Alexis Farinacci

The stars of tomorrow continue to shine out in the Arizona Fall League as the offseason continues. This week, Justin DeCriscio (Peoria/ San Diego Padres) earned the top honors. He was joined by two Glendale River Dogs: Colby Shelton (Chicago White Sox) and Isaiah Drake (Atlanta Braves), along with two Salt River Rafters: Kyle West (New York Yankees) and Jared Thomas (Colorado Rockies). Justin DeCriscio, SS – Peoria Javelinas (San Diego Padres) DeCriscio had a strong week out west, going 6-for-11 with a .545/.583/.182 line and a 1.765 OPS. He hit one double and two home runs, driving in six RBIs and scoring three runs. He added to his week with one walk and one stolen base for Peoria. Drafted in 2025, DeCriscio has quickly worked his way up through the minor leagues, ending his 2026 campaign in Double-A. He’ll look to start the 2027 season in Double-A and progress from there. A strong Fall season in Arizona could help with those chances as he primes for spring training. Colby Shelton, 2B – Glendale River Dogs (Chicago White Sox) Shelton contributed significantly to Glendale’s week. He went 6-for-13, hitting .462/.562/1.077, with a 1.639 OPS. He hit two doubles and two home runs, driving in 12 RBIs and scoring 5 runs on the week. He walked three times and stole one base. Shelton was another 2025 draftee out of the University of Florida. In just his second professional season, he found himself in Double-A as well. He’ll likely start the 2027 season in Double-A again, but should he continue to hit well, he could progress to Triple-A and maybe even make his MLB debut in just his third professional season. Isaiah Drake, OF – Glendale River Dogs (Atlanta Braves) Also representing Glendale and putting up a top-five hitting performance this week in the AFL was outfielder Isaiah Drake. Drake was 7-for-12, hitting .583/.667/.917, with a 1.583 OPS. He had one double, one home run, drove in two RBIs, and scored three runs. He was walked three times. Drake has struggled to find his way through the minor leagues so far, playing his last four years between Low-A and High-A. He’ll hope a spark playing in Arizona can translate into a strong 2027 season, likely seeing him start back in High-A. Kyle West, 1B – Salt River Rafters (New York Yankees) Another 2025 draftee from West Virginia is first baseman Kyle West. This week, the 24-year-old was 5-for-17 out in Arizona, hitting .294/.400/1.059, with a 1.459 OPS. He hit one double and, in five games, hit four home runs, driving in six RBIs and scoring four runs. He was walked once this week. But the young prospect showed impressive power at the plate. West just finished his second professional season in High-A with Hudson Valley. Should he continue to show he can hit with power, he could find himself advancing to Double-A this year, but he will need to decrease his strikeout rate. He struck out five times this week. If he can decrease that percentage, he’ll find himself even more successful. Jared Thomas, OF – Salt River Rafters (Colorado Rockies) Drafted in 2024 out of the University of Texas, the 23-year-old Thomas split the 2026 season between rookie-level and Double-A while rehabbing from an injury. The year prior, he had ended the season in Double-A, and had it not been for injury, last year could’ve been the year he found himself in Triple-A. He’s making those reps up this Fall in the AFL. This week, representing Salt River as well, Thomas was 9-for-20, hitting .450/.593/.800, with a 1.393 OPS. He hit one double and three triples, showing off his power and speed, and drove in four RBIs and seven runs scored. Along with legging out three triples, Thomas was walked four times and stole two bases. MLB Top-100 Prospects While no Top-100 prospects cracked the top five hitters this week, here are the top five hitters from just the Top-100 prospects: Aidan Miller (No. 59, Philadelphia Phillies/ Surprise Saguaros); Arjun Nimmala (No. 34, Los Angeles Angles/ Mesa Solar Sox); Dax Kilby (No. 78, New York Yankees/ Salt River Rafters); Sebastian Walcott (No. 8, Texas Rangers/ Surprsie Saguaros); and Tate Southisene (No. 58, Atlanta Braves/ Glendale Desert Dogs). Aidan Miller is a 22-year-old shortstop from the Philadelphia Phillies. He is MLB’s No. 59 prospect. Miller represents the Surprise Saguaros in Arizona. This week he went 6-for-15, hitting .400/.571/.667, with a 1.238 OPS. He hit two doubles and one triple, driving in four RBIs and scoring six runs. Miller showed strong discipline at the plate, walking six times, and he stole three bases, flashing his speed. In 2025, Miller stole 59 bases, double the amount he stole in 2024. After missing the majority of the 2025 season with injury, he’ll look to get back to those steal rates in 2027. Arjun Nimmala is the next player representing one of the top-five hitters from the top-100 this week in Arizona. The 21-year-old is a shortstop from Tampa, FL. He began his career with the Blue Jays and played in Dunedin before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels in 2026. This week in Arizona, Nimmala, MLB’s No. 34 prospect representing the Mesa Solar Sox, hit .389/.577/.611, with a 1.188 OPS. He hit one double and one home run, driving in three RBIs and scoring six runs. He was walked six times and stole three bases, also showing off speed. Dax Kilby is MLB’s No. 78 prospect from the New York Yankees organization. He had a strong start to his career in 2025, but he missed the majority of 2026 to injury and was looking to get back into a groove in Arizona. This week, the young 19-year-old representing the Salt River Rafters played in four games. He went 5-for-15, hitting .333/.444/.600, with a 1.044 OPS. He hit two doubles this week and had three runs scored. He was walked three times and had one stolen base. Sebastian Walcott, 20 years old, is a player who continues to see himself having success in the Arizona Fall League. The designated hitter from the Texas Rangers organization is MLB’s No. 8 prospect, and his performance in Arizona this year proves why. This week, the Saguaros DH Walcott hit .421/.450/.579, with a 1.029 OPS. He was 8-for19, hitting three doubles, driving in eight RBIs, and five runs scored. He was walked once and showed a great amount of speed on the base pads with four stolen bases. Last but not least is MLB’s No. 58 prospect, Tate Southisene from the Atlanta Braves and representing the Glendale Desert Dogs in Arizona. This week was the Top-100 prospect at .353/.522/.412, with a .934 OPS. He went 6-for-17, hitting one double, driving in one RBI, and scoring six runs. He was walked five times and stole two bases. Just two weeks remain in the Arizona Fall League, with the Fall Stars festivities taking place next weekend. View full article

We’re now three weeks into the 2026 Arizona Fall League, and for the last week, it was players from Salt River, Peoria, and Scottsdale who shined the most. From the Salt River Rafters: first baseman, Jack O’Dowd (Colorado Rockies), and second baseman, Kyle DeBarge (Minnesota Twins) were among this week’s top hitters. From the Peoria Javelinas it was outfielder Yerlin Confidan (Cincinnati Reds), and outfielder Tai Peete (St. Louis Cardinals) who made the list. Rounding out this week’s top five hitters was San Francisco Giants’ third base prospect, Dalton Wentz, playing with the Scottsdale Scorpions. Jack O’Dowd, 1B – Salt River Rafters (Colorado Rockies) O’Dowd, the 25-year-old from Colorado, had a strong week at the plate. He was 6-for-13, hitting .462/.462/1.308, with a 1.769 OPS. He hit two doubles and three home runs, driving in six RBIs and scoring three runs. He had the top OPS among hitters in the Fall League this week as he looks to make it a strong Fall in preparation for spring training. Kyle DeBarge, 2B – Salt River Rafters (Minnesota Twins) DeBarge, drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 2024 out of Louisiana-Lafayette, has found himself working swiftly through the minor leagues, finishing the 2026 season in Double-A with the Wichita Wind Surge and ranked as the Twins’ No. 12 prospect in the organization. Looking to keep the work going in the offseason, he was selected to the Arizona Fall League in hopes of continuing to improve ahead of the 2027 season. This week, the 23-year-old from Louisiana was 5-for-13 through four games. He hit .385/.579/.846, with a 1.425 OPS. He hit two doubles and drove in three RBIs. Flashing his speed on the base pads, he had three stolen bases this week and eight runs scored. Yerlin Confidan, OF – Peoria Javelinas (Cincinnati Reds) 23-year-old Yerlin Confidan hasn’t had the easiest start to his career, spending the last five seasons between the Dominican League, Florida Complex League, and Single-A. He finally made his first jump to Double-A to end the 2026 season. Playing with the Javelinas this Fall, Confidan appeared in three games this week, going 7-for-12, a strong week at the plate in which he hit .583/.583/1.167, with a 1.750 OPS. He had the second-highest OPS among hitters. Confidan hit two doubles, one triple, and one home run, driving in three RBIs and four runs scored. After a strong end to the 2026 season in Double-A, a strong Arizona Fall League performance could give him increased confidence heading into spring training in February. Tai Peete, OF – Peoria Javelinas (St. Louis Cardinals) Peete is the Cardinals’ No. 17 prospect. He was drafted by Seattle in 2023 and traded to St. Louis in February. Battling injuries throughout the year, Peete missed quite a bit of time this season, playing in just 66 games, making extra playing time in Arizona this Fall a good chance for him to make up missed reps. This week, Peete, the 21-year-old from Georgia, hit .438/.526/1.000, with a 1.526 OPS. He was 7-for-16 on the week, hitting three doubles, three triples, and driving in one RBI, and seven runs scored. He is one of the organization’s fastest on the base paths, and that was on display this week as he stole five bases over four games. If he can get on the base