Hot Week & The Top 100: Double-A Players Dominate

There has been quite a bit of movement throughout the minor leagues over the course of the last week as teams call players up and move the ‘stars of tomorrow’ around the farm system. This week’s top hitters primarily represent Double-A affiliates, with Single-A and Rookie prospects creeping in. But it was all about the guys in the middle at Double-A this week.

Rookie outfielder, Francisco Renteria (MLB’s No. 81 prospect) from the DSL Phillies (Rookie, Philadelphia Phillies); Outfielder, Luis Fragoza with the Single-A Fort Myers Miracle (Single-A, Minnesota Twins); Third baseman Luke Mann from the Midland Rock Hounds (Double-A, The Athletics); Catcher, Ryan Cesarini with the Akron Rubber Ducks (Double-A, Cleveland Guardians); and outfielder, Avery Owusu-Asiedu with the Amarillo Sod Poodles (Double-A, Arizona Diamondbacks) were this week’s top hitters from throughout Minor League Baseball for August 11th through August 16th.

Francisco Renteria (MLB No. 81 Prospect), OF – DSL Phillies (Rookie level, Philadelphia Phillies)

MLB’s No. 81 prospect, Francisco Renteria, is already off to a phenomenal start to his professional career. Signed by the Phillies just seven months ago, he’s been red hot in the Dominican Summer League, hitting .379 in his first season.

This week with the DSL Phillies taking on the DSL Yankees, Twins, Marlins, and Mariners, Renteria went 9-for-13, hitting .692/.810/1.615, with a 2.425 OPS. He hit a double, triple, and three home runs, driving in 10 RBIs and nine runs scored. He was walked five times and stole five bases. He had three hits in back-to-back games, along with three RBI days on August 11 and 13 as well.

Through his first 53 professional games, he is batting .379/.470/.682, with a 1.152 OPS.  He has nine doubles, nine triples, and 11 home runs, with 55 RBIs and 34 walks. Once on the base pads, he’s a force to be reckoned with, with 24 stolen bases on the year.
At the pace he’s going, it would be no surprise if Renteria finds himself in Single-A to end the year.

Luis Fragoza, OF – Fort Myers Miracle (Single-A, Minnesota Twins)

Luis Fragoza is another player who began his career very early in his teenage years. The Twins signed the outfielder as a free agent in 2024, and now, still just 19 years old, the righty batter from Valencia, Venezuela finds himself having a star-studded year in Single-A in Fort Myers.

This week the Mighty Mussels took on the Clearwater Threshers (Phillies). They took four out of six from the Phillies’ Single-A affiliate at home in Fort Myers, with Fragoza going 8-for-12 with two doubles and three home runs. He drove in six RBIs and nine runs scored, with seven walks and five stolen bases. He hit a combined .668/.800/1.583, with a 2.383 OPS through five games. On August 13, he hit two home runs and drove in four.

The 19-year-old played 10 games at the start of the year with the FCL Twins before being promoted to the Florida State League in May. Since then, he has hit .322/.398/.607, with a 1.005 OPS as he cruises through Single-A. He has 18 doubles and 14 home runs, driving in an accumulated 51 RBIs and 43 runs scored. He has 15 stolen bases in Single-A. His BABIP is .400, and he has 36 extra-base hits through 59 games, an impressive feat.

The Twins have depth at the outfield position, but Fragoza’s bat is one they could use higher up, and his speed on the base pads is like that of Royce Lewis and could benefit the Twins right now as well.

Luke Mann, 3B – Midland RockHounds (Double-A, The Athletics)

Mann, recently called up to Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday, finished off his week strong in Double-A, finding himself a top hitter in the league for the week, which makes it no surprise that he has heard his name called to make the leap to Triple-A this week.

Last week the RockHounds took on the Amarillo Sod Poodles (Arizona Diamondbacks), splitting the series 3-3. Mann, drafted by the Athletics in 2023, played in five of six games, missing the sixth because he was on his way to Vegas.

