Hot Week & The Top 100: A Shortened Week, But No Shortness Of Prospects Shining

It was a shortened week across Minor League Baseball as the only games played for Single-A through Triple-A were three-game series from July 17 – July 19 following the All-Star break. But giving credit where credit is due, with the trade deadline looming and uncertainty of what could happen over the next few weeks looming for many minor leaguers, it’s a tough time to play as many players across the league fight to focus on the games at hand, knowing the next couple of weeks could get very interesting.

The rookie level, however, was in action throughout the week.

This week’s minor league hitters of the week (ranked by OPS and based on a minimum of 15 plate appearances) were catcher Colin Tuft of the Frederick Keys (High-A affiliate, Baltimore Orioles); Center fielder Carlos Jimenez of the Everett AquaSox (High-A affiliate, Seattle Mariners); First baseman Abimelec Ortiz of the Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A affiliate, Washington Nationals); First baseman Easton Shelton of the Ontario Tower Buzzers (Single-A affiliate, Los Angeles Dodgers); and Caden Merritt of the FCL Braves (Rookie affiliate, Atlanta Braves).

Colin Tuft, C – Frederick Keys (High-A, Baltimore Orioles)

Coming off of the All-Star week break, the Frederick Keys took on the Greenville Drive (Boston Red Sox) on the road as they began a long nine-game road trip. The Keys took two of three from Greenville, defeating the Drive in dominating fashion Saturday and Sunday.

Over the course of the three-game series, Tuft, drafted in 2024 by the Orioles out of Tulane, was 6-for-12 with a 1.958 OPS. He had two doubles, a triple, and two home runs, walking four times across 16 plate appearances. He drove in four RBIs and four runs scored. His biggest game of the three came on Sunday when he was 2-for-3 with both hits coming on home runs.  He walked three times in the game and drove in three RBIs along with two runs scored.

Over the course of the season thus far, Taft is hitting .237/.366/.495, with a .861 OPS. He has a total of nine doubles, four triples, and 11 home runs, with 34 RBIs and 36 runs scored. He has walked 33 times and has a BABIP of .285 with 24 XBH.
Through the first half of the year, Tuft has his best career average and is showing signs of being ready to head to Double-A when his name gets called.

Carlos Jimenez, CF – Everett AquaSox (High-A, Seattle Mariners)

Jimenez and the AquaSox came off the All-Star break with a three-game series on the road against the Spokane Indians (Colorado Rockies). The AquaSox took two of three from the Indians, ending the weekend with a dominating 21-3 beatdown.
Over the course of the three-game series, Jimenez went 8-for-14, with a 1.911 OPS. He struck for one double and three home runs, with four singles, and was walked twice. He drove in seven RBIs and had four runs scored. He hit one home run and hit his lone double of the series on Friday, and then on Sunday hit two home runs. He drove in four RBIs on Friday along with three on Sunday on a strong weekend for the outfielder from the Dominican Republic.

Since being signed as a free agent to a minor league contract by the Mariners in 2019, it’s been a hard road for the 23-year-old, who’s battled injuries and struggled to really kickstart his career. However, he’s having his best year this season since 20204. He’s batting a combined .298/.403/.538, with a .941 OPS on the season. He hit .318 in 2024 and is the closest to batting over .300 this year since then. This season he has 19 doubles, four triples, and 13 home runs, 60 RBIs and 45 runs scored, along with 12 stolen bases.

He’ll hope to continue to build on those stats as the second half gets underway in hopes of maybe hearing his name called to make the jump to Double-A soon.

Abimelec Ortiz, 1B – Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A, Nationals)

Ortiz and the Red Wings opened the second half of the year at home against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins). After a rough end to the first half of the year, Rochester came back from the All-Star break and swept Jacksonville 3-0, with Ortiz playing a big role in that.

The first baseman out of Bayamon, Puerto Rico was 6-for-11 with a 1.849 OPS. He hit four doubles and one home run, driving in seven RBIs and five runs scored. He was walked four times as well over the course of 15 at-bats. On Friday in the series opener, he was 3-for-4, with all three hits extra-base hits, hitting three doubles on the day.

Over the course of the season as a whole, he is hitting .247/.348/.509, with a .857 OPS. He has 21 doubles and 17 home runs, with 66 RBIs and 53 runs scored.

Ortiz also made his MLB debut on July 12, but was recently optioned back down to Triple-A Rochester.

He’ll hope he can continue performing and hear his name once again called back up to the big leagues.

Easton Shelton, 1B – Ontario Tower Buzzers (Single-A, Los Angeles Dodgers)

The Tower Buzzers opened the second half of the year at home against the Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres). They took two of three from the Padres’ Single-A affiliate, with Shelton going 8-for-14 with a 1.814 OPS during the series. He had three doubles and two home runs, with six RBIs and five runs scored. He also walked once.

Shelton is on course to post his career-best average as the second half gets underway. Over the course of the season, he is batting a combined .310/.407/.663, with a 1.070 OPS. He has 22 doubles, one triple, and 28 home runs, driving in 87 RBIs and 71 runs scored.

Hitting above .300 currently, Double-A could very well be in his future as well.

Caden Merritt, OF – FCL Braves (Rookie level, Atlanta Braves)

Merritt and the Braves played games this season against the FCL Twins, Red Sox, and Rays. The outfielder from Cincinnati, Ohio, was 6-for-12 on the week with a 1.792 OPS. He hit one double, two triples, and one home run, driving in three RBIs and six runs scored. He walked four times and had three stolen bases. His home run on July 14 was a three-run home run.

Over the course of the year as a whole, he is hitting .227/.368/.356, with a .724 OPS. That includes six doubles, five triples, and three home runs. He has 31 RBIs on the year, with 35 runs scored, 38 walks, and 28 stolen bases.

MLB Top-100 Prospects

While none of MLB’s Top-100 prospects cracked into the top five overall hitters for the week, five players still stood out with strong three-game series.

Ike Irish (MLB No. 79 prospect) with the Frederick Keys (High-A Orioles) was 9-for-17 on the week with a 1.676 OPS. He hit three home runs and had nine RBIs on the series.

Billy Carlson (MLB No. 57 prospect) with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Single-A, Chicago White Sox) was 5-for-9 with five walks and three steals. He also had a double and a triple, with five runs scored and six RBIs on the week. He had a 1.556 OPS.

Leo De Vries (MLB’s No. 2 prospect) with the Midland RockHounds (Double-A affiliate, the Athletics) was 5-for-11 on the week with a home run and six RBIs, with a 1.290 OPS. 

Edward Florentino (MLB No. 29) with the Greensboro Grasshoppers (High-A affiliate, Pittsburgh Pirates0 had a 1.233 OPS. He hit one double and two home runs, driving in three RBIs and four runs scored, with two stolen bases on the week.

Finally, last but not least is Felnin Celesten (MLB No. 70 prospect) with the Arkansas Travelers (Double-A, Seattle Mariners). He was 6-for-15 with a 1.167 OPS. He hit two doubles and one triple, driving in an RBI and five runs scored. He was walked three times and recorded a stolen base.

Teams get back underway and onto the field on Tuesday to resume a normal six-game series. As mentioned, with the trade deadline looming, rosters could end up looking different over the course of the next few weeks. But time will tell how it will affect the top hitters for the week and where some players end up going. 

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