pads, he’s a force to be reckoned with, and there’s a good chance of scoring from second on a hit to the outfield. Dalton Wentz, 3B – Scottsdale Scorpions (San Francisco Giants) Wentz is a recently drafted switch hitter from Lynchburg, Virginia. Drafted out of Wake Forest, Wentz made his Arizona Fall League debut in his first year of professional baseball. Wentz played in only two games this week, but his impact was felt as he went 6-for-10 with one triple, four RBIs, and six runs scored. He also had one stolen base. His final line for the week was .600/.600/.800, with a 1.400 OPS. MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospects While none of MLB’s top prospects cracked the top five hitters of the week, five players still had decent weeks at the plate. From the Salt River Rafters, New York Yankees No. 1 top prospect Dax Kilby was 7-for-18 through four games. He hit two doubles, one triple, and one home run, driving in two RBIs and four runs scored. He was walked once and stole three bases on a strong week at the plate. MLB’s No. 78 overall prospect hit .389/.421/.778 with a 1.199 OPS through four games. Three players from the Glendale Desert Dogs were top hitters this week out of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 hitters: Tate Southisene (Atlanta Braves) Charles Davalan (Los Angeles Dodgers), and Caleb Bonemer (Chicago White Sox). Southisene is Atlanta’s No. 3 prospect and the NO. 58 prospect in baseball overall. This week he hit .357/.500/.571, with a 1.071 OPS. He was 5-for-15, with one double, one triple, and four walks. He drove in one RBI and scored five runs, stealing one base. Davalan is the Dodgers’ No. 6 prospect and MLB’s No. 79 overall. The 22-year-old outfielder this week was 3-for-10, hitting .300/.364/.600, with a .964 OPS. He drove out one home run, drove in just one RBI, scored two runs, and was walked once. Bonemer is the Chicago White Sox’s No. 2 Prospect and MLB’s No. 27 prospect. The 21-year-old is a utility infielder who can play shortstop or third base, making him versatile on the diamond. This week, Bonemer hit .214/.313/.571, with a .884 OPS. He hit one triple and one home run, driving in three RBIs and three runs scored. He was walked twice. Rounding out this week’s top hitters was the Phillies’ No. 2 prospect, shortstop Aidan Miller. Miller is also MLB’s No. 59 overall prospect. This week, the 22-year-old from Dunedin, FL. hit .250/.538/.375, with a .913 OPS. He was just 2-for-8, hitting one double. He drove in three RBIs, walked five times, and showed off a little speed with two stolen bases. The 2026 Arizona Fall League wraps up on November 14th, so just three weeks remain for the league’s top prospects to prove themselves ahead of spring training in February. View full article

RBIs and runs scored were the leading statistics this week in week two of the Arizona Fall League, with this week’s top hitters combining for 26 RBIs and 24 runs scored. The prospects who led the way this week were two players from the Surprise Saguaros: Zion Rose (Kansas City Royals) and Welbyn Francisca (Cleveland Guardians); From the Mesa Solar Sox: MLB top 100 prospect Arjun Nimmala (Los Angeles Angels); From the Salt River Rafters: Jack O'Dowd (Colorado Rockies); and from the Peoria Javelinas: Matthew Ellis (Seattle Mariners). Zion Rose, LF (Surprise Saguaros) – Kansas City Royals Rose is a 21-year-old outfielder from Chicago, Illinois. Drafted by the Royals in this year’s 2026 MLB draft with the No. 6 overall pick out of Louisville, he started his professional career with ACL Royals. This week, in just his second week with the Arizona Fall League, Rose hit .500/.727/1.000, with a 1.727 OPS. He was 3-for-6, with three hits, including a home run, and walked three times, along with being hit by a pitch twice. He drove in six RBIs, had six runs scored, and had one stolen base through two games. Welbyn Francisca, SS (Surprise Saguaros) – Cleveland Guardians Also from the Saguaros, this week’s second top hitter shares a team with Rose. Francisca showed up and showed out for a second week as he finds himself in the top five of hitters once again this week. The Guardians No. 19 prospect this week hit .692/.688/1.000, with a 1.688 OPS. In three games played, he was 9-for-13 with two doubles and a triple. He walked twice and stole two bases. The 20-year-old had nine RBIs and three runs scored in 16 plate appearances, a great week for the Guardians prospect. Arjun Nimmala (MLB No. 34 prospect), SS (Mesa Solar Sox) – Los Angeles Angels Nimmala is MLB’s No. 34 prospect and the Angels’ No. 3 prospect. At 21 years old, he’s in his first Arizona Fall League. This week, the shortstop appeared in three games, batting .545/.667/1.091, with a 1.768 OPS. He was 6-for-11, with two doubles and two triples. He walked four times, stole one base, drove in three runs, and scored five runs for the Solar Sox. Jack O’Dowd, 1B (Salt River Rafters) – Colorado Rockies O’Dowd, the first baseman from Colorado, was signed by the Rockies to a minor league contract in January. Playing with the Salt River Rafters, O’Dowd played in four games this week. Over the course of the four games he played in, the 25-year-old was 6-for-15, hitting .400/.471/.933, with a 1.404 OPS. He had two doubles and two home runs, driving in four RBIs and five runs scored. Matthew Ellis, C (Peoria Javelinas) – Seattle Mariners Ellis, the catcher from the Seattle Mariners organization, is playing this Fall for the Javelinas. This week he played in three games, going 4-for-11, batting .364/.462/.909, with a 1.371 OPS. He had two home runs, two walks, drove in five RBIs, and scored five runs on the week. MLB Top-100 Prospects Along with Nimmala, who hit in the top five of the week, four other top-100 prospects had strong weeks but were not inside the top five overall. The other four hitters out of the top five for MLB Pipeline’s top-100 prospects were Caleb Bonemer (Chicago White Sox), Ike Irish (Baltimore Orioles), Angeibel Gomez (Kansas City Royals), and Sebastian Walcott (Texas Rangers). Bonemer is MLB’s No. 27 prospect. Playing with the Glendale Desert Dogs, the center fielder this week was 3-for-13, hitting .231/.333/.769, with a 1.103 OPS. He hit one double and two home runs, driving in three RBIs and two runs scored. He walked twice. Irish, MLB’s No. 95 prospect from the Peoria Javelinas, played in four games this week. The fight fielder was 6-for-15, hitting .400/.526/.467, with a .993 OPS. He hit one double, driving in four RBIs and scoring two runs. He was walked three times, showing his plate discipline, and stole a base. Gomez, MLB’s No. 76 prospect, is playing right field for the Saguaros this Fall. This week through three games, he was 3-for-10, batting a combined .300/.462/.500, with a .962 OPS. He hit one triple, was walked twice, drove in one RBI, and scored three runs. Walcott is a player who last week was in the top five hitters overall, but fell out of the top this week. The No. 8 prospect from the Texas Rangers and Saguaros’ DH was just 3-for-13 as he struggled this week. He hit just .231/.313/.538, with a .851 OPS. He hit one double and one home run, driving in six RBIs and four runs scored. He was walked twice and flashed his speed on the base pads with four stolen bases. While he struggled at the plate, it was his speed on the base pads where he saw the most success and found himself being able to score runs. The Arizona Fall League week three is now underway as MLB’s top prospects continue to get in their Fall reps as the ALCS and NLCS come to their conclusion and the World Series comes up next weekend. View full article

Major League Baseball’s top prospects have descended upon the desert of Arizona for the 2026 Arizona Fall League featuring seven top prospects from each of MLB’s 30 teams. Over the course of the offseason, we’ll break down the top performers each week and who shined the most. This week, three players from the Surprise Saguaros, along with players from the Peoria Javelinas and Scottsdale Scorpions, were atop the Fall League’s top hitters based upon OPS with a minimum of 12 plate appearances. There are no game logs like there are during the minor league and MLB seasons, so each player’s weekly performance will be broken down. This week’s top hitters included: • Welbyn Francisca (SS/2B, Surprise) – Akron Rubber Ducks (AA, Cleveland Guardians) • Aidan Miller (Surprise) – Reading Fightin Phils (AA, Philadelphia Phillies) • Vance Honeycutt (Peoria) – Chesapeake Baysox (AA, Baltimore Orioles) • Brendan Summerhill (Scottsdale) – Bowling Green Hot Rods (High-A, Tampa Bay Rays) • Paxton Kling (Surprise) – Hub City Spartanburgers (High-A, Texas Rangers) Surprise Saguaros: Francisca, Miller, and Kling The Saguaros this week took on Scottsdale (two games), Salt River (two games), Glendale, and Peoria, with, as mentioned, Francisca, Miller, and Kling shining in those games to position themselves as top hitters in the league. Francisca, Cleveland’s No. 19 prospect, played in three games this week. The utility shortstop/ second baseman went 7-for-13, hitting .538/.625/.923, with a 1.548 OPS. He hit two doubles and one home run, with three walks. He drove in four RBIs and had six runs scored, along with one stolen base to add to his week. Miller, the shortstop from the Phillies organization, is their No. 3 prospect and MLB’s No. 59 prospect. The 22-year-old played in four games this week, going 6-for-12, hitting .500/.700/.833, with a 1.533 OPS. He hit two doubles and legged out a triple, driving in two RBIs and scoring two runs. Showing discipline at the plate, he was walked seven times in four games and stole one base. Rounding out the top hitters for Surprise this week, Paxton Kling from the Rangers organization hit .500/.533/.714, with a 1.248 OPS in three games. He was 7-for-14, hitting one double, a triple, and driving in eight RBIs and one run scored. He walked once and had two stolen bases. Vance Honeycutt – Peoria Honeycutt is Baltimore’s No. 5 prospect. The