PG Down on the Farm: AL Central

David Rawnsley

It’s the time of the year again (i.e. the off-season) for the annual PG Down on the Farm feature. We identify a top prospect in each of the 30 Major League organizations with as much Perfect Game background as possible and delve into that PG history for some insight into his development as a prospect. Some of them might be high profile, high draft pick, ex-PG All-American talents who fans have been long familiar with. Others might be more obscure prospects who have significantly improved either in college or as professionals. Note that players who have used up their rookie eligibility are not considered.

The idea isn’t to necessarily pick the best PG background prospect in each organization but the one who might be closest to the big leagues. Sometimes that is the same player, other times not.

And there is plenty of variation among organizations in their quantity and quality of prospects, whether it be those with PG backgrounds or not.

The profiles will be organized by League/Division and run on the following schedule:

American League East (December 2)
American League Central (December 4)
American League West (December 6)
National League East (December 9)
National League Central (December 11)
National League West (December 13)

American League Central

Chicago White Sox -- LHP Noah Schultz

High School: Oswego East HS (Oswego, IL)
Travel Team: Cangelosi Sparks
Final PG Class Ranking: 8
Drafted: 1st round (26th overall), 2022, Chicago White Sox
Highest 2024 Level: AA
2025 Age: 21

Schultz first appeared at Perfect Game tournaments in the fall of his sophomore year in 2019. At that point, he was listed at 6-foot-8, 180-pounds and threw in the 81-85 mph range to go with an upper 60’s breaking ball. He was a rare sophomore that pitched in Jupiter at the WWBA World Championships that year, striking out three hitters in two innings for Cangelosi Sparks.

His first PG showcase was the Junior National coming out of the pandemic in 2020 and Schultz was now listed at 195 pounds. He topped out at 91 mph to go with a 74 mph slider and I remember remarking at that time “This is what a future first rounder looks like at this age.” His report from that event read:

Extra-large, athletic frame with square shoulders and long limbs, lean and projectable build with room to fill throughout moving forward. Lefthanded pitcher, works exclusively out of the stretch, leg lift up past belt, athleticism plays with ability to repeat mechanics; shorter arm action through the back working to a lower and extended three-quarters release point. Quick arm and generates short running life to fastball, topped out at 91 mph and ball takes off late through the zone, gets extended out front well. Consistently lands slider for strikes from similar release point, froze hitters and has the comfort to work backwards. Changeup projects very well, fading life up to 83 mph with maintained arm speed and release point. Three pitches for strikes with big upside.

Although Schultz continued to gain weight and strength and was listed at 220 pounds on his then 6-foot-9 frame at the 2021 PG National Showcase, he still hadn’t really started to gain velocity, still working in the 90-92 mph range, although still dominating with his deception, strike throwing ability and sharp breaking slider. He was named to pitch in the 2021 Perfect Game All-American Classic.

Schultz missed almost his entire senior year with mononucleosis after a quick start but recovered in time to strikeout 37 hitters in 19 innings prior to the draft in the Illinois Valley Collegiate League while showing mid-90’s velocity at times. The White Sox picked him with the 26th overall pick and signed Schultz away from a Vanderbilt scholarship with a $2.8M signing bonus.

2024 Summary

Schultz established himself as one of the top pitching prospects in the game as a 20-year old in 2024, posting an 2.85 ERA in 88 innings and 23 starts, most of that at AA. He struck out 115 hitters versus 24 walks and allowed only 3 home runs. He sits in the mid-90’s with his fastball to go with one of the best sliders in the minor leagues.

2025 Perspective

Realistically, there is no reason to expect that Schultz will see the big leagues in 2025 regardless of what the White Sox do on the field. However, the organization is thin on upper-level prospects and Schultz, along with 2024 first round pick LHP Hagan Smith, are by far the team’s best prospects and the future of their rotation.

2023 Featured PG Player: RHP Jonathan Cannon

2024 Update: Cannon went 5-10, 4.49 in 21 starts in Chicago and ranked second behind only All-Star Garrett Crochett in bWAR on the White Sox roster at the end of the season (1.8).

2022 Featured PG Player: SS Colson Montgomery
2021 Featured PG Player: RHP Matthew Thompson

Cleveland Guardians -- OF Chase DeLauter

High School: Hedgesville HS (Hedgesville, WV)
College: James Madison
Final PG Class Ranking: T1000
Drafted: 1st round (16th overall), 2022, Cleveland
Highest 2024 Level: AAA
2025 Age: 23

DeLauter was a virtual unknown in high school in West Virginia and never participated in a PG event. Still, he was a three-sport star and the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior after hitting .606-8-52 and going 9-2, 0.84 on the mound. Such is often the case with top players in West Virginia, who rarely make it out state to play travel ball during the summer and fall.

