Hot Week & The Top 100: It's Triple-A's Turn

Triple-A players led the way throughout the minor leagues this week, with Single-A and Double-A grabbing a couple of spots as well.

Johanfran Garcia, catcher of the Portland Sea Dogs (Double-A, Boston Red Sox); Left fielder, Matthew Etzel of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Triple-A, Miami Marlins); Designated hitter, Tyler Black of the Nashville Sounds (Triple-A, Milwaukee Brewers); Third baseman, Cayden Wallace of the Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A, Washington Nationals); and right fielder, Kaden Carpenter of the Hickory Crawdads (Single-A, Texas Rangers) were this week top-five MiLB hitters of the week.

Johanfran Garcia, C – Portland Sea Dogs (Double-A, Boston Red Sox)

The Sea Dogs were on the road this week for a six-game matchup against the Richmond Flying Squirrels (Double-A, San Francisco Giants). The Seadogs took four of six from the Flying Squirrels, with Garcia making an impact in four of the six games. 

Garcia, the 21-year-old from Venezuela, was 10-for-18, hitting .556/.619/1.167, with a .643 OPS on the week. He struck for three home runs, with eight RBIs, and six runs scored. He was walked twice.

His home runs came on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, with two on Saturday, driving in six RBIs on the day, and he had three runs scored, for a total of nine total bases on the day.

Sunday, he hit a solo home run, driving in one RBI and had two runs scored on the day, totaling six bases on the day and 15 total bases in two days.

Over the course of the 2026 season, Garcia, who has spent all of 2026 in Portland thus far, is batting a total .293/.342/.503, with a .845 OPS of the year. He has totaled 10 doubles and 17 home runs, driving in a total of 51 RBIs on the year, and 40 runs scored. He has been walked 17 times and has three stolen bases. He has a .368 BABIP, with 27 extra-base hits.

Matthew Etzel, LF – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Triple-A, Miami Marlins)

Etzel, drafted originally by the Orioles in 2023 in the 10th round of the draft (Pick No. 301 overall), has found himself in the middle of trades that sent him to Tampa and then to his current destination of the Marlins organization over the last couple years; while he hasn’t stayed with one team that consistently, one thing that has been consistent is his swift rise from being drafted out of college to Triple-A in just three full seasons. After ending the season with Triple-A Jacksonville last year, Etzel began and spent the entirety of the 2026 season thus far with the Jumbo Shrimp.

The Jumbo Shrimp faced off against Black and the Nashville Sounds this week. The two teams split the series 3-3, with Etzel seeing game time in five of the six matchups in Jacksonville.

Etzel was 7-for-18 on the week, hitting .389/.476/1.167, with a 1.643 OPS. He hit two doubles and four home runs, driving in 16 RBIs on the week, with six runs scored during the series. He was walked three times this week and showed his speed with three stolen bases.

On August 25, he was 2-for-4 with a single and a home run, driving in four RBIs on the day and scoring one run.

Over the course of the season, he is batting a slash line of .250/.349/.438, with a .787 OPS. He has 17 doubles, two triples, and 17 home runs, driving in 55 RBIs this year, and 64 runs scored. He’s been walked 57 times and has 21 stolen bases. Speed in the big leagues is something teams look for, especially in late innings or extra-inning runner-on situations. So for him to be able to get on base and move around the bases quickly, that could be something the Marlins look at when they make decisions on call-ups.
In addition, Etzel has a .304 BABIP, with 36 extra-base hits.

Tyler Black, DH – Nashville Sounds (Triple-A, Milwaukee Brewers)

In the opposite dugout for the Jacksonville matchup was Black with the Sounds. This week he also played in five games, going 7-for-15, hitting .467/.652/.933, with a 1.586 OPS. Black struck for two doubles, one triple, and one home run during the series, driving in three RBIs, with three runs scored. He was walked seven times as well, stealing two bases on August 26th.

Over the course of the season, Black, who has played the entire year with Nashville, is batting a combined .243/.379/.392, with a .771 OPS. He has 13 doubles this year, with five triples and seven home runs, driving in 40 RBIs and 50 runs scored. He has been walked 60 times and has stolen 23 bases. He has a .307 BABIP, with a total of 25 extra-base hits on the year.