outfielder playing with Peoria played in four games this week. He went 3-for-10, hitting .300/.611/.900, with a 1.511 OPS. The 23-year-old hit two home runs, driving in four RBIs, with six runs scored. He was walked eight times in the four games played this week, and had one stolen base as well. Brendan Summerhill – Scottsdale Summerhill was drafted by the Rays in the competitive balance round A of the 2025 MLB draft. He played his first season with Charleston before being promoted to Bowling Green to finish out the 2026 season and then receiving his invite to the Arizona Fall League. Playing with the Scottsdale Scorpions, the 22-year-old outfielder played in three games in the opening week of the Fall League, going 5-for-9, hitting .556/.692/.667, with a 1.359 OPS. He hit one double, driving in one RBI, and he had five runs scored. He was walked three times and stole three bases, showing off his speed on the basepaths. MLB Top-100 Prospects Checking on MLB’s Top-100 prospects, along with Miller, four other Top-100 MLB prospects had strong weeks as well, but were not in the top-five overall. Demetrio Crisantes (Salt River Rafters) - Triple-A Reno, Arizona Diamondbacks Crisantes is a second baseman in the Diamondbacks organization, ranked as their No. 1 prospect overall and MLB’s No. 84 prospect. Playing with the Salt River Rafters, he appeared in five games over the course of the first week of the league. He went 8-for-20, hitting .400/.429/.600, with a 1.029 OPS. He hit two doubles, one triple, and drove in five RBIs and six runs scored. He was walked once and stole three bases. Caleb Bonemer (Glendale Desert Dogs) – AA Birmingham Barons, Chicago White Sox Bonemer is the Chicago White Sox’s No. 11 prospect and ranked No. 27 among all MLB prospects. The utility infielder has the capability to move around on the left side of the infield, playing third base and shortstop. Playing with Glendale this fall, he played in five games to open the fall league. He went 8-for-22, hitting .364/.417/.591, with a 1.008 OPS. He hit three doubles and one home run, driving in six RBIs in five games, with one run scored. He walked twice. Dax Kilby (Salt River) – Single-A Tampa Tarpons (New York Yankees) Kilby is the New York Yankees’ top prospect, ending his 2026 campaign with the Single-A Tampa Tarpons and receiving an invite to join Salt River for the fall. He is ranked as MLB’s No. 78 prospect. In the opening week of games, Kilby played in four games. He went 5-for-16, hitting .313/.316/.688, with a 1.003 OPS. He hit three doubles and a home run, driving in six RBIs as well, and had three runs scored. He walked once in a strong opening week with Salt River. Ike Irish (Peoria) – High-A Frederick Keys (Baltimore Orioles) Irish rounds on the top-five hitters among MLB Top-100 prospects. He is ranked as Baltimore’s No. 5 prospect and just slides in to MLB’s Top-100 at No. 95. In his first week with Peoria, he played in five games, going 7-for-21 on the week. He hit .333/.364/.619, with a .983 OPS. He hit two home runs, driving in three RBIs and scoring three runs. He was walked once and stole two bases. The Arizona Fall League will be underway through mid-November. View full article

Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images This week we shift the top-five MiLB hitters to the top postseason offensive performers for the week, as only 12 games were played between September 22nd – 27th, and those ranged from Triple-A playoff series (IL, PCL, and the Triple-A National Championship), along with the Double-A finals that wrapped up. This week the top-five MiLB postseason performers came from the Triple-A National Champion Oklahoma City Comets (Los Angeles Dodgers), Triple-A Runner-Up Rochester Red Wings (Washington Nationals), and the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals), who were eliminated by Rochester in the championship series. From the Oklahoma City Comets, it was right fielder Zach Ehrhard who led all of the MiLB as the league’s top performer this week, and third baseman Ryan Fitzgerald who was also in the top five performers. From the Memphis Redbirds, catcher Jimmy Crooks and left fielder Zach Levenson were in the middle of the pack. Rochester’s lone top performer in this week’s group was right fielder Leandro Pineda, who led the way for the Red Wings, who ultimately fell short to the Oklahoma City Comets. Zach Ehrhard, RF - Oklahoma City Comets Ehrhard led the way for minor-league hitters this week, going 9-for-17, posting a triple slash of .529/.619/.882, with a 1.501 OPS. In four games played (21 plate appearances) throughout the championship series, he hit three doubles and one home run, driving in five of the Comets’ RBIs and six runs scored. He was walked three times, hit by a pitch once, and stole one base. Ehrhard, the 23-year old Tampa, FL. native, played the entirety of the 2026 season with the Comets. He hit a season total of .291/.400/.472, with a .872 OPS through 138 games. He hit 30 doubles, three triples, and 20 home runs, driving in a season-high 93 RBIs and 120 runs scored. He had a season-BABIP of .222, with 28 stolen bases, flashing his speed. With the Dodgers already heavy in the outfield, Ehrhard could get another spring invite to major league camp, but could likely see himself starting 2027 back in Triple-A. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 138 640 532 120 155 30 3 20 93 28 11 94 129 .291 .400 .472 .872 251 10 7 0 7 0 Last 28 days 16 77 67 16 22 6 1 1 8 3 0 9 15 .328 .416 .493 .908 33 1 1 0 0 0 Last 90 days 64 300 248 62 75 13 2 8 38 19 5 46 60 .302 .417 .468 .884 116 6 4 0 2 0 Home 67 300 248 56 77 13 0 13 44 19 5 48 61 .310 .423 .520 .943 129 4 2 0 2 0 Away 71 340 284 64 78 17 3 7 49 9 6 46 68 .275 .379 .430 .809 122 6 5 0 5 0 vs RHP as RHB 137 466 389 109 19 2 12 59 69 96 .280 .393 .432 .825 168 0 5 0 3 0 vs LHP as RHB 78 174 143 46 11 1 8 34 25 33 .322 .420 .580 1.000 83 0 2 0 4 0 March 2 10 9 2 5 1 0 0 3 1 1 1 3 .556 .600 .667 1.267 6 0 0 0 0 0 April 25 116 101 14 22 5 1 2 18 4 1 8 28 .218 .276 .347 .622 35 1 2 0 5 0 May 22 97 76 16 24 7 0 1 13 2 2 20 13 .316 .464 .447 .911 34 1 1 0 0 0 June 25 117 98 26 29 4 0 9 21 2 2 19 25 .296 .410 .612 1.023 60 2 0 0 0 0 July 20 93 74 20 25 4 0 3 14 6 2 16 17 .338 .462 .514 .976 38 3 2 0 1 0 August 27 125 102 25 27 3 1 4 15 10 3 21 25 .265 .392 .431 .823 44 2 1 0 1 0 September 17 82 72 17 23 6 1 1 9 3 0 9 18 .319 .402 .472 .875 34 1 1 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 74 103 84 23 6 2 4 30 17 18 .274 .408 .536 .943 45 0 2 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 20 31 26 12 5 0 2 7 3 3 .462 .516 .885 1.401 23 0 1 0 1 0 vs. Older Pitchers 138 609 506 143 25 3 18 86 91 126 .283 .394 .451 .845 228 0 6 0 6 0 Ryan Fitzgerald, 3B - Oklahoma City Comets Fitzgerald went 5-for-20 this week, hitting just .250/.250/.500, with a .750 OPS through four games (20 plate appearances). He had two doubles and a home run, driving in six RBIs and scoring one run. Fitzgerald, the 32-year-old from Hinsdale, IL, was outrighted to Triple-A earlier this year and spent all of the season with Oklahoma City. He hit well this year, batting a combined .315/.375/.485, with a .860 OPS. He hit 35 doubles, five triples, and 16 home runs, driving in 102 RBIs (season high) and 93 runs scored. His season BABIP was .328. Fitzgerald also had 14 stolen bases. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 137 613 546 93 172 35 5 16 102 14 3 46 101 .315 .375 .485 .861 265 16 11 2 7 2 Last 28 days 16 73 64 11 20 6 0 3 17 4 0 6 8 .313 .370 .547 .917 35 1 1 0 2 1 Last 90 days 59 255 228 40 73 16 1 9 47 8 1 14 44 .320 .362 .518 .880 118 6 5 1 7 2 Home 69 296 264 45 81 20 2 10 56 4 2 25 43 .307 .371 .511 .882 135 9 3 1 2 1 Away 68 317 282 48 91 15 3 6 46 10 1 21 58 .323 .380 .461 .841 130 7 8 1 5 1 vs RHP as LHB 136 444 393 124 30 3 12 74 37 70 .316 .379 .499 .877 196 0 6 2 5 2 vs LHP as LHB 85 169 153 48 5 2 4 28 9 31 .314 .367 .451 .818 69 0 5 0 2 0 March 4 20 19 3 9 1 1 1 12 0 1 1 3 .474 .500 .789 1.289 15 0 0 0 0 0 April 26 125 113 18 35 7 2 1 14 2 0 9 14 .310 .366 .434 .799 49 5 1 1 0 0 May 23 106 93 19 27 6 0 4 16 1 1 11 23 .290 .377 .484 .861 45 3 2 0 0 0 June 24 103 89 13 27 5 1 1 12 3 0 11 16 .303 .398 .416 .814 37 2 3 0 0 0 July 21 89 82 14 28 3 0 3 12 3 1 3 15 .341 .364 .488 .851 40 4 1 1 2 0 August 22 92 81 13 24 6 1 2 16 1 0 5 21 .296 .348 .469 .817 38 1 3 0 3 1 September 17 78 69 13 22 7 0 4 20 4 0 6 9 .319 .372 .594 .966 41 1 1 0 2 1 2 outs, RISP 92 142 127 37 9 1 2 32 9 32 .291 .366 .425 .791 54 0 6 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 137 551 489 156 31 5 13 84 44 91 .319 .383 .483 .865 236 0 10 1 6 1 vs. Older Pitchers 36 62 57 16 4 0 3 18 2 10 .281 .311 .509 .820 29 0 1 1 1 1 Jimmy Crooks, C - Memphis Redbirds Crooks was the Redbirds’ lead performer this week despite Memphis’ early exit from the playoffs. He was 5-for-10, with two home runs and three singles. Overall, he hit .500/.615/1.100, with a 1.715 OPS, which led the MiLB in OPS this week. He drove in seven RBIs and scored three runs. He was walked twice in the Championship series, hit by one pitch, and stole one base. Crooks, over the course of the season, bounced around between Triple-A Memphis and the Major League St. Louis Cardinals, including being recalled upon the conclusion of the Redbirds’ postseason. During his time in Triple-A (52 total games) this year, he batted .300/.432/.574, with a 1.006 OPS. He hit seven doubles and 15 home runs, driving in 38 RBIs and 46 runs scored. Crooks has a BABIP of .385 and 22 extra-base hits this year. Crooks has played in 52 major league games this year, batting just .179/.255/.366, with a .591 OPS. He has six doubles and five home runs in the big leagues this year, with nine walks. It’s likely Crooks will find himself moving around once again in 2027 as well, with a likely spring invite to Palm Beach. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 104 385 324 56 81 13 0 20 52 2 0 48 115 .250 .364 .475 .839 154 3 11 0 2 2 Last 28 days 12 55 45 10 19 3 0 1 8 1 0 9 13 .422 .509 .556 1.065 25 1 0 0 1 0 Last 90 days 46 149 130 19 36 7 0 6 16 1 0 13 45 .277 .356 .469 .825 61 2 4 0 2 0 Home 55 191 161 27 38 8 0 11 25 1 0 23 59 .236 .351 .491 .841 79 2 6 0 1 2 Away 49 194 163 29 43 5 0 9 27 1 0 25 56 .264 .376 .460 .836 75 1 5 0 1 0 vs RHP as LHB 99 308 260 68 10 0 16 46 41 86 .262 .370 .485 .855 126 0 5 0 2 2 vs LHP as LHB 47 77 64 13 3 0 4 6 7 29 .203 .338 .438 .775 28 0 6 0 0 0 March 3 13 11 4 4 0 0 2 4 0 0 2 4 .364 .462 .909 1.371 10 0 0 0 0 0 April 20 87 71 14 17 1 0 6 13 1 0 13 30 .239 .379 .507 .886 36 0 3 0 0 1 May 17 80 62 17 16 3 0 5 12 0 0 15 19 .258 .425 .548 .973 34 0 3 0 0 1 June 17 54 48 2 8 2 0 1 7 0 0 5 16 .167 .259 .271 .530 13 1 1 0 0 0 July 17 38 34 2 6 1 0 2 2 0 0 2 13 .176 .263 .382 .646 13 0 2 0 0 0 August 17 54 49 6 10 3 0 2 5 0 0 2 18 .204 .259 .388 .647 19 1 2 0 1 0 September 13 59 49 11 20 3 0 2 9 1 0 9 15 .408 .492 .592 1.083 29 1 0 0 1 0 2 outs, RISP 52 64 55 11 1 0 4 18 9 19 .200 .313 .436 .749 24 0 0 0 0 1 vs. Younger Pitchers 34 76 62 18 3 0 5 14 13 28 .290 .421 .581 1.002 36 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 100 309 262 63 10 0 15 38 35 87 .240 .350 .450 .800 118 0 10 0 2 2 Zach Levenson, LF - Memphis Redbirds Levenson also contributed to the Redbirds’ offense against Rochester in the Championship series. He was 4-for-12, with two home runs as well, and two singles. He hit an overall .333/.385/.917, with a 1.301 OPS. He was walked once in the series. He drove in three RBIs, and four runs scored. Levonson, 24-year old Orlando, FL. native split the 2026 season between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis. In 15 games with Memphis, he was hitting .311/.373/.607, with a .980 OPS, a strong start to his Triple-A career. He hit three doubles, and five home runs in those 15 games, driving in 19 RBIs, and 12 runs scored. His BABIP was .368, with eight extra-base hits in 15 games. It was a good start for Levenson in Triple-A, and it’s likely the Florida native will get the invite to head to Palm Beach for spring training and then start his 2027 campaign once again with Memphis. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 101 410 352 51 83 18 0 16 60 3 2 49 106 .236 .337 .423 .761 149 12 6 0 2 0 Last 28 days 13 61 55 11 17 3 0 4 18 0 0 5 17 .309 .377 .582 .959 32 1 1 0 0 0 Last 90 days 42 175 155 25 45 11 0 10 34 2 1 16 50 .290 .362 .555 .917 86 4 2 0 1 0 Home 48 189 159 21 36 10 0 8 30 1 1 27 49 .226 .349 .440 .789 70 6 3 0 0 0 Away 53 221 193 30 47 8 0 8 30 2 1 22 57 .244 .327 .409 .737 79 6 3 0 2 0 vs RHP as RHB 96 314 268 65 14 0 12 44 38 75 .243 .345 .429 .774 115 0 5 0 2 0 vs LHP as RHB 46 96 84 18 4 0 4 16 11 31 .214 .313 .405 .717 34 0 1 0 0 0 April 21 87 74 4 11 4 0 0 4 0 0 13 22 .149 .276 .203 .479 15 3 0 0 0 0 May 24 87 69 13 14 1 0 2 13 0 1 16 23 .203 .368 .304 .672 21 3 2 0 0 0 June 14 61 54 9 13 2 0 4 9 1 0 4 11 .241 .311 .500 .811 27 2 2 0 1 0 July 12 49 41 9 15 6 0 3 7 1 1 8 18 .366 .469 .732 1.201 30 2 0 0 0 0 August 16 61 55 4 11 2 0 2 8 1 0 3 15 .200 .250 .345 .595 19 1 1 0 1 0 September 14 65 59 12 19 3 0 5 19 0 0 5 17 .322 .385 .627 1.012 37 1 1 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 58 78 68 16 3 0 1 13 10 20 .235 .333 .324 .657 22 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 63 120 95 16 5 0 1 10 25 32 .168 .342 .253 .594 24 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 98 290 257 67 13 0 15 50 24 74 .261 .336 .486 .822 125 0 6 0 2 0 Leandro Pineda, RF - Rochester Red Wings Pineda was the Triple-A runner-up’s only top performer in this week’s group. The right fielder was 8-for-17, hitting .471/.471/.647, with a 1.118 OPS. He hit three doubles, driving in three RBIs, and two runs scored. Pineda, the 24-year old from Venezuela also split his 2026 campaign between Double-A and Triple-A. He played 66 games in Double-A in 2026 and 45 games in Triple-A. Over the course of those 45 Triple-A games, he hit an impressive .329/.440/.658, with a 1.098 OPS. He hit 10 doubles, two triples, and knocked out 12 home runs. He drove in 30 RBIs and had 36 runs scored this year, with 25 walks. He has good discipline at the plate and power to drive the ball when he makes contact. Pineda’s Triple-A BABIP was .362, and he had 24 extra base hits. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 111 454 388 68 106 22 6 15 53 4 5 53 84 .273 .372 .477 .849 185 11 10 0 3 0 Last 28 days 16 67 58 10 20 6 0 4 11 0 1 7 11 .345 .433 .655 1.088 38 1 2 0 0 0 Last 90 days 47 191 159 37 51 10 2 13 31 0 2 25 36 .321 .429 .654 1.083 104 3 6 0 1 0 Home 52 203 169 29 48 9 5 4 22 3 2 27 34 .284 .399 .467 .866 79 5 6 0 1 0 Away 59 251 219 39 58 13 1 11 31 1 3 26 50 .265 .351 .484 .835 106 6 4 0 2 0 vs RHP as LHB 108 353 300 84 18 4 15 46 40 63 .280 .380 .517 .896 155 0 10 0 3 0 vs LHP as LHB 55 101 88 22 4 2 0 7 13 21 .250 .347 .341 .687 30 0 0 0 0 0 April 20 85 76 11 17 2 2 2 5 3 1 6 15 .224 .306 .382 .687 29 3 3 0 0 0 May 25 105 89 11 24 7 0 0 10 0 2 14 16 .270 .362 .348 .710 31 2 0 0 2 0 June 18 69 61 9 13 3 2 0 6 1 0 7 16 .213 .304 .328 .632 20 3 1 0 0 0 July 6 21 18 4 5 0 1 1 2 0 0 3 2 .278 .381 .556 .937 10 1 0 0 0 0 August 25 103 82 23 26 4 1 8 19 0 1 16 22 .317 .447 .683 1.130 56 1 4 0 1 0 September 17 71 62 10 21 6 0 4 11 0 1 7 13 .339 .423 .629 1.052 39 1 2 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 63 90 78 19 4 2 4 22 11 16 .244 .344 .500 .844 39 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 47 80 73 24 4 2 2 12 7 10 .329 .388 .521 .908 38 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 111 374 315 82 18 4 13 41 46 74 .260 .369 .467 .836 147 0 10 0 3 0 MLB Pipeline Top 100 Only 10 MLB Pipeline players were in action this week. Of those, Seaver King (SS, Rochester Red Wings – Triple-A, Washington Nationals), Jesus Made (SS, Biloxi Shuckers, Double-A, Milwaukee Brewers), Josue De Paula (LF, Oklahoma City Comets), Mike Sirota (DH, Oklahoma City Comets), and Rainiel Rodriguez (1B, Springfield Cardinals, Doube-A St. Louis Cardinals) led the way for top prospects, but none had performed well enough to crack into the top five hitters of the week, with most hitting well below .500 this week as postseason play concluded. That wraps up this year’s coverage of minor league hitters of the week. The 2027 minor league season begins officially in March. View full article

Image courtesy of Jonathan Tenca/Cal Sport Media/Sipa USA As the minor league season winds down, Triple-A was the only league still in regular-season play from September 15th–20th, so the top five MiLB players of the week this week come from that pool of players, as all other leagues had begun or were concluding playoff or championship series. With OPSes all 1.300 or above, this week’s Triple-A hitters were Alek Thomas, center fielder from the Oklahoma City Comets (Los Angeles Dodgers); Allan Castro, center fielder from the Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox); Jimmy Crooks, a catcher from the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals); Arol Vera, a second baseman from the Salt Lake Bees (Los Angeles Angels); and second baseman Brett Wisely from the Gwinnett Stripers (Atlanta Braves). Alek Thomas, CF – Oklahoma City Comets (Los Angeles Dodgers) This week, Thomas and the Comets took on the El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego Padres) in a six-game series, winning four of six. Thomas played in five of the six matchups, going 9-for-17, hitting .529/.636/.882, with a 1.519 OPS. He hit two doubles and two triples on the week, driving in four RBIs and six runs scored. He stole two bases this week. He was 3-for-3 on September 17, with a triple, two singles, two RBIs, and three runs scored. After spending the majority of the 2025 season on the bereavement list while still with Arizona, the Diamondbacks designated Thomas for assignment, and he was traded to the Dodgers in May. He started the season with the ACL Dodgers to get a few professional games back under his belt after not seeing much playing time after July 2025, but in June was quickly promoted up to Triple-A after earning his way back up. During the course of his season in Triple-A, Thomas has hit .305/.378/.537, with a .915 OPS. He has 20 doubles, five triples (including two this week), and 11 home runs. He has driven in 51 RBIs and 46 runs scored, walking 31 times and stealing eight bases. His BABIP is .324, with 36 extra-base hits. While it’s likely he’ll at least start the 2027 season in Triple-A, he could find himself earning some playing time back up in the big leagues next season. The 26-year-old from Chicago, IL made his MLB debut in 2022 and has struggled to earn his way back to the big leagues. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 106 442 397 61 105 30 5 13 64 12 1 36 75 .264 .330 .463 .794 184 17 3 6 0 0 Last 7 days 4 19 14 5 9 2 2 0 4 1 0 4 1 .643 .722 1.071 1.794 15 0 0 1 0 0 Last 28 days 17 69 58 14 18 4 2 4 11 4 0 8 10 .310 .403 .655 1.058 38 3 1 2 0 0 Last 90 days 60 264 235 39 72 20 5 9 46 8 1 23 38 .306 .371 .549 .920 129 10 1 5 0 0 Home 53 215 192 35 54 18 1 9 32 7 1 19 32 .281 .349 .526 .875 101 11 1 3 0 0 Away 53 227 205 26 51 12 4 4 32 5 0 17 43 .249 .313 .405 .717 83 6 2 3 0 0 vs RHP as LHB 103 328 296 68 19 4 10 44 26 57 .230 .296 .422 .719 125 0 2 4 0 0 vs LHP as LHB 55 114 101 37 11 1 3 20 10 18 .366 .429 .584 1.013 59 0 1 2 0 0 March 5 20 19 2 3 3 0 0 4 2 0 1 6 .158 .200 .316 .516 6 0 0 0 0 0 April 19 70 66 8 13 5 0 2 6 2 0 2 13 .197 .232 .364 .596 24 1 1 1 0 0 May 6 18 16 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 .125 .222 .188 .410 3 2 1 0 0 0 June 20 89 76 11 20 3 0 2 11 0 0 13 14 .263 .371 .382 .752 29 5 0 0 0 0 July 20 89 86 14 24 9 1 4 15 3 0 2 12 .279 .295 .547 .842 47 4 0 1 0 0 August 23 96 85 9 26 6 2 1 17 1 1 9 15 .306 .372 .459 .831 39 4 0 2 0 0 September 13 60 49 13 17 3 2 4 11 4 0 8 9 .347 .448 .735 1.183 36 1 1 2 0 0 2 outs, RISP 60 87 79 22 5 2 4 24 8 17 .278 .345 .544 .889 43 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 66 171 159 47 11 2 3 27 11 30 .296 .341 .447 .788 71 0 0 1 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 94 271 238 58 19 3 10 37 25 45 .244 .323 .475 .798 113 0 3 5 0 0 Allan Castro, CF – Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox) Castro is a name we’ve seen crack the top five a couple times this season. The 23-year-old has been in the Boston Red Sox organization since 2019 and has bounced around the farm system, with 2026 being his first taste of Triple-A play. Worcester concluded their 2026 season against the Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays). They took three of five from the Bulls to end their season. Castro this week was 8-for-19, hitting .421/.455/1.053, with a 1.507 OPS. He had three doubles and three home runs, driving in 12 RBIs and four runs scored. September 18 was the big game for the 23-year-old prospect. He was 3-for-4 on the day, with two doubles, a home run, and seven RBIs, and two runs scored. It was a strong performance for Castro that helped lead Worcester to a big win over Durham. In his first season in Triple-A, Castro hit a total of .252/.325/.397, with a .722 OPS. He had 18 doubles, one triple, hit 15 home runs, drove in 77 RBIs, and scored 64 runs. He was walked 51 times and stole 20 bases this year. His BABIP was .302, and he hit 18 extra-base hits. With this being his first season in Triple-A, it is likely he’ll start the 2027 season in Triple-A, and if he continues to show signs of improvement, the offensive-struggling Red Sox could call him up to make his MLB debut next year. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 119 505 448 64 113 18 1 15 77 20 6 51 92 .252 .325 .397 .722 178 10 0 0 6 1 Last 7 days 4 17 15 4 6 3 0 3 11 0 0 1 0 .400 .412 1.200 1.612 18 1 0 0 1 0 Last 28 days 18 82 70 11 20 3 0 6 20 1 1 10 13 .286 .366 .586 .952 41 2 0 0 2 0 Last 90 days 57 246 215 36 60 12 0 9 44 6 4 27 36 .279 .354 .460 .814 99 8 0 0 4 1 Home 58 245 216 35 55 11 0 7 41 11 4 26 50 .255 .331 .403 .733 87 5 0 0 3 1 Away 61 260 232 29 58 7 1 8 36 9 2 25 42 .250 .319 .392 .711 91 5 0 0 3 0 vs RHP as LHB 114 410 359 91 17 1 11 58 47 72 .253 .337 .398 .735 143 0 0 0 4 0 vs LHP as RHB 51 95 89 22 1 0 4 19 4 20 .247 .274 .393 .667 35 0 0 0 2 1 March 3 15 13 2 1 0 0 1 4 0 0 2 6 .077 .200 .308 .508 4 0 0 0 0 0 April 21 87 79 9 16 0 0 2 11 6 0 7 27 .203 .264 .278 .543 22 1 0 0 1 0 May 20 87 75 9 17 2 1 2 9 3 1 11 13 .227 .322 .360 .682 27 1 0 0 1 0 June 22 89 82 11 25 4 0 3 14 5 2 7 13 .305 .360 .463 .823 38 0 0 0 0 0 July 19 78 70 14 18 4 0 1 9 3 2 8 12 .257 .333 .357 .690 25 4 0 0 0 1 August 19 79 69 8 18 5 0 0 11 2 1 8 13 .261 .329 .333 .662 23 2 0 0 2 0 September 15 70 60 11 18 3 0 6 19 1 0 8 8 .300 .371 .650 1.021 39 2 0 0 2 0 2 outs, RISP 76 114 104 20 2 0 2 20 10 23 .192 .263 .269 .532 28 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 8 15 14 2 0 0 0 0 1 5 .143 .200 .143 .343 2 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 119 490 434 111 18 1 15 77 50 87 .256 .329 .406 .734 176 0 0 0 6 1 Jimmy Crooks, C – Memphis Red Birds (St. Louis Cardinals) Crooks and the Red Birds concluded their regular season with a six-game series against the Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee Brewers). They took four of six from the Sounds. Crooks played in four of the six matchups this week, going 10-for-14, hitting .714/.737/.714, with a 1.451 OPS in a great week at the plate for him. All 10 of his hits were singles, and the RBIs came on September 17 (one), September 18 (two), and September 19 (three). He was walked four times and stole two bases. Over the course of his second season in Triple-A, he hit a regular-season line of .300/.432/.574, with a 1.006 season OPS. He hit seven doubles and 15 home runs, driving in 38 RBIs and 46 runs scored. He was walked 39 times and stole two bases. Crooks made his MLB debut in 2025 and spent three months in the big leagues this year as well. It is likely that next season he could bounce around between Triple-A and the big leagues as well, unless he proves during spring training that he is ready for a full assignment back in St. Louis next year. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 104 385 324 56 81 13 0 20 52 2 0 48 115 .250 .364 .475 .839 154 3 11 0 2 2 Last 7 days 4 19 14 4 10 0 0 0 6 1 0 4 2 .714 .737 .714 1.451 10 0 0 0 1 0 Last 28 days 16 67 56 12 22 4 0 3 11 1 0 9 17 .393 .478 .625 1.103 35 1 1 0 1 0 Last 90 days 48 155 136 19 36 7 0 6 16 1 0 13 49 .265 .342 .449 .790 61 2 4 0 2 0 Home 55 191 161 27 38 8 0 11 25 1 0 23 59 .236 .351 .491 .841 79 2 6 0 1 2 Away 49 194 163 29 43 5 0 9 27 1 0 25 56 .264 .376 .460 .836 75 1 5 0 1 0 vs RHP as LHB 99 308 260 68 10 0 16 46 41 86 .262 .370 .485 .855 126 0 5 0 2 2 vs LHP as LHB 47 77 64 13 3 0 4 6 7 29 .203 .338 .438 .775 28 0 6 0 0 0 March 3 13 11 4 4 0 0 2 4 0 0 2 4 .364 .462 .909 1.371 10 0 0 0 0 0 April 20 87 71 14 17 1 0 6 13 1 0 13 30 .239 .379 .507 .886 36 0 3 0 0 1 May 17 80 62 17 16 3 0 5 12 0 0 15 19 .258 .425 .548 .973 34 0 3 0 0 1 June 17 54 48 2 8 2 0 1 7 0 0 5 16 .167 .259 .271 .530 13 1 1 0 0 0 July 17 38 34 2 6 1 0 2 2 0 0 2 13 .176 .263 .382 .646 13 0 2 0 0 0 August 17 54 49 6 10 3 0 2 5 0 0 2 18 .204 .259 .388 .647 19 1 2 0 1 0 September 13 59 49 11 20 3 0 2 9 1 0 9 15 .408 .492 .592 1.083 29 1 0 0 1 0 2 outs, RISP 52 64 55 11 1 0 4 18 9 19 .200 .313 .436 .749 24 0 0 0 0 1 vs. Younger Pitchers 34 76 62 18 3 0 5 14 13 28 .290 .421 .581 1.002 36 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 100 309 262 63 10 0 15 38 35 87 .240 .350 .450 .800 118 0 10 0 2 2 Arol Vera, 2B – Salt Lake Bees (Los Angeles Angels) Vera and the Bees this week took four of six from the Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado Rockies) to close out their season. Vera played in all six games this week, going 10-for-18, hitting .556/.600/.778, with a 1.738 OPS. He had four doubles and six singles, with six runs scored. He was walked twice. On September 19, he was 3-for-4, with two doubles and a run scored. Vera played four games in Double-A before being promoted to Triple-A and spending the remainder of his season there. Over the course of the season in Triple-A (44 games), he hit .211/.281/.278, with a .559 OPS. He hit seven doubles and one triple, with three home runs and 19 runs scored. It is likely that Vera will find himself starting once again in Double-A next year or possibly starting in Triple-A to begin 2027. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 48 160 142 22 30 8 1 0 4 2 1 15 42 .211 .296 .282 .577 40 6 2 1 0 0 Last 7 days 5 20 18 6 10 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 .556 .600 .778 1.378 14 1 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 17 47 42 9 12 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 13 .286 .362 .381 .743 16 2 0 0 0 0 Last 90 days 28 89 78 14 21 7 0 0 1 0 1 9 20 .269 .352 .359 .711 28 3 1 1 0 0 Home 20 66 57 5 10 1 1 0 1 1 1 7 19 .175 .277 .228 .505 13 2 1 1 0 0 Away 28 94 85 17 20 7 0 0 3 1 0 8 23 .235 .309 .318 .626 27 4 1 0 0 0 vs RHP as LHB 42 112 99 19 6 1 0 4 10 33 .192 .279 .273 .552 27 0 2 1 0 0 vs LHP as RHB 28 48 43 11 2 0 0 0 5 9 .256 .333 .302 .636 13 0 0 0 0 0 April 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 .000 .500 .000 .500 0 0 0 0 0 0 May 8 31 28 6 5 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 9 .179 .258 .286 .544 8 1 0 0 0 0 June 13 46 43 3 5 1 0 0 2 1 0 2 15 .116 .174 .140 .313 6 3 1 0 0 0 July 6 24 20 2 6 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 .300 .391 .350 .741 7 0 1 1 0 0 August 5 14 12 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 .250 .357 .333 .690 4 0 0 0 0 0 September 15 43 38 8 11 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 11 .289 .372 .395 .767 15 2 0 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 26 30 27 2 0 0 0 0 3 9 .074 .167 .074 .241 2 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 7 12 10 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 .100 .250 .100 .350 1 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 45 148 132 29 8 1 0 3 14 39 .220 .299 .295 .595 39 0 1 1 0 0 Brett Wisely, 2B – Gwinnett Stripers (Atlanta Braves) Wisely, the 27-year-old second baseman from Jacksonville, FL, is in his second stint with the Braves organization; since 2019, he has spent time with multiple teams, including the Braves. He was traded back to the organization from Tampa Bay in April. This week, Wisely and the Stripers took on the Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates) to round out their year. They lost four of six to the Indians. Wisely appeared in all six games, going 9-for-19, hitting .474/.524/.842, with a 1.366 OPS. He hit four doubles and one home run, driving in four RBIs and five runs scored. He walked once and stole three bases. Over the course of the year, Wisely has batted a total of .281/.399/.436, with a .835 OPS. He has hit 29 doubles, two triples, and 11 home runs, driving in 65 RBIs and 75 runs scored. He has 77 walks and 75 runs scored on the season. Having already made his MLB debut in 2023, he could either start his year in the big leagues next year, or dabble once again between the big leagues and Triple-A depending on service time and options left in his contract. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 125 517 424 75 119 29 2 11 65 29 5 77 104 .281 .399 .436 .835 185 3 9 3 4 2 Last 7 days 5 16 14 4 6 3 0 1 4 3 0 1 2 .429 .500 .857 1.357 12 0 1 0 0 0 Last 28 days 18 70 58 15 18 7 0 3 9 8 1 9 13 .310 .420 .586 1.006 34 1 2 1 0 1 Last 90 days 62 252 202 38 51 9 0 7 25 17 3 41 46 .252 .390 .401 .791 81 2 5 3 1 1 Home 65 266 220 33 65 16 1 3 26 13 1 36 48 .295 .404 .418 .822 92 2 6 1 3 2 Away 60 251 204 42 54 13 1 8 39 16 4 41 56 .265 .394 .456 .849 93 1 3 2 1 0 vs RHP as LHB 120 391 317 90 19 2 10 46 65 74 .284 .411 .451 .862 143 0 5 2 2 2 vs LHP as LHB 66 126 107 29 10 0 1 19 12 30 .271 .360 .393 .753 42 0 4 1 2 0 April 20 79 74 7 22 8 0 2 12 4 1 4 20 .297 .329 .486 .816 36 0 0 0 1 0 May 24 102 84 13 26 7 1 0 19 1 1 13 19 .310 .412 .417 .828 35 0 3 0 2 0 June 24 105 81 20 24 5 1 2 11 8 2 22 22 .296 .448 .457 .904 37 2 1 0 1 1 July 20 85 65 10 13 1 0 3 5 2 0 16 18 .200 .381 .354 .735 23 0 3 1 0 0 August 22 91 72 18 20 2 0 3 13 10 0 18 14 .278 .422 .431 .853 31 0 0 1 0 0 September 15 55 48 7 14 6 0 1 5 4 1 4 11 .292 .370 .479 .850 23 1 2 1 0 1 2 outs, RISP 74 103 96 26 8 0 2 27 6 21 .271 .320 .417 .737 40 0 1 0 0 1 vs. Younger Pitchers 116 306 255 65 16 1 5 33 40 71 .255 .366 .384 .751 98 0 6 3 2 2 vs. Older Pitchers 104 211 169 54 13 1 6 32 37 33 .320 .445 .515 .960 87 0 3 0 2 0 MLB Pipeline Top-100 Prospects MLB’s top-100 prospects didn’t have great showings this week; however, some still put up decent performances. Leading the way for the top prospects across the minor leagues were: second baseman Demetrio Crisantes, No. 72 from the Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks); shortstop Jefferson Rojas, No. 73 from the Syracuse Mets (New York Mets); first baseman Charlie Condon from the Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado Rockies); first baseman Ralphy Velazquez, No. 29 from the Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Guardians); and shortstop Franklin Arias, No. 3 from the Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox). Crisantes (MLB Pipeline No. 72) this week hit .333/.440/.619, with a 1.059 OPS. In six games (25 plate appearances). He hit one home run and drove in one RBI, with two runs scored. Rojas (MLB Pipeline No. 73) appeared in six games (29 plate appearances) this last week. He hit .308/.345/.692, with a 1.037 OPS and three home runs. He drove in seven RBIs and eight runs scored. Rojas, known in part for his speed, also had one stolen base. Condon (MLB Pipeline No. 55) hit .250/.423/.550, with a .973 OPS through six games (26 plate appearances). He hit two home runs and drove in six RBIs, with three runs scored. Velazquez (MLB Pipeline No. 29) played in four games for Columbus this week, with 17 plate appearances. He hit .312/.353/.562, with a .915 OPS on the week. He drove in three RBIs and scored three runs. Rounding out this week’s MiLB hitters of the week was Arias, MLB’s No. 3 prospect from the Worcester Red Sox. He played in five games this week, coming to the plate 22 times. He hit a combined .316/.364/.474 this week, with a .837 OPS. He hit one home run, drove in seven RBIs, and had three runs scored, along with a stolen base. That concludes this year’s regular-season hitters of the week, as all leagues are now in playoff play as the 2026 season winds down for the minor leagues and, within the next few weeks, the major leagues as well. View full article

It was a Double-A sweep for players of the week this week, as all five of the top-five MiLB hitters of the week came from Double-A. This was also a week in which two positions were represented: catcher and first base. The catchers who were represented in this week’s top-five hitters of the week were: Ronald Rosario of the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox), Luke Shliger of the Erie SeaWolves (Detroit Tigers), and Rainiel Rodriguez of the Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals). The two first basemen represented this week included: Ruben Ibarra of the Chattanooga Lookouts (Cincinnati Reds) and Jack Gurevitch of the Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals). Ronald Rosario, C – Portland Sea Dogs (AA, Boston Red Sox) Rosario and the Sea Dogs wrapped up their regular season last week with what ended up being a five-game series against the Mets’ Double-A affiliate, Binghamton Rumble Ponies. They took four of the five games, with the sixth game being canceled due to weather. Rosario this week was 5-for-12, hitting .417/.533/1.250, with a 1.783 OPS. He hit one double and three home runs, driving in six RBIs and scoring six runs. He was walked twice and had one stolen base. Over the course of the season, the 23-year-old from Palo Negro, Venezuela hit .267/.323/.497, with a .820 OPS. He hit 16 doubles, one triple, and 16 home runs, with 49 RBIs and 44 runs scored. He had a BABIP of .500 with two extra-base hits. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 78 314 288 44 77 16 1 16 49 3 1 22 69 .267 .323 .497 .819 143 8 2 1 1 0 Last 7 days 4 15 12 6 5 1 0 3 6 1 0 2 2 .417 .533 1.250 1.783 15 0 1 0 0 0 Last 28 days 16 63 57 12 14 5 0 5 12 1 0 5 11 .246 .317 .596 .914 34 1 1 0 0 0 Last 90 days 44 180 164 28 45 11 1 13 36 2 0 13 35 .274 .335 .591 .927 97 5 2 1 0 0 Home 36 140 128 24 39 10 1 8 27 1 0 9 33 .305 .353 .586 .938 75 1 1 1 1 0 Away 42 174 160 20 38 6 0 8 22 2 1 13 36 .238 .299 .425 .724 68 7 1 0 0 0 vs RHP as RHB 75 255 234 64 11 1 14 42 17 55 .274 .327 .509 .835 119 0 2 1 1 0 vs LHP as RHB 33 59 54 13 5 0 2 7 5 14 .241 .305 .444 .750 24 0 0 0 0 0 April 14 58 55 8 15 3 0 1 8 0 0 3 12 .273 .310 .382 .692 21 1 0 0 0 0 May 13 45 42 4 11 1 0 1 3 1 1 3 13 .262 .311 .357 .668 15 1 0 0 0 0 June 10 45 39 6 8 1 1 1 4 0 0 4 13 .205 .289 .359 .648 14 1 1 0 1 0 July 17 69 65 9 20 5 0 7 19 1 0 3 14 .308 .338 .708 1.046 46 2 0 1 0 0 August 16 65 59 8 14 4 0 2 7 0 0 6 10 .237 .308 .407 .714 24 3 0 0 0 0 September 8 32 28 9 9 2 0 4 8 1 0 3 7 .321 .406 .821 1.228 23 0 1 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 48 72 63 14 0 1 3 17 9 21 .222 .319 .397 .716 25 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 30 47 41 15 6 0 3 6 4 4 .366 .447 .732 1.179 30 0 2 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 75 267 247 62 10 1 13 43 18 65 .251 .301 .457 .758 113 0 0 1 1 Luke Shliger, C – Erie SeaWolves (AA, Detroit Tigers) Shliger was drafted just three years ago in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB draft to the San Francisco Giants (Pick No. 180 overall). The Tigers signed Shliger as a free agent in May after being released by the Eugene Emeralds, and he’s shown signs of success during his first few months with the Tigers’ organization. This week the SeaWolves took on the Reading Fighting Phils (Philadelphia Phillies) in the final series of the regular season. They took two of six from the Fighting Phils, but still advance to the division series this week. This last week in their series against the Fighting Phils, Shliger, the 24-year-old from the Bronx, New York, was 5-for-13, hitting .385/.529/1.154, with a 1.683 OPS. He was 3-for-4 in game one of the series, hitting two home runs in that game. Over the course of the four games he played in, he had one double and three home runs, driving in four RBIs and scoring six runs. Shliger split this season between High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A. His combined stats from throughout all three levels and two teams were a .290/.405/.495, with a .900 OPS. He had 11 doubles, one triple, and 10 home runs, driving in an accumulated 40 RBIs and 40 runs scored. He was walked 37 times and stole eight bases. He had a BABIP of .338, with 22 total extra base hits. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 64 257 210 40 61 11 1 10 40 8 4 37 53 .290 .405 .495 .900 104 1 6 0 4 0 Last 7 days 4 17 13 6 5 1 0 3 4 1 0 4 3 .385 .529 1.154 1.683 15 0 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 15 62 54 13 20 6 0 5 16 3 0 6 12 .370 .419 .759 1.179 41 0 0 0 2 0 Last 90 days 43 176 137 27 42 9 1 7 26 5 1 32 33 .307 .438 .540 .978 74 0 3 0 4 0 Home 32 117 98 18 32 9 0 2 20 3 3 16 21 .327 .419 .480 .898 47 0 1 0 2 0 Away 32 140 112 22 29 2 1 8 20 5 1 21 32 .259 .393 .509 .902 57 1 5 0 2 0 vs RHP as LHB 64 192 154 46 9 1 10 34 32 42 .299 .427 .565 .992 87 0 4 0 2 0 vs LHP as LHB 36 65 56 15 2 0 0 6 5 11 .268 .338 .304 .642 17 0 2 0 2 0 April 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 May 12 47 42 7 12 1 0 1 8 3 1 2 11 .286 .362 .381 .743 16 1 3 0 0 0 June 15 63 55 10 12 2 0 2 9 1 2 7 14 .218 .302 .364 .665 20 0 0 0 1 0 July 14 53 37 4 8 1 0 0 3 1 0 15 9 .216 .453 .243 .696 9 0 1 0 0 0 August 14 57 46 11 17 3 1 4 10 1 1 8 12 .370 .474 .739 1.213 34 0 2 0 1 0 September 8 34 27 8 12 4 0 3 10 2 0 5 6 .444 .500 .926 1.426 25 0 0 0 2 0 2 outs, RISP 38 51 41 6 0 0 0 6 10 12 .146 .314 .146 .460 6 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 59 193 155 46 9 0 6 28 30 35 .297 .425 .471 .896 73 0 6 0 2 0 vs. Older Pitchers 31 64 55 15 2 1 4 12 7 18 .273 .344 .564 .907 31 0 0 0 2 0 Ruben Ibarra, 1B – Chattanooga Lookouts (AA, Cincinnati Reds) Ibarra, drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, has spent the entirety of his career in the Reds organization and has been in Double-A all of the last two years. This week, the Chattanooga Lookouts concluded their regular season against the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Los Angeles Angels). Ibarra played in all six matchups, going 8-for-22, hitting .364/.500/1.136, with a 1.636 OPS. He hit two doubles and five home runs, driving in eight RBIs and ten runs scored. The best game of the week for him was Sunday, going 4-for-5, with a double and two home runs, four RBIs, and three runs scored. Over the course of the season and his second in Double-A, he hit .238/.337/.473, with a .810 OPS. He hit 19 doubles and 25 home runs, with 85 RBIs and 66 runs scored. He was walked 53 times and has one stolen base. His BABIP is .268, and he has 44 total extra-base hits. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 113 468 400 66 95 19 0 25 85 1 0 53 118 .238 .337 .473 .809 189 14 9 0 4 2 Last 7 days 6 28 22 10 8 2 0 5 8 0 0 5 5 .364 .500 1.136 1.636 25 0 1 0 0 0 Last 28 days 10 45 35 12 10 2 0 5 8 0 0 9 10 .286 .444 .771 1.216 27 0 1 0 0 0 Last 90 days 59 246 212 41 51 10 0 18 57 1 0 29 57 .241 .341 .542 .884 115 6 4 0 1 0 Home 54 221 189 35 47 14 0 15 45 1 0 26 53 .249 .348 .561 .909 106 8 4 0 2 1 Away 59 247 211 31 48 5 0 10 40 0 0 27 65 .227 .327 .393 .720 83 6 5 0 2 1 vs RHP as RHB 113 389 332 76 17 0 18 57 42 98 .229 .328 .443 .771 147 0 9 0 4 1 vs LHP as RHB 52 79 68 19 2 0 7 28 11 20 .279 .380 .618 .997 42 0 0 0 0 1 April 21 92 76 9 17 3 0 2 15 0 0 9 29 .224 .330 .342 .672 26 5 4 0 2 1 May 22 86 74 12 19 5 0 4 7 0 0 10 22 .257 .353 .486 .839 36 1 1 0 0 0 June 23 99 83 16 21 2 0 9 26 0 0 13 23 .253 .364 .602 .966 50 3 2 0 1 1 July 23 89 80 11 15 4 0 4 19 1 0 7 21 .188 .258 .388 .646 31 4 1 0 1 0 August 15 62 56 6 14 3 0 1 10 0 0 6 14 .250 .323 .357 .680 20 1 0 0 0 0 September 9 40 31 12 9 2 0 5 8 0 0 8 9 .290 .450 .839 1.289 26 0 1 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 74 113 95 26 4 0 10 44 15 28 .274 .384 .632 1.016 60 0 2 0 0 1 vs. Younger Pitchers 113 419 357 81 16 0 22 73 47 105 .227 .329 .457 .785 163 0 9 0 4 2 vs. Older Pitchers 33 49 43 14 3 0 3 12 6 13 .326 .408 .605 1.013 26 0 0 0 0 0 The next two players on the top-five hitters of the week both come from the Springfield Cardinals (Double-A, St. Louis Cardinals). The Springfield Cardinals just wrapped up their regular season with a six-game series against the Arkansas Travelers (AA, Seattle Mariners). They won four of six to conclude their regular season as they now look ahead to the division series starting Tuesday against Tulsa. Rainiel Rodriguez, C - Springfield Cardinals (AA, St. Louis Cardinals) Rodriguez also represents MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects. He is ranked No. 17 overall. This week was 11-for-21, hitting .524/.565/1.000, with a 1.565 OPS. He hit one double and three home runs, driving in five RBIs and seven runs scored. He drove in five RBIs and had seven runs scored over the course of the week. Throughout the season as a whole (split between High-A (28 games) and Double-A (87 games), Rodriguez hit .324/.413/.574, with a .987 OPS. He hit 30 doubles, one triple, and 27 home runs, driving in 87 RBIs and 97 runs scored. He had a BABIP of .362, with58 extra-base hits. With a .328 batting average in Double-A and great success, it is likely he could find himself starting the 2027 season in Triple-A. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 115 530 451 97 146 30 1 27 87 11 7 60 101 .324 .413 .574 .987 259 7 13 0 6 0 Last 7 days 5 23 21 7 11 1 0 3 5 1 0 1 4 .524 .565 1.000 1.565 21 0 1 0 0 0 Last 28 days 20 98 82 22 34 4 0 9 24 1 2 11 14 .415 .490 .793 1.282 65 1 3 0 2 0 Last 90 days 61 285 246 55 89 19 0 20 55 3 5 29 45 .362 .435 .683 1.118 168 5 6 0 4 0 Home 58 266 229 54 80 17 0 17 47 5 6 29 53 .349 .432 .646 1.079 148 3 6 0 2 0 Away 57 264 222 43 66 13 1 10 40 6 1 31 48 .297 .394 .500 .894 111 4 7 0 4 0 vs RHP as RHB 113 407 342 110 23 1 23 73 49 73 .322 .418 .596 1.014 204 0 11 0 5 0 vs LHP as RHB 57 123 109 36 7 0 4 14 11 28 .330 .398 .505 .903 55 0 2 0 1 0 April 21 96 77 17 22 8 1 2 12 2 0 17 19 .286 .427 .494 .921 38 0 2 0 0 0 May 22 98 86 15 21 1 0 3 16 3 1 7 25 .244 .316 .360 .677 31 2 3 0 2 0 June 21 96 80 22 27 4 0 5 14 4 2 14 20 .338 .448 .575 1.023 46 3 2 0 0 0 July 20 93 82 12 25 6 0 5 13 1 2 8 19 .305 .376 .561 .937 46 0 2 0 1 0 August 21 100 89 21 35 10 0 9 22 0 2 6 12 .393 .440 .809 1.249 72 1 3 0 2 0 September 10 47 37 10 16 1 0 3 10 1 0 8 6 .432 .532 .703 1.235 26 1 1 0 1 0 2 outs, RISP 56 78 68 24 3 0 7 29 9 12 .353 .436 .706 1.142 48 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 115 530 451 146 30 1 27 87 60 101 .324 .413 .574 .987 259 0 13 0 6 0 Jack Gurevitch, 1B- Springfield Cardinals (AA, St. Louis Cardinals) In their series against Arkansas, Gurevitch went 9-for-20, hitting .450/.455/1..100, with a 1.555 OPS. He hit one double and four home runs, driving in nine RBIs and seven runs scored. Gurevitch has gone from Single-A to High-A to Double-A over the course of the year. Between the three levels, he has hit .283/.360/.542, with a .902 OPS. He has hit 26 doubles, one triple, and 32 home runs, with 96 RBIs driven in and 80 runs scored. He had a BABIP of .370, with 59 extra-base hits. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 119 542 480 80 136 26 1 32 96 7 6 49 169 .283 .360 .542 .902 260 9 10 0 2 0 Last 7 days 5 22 20 7 9 1 0 4 9 0 0 0 6 .450 .455 1.100 1.555 22 0 1 0 1 0 Last 28 days 21 96 89 15 27 3 0 8 22 0 1 3 34 .303 .344 .607 .950 54 1 3 0 1 0 Last 90 days 64 288 267 43 74 13 0 20 54 3 3 14 99 .277 .321 .551 .871 147 4 4 0 2 0 Home 53 231 205 33 66 12 1 18 52 4 2 18 67 .322 .391 .654 1.045 134 5 6 0 1 0 Away 66 311 275 47 70 14 0 14 44 3 4 31 102 .255 .338 .458 .796 126 4 4 0 1 0 vs RHP as LHB 119 410 363 104 21 1 27 81 39 138 .287 .362 .573 .935 208 0 5 0 2 0 vs LHP as LHB 68 132 117 32 5 0 5 15 10 31 .274 .356 .444 .801 52 0 5 0 0 0 April 20 91 77 14 22 8 0 4 20 0 2 13 27 .286 .396 .545 .941 42 3 1 0 0 0 May 24 110 94 15 28 3 0 7 18 2 1 13 31 .298 .400 .553 .953 52 1 3 0 0 0 June 21 98 86 12 22 3 1 2 7 4 1 9 32 .256 .340 .384 .724 33 2 2 0 0 0 July 21 97 88 17 29 7 0 10 25 1 1 7 24 .330 .381 .750 1.131 66 1 1 0 1 0 August 22 95 88 13 23 4 0 4 14 0 0 6 33 .261 .316 .443 .759 39 1 1 0 0 0 September 11 51 47 9 12 1 0 5 12 0 1 1 22 .255 .294 .596 .890 28 1 2 0 1 0 2 outs, RISP 68 87 76 21 4 1 4 17 10 31 .276 .368 .513 .881 39 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 63 145 124 42 11 0 7 28 18 36 .339 .434 .597 1.031 74 0 3 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 117 397 356 94 15 1 25 68 31 133 .264 .333 .522 .856 186 0 7 0 2 0 MLB Pipeline Top-100 Players Joining Rodriguez (No. 17) on the MLB Pipeline’s Top Hitters of the Week were also all Double-A players. They included Arjun Nimmala, No. 37, shortstop out of the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Los Angeles Angels); Bryan Rincon, No. 100, shortstop out of the Reading Fightin Phils (Philadelphia Phillies); Josh Adamczewski, No. 87, outfielder from the Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee Brewers); and Eli Willis, No. 4, shortstop out of the Harrisburg Senators (Washington Nationals). Nimmala, MLB’s No. 37 prospect from the Rocket City Trash Pandas, this week hit .417/.440/1.083, with a 1.523 OPS. He hit four home runs this week. Rincon, MLB’s No. 100 prospect out of the Reading Fightin Phils, hit .333/.500/.933, with a 1.433 OPS. He hit three home runs in four games this week. Adamczewski, MLB’s No. 87 prospect and the outfielder out of the Biloxi Shuckers, hit .333/.565/.667, with a 1.232 OPS. He hit one home run this week. Rounding out this week’s top MiLB hitters was Eli Willits, the No. 4 prospect in baseball out of the Harrisburg Senators from the Washington Nationals. He hit .357/.471/.643, with a 1.113 OPS. He hit one run this week. Double-A has now officially wrapped up its regular season, and teams advancing will start their playoff runs on Tuesday, September 15th. View full article

In the final week of regular-season play for Single-A and High-A, High-A and Double-A players represented the top hitters for the week. Axiel Plaz, a catcher out of High-A Greensboro (Pittsburgh Pirates); Andrew Williamson, outfielder from High-A Peoria (St. Louis Cardinals); Sammy Siani, outfielder from Double-A Arkansas (Seattle Mariners); Grayson Fitzwater, first baseman with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Chicago White Sox); and Andrew Fischer, third baseman with Double-A Biloxi (Milwaukee Brewers) were the top minor league hitters in the final week of regular-season play for two of the four regular minor league levels. Axiel Plaz, C – Greensboro Grasshoppers (High-A, Pittsburgh Pirates) The Greensboro Grasshoppers finished their regular season on the road against the Asheville Tourists (Houston Astros). They took five of their final six games, and Plaz played in four of the six matchups. He went 9-for-16, hitting .563/.667/1.250, with a 1.917 OPS. He had at least two or three hits in three of the four games he played this week, hitting two doubles and three home runs, with eight RBIs and seven runs scored. He walked five times. The 21-year-old from Venezuela has played the entire 2026 season with High-A Greensboro, and has a slash line of .305/.389/.513, with a .902 OPS, and a .460 BABIP with 15 extra-base hits. He has hit 20 doubles and 18 home runs, driving in a total of 74 RBIs and 56 runs scored. This has, by far, been the best season for Plaz, with the best stats of his professional career. It is likely he could be advanced to Double-A to start 2027. But first, the Grasshoppers will welcome Fredick for game one of the division series. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 94 412 357 56 109 20 0 18 74 3 1 39 71 .305 .389 .513 .902 183 16 12 0 3 0 Last 7 days 4 21 16 7 9 2 0 3 8 0 1 5 3 .563 .667 1.250 1.917 20 0 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 18 83 72 14 24 4 0 8 17 0 1 8 13 .333 .422 .722 1.144 52 4 3 0 0 0 Last 90 days 57 253 216 33 61 10 0 10 43 0 1 28 39 .282 .379 .468 .847 101 8 7 0 2 0 Home 47 197 176 28 53 7 0 12 39 1 0 14 34 .301 .365 .545 .911 96 12 5 0 2 0 Away 47 215 181 28 56 13 0 6 35 2 1 25 37 .309 .411 .481 .892 87 4 7 0 1 0 vs RHP as RHB 89 321 277 87 18 0 10 55 30 54 .314 .397 .487 .884 135 0 10 0 3 0 vs LHP as RHB 49 91 80 22 2 0 8 19 9 17 .275 .363 .600 .963 48 0 2 0 0 0 April 19 86 75 12 27 5 0 3 20 3 0 6 16 .360 .424 .547 .970 41 5 3 0 1 0 May 18 73 66 11 21 5 0 5 11 0 0 5 16 .318 .384 .621 1.005 41 3 2 0 0 0 June 14 59 48 4 12 1 0 1 10 0 0 7 9 .250 .373 .333 .706 16 1 3 0 1 0 July 19 86 72 14 20 4 0 1 14 0 0 12 16 .278 .384 .375 .759 27 3 1 0 1 0 August 20 87 80 8 20 3 0 5 11 0 0 4 11 .250 .310 .475 .785 38 4 3 0 0 0 September 4 21 16 7 9 2 0 3 8 0 1 5 3 .563 .667 1.250 1.917 20 0 0 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 57 81 67 24 2 0 6 29 10 15 .358 .469 .657 1.126 44 0 4 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 6 15 14 4 0 0 1 1 1 2 .286 .333 .500 .833 7 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 94 397 343 105 20 0 17 73 38 69 .306 .391 .513 .905 176 0 12 0 3 Andrew Williamson, OF – Peoria Chiefs (High-A, St. Louis Cardinals) Williamson, drafted just months ago by the Cardinals at pick No. 68 in the 2026 MLB Draft, jumped right up to High-A ball after being drafted. He has played in just 20 games with High-A Peoria and is already making an impact, including this last week against the Quad Cities River Bandits (High-A, Kansas City Royals), in which Peoria and Quad Cities split the series 3-3. This week, Williamson, the 21-year-old drafted out of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, went 6-for-11, hitting .545/.722/1.182, with a 1.917 OPS. He played in four of the six games this week, hitting one double and two home runs. He drove in four RBIs and scored eight runs. He was walked five times with two stolen bases. Over the course of his first professional season, he hit .189/.295/.419, with a .714 OPS. He has two doubles and five home runs in his first season in the minor leagues. His BABIP is .200 with seven extra-base hits. It is likely that Williamson will spend another year in High-A, or at least a partial year before heading to Double-A. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 20 88 74 14 14 2 0 5 14 3 2 10 26 .189 .295 .419 .714 31 1 2 0 2 0 Last 7 days 4 18 11 8 6 1 0 2 4 2 1 5 2 .545 .722 1.182 1.904 13 0 2 0 0 0 Last 28 days 18 79 65 14 14 2 0 5 14 3 2 10 20 .215 .329 .477 .806 31 1 2 0 2 0 Last 90 days 20 88 74 14 14 2 0 5 14 3 2 10 26 .189 .295 .419 .714 31 1 2 0 2 0 Home 10 44 33 9 7 1 0 2 5 2 2 8 14 .212 .386 .424 .811 14 0 2 0 1 0 Away 10 44 41 5 7 1 0 3 9 1 0 2 12 .171 .205 .415 .619 17 1 0 0 1 0 vs RHP as LHB 19 58 48 10 2 0 4 9 7 17 .208 .328 .500 .828 24 0 2 0 1 0 vs LHP as LHB 13 30 26 4 0 0 1 5 3 9 .154 .233 .269 .503 7 0 0 0 1 0 August 16 70 63 6 8 1 0 3 10 1 1 5 24 .127 .186 .286 .471 18 1 0 0 2 0 September 4 18 11 8 6 1 0 2 4 2 1 5 2 .545 .722 1.182 1.904 13 0 2 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 10 13 12 3 0 0 0 2 1 4 .250 .308 .250 .558 3 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 1 2 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 .500 .500 2.000 2.500 4 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 20 86 72 13 2 0 4 13 10 25 .181 .291 .375 .666 27 0 2 0 2 0 Sammy Siani, OF – Arkansas Travelers (Double-A, Seattle Mariners) Siani has not had an easy road to get to where he’s at now, as over the course of the last three seasons he’s bounced from High-A to Triple-A, spending a few stints in Double-A, including the entirety of this 2026 season. This last week, Sianni, who played in five of the six matchups between the Arkansas Travelers and their foes from Northwest Arkansas, was 12-for-18, hitting .667/.667/1.222, with a 1.889 OPS. Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas split the series 3-3, and Sianni hit one double and three home runs during the week, with six RBIs, accumulating 22 total bases. He drove in five runs and scored. He stole two bases. Over the course of the season, the 25-year old veteran minor leaguer has hit .235/.297/.364, with a .661 OPS. He has a total of five doubles, two triples, and five home runs, with 28 RBIs and 31 runs scored. He has walked 18 times and stolen 17 bases this year. His BABIP is .340, with six extra-base hits. Double-A does still have one more series before the regular season concludes. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 63 209 187 31 44 5 2 5 28 17 4 18 46 .235 .297 .364 .660 68 4 0 0 4 0 Last 7 days 5 18 18 5 12 1 0 3 6 2 0 0 2 .667 .667 1.222 1.889 22 0 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 16 54 51 10 20 2 2 3 9 2 1 2 9 .392 .407 .686 1.094 35 1 0 0 1 0 Last 90 days 35 113 103 17 28 2 2 3 14 9 3 9 24 .272 .327 .417 .745 43 2 0 0 1 0 Home 40 127 112 19 27 3 1 5 21 10 2 12 27 .241 .307 .420 .727 47 1 0 0 3 0 Away 23 82 75 12 17 2 1 0 7 7 2 6 19 .227 .280 .280 .560 21 3 0 0 1 0 vs RHP as LHB 60 184 165 39 5 1 4 26 15 40 .236 .293 .352 .645 58 0 0 0 4 0 vs LHP as LHB 19 25 22 5 0 1 1 2 3 6 .227 .320 .455 .775 10 0 0 0 0 0 April 11 37 36 2 5 0 0 1 3 2 0 1 11 .139 .162 .222 .384 8 1 0 0 0 0 May 12 42 35 8 10 3 0 1 10 4 1 4 9 .286 .333 .457 .790 16 0 0 0 3 0 June 8 24 18 7 2 0 0 0 3 5 0 6 2 .111 .333 .111 .444 2 1 0 0 0 0 July 10 35 31 3 4 0 0 0 3 3 1 4 11 .129 .229 .129 .358 4 1 0 0 0 0 August 17 53 49 6 11 1 2 0 3 1 2 3 11 .224 .264 .327 .591 16 1 0 0 1 0 September 5 18 18 5 12 1 0 3 6 2 0 0 2 .667 .667 1.222 1.889 22 0 0 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 33 44 43 13 0 0 3 15 1 12 .302 .318 .512 .830 22 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 56 136 121 28 2 2 4 19 12 32 .231 .294 .380 .674 46 0 0 0 3 0 vs. Older Pitchers 40 73 66 16 3 0 1 9 6 14 .242 .301 .333 .635 22 0 0 0 1 Grayson Fitzwater, 1B – Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Single-A, Chicago White Sox) The High-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers took on the Delmarva Shorebirds (Single-A, Baltimore Orioles) in the last week of their regular season, nearly sweeping the Shorebirds, taking five of six in the series. Fitzwater, also drafted just a few months ago in the 2026 MLB draft (Round 13, pick No. 375 overall out of the Virginia Military Institute), went 9-for-16 on the week, hitting .563/.667/1.125, with a 1.792 OPS. He hit four doubles, one triple, and one home run this week, driving in 10 runs and scored seven runs in five games played. He was walked six times. It was a great week for the 22-year-old, getting two or more hits in three of the five games. Over the course of his first 29 professional games, all played with Kannapolis, the 2026 draftee hit .271/.365/.486, with a .851 OPS. He hit seven doubles, with one triple, and four home runs, driving in 28 RBIs and 16 runs scored. He was walked 16 times, showing strong plate discipline. He had a season .379 BABIP with 13 extra-base hits. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 29 126 107 16 29 7 2 4 28 0 0 16 39 .271 .365 .486 .851 52 3 1 0 2 0 Last 7 days 5 24 16 7 9 4 1 1 10 0 0 6 1 .563 .667 1.125 1.792 18 0 1 0 1 0 Last 28 days 21 93 77 11 20 6 2 3 23 0 0 13 30 .260 .366 .506 .872 39 2 1 0 2 0 Last 90 days 29 126 107 16 29 7 2 4 28 0 0 16 39 .271 .365 .486 .851 52 3 1 0 2 0 Home 13 59 49 12 19 6 2 4 21 0 0 8 13 .388 .475 .837 1.311 41 1 1 0 1 0 Away 16 67 58 4 10 1 0 0 7 0 0 8 26 .172 .269 .190 .458 11 2 0 0 1 0 vs RHP as LHB 27 104 89 23 5 2 3 23 12 30 .258 .346 .461 .807 41 0 1 0 2 0 vs LHP as LHB 15 22 18 6 2 0 1 5 4 9 .333 .455 .611 1.066 11 0 0 0 0 0 August 24 102 91 9 20 3 1 3 18 0 0 10 38 .220 .294 .374 .668 34 3 0 0 1 0 September 5 24 16 7 9 4 1 1 10 0 0 6 1 .563 .667 1.125 1.792 18 0 1 0 1 0 2 outs, RISP 17 29 26 10 2 1 2 13 2 7 .385 .448 .769 1.218 20 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 22 61 52 10 5 1 0 7 8 18 .192 .295 .327 .622 17 0 0 0 1 0 vs. Older Pitchers 26 65 55 19 2 1 4 21 8 21 .345 .431 .636 1.067 35 0 1 0 1 0 Andrew Fischer, 3B – Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A, Milwaukee Brewers) Fischer was the Brewers’ first-round draft pick (pick No. 20 overall) in the 2025 MLB Draft, making 2026 his first full professional season, and his first 66 games in Double-A. He played just 19 games in 2025, and after 54 games in High-A in 2026, he was then promoted to Double-A, where he has played his last 66 games. This week, the Shuckers took on the Birmingham Barons in a six-game series in which they took four of the six games. Fischer appeared in all six matchups, going 9-for-16, hitting .563/.667/1.125, with a 1.792 OPS. He hit four home runs this week, driving in 11 RBIs and scoring six runs. He walked 10 times. Over the course of his first 66 games in Double-A, he hit .248/.379/.642, with a 1.021 OPS. He has seven doubles, two triples, and 26 home runs. He has driven in 61 RBIs in Double-A, with 50 runs scored. He has been walked 50 times and stolen five bases. Fischer’s BABIP is .273 with 35 extra-base hits. 2026 Player Batting Splits Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Total 120 531 417 101 113 17 3 46 111 9 9 95 179 .271 .409 .657 1.066 274 4 9 0 10 3 Last 7 days 6 27 16 6 6 0 0 4 11 0 0 10 7 .375 .593 1.125 1.718 18 0 0 0 1 1 Last 28 days 23 95 74 16 17 1 0 11 29 0 1 17 34 .230 .358 .689 1.047 51 0 0 0 4 2 Last 90 days 70 299 237 53 62 8 2 28 67 5 4 53 101 .262 .391 .667 1.058 158 2 2 0 7 2 Home 63 271 208 57 61 9 1 25 57 2 5 55 85 .293 .443 .707 1.150 147 3 4 0 4 3 Away 57 260 209 44 52 8 2 21 54 7 4 40 94 .249 .373 .608 .981 127 1 5 0 6 0 vs RHP as LHB 119 419 332 91 14 2 37 91 73 141 .274 .403 .663 1.066 220 0 5 0 9 2 vs LHP as LHB 59 112 85 22 3 1 9 20 22 38 .259 .429 .635 1.064 54 0 4 0 1 1 April 20 88 71 14 19 6 0 5 17 1 4 11 31 .268 .375 .563 .938 40 0 3 0 3 0 May 24 114 89 25 25 3 1 10 20 2 0 21 38 .281 .439 .674 1.113 60 2 4 0 0 0 June 21 89 67 23 23 3 1 11 23 4 1 21 29 .343 .506 .910 1.416 61 0 1 0 0 1 July 24 110 92 19 25 3 1 8 18 2 3 14 36 .272 .364 .587 .951 54 0 1 0 3 0 August 25 103 82 14 15 2 0 8 22 0 1 18 38 .183 .320 .500 .820 41 2 0 0 3 1 September 6 27 16 6 6 0 0 4 11 0 0 10 7 .375 .593 1.125 1.718 18 0 0 0 1 1 2 outs, RISP 72 105 85 20 1 1 7 27 20 38 .235 .381 .518 .899 44 0 0 0 0 1 vs. Younger Pitchers 37 80 67 20 3 1 6 16 8 29 .299 .375 .642 1.017 43 0 2 0 3 0 vs. Older Pitchers 118 451 350 93 14 2 40 95 87 150 .266 .415 .660 1.075 231 0 7 0 7 3 MLB Pipeline Top-100 Prospects No Top-100 prospects found themselves in the top five this week; however, five of MLB’s top players had strong weeks as well, including designated hitter Sebastian Walcott; outfielder Cam Cannarella; shortstop Franklin Arias; first baseman Charlie Condon; and center fielder Zyhir Hope. Walcott, the designated hitter out of Double-A Frisco (Texas Rangers) and MLB’s No. 9 prospect, was 8-for-21 on the week, hitting .381/.458/.857, with a 1.315 OPS. Cannarella, the outfielder out of Triple-A Jacksonville (Miami Marlins) and MLB’s No. 85 prospect, was 10-for-23, with a .435/.500/.739 and a 1.239 OPS. Arias, the shortstop from Triple-A Worcester (Boston Red Sox), was 11-for-21, hitting .524/.545/.667, with a 1.212 OPS. He is ranked as MLB’s No. 3 prospect. Condon, first baseman from Triple-A Albuquerque (Colorado Rockies) was 8-for-24, batting .333/.407/.792, with a 1.199 OPS. He is MLB’s No. 58 prospect. Rounding out this week’s top hitters was Hope, the center fielder from Double-A Erie (Detroit Tigers) and the No. 28 prospect in MLB. He was 8-for-22, hitting .364/417/.682, with a 1.099 OPS. Image courtesy of Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images - Andrew Fischer Shown View full article