When DeLauter was able to take the field at James Madison, he mashed to the tune of .402-15-70/1.235 with 24 steals in 66 games over three years. But the pandemic and foot injuries significantly limited his time on the field. His best run of good health and good fortune came at perhaps the best time, as he was able to play 34 games in the heavily scouted Cape Cod League in 2021 prior to his junior season and led the league in home runs while hitting .298-9-21/.986 OPS with more walks than strikeouts.

Despite playing in only 24 games his junior year (.437-8-35/1.404 OPS) due to a broken foot, DeLauter was an obvious first round pick and was selected with the 16th overall pick by the Guardians and signed for a $3,750,000 bonus.

2024 Summary

DeLauter hasn’t had a full season on the field since he was in high school and 2024 was no different as he suffered toe, foot and hamstring injuries that limited him to 39 games, mostly in AA and AAA. He was healthy in the Arizona Fall League and hit .340 in 12 games.

2025 Perspective

While DeLauter has never had the chance to play an entire season, his plus tools across the board and his surprising polish despite few repetitions make him a potential MLB impact player. With the Guardians mediocre to woeful production the last few years in center and right fields, there is a big opportunity for the former first round pick if he is able to finally stay healthy.

2023 Featured PG Player: RHP Tanner Burns

2024 Update: He spent his first year as a full-time reliever in AAA while posing a 4.59 ERA and walking 47 in 68 innings.

2022 Featured PG Player: C Bo Naylor
2021 Featured PG Player: RHP Daniel Espino

Detroit Tigers -- RHP Jackson Jobe

High School: Heritage Hall School (Oklahoma City, OK)
Travel Team: Thrive Baseball
Final PG Class Ranking: 4
Drafted: 1st round (3rd overall), 2021, Detroit
Highest 2024 Level: MLB
2025 Age: 22

Jobe comes from a very athletic background. His father, Brandt, has been a professional golfer since 1988 and has won 16 pro tournaments on various tours around the world. Jobe himself was a two-year starter at quarterback in high school and led Heritage High School to the Oklahoma State AAA championship as a sophomore.

Just as impressively perhaps, Jobe came to the 2020 PG National Showcase as a primary shortstop and secondary right-handed pitcher. Prior to taking the mound in Hoover (AL), he had already run a 6.97 sixty and thrown 94 mph during infield drills. The last time he’d pitched at a PG event had been at the previous summer’s Junior National Showcase, where he threw 84-88 mph.

So when Jobe took the mound and threw 92-96 with a lightening fast arm and a wicked 82 mph slider with near 3,100 rpm spin, it was a huge surprise. It also vaulted Jobe into the upper levels of the pitching prospects in the 2021 class and secured him an obvious spot in the 2020 PG All-American Classic, which was held in his hometown of Oklahoma City.

Jobe’s report from that PG National Showcase read:

Strong athletic build with room to get stronger. Primary shortstop entering the event but left Hoover as an elite level right-handed pitcher. Has explosive arm speed on the mound, loose and whippy arm stroke. Topped out at 96 mph on his fastball with a high spin rate, slider spin rate topped out around 3,100 rpm, gets under his slider at times but flashes tight late bite. Quality change up as a third pitch. Very high ceiling on the mound. 6.97 runner, showed his arm strength in the middle infield as well, has good feet and hands as a middle infielder. Right-handed hitter, has loose hands and present bat speed, ball comes off the barrel well, clean swing path with good lift, pull approach. High level D1 prospect as a middle infielder but a potential Day 1 draft pick as a pitcher.

Jobe was even better as a senior, topping out in the upper 90s and showing the same type of plus-plus slider while striking out 122 hitters in 51 innings and issuing only 5 walks. With his athleticism, multiple elite level pitches and fresh arm, the Tigers broke from the present draft playbook regarding high school pitchers and selected Jobe third overall in the 2021 draft, signing him always from a Mississippi scholarship for a $6.9M bonus.

2024 Summary

Job has been treated with kid gloves by the Tigers in his development and was actually “stretched out” to 91 innings in 21 minor league starts as a 21-year old, going 5-3, 2.36 and only allowing 58 hits against 96 strikeouts. His two regular season and two playoff relief appearances for Detroit marked his first pro outings out of the bullpen.

2025 Perspective

Jobe certainly still will be on an innings restriction again in 2025 but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him throw 130-145 innings if he’s able to win a spot in the Tigers rotation at some point, which isn’t out of the question given his talent and the Tigers new direction.

2023 Featured PG Player: 2B Colt Keith

2024 Update: Keith signed a six-year/$28.M contract with three team options before the season and started all year for the Tigers at second base, hitting .260-13-61/.689 OPS in 148 games.