Cayden Wallace, 3B – Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A, Washington Nationals)

Wallace and the Red Wings were home this week to take on the Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A, Toronto Blue Jays). The right-handed third baseman played in all six games, going an impressive 11-for-21, hitting .524/.583/1.000, with a .1583 OPS. He hit four doubles and two home runs, driving in eight RBIs, with five runs scored.

He was 3-for-3 on Sunday, with a solo home run and two runs scored. He totaled seven bases on the day.

Wallace started his 2026 campaign in Double-A before being promoted to Triple-A. He has played 43 games with Rochester and, over that span, has batted .297/.345/.523 with an .868 OPS. He has nine doubles, one triple, and eight home runs in Triple-A, with 32 RBIs and 27 runs scored. He has walked 11 times and has five stolen bases.

Wallace’s BABIP in Triple-A is .317, and he has 55 extra-base hits.

Kaden Carpenter, RF – Hickory Crawdads (Single-A, Texas Rangers)

Rounding out this week’s top-five hitters overall for the minor leagues is the right fielder from the Crawdads, Carpenter.
Carpenter and the Crawdads this week took on the Wilson Warbirds (Single-A, Milwaukee Brewers). Carpenter appeared in all six games, going 7-for-18, hitting .389/.577/1.000, with a 1.577 OPS.  He had one double, two triples, and two home runs, driving in six RBIs, and had nine runs scored on the week. He was walked six times and stole one base.

Carpenter had at least two or more hits in four of the six matchups as he continues to heat up in Single-A in his first professional season.

Drafted by the Rangers last July, the ninth-round pick (Pick No. 267 overall) out of Utah Valley, Carpenter is showing great signs of success already in his first 27 professional games. He is hitting .253/.410/.538, with a .948 OPS. He has four doubles, two triples, and six home runs, with 17 RBIs and 27 runs scored.

Carpenter’s BABIP on the year is .293, and he has 12 extra-base hits in 27 games, an impressive stat for the 23-year-old rookie. 
If he continues his success, he could find himself either ending the year in High-A or starting there next season.

Top-Five Hitters Among MLB Pipeline Top-100 Players

Among the top-five hitters from MLB Pipeline’s Top-100 this week were No. 9, Sebastian Walcott,  designated hitter out of Double-A Frisco (Texas Rangers); No. 35, Edward Florentino, outfielder out of High-A Greensboro (Pittsburgh Pirates); No. 19, Vahn Lackey, catcher from High-A Cedar Rapids (Minnesota Twins); No. 39, Josiah Hartshorn, first baseman out of High-A South Bend (Chicago Cubs); and No. 94, Murf Gray, the third baseman out of Double-A Altoona (Pittsburgh Pirates).

Walcott, MLB’s No. 9 prospect this week, was 9-for-21 with Double-A Fresno, hitting .429/.538/.857, with a 1.396 OPS. He went off for three doubles and two home runs, with four RBIs and nine runs scored. He was walked four times and stole two bases.
Florentino. MLB No. 35 prospect with High-A Greensboro was 8-for-22 this week, hitting .364/.533/.773, with a 1.306 OPS. He hit three doubles and two home runs as well, driving in nine RBIs and five runs scored. He walked five times.

Lackey, No. 19 out of Cedar Rapids (Twins) this week, was 6-for-18, hitting .333/.538/.722, with a 1.261 OPS. Though he only had six hits, two were doubles, two were home runs, and he drove in five RBIs and six runs scored. He walked eight times and had two stolen bases.

Hartshorn is MLB’s No. 39 prospect. This week, the first baseman out of High-A South Bend (Chicago Cubs) was 8-for-21, hitting .381/.517/.714, with a 1.232 OPS. He had a double and two home runs, with five runs scored and seven RBIs. He was walked seven times and had three stolen bases.

Gray, MLB’s No. 94 prospect, rounds out this week’s top hitters. The third baseman with Double-A Altoona (Pittsburgh Pirates) was 7-for-21, hitting .333/.407/.810, with a 1.217 OPS. He had a double and three home runs, driving in seven RBIs and five runs scored. He walked four times.

With September baseball getting underway, just over two weeks of baseball remain for teams across the minor leagues as the season begins to wind down.