Meet The New Best Hitter In The Minor Leagues

[Simon Li]

Yohendrick Pinango is the best qualified minor league hitter (non-Rookie ball) as of May 17, 2025. About one and a half months into the minor league season, and in this short sample of 135 plate appearances, Pinango has absolutely dominated Double-A New Hampshire, to a tune of a .357/.467/.607 triple slash line, walking 14.8% of the time, and striking out 20.7% of the time. That’s a 209 wRC+, which means that Pinango has been more than two times better than the average hitter in the Eastern League. A. 436 BABIP carries his line, so it’s unlikely that he’s a true talent. .350 hitter, or that he’ll continue to carry this success for the duration of the season. Still, even then, he’s been more than you could have asked from him.

The 23-year-old Venezuelan came in a trade deadline deal with teammate Josh Rivera, in exchange for the enigmatic Nate Pearson, who had all the stuff in the world but could never put it all together. People did think that this trade was decent value, as the Blue Jays got two flier prospects for an inconsistent reliever, most publications did not think too highly of Pinango and Rivera when they got sent up north, with FanGraphs ranking Pinango as the 59th best prospect traded at the deadline, and Baseball America ranking him as the 31st best. Pinango’s stocky build and below-average athleticism put a limit on his ceiling, as many view him as only a left fielder or even needing to move to first base, which makes it extremely important for him to hit well to make the most of his value, and he’s done nothing but do that in 2025.

Pinango has been described as a “data-darling”, displaying strong contact metrics as well as intriguing and improving power metrics this season. Although he struggled after joining the Jays organization, he still displayed those underlying metrics, and he also torched High-A in the Midwest League for a 196 wRC+ in 122 plate appearances, before coming down to earth in Double-A. This season, however, his metrics have matched his production, with Baseball America reporting that he had a 14.2% in-zone whiff rate, a 16.8% chase rate, and a 37.9% swing rate, showing that his plate discipline was also excellent, in addition to his contact ability. Pinango’s power is no slouch either, as he has six homers on the season, with exit velocities that impress. He has a 108.5 mph 90th percentile exit velocity, as well as a homer that he crushed at 113 mph off the bat, which went 390 feet on Friday, May 15.

Pinango will most likely come down to earth a bit; it’s unreasonable to expect him to continue to be the best hitter in Minor League Baseball. Pinango also has a slightly longer swing and will need to face bigger challenges as he rises through the minors. He may struggle with higher velocities due to his swing, but his strong eye and discipline may help him overcome that. If Pinango continues to produce at the way his underlying data suggests he could produce, he’ll be a name to watch, and should easily find his way rising the prospect lists. Give the Jays’ front office a lot of credit for being able to get him and Rivera, who’s made his way up to Triple-A already. The talent identification and player development may have found a good one. 

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