2 The Bigs

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1. Josuar Gonzalez (SF) [A]

If you’ve followed 2 The Bigs, you know we do not jump the gun on DSL performance or raw tools for international prospects…UNTIL we see stateside performance. That’s nothing new. For as many of these prospects that hit, 20x the amount miss. Not saying these kids are done, but I learned my lesson with Rayner Arias (SF), Robert Calaz (COL) [actually had a solid year] and Sammy Zavala (CHW) [he did as well]. It’s why I play it even safer when covering Bowman Chrome each year. Yes, you may miss the absolute bottom in terms of card pricing or fantasy value when picking up DSL prospects early, but I’d rather pay a premium once I see successful stateside performance with much, much lower risk.

So back to Josuar. It’s not that I didn’t like him, I just wanted to see the tools and bat play in A-ball before I jumped in on the “next generational prospect.” And anything that I could’ve anticipated from him, he did more. In 31 games (at 18 years old), he slashed .357/.444/.566 with 15 XBH, 32 R, 35 RBI and 13 SB. Did I mention that was only in 31 games? Plus, his swinging strike rate was a measly 9.2%, and he kept his whiff and strikeout rates in the upper-half percentile of A-level players. The superstar upside is legit, but now raise the floor given the hit tool. This is the type of franchise turnaround centerpiece that the Giants desperately need. He’ll enter 2027 as a 19-year-old who will likely make the double-jump up from A to AA by the end of the year.

2. Arjun Nimmala (LAA) [AA]

Nimmala was a HOLD on episode 5 of The Farm Report. Here’s the segment:

And he did exactly that. Nimmala was traded to the Angels right as he was finding his groove in AA (a trade I genuinely believe the Blue Jays will regret). After the move, Nimmala continued hitting the ball with more consistency (his biggest issue of the past). His average (.279) was a career high for any stateside level, his contact rate jumped 5pp (to 75%) in AA after the move, and he became more aggressive while chasing less. The Angels so desperately need to turn things around, and although Hayden Alvarez is my favorite prospect in this org, Nimmala put together enough of a resume boost in 2026 to get a shot at the pro-level for a clearly rebuilding organization. Is he star upside? I’m not sure, but I didn’t really consider him a potential every-day starter in the bigs until now.

3. JoJo Parker (TOR) [A+]

Newer 1st-round draft picks are usually met with very lofty expectations. Lofty especially for prep kids with very little experience. MLB.com usually likes to over-rank these kids ahead of more mature, proven performance prospects that are already in the pros (think some 2026 draft picks ranked higher than Rainiel Rodriguez). It’s why the sweet spot in my draft coverage has always been late 1st to 4th rounds, and it’s worked. In 2024, my favorite picks were Benge (19th), Payne (17th), Bonemer (43) and a few others. In 2025, Taylor (48th), Davalan (41st), Irish (19th), Mitchell (55th) and others. There’s so much value with much more under-the-radar expectations. Like the international profile I mentioned above, I like to level-set my pro-debut expectations for most top draft picks.

Again, I did not NOT like JoJo coming out of the draft. I just thought he had those lofty expectations put on him as an 8th overall pick with good tools as a young prep kid. Well, he surpassed them. The young prep shortstop came in and showed off that hit/power tool combination that got him drafted so high in the first place. The .270 AVG paired with a .399 OBP is great for a pro-debut in A/A+, and the fact that he got better after the promotion to A+ was the more impressive feat. Yes, it was a much smaller sample size (21 games), but the AVG (+70 points) and OBP (+56 points) both jumped. And how about the power? He hit 13 HR with 47 total XBH and added 28 SB to the line. And he looks the part: a tall, big 6’2″, 200+ lb shortstop who could potentially move to 3B. His bat will be above positional value for either SS or 3B. This is a top-of-the-order impact player with a high-floor hit tool, putting himself in a category with 2025 MLB Draft favorites of mine in Devin Taylor (ATH) and Charles Davalan (LAD).

4. Justin Gonzales (BOS) [AA]

You look at his profile: 6’5″, 210 lb, 19-year-old international prospect and your first thought is: he has to be a raw power monster. Well, he is. But you all know, here at 2TB, hit-tool rules all. Just like we wait for international prospects to come stateside, or top draft guys to show-out in lower levels, I wait on raw power guys to show off their hit tool. Each one of these strategies helps mitigate risk. That’s needed in a business like prospecting, which has the most risk of not only any professional sport market, but any investment market. Raw power is just that: raw power. Unless you can make enough contact, you won’t develop the more desired in-game power later on.

Justin started off in A+ this season and did exactly what we needed him to do: a .271/.391/.463 slash with a 19% K-rate and a ton of hard (30%), straight contact. Yes, he still chases a bit, but he’s already ahead of his timeline. The fact that he got AA at-bats in before his 19-year-old season ended is amazing for both that timeline and his development. Plus, he’s still able to draw enough walks to get on base when he’s not smacking the ball around the diamond. He fared well at the AA level for such a young kid, and now he gets an offseason to work on his approach so he can come back and do exactly what he did the year prior in High-A, only better. Gonzales was officially added as a “Buy” on the 2TB Buy Book. If you’re reading this, you’re an INSIDER and you can access the Buy Book to see the rest.