2022 Featured PG Player: RHP Ty Madden
2021 Featured PG Player: OF Riley Greene

Kansas City Royals -- C Carter Jensen

High School: Park Hill HS (Kansas City, MO)
Travel Team: Royals Scout Team
Final PG Class Ranking: 57
Drafted: 3rd round, 2021, Kansas City
Highest 2024 Level: AA
2025 Age: 21

Jensen was strong and pretty mature physically already as a freshman in high school and established himself as a top catching prospect early despite being young for the 2021 class. The left-handed hitter really stood out in the fall of 2019 entering his junior year, hitting .421-0-7 at the WWBA World Junior Championships and then coming back the next week and hitting .400-1-8 at the WWBA World Championships.

Jensen was naturally invited to the 2020 PG National Showcase and was named to play in the Perfect Game All-American Classic after the event. His report from the National read:

Solid athletic build, pretty mature physically. 6.94 runner in the sixty, has very athletic actions behind the plate defensively, stays compact in all his actions, big arm strength with carry and accuracy, receiving and throwing skills really stood out in game action. Left-handed hitter, hits from a side base with a short lower half shift into contact, uses his strength well to develop bat speed with easy extension and lift through the ball, ball comes off the barrel hard with jump. Impressive young catcher with tools and skills on both sides of the ball to go along with athleticism.

Jensen was the 57th ranked player in the PG 2021 class rankings and the fifth ranked catcher going into the 2021 draft and was armed with a scholarship to Louisiana State. The hometown Royals picked Jensen, who lives about 20 miles from Royals Stadium, in the third round and signed him for a $1,097,500 bonus.

Jensen’s first two full minor league seasons in 2022 and 2023 were marked by two factors rarely shown by teenage catchers in the low minors. First, he proved extremely durable, appearing in 229 games over the two seasons and accumulating almost 1,000 plate appearances. Second, Jensen’s walk totals were exceptional, drawing 175 base on balls in those 229 games.

2024 Summary

Jensen split the 2024 season between High A and AA as a 20-year old and hit a combined .259-18-67/.809 OPS while also walking 72 times and stealing 17/20 bases. He later came back to hit .400-4-10 in 12 games in the Arizona Fall League with another 14 walks.

2025 Perspective

Realistically, Jensen will probably play 2025 in AA and AAA while developing for another year as the Royals have one of the best big league catching tandems in the game in Salvy Perez and Freddy Fermin. Jensen and 2024 first rounder Blake Mitchell give the organization two premium catching prospects.

2023 Featured PG Player: IF Nick Loftin

2024 Update: The Royals tried to use Loftin as their super utility player early in the year, starting him at five different positions, but his bat was too short for that role as he hit .189-1-14/.519 OPS in 56 games.

2022 Featured PG Player: OF Drew Waters
2021 Featured PG Player: SS Bobby Witt Jr.

Minnesota Twins -- RHP Andrew Morris

High School: Monarch HS (Lafayette, CO)
Travel Team: USA Prime Elite
College: Texas Tech, Colorado Mesa
Final PG Class Ranking: High Follow
Drafted: 4th round, 2022, Minnesota
Highest 2024 Level: AAA
2025 Age: 23

Morris was an exceptionally young member of the 2018 class in high school and was still 16-years old when he graduated from a Denver area high school and was all of 6-foot, 150-pounds physically. The only two Perfect Game tournaments he played in were after he graduated, the 2018 PG World Series and the 2018 WWBA 17U National Championships. The fact that a graduated senior was playing in the 17U National Championships has to be a unique occurrence by itself. Morris was especially effective at that event, striking out 16 hitters in 12.2 innings over three appearances while only allowing a pair of hits. He threw up to 91 mph at that event with a mid-70’s curveball.

Given his age and size, it wasn’t surprising that Morris ended up at Division II Colorado Mesa, where he went 18-2 over three years, including 9-0, 2.19 with 115 strikeouts in 78 innings as a 19-year old junior in 2021. He transferred to Texas Tech for the 2022 season and immediately won a place in their rotation and went 8-2, 4.99 with 91 strikeouts and only 28 walks in 88 innings.

Morris was then listed at 6-foot, 195-pounds and was regularly throwing in the mid-90’s and topping out at 97 mph to go with a mid-80’s slider that had swing and miss potential. The Twins drafted him in the fourth round in the 2022 draft and signed Morris for a $500,000 bonus.

2024 Summary

Morris started the season in High A but shot through the Twins system, finishing the year with seven solid starts in AAA and going 10-5, 2.37 in 133 innings overall. He’s a strike thrower who walked only 32 hitters while striking out 133.

2025 Perspective

While the Twins have a solid mix of big league starting pitchers in their current staff, they are very thin in the upper minors for pitching prospects and especially starters. Morris will likely start the year in AAA but could be the first starter called up when the inevitable injuries hit.

2023 Featured PG Player: SS Brooks Lee

2024 Update: Lee was hitting .331-8-30/.961 OPS in 35 games in AAA when he made his MLB debut in early July. He went on to hit .221-3-27/.585 in 50 big league games while playing above average defense in 10+ starts at all three infield positions.

2022 Featured PG Player: RHP Simeon Woods Richardson
2021 Featured PG Player: 3B Spencer Steer

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