6 minor leaguers to know: James Tibbs III, AJ Ewing, Kade Anderson and more who could make an impact in MLB this summer

Cleveland Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana made his MLB debut Tuesday , marking the latest from the loaded 2024 MLB Draft to arrive in the majors and another addition to what’s shaping up to be a special 2026 rookie class. First-year players such as Kevin McGonigle and JJ Wetherholt broke camp with their big-league clubs and have been making an impact since Opening Day, but others such as Bazzana had to prove a little bit more in the upper minors before getting the call. While both leagues’ Rookie of the Year races are already quite crowded, there’s still plenty of time for more exciting debuts to take place this season, and there’s no shortage of talented minor-league players making their case to be the next one up.

Here’s a look at six prospects off to hot starts in the upper levels who could make a difference in the majors this summer. 1B/OF James Tibbs III, Los Angeles Dodgers What a whirlwind it has been for the 13th overall pick in the 2024 draft, now multiple organizations removed from the one that selected him. The San Francisco Giants picked Tibbs after his tremendous three years starring at Florida State, but he was dealt to Boston less than a year later as part of the Rafael Devers trade.

Tibbs’ Red Sox tenure was even shorter, as he was flipped to the Dodgers for Dustin May at the deadline after posting a . 586 OPS across 30 Double-A games with Boston. Tibbs finished strong at the same level with the Dodgers org, demonstrating the strong lefty bat that made him a first-rounder.

That set the stage for Tibbs to start his second professional season at Triple-A, where he has burst out of the gates with a spectacular first-month slash line: . 321/. 430/.