prospect Braden Montgomery, was promoted to High-A Winston-Salem this past week. Montgomery hit well in Kannapolis (A), with a .304 average and .886 OPS this season.

On the other side of the coin, top White Sox prospect Colson Montgomery was demoted to the ACL. Per the team, the move was made for him to find his stroke again, as the 23-year-old batted .149/.223/.255 (.478 OPS) over 23 games with Charlotte (AAA).

More concerning, Montgomery — who showed good patience last season — struck out 43 times over 23 games with the Knights. Montgomery’s numbers have been in between this year. The former first-round pick whiffed 27.8% of the time on fastballs and 47.6% of the time off breaking balls.

Another notable move was John Holobetz, the Brewers’ fifth-round pick out of Old Dominion last July. Holobetz was traded to Boston as the player to be named later in the Quinn Priester deal, made last month.

Holobetz has a fairly simple, high-tempo delivery and pitched extremely well with Carolina (A) before the trade. The right-hander struck out 31 and walked just five over 24 frames, along with a .180 opponents’ batting average. Holobetz flashes a 93-94 MPH fastball, along with a changeup with run and a high-70s curveball.

ACL & FCL seasons began

This past weekend saw the start of the Arizona and Florida Complex League seasons, the lone short-season leagues in Minor League Baseball. It gave teams the option to send rehabbing players to Spring Training complexes — and the Padres were one team to take advantage of that.

The rosters across the Complex Leagues include some intriguing faces.

Paulino Santana, who signed for $1.297MM last year with Texas, is in the Arizona Complex League.

Colorado assigned rehabbing outfielder Charlie Condon to the ACL alongside big-time prospect Jeremy Ciriaco, who batted .339 in the DSL last year. The Athletics’ roster features infielder-turned-pitcher Robert Puason, the former top prospect who was a career .204 hitter.

Notable names in the FCL include but are not limited to: Edward Lantigua (Mets), Brando Mayea (Yankees), and Jose Perdomo (Braves).

Hot hitters at Triple-A

Phillies prospect Otto Kemp keeps on hitting. The 25-year-old, who broke out last season, batted .448 (13-29) with three home runs and 14 RBI. Kemp led the International League in hits and RBI over the last seven days, continuing his push towards Philadelphia.

His teammate, Justin Crawford, batted .409 (9-22), on the week.

In other IL-related news, Yankees prospect Everson Pereira batted .400 with three home runs for Scranton Wilkes-Barre (AAA). That week gave him six home runs and a .898 OPS on the year.

On the mound, two pitchers who are making their case for MLB auditions were Ian Seymour (Rays) and Cade Horton (Cubs). Seymour, the International League leader in strikeouts (46), punched out 11 batters and didn’t allow an earned run over 11 frames. Horton, meanwhile, struck out 10 over 12 innings and posted a 1.50 ERA.

Other notable performances

Here’s a look at other notable performers over the last week:

• OF Jake McCarthy (AAA/AZ): 12 hits, 1.057 OPS over six games
• INF Blaze Jordan (AA/BOS): 10 hits, two home runs over seven games
• INF Mikey Romero (AA/BOS): nine hits, three home runs over eight games
• P Joe Whitman (AA/SF): 10 strikeouts, 0.00 ERA over six innings
• OF Ethan Workinger (AA/ATL): eight hits, four home runs over five games
• P Brody Hopkins (AA/TB): 13 strikeouts, 3.48 ERA over 10.1 IP
• P Chase Burns (AA/CIN): eight strikeouts over five innings
• 1B/OF Jac Caglianone (AA/KC): nine hits, two home runs over six games
• INF Jacob Reimer (A+/NYM): 10 hits, three home runs over six games
• P JR Ritchie (A+/ATL): 12 strikeouts, 0.00 ERA over 11.2 IP

Stats as of the last seven days.