5 Underrated MLB Hitting Prospects With Strong Underlying Data
Image credit: Anthony Stephan (Photo by Bill Mitchell)
This week, we’ve taken a look at a few different groups of hitters producing great Statcast data in 2025.
There’s the Top 100 Prospects with impressive underlying traits. We also explored a group of Dominican Summer League standouts who could soon unlock stateside success. Today, we’re diving into a handful of players slipping under-the-radar who have advanced plate skills, power and production to match.
These are pretty deep cuts. Only two of these five players rank within their respective clubs’ Top 30 Prospects list, and none rank within the Top 20. Each of these players shows the prerequisite contact and approach to find success at the game’s highest levels.
Anthony Stephan, OF, Reds
| Swing% | Z-Whiff% | Miss% | Chase% | Heart% | 90%EV | HardHit% | PullAir% | xWOBA |
| 47.50% | 16.1% | 25.1% | 20.4% | 79.2% | 103.2 | 40.1% | 30.6% | 0.341 |
Stephan slashed .306/.440/.455 over three seasons at Virginia before the Reds drafted him in the 13th round of the 2024 draft. He didn’t debut until this spring, then stormed out of the gates to a .278/.435/.481 line over the first 19 games of the season and a wRC+ that was 61% better than his Midwest League contemporaries. An injury knocked Stephan out for a month, but he has been a solid producer since returning to Dayton’s lineup on June 6.
His underlying data hints at even more upside.
Stephan shows advanced bat-to-ball skills, an advanced approach with a low rate of chase swings and heavy aggression within the strike zone. Stephan shows the ability to pull the ball in the air with average underlying exit velocity data. His 40.1% hard hit rate shows that he makes consistent hard contact. Stephan is an off-the-radar name with skills befitting of inclusion in a Top 30 Prospects list.
Will Bush, C, Astros
| Swing% | Z-Whiff% | Miss% | Chase% | Heart% | 90%EV | HardHit% | PullAir% | xWOBA |
| 40.30% | 21.00% | 29.50% | 19.20% | 69.20% | 105.7 | 44.90% | 23.70% | 0.372 |
The Astros landed Bush in the 16th round out of Tyler (TX) JC back in 2023. After a quiet full-season debut in 2024, Bush has taken major steps forward in 2025.
Bush has hit .241/.375/.442 while producing a line 30% better than league-based peers. He has split time between first base and catcher this season, but his throwing and blocking grade out as below-average. At the plate, however, Bush shows a wide range of valuable skills.
Despite fringe-average contact, he makes advanced swing decisions. Bush rarely expands the zone and shows enough aggression on pitches over the heart of the plate. Where Bush excels is his raw power. His 105.7 mph 90th percentile exit velocity is plus, and he consistently hits the ball hard, as shown by his 44.9% hard hit rate. HIs angles could improve and with that he’ll get into more of his pullside power. Bush profiles as a bat-first backup catcher who might hit enough to get regular at-bats at first base.
Parks Harber, 3B, Giants
| Swing% | Z-Whiff% | Miss% | Chase% | Heart% | 90%EV | HardHit% | PullAir% | xWOBA |
| 43.50% | 17.90% | 29.10% | 21.40% | 67.7% | 108.3 | 56.00% | 11.4% | 0.354 |
The Yankees signed Harber as an undrafted free agent in 2024 out of North Carolina, then traded him to Giants as a part of the return for reliever Camilo Doval. Despite his lack of pedigree, Harber has had an impressive first full professional season.
Harber slashed .318/.410/.515 across 64 games spanning both levels of Class A ball. Harber recently got the bump to High-A Eugene and has gone 11-for-35 with two home runs over his first 10 games. Under the hood, Harber shows advanced skills with an average or better in-zone whiff rate, a lower chase rate and plus-plus underlying power.
Harber’s 108.3 mph 90th percentile exit velocity is in the 95th percentile and would rate as a plus-plus metric in the major leagues. His 56% hard hit rate underscores Harber’s ability to consistently hit the ball hard in play. His angles still need work, and he has yet to tap into pullside power in a real way, but Harber has the type of skills that could scale when you look at his contemporaries in regard to in-game contact and power.
Sam Antonacci, 2B, White Sox
| Swing% | Z-Whiff% | Miss% | Chase% | Heart% | 90%EV | HardHit% | PullAir% | xWOBA |
| 39.30% | 10.40% | 12.70% | 15.90% | 68% | 102.5 | 37.30% | 12.9% | 0.353 |
A 2024 fifth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina, Antonacci has been one of the top performing prospects in the White Sox system in 2025. He hit .279/.425/.412 with High-A Winston-Salem, good for a wRC+ 53% above league average, before earning a July 18 promotion to Double-A Birmingham. Since then, he’s slashed .326/.467/.400 across 28 games with a wRC+ 67% better than league average.
Antonacci is an advanced contact hitter who rarely swings and misses. His swing decisions are strong, as he rarely chases and shows about average aggression in the strike zone. His profile is limited by below-average power, but he shows 70-grade plate skills and enough speed to make this profile work. Currently ranked No. 25 in the White Sox system, even modest power gains would help Antonacci catapult up rankings.
Sean Keys, 3B, Blue Jays
| Swing% | Z-Whiff% | Miss% | Chase% | Heart% | 90%EV | HardHit% | PullAir% | xWOBA |
| 38.60% | 15.00% | 22.10% | 16.60% | 69.7% | 104.4 | 39.70% | 29% | 0.329 |
Signed by legendary Blue Jays Northeast area scout Tom Burns, the Bucknell was a fourth-round pick in 2024 and signed for $569,700, then hit .293/.378/.451 in 22 games in his Low-A Dunedin debut. Promoted to High-A Vancouver out of camp this year, his slash line of .203/.355/.363 undersells his performance. Saddled with a .238 BABIP, Keys has still produced at least 5% better than league average while maintaining a strong approach. He’s struck out just 22% of the time and walked at an elite 16% clip, with underlying data reinforcing his offensive potential.
Keys pairs plus bat-to-ball skills and advanced swing decisions—rarely expanding the zone while showing some aggression attacking pitches over the heart of the plate—with above-average exit velocity, including a 90th percentile mark north of 104 mph. Keys currently ranks No. 28 in the Blue Jays system. With average or better traits across the board, don’t be surprised if his production spikes when he reaches Double-A New Hampshire next season.