Over those five games he did appear in, the 26-year-old third baseman hit .588/.600/1.706, with a 2.306 OPS. He went 10-for-17, with two doubles and six home runs, driving in a big 12 RBIs and seven runs scored. He had back-to-back two-home run games on August 13 and 14, driving in four RBIs and two runs scored on the 13th and two home runs with three RBIs and two runs scored on the 14th.

Through 71 games with Midland in 2026, Mann was hitting .230/.300/.437, with a .737 OPS. He had 10 doubles and 14 home runs with 46 RBIs and 32 runs scored. He was walked twice and stole two bases.

Ryan Cesarini, C – Akron RubberDucks (Double-A, Cleveland Guardians)

Ryan Cesarini, the lefty-batting, righty-throwing catcher from Scranton, PA, was drafted by the Guardians in the 14th round (pick number 415 overall) of the 2024 MLB draft. After quickly working his way through Single-A and High-A, he found himself behind the dish at the Double-A level last month.

He has played 21 games in Double-A, including the last four games against the Altoona Curve, whom he dominated at the plate. He was 9-for-19, hitting .474/.500/1.421, with a 1.921 OPS. He drove out six home runs, driving in 11 RBIs and seven runs scored. August 11th was his big day to shine, going 3-for-6 with all three hits being home runs. He drove in six RBIs. He then followed that with a home run on August 12th and two home runs on August 14th. It was a great week for the 23-year-old from Pennsylvania as he now finds himself in Triple-A.

Over the course of 34 Double-A games, he hit .260/.331/.472, with a .803 OPS. He had six doubles and seven home runs, with 21 RBIs and 21 runs scored as well. He had seven stolen bases.

He’s already off to a strong start in Triple-A as well.

Avery Owusu-Asiedu, OF – Amarillo Sod Poodles (Double-A, Arizona Diamondbacks)

Owusu-Asiedu, the outfielder from the Sod Poodles, joins Mann from the Midland Rock Hounds, who took on the Sod Poodles this week, on the week’s top five MiLB hitters.

Across the dugout, RockHounds outfielder Owusu-Adiedu went 12-for-23, hitting .522/.586/1.304, with a 1.890 OPS. He had three doubles, with five home runs, 12 RBIs, and seven runs scored. The 23-year-old from Canada had one or more home runs in four straight games. On August 13th, he drove two home runs out, driving in three RBIs that day with two runs scored. The day prior, he had four RBIs on a double and a home run.

Over the course of the season, the 2023 draftee (originally drafted by Philadelphia) is batting an impressive .522/.586/1.304, with a huge 1.890 OPS. He has three doubles in Double-A, with five home runs, driving in 12 RBIs, and seven runs scored through six games. It’s a trend that the Diamondbacks hope to see continue as they could use some bats in the major leagues right now too.

MILB Top-100 Prospects, Top five hitters of the week

Joining Renteria, who was a top hitter for all of the minor leagues this week, Ralphy Velazquez with Triple-A Columbus (Cleveland Guardians), Caleb Bonemer with Double-A Birmingham (Chicago White Sox), Eduardo Quintero with High-A Great Lakes (Los Angeles Dodgers), and Ethan Salas with Triple-A El Paso (San Diego Padres) rounded out this week's top hitters.

Velazquez is MLB’s No. 32 prospect. This week he hit .467/.556/1.067, with a 1.623 OPS. He went 7-for-15 with three home runs and six RBIs, along with six runs scored.

Bonemer, ranked No. 30 in baseball, hit .381/.519/.810, with a 1.329 OPS in Double-A this week. He went 8-for-21, with two doubles, two triples, a home run, and drove in four RBIs.

Quintera (ranked No. 20 among all minor leagues) hit .563/.667/.625, with a 1.292 OPS. He went 9-for-16 with two doubles and seven runs scored; he had five walks and three stolen bases.

Rounding out this week’s hitters of the week is MLB’s No. 23 prospect, Ethan Salas, with Triple-A El Paso. He went 8-for-17, hitting .471/.524/.765, with a 1.289 OPS. He hit two doubles and a home run, driving in eight RBIs.

It was a strong week for the Double-A guys and some Triple-A as well.

Just over a month remains in the minor league schedule before a champion is crowned at each level.