Hot Week & The Top 100: The Kids Are Alright

The rookies stole the show as three rookie Dominican Summer League players and two High-A players were last week’s top hitters among Minor League hitters. Shortstop Leanders Matos of the DSL Brewers Blue, Patrick Lee, outfielder for the Detroit Tigers’ High-A affiliate West Michigan Whitecaps; shortstop Dawvris Brito of the DSL Red Sox Red; Sammy Stafura, shortstop of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ High-A affiliate Greensboro Hoppers; and outfielder Saivel Zayas of the Texas Rangers’ DSL Rangers Red team were this week’s top Minor League hitters.

Leanders Matos, SS – DSL Brewers Blue (Milwaukee Brewers)

Matos is in his first year of professional ball after being signed as a free agent by the Brewers in January at just 17 years old.
This week, DSL Brewers Blue took on DSL Tampa Bay for two games, DL Pirates Gold, and DSL CLE Mendoza. 

Over the course of those four games, the 17-year-old from Nizao, Dominican Republic, hit .500/.533/1.500, with a 2.033 OPS. He had six hits over the course of the week, including four home runs, three of which all occurred on July 3 against DSL CLE Mendoza. He also had 10 RBIs and six runs scored. In the game in which he was 4-for-5 on July, he had three home runs, as mentioned, seven RBIs, and three runs scored, accumulating a total of 13 bases on the night. He also had one stolen base this week.

Over the course of his first professional season and a total of 24 games played, he is hitting an accumulated .310/.402/.678, with a 1.080 OPS. He has 27 hits, including six doubles, one triple, and eight home runs. He has driven in 28 RBIs and scored 20 runs, along with being walked 13 times and stealing 11 bases.

Patrick Lee, OF – High-A West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit Tigers)

Lee, 26, out of Pascagoula, MS, was signed to a Minor League contract by the Tigers in 2024. He has since worked his way up to High-A West Michigan and has spent the last 21 games of 2026. 

This week, West Michigan took on the Lake County Captains (Cleveland Guardians). They took just two of the six games from Lake County.

Lee, 5’10”, 175lbs hit .545/.647/1.182, with a 1.829 OPS. He hit one double and two home runs, with 10 RBIs, and six runs scored. 
Over the course of 21 games with West Michigan, he has hit .279/.433/.529, with a .962 OPS, including three doubles, one triple, and four home runs, with 19 RBIs, and 18 runs scored. He has walked 17 times in High-A and has 10 stolen bases.

Dawvris Brito, SS – DSL Red Sox Red (Boston Red Sox)

Brito is another young 17-year-old down in the Dominican Summer League playing for the Boston Red Sox’s DSL affiliate. He is also in his first professional season after being signed as a free agent to a minor league contract in January.

This week, DSL Red Sox Red took on the DSL LAD Mega for two, DSL CLE Mendoza, and the DSL Padres Gold.

Over the course of four games, Brito hit .500/.625/1.100, with a 1.725 OPS. He had five hits, including three doubles and one home run, with five RBIs and five runs scored. He walked six times and stole one base. 

Over the course of the year as a whole and his first professional season, the 17-year-old, standing at 6’0”, 180 lbs, has hit .326/.474/.535, with a 1.009 OPS. He has six doubles and one home run, with eight RBIs, and 10 runs scored. He has 12 walks and two stolen bases.

Sammy Stafura, SS – High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Stafura is a 21-year-old shortstop out of Cortlandt, New York. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round (Pick No. 43 overall) of the 2023 MLB draft. While he’s worked his way up over the last several years, the last couple of years he has spent bouncing between the Florida State League and High-A.

This week, the High-A Grasshoppers took on the Bowling Green Hot Reds (Tampa Bay Rays) in a six-game series in Greensboro. They took four of six from Bowling Green, with Stafura helping lead the way.

Over five games in the six-game series, Stafura hit .542/.500/1.167, for a 1.667 OPS. He had 13 hits, including three doubles and four home runs, with a massive 16 RBIs, and 11 runs scored.

Over the 32 games he’s played at High-A, the 6’0”, 188lb shortstop has begun to break out, hitting .306/.376/.562, with a .938 OPS. He has five doubles, one triple, and eight home runs, with 29 RBIs, and 26 runs scored. He has walked 15 times, with 11 stolen bases.

Should Stafura continue this after the All-Star break, it would be no surprise to see him earn his chance to be called up to Double-A shortly after the break. It is not likely he would be called up ahead of that, but with the trade deadline approaching, moves could be made shortly after the break. 

Saivel Zayas, OF – DSL Rangers Red (Texas Rangers)

Rounding out this week’s top Minor League hitters of the week is also the third teenager of the week, as the young guns at the plate highlight the week. 18-year old Zayas is in his second season with the Rangers organization and his second with the DSL.

This week, the DSL Rangers Red played games against the DSL Phillies for two, the DSL Tigers, and the DSL Rangers Blue.
Zayas, 18 years old, hit .538/.650/1.000, with a 1.650 OPS. He had three doubles and one home run, with five RBIs and five runs scored. He stole three bases this week.

Over the course of his second season in the DSL, over the course of the year, he is batting an accumulated .356/.478/.655, with a 1.133 OPS. He has nine doubles, one triple, and five home runs. He has 25 total RBIs and 26 runs scored. He has walked 18 times and stolen seven bases.

MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospects

While none of MLB’s top 100 prospects cracked the list of top-five hitters, several came through and had strong performances over the course of the week.

Center fielder, Zyhir Hope of the Double-A Tulsa Drillers (Los Angeles Dodgers) had the top performance among the top 100 prospects. The 21-year-old, No. 19 overall prospect in baseball, hit .519/.563/.963, with a 1.526 OPS. He had three home runs and 13 RBIs.

For the second week in a row, outfielder Charlie Condon of the Albuquerque Isotopes (Triple-A, Colorado Rockies) has had a top-ranked performance. MLB’s No. 64 prospect hit .455/.478/1.045, with a 1.523 OPS.

Roldy Brito, the No. 71 prospect and center fielder with the Fresno Grizzlies (Single-A, Colorado Rockies), is the second Rockies’ prospect to be listed. He hit .529/.724/.706, with a 1.430 OPS, including nine hits and three RBIs.

Jonny Farmelo is MLB’s No. 63 prospect. The outfielder playing for the High-A Everett AquaSox (Seattle Mariners) hit .458/.500/.875, with a 1.375 OPS, with 11 hits, including two home runs and five RBIs.

Rounding out this week’s MLB top prospects was MLB top-10 prospect No. 7 prospect, Franklin Arias. The 20-year-old shortstop with the Portland Sea Dogs (Double-A, Boston Red Sox) hit .375/.542/.813, with a 1.355 OPS. He had six hits, with two home runs, and six RBIs.

This week will be the final week before the league's break for the All-Star Game. With that and the trade deadline approaching, some of these minor league affiliates could look different come August, and time will tell how much movement and how many changes might be made.