Brian Labude

Catch up on the rest of the list at the links below: Top 20 Prospects: #16-20 Top 20 Prospects: #11-15 #10: Charles McAdoo, 3B, 22, Double-A, New Hampshire Fisher Cats McAdoo has put in a lot of miles to make it to Toronto, and that's just to get to his team's home ballpark. Being from Walnut Creek, California, he opted to play college baseball just down the road at San Jose State University (SJSU). His journey then took him across the country when the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him in the 13th round of the 2023 MLB draft. There wasn't a lot of fanfare surrounding him coming out of college; he had a solid bat but barely anything else to his profile at the time. After a season and a half with the Pirates and playing in Bradenton, Greensboro, and Altoona, he popped up on the Toronto Blue Jays radar as the trade deadline for the 2024 season approached. He ultimately landed in the Toronto organization as the return piece for Isiah Kiner-Falefa. His next location would be his first stop within his new organization, New Hampshire. Before the trade to the Blue Jays, he was having a breakout year, hitting .320/.399/.556 across High-A and Double-A. He also added 15 home runs, 23 doubles, and stole 17 bases across 88 games. To that point of his 2024 season, he had a robust 167 wRC+, but his bubble burst following the trade. He would get into 37 games for New Hampshire and hit .185/.287/.323 for a 79 wRC+. He only added three more home runs and four stolen bases to cap off his whirlwind of a year. What To Like McAdoo has a profile that has evolved over the years and is now one to dream about making his way to the Rogers Centre. He has developed above-average power and speed to add to his aforementioned solid bat. In his junior year at SJSU, he hit 10 home runs in 58 games and five home runs in 28 games at Low-A. Then, last season, he would crush nine home runs at High-A (60 games) before adding another eight at Double-A (64 games). While at High-A, he was among the top percentile ranks in almost every statistical category while being above average in chase rate, whiff rate, walk rate, and strikeout rate. The only real hole in his swing was up and in. He showed excellent plate coverage and stood out among his peers. After a promotion to Double-A, he was challenged much more and had problems with the pitches down in the zone. This could have resulted from him adjusting to being traded and trying to do more damage than was possible on the low pitches. The power remained consistent behind his quick hands and solid base. This gives him above-average power to the opposite field, and the results on the field followed suit, with six of his 17 home runs going to right field. When locked in, McAdoo controls the zone with his bat, and quick hands allow him to cover most of the plate at an elite level. In 2024, 54.2% of his batted balls went up the middle or to right field. This approach, coupled with his fast hands, drives his opposite-field power. He can stay back longer and let the ball travel more, giving him the time to make better decisions. He then can launch the barrel through the zone to make great contact. Here is another one of his opposite-field home runs that looks so effortless for him. What To Work On McAdoo had an excellent 2024 season, but as with any player in the minor leagues, there are always things to improve upon on the quest to play at the top level of the sport. After jumping from High-A to Double-A, he saw more struggles than ever before. Those struggles compounded on themselves after his trade to Toronto. He started missing the ball a lot more; his contact rates fell from 78.2% at High-A to 71.8% at Double-A with Pittsburgh and then dropped even further to 66.8% with Toronto. These heat maps from Donald Stricklin Analytics show how McAdoo struggled with the pitches down in the zone. This coincided with an increase of about 5% in his pull rates from High-A to Double-A. It could be as simple as him opening up more to try and impress his new team with some power or concerning things like struggling with breaking pitches at the more advanced levels. Regardless of the underlying reason for his drop across the board at Double-A in 2025, he needs to settle back into a middle-away approach and drive the ball where it's pitched. In the field, he needs to stay the course at third base. In 2024, he only recorded seven errors at third, which is by far his best position. Toronto did have him play right field and first base, to try and give him more opportunities at playing time in the future. He struggled a little at first base and recorded an error in the three games he was in. If Toronto does indeed have thoughts of him playing more positions in 2025, he will need to shore up his skill at first base and in right field. What's Next 2025 could be the pivotal year for McAdoo, and I know that is said a lot. With his abysmal debut at Double-A for Toronto, he needs to bounce back and show the team the player they traded for. A trip back to Double-A New Hampshire will do him wonders. If he can adjust similarly to how he did at High-A last year, he should get a mid-season promotion to Triple-A Buffalo. Then, who knows, a cup of coffee with the big league club is not out of the cards for him. Expect his arrival to be more along the lines of in the summer of 2026, barring anything unexpected.