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

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. 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 72 313 290 40 85 10 0 17 51 3 1 17 89 .293 .342 .503 .845 146 6 5 0 1 0 Last 7 days 4 21 18 6 10 0 0 3 8 0 0 2 4 .556 .619 1.056 1.675 19 0 1 0 0 0 Last 28 days 15 66 59 9 17 1 0 5 12 0 1 6 21 .288 .364 .559 .923 33 1 1 0 0 0 Last 90 days 45 195 181 24 58 9 0 9 31 2 1 10 54 .320 .364 .519 .883 94 5 3 0 1 0 Home 35 149 139 14 30 2 0 4 14 2 0 9 46 .216 .262 .317 .578 44 2 0 0 1 0 Away 37 164 151 26 55 8 0 13 37 1 1 8 43 .364 .415 .675 1.090 102 4 5 0 0 0 vs RHP as RHB 71 249 231 68 9 0 13 43 12 68 .294 .341 .502 .844 116 0 5 0 1 0 vs LHP as RHB 31 64 59 17 1 0 4 8 5 21 .288 .344 .508 .852 30 0 0 0 0 0 April 6 25 23 2 3 0 0 1 3 1 0 2 7 .130 .200 .261 .461 6 0 0 0 0 0 May 20 89 82 13 22 1 0 7 17 0 0 5 27 .268 .326 .537 .862 44 1 2 0 0 0 June 20 90 86 12 32 6 0 3 13 1 0 3 20 .372 .400 .547 .947 47 1 1 0 0 0 July 10 39 37 4 9 2 0 1 5 1 0 1 14 .243 .282 .378 .660 14 3 1 0 0 0 August 16 70 62 9 19 1 0 5 13 0 1 6 21 .306 .371 .565 .936 35 1 1 0 1 0 2 outs, RISP 54 75 68 19 4 0 5 22 6 20 .279 .347 .559 .905 38 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 2 4 4 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 .250 .250 1.000 1.250 4 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 72 309 286 84 10 0 16 50 17 86 .294 .343 .497 .840 142 0 5 0 1 0 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. 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 107 444 384 64 96 17 2 17 55 21 7 57 108 .250 .349 .438 .787 168 5 2 0 1 0 Last 7 days 5 21 18 6 7 2 0 4 10 3 0 3 5 .389 .476 1.167 1.643 21 0 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 20 82 72 9 18 5 0 5 16 3 1 10 19 .250 .341 .528 .869 38 1 0 0 0 0 Last 90 days 61 250 211 33 55 13 1 10 25 15 6 37 57 .261 .372 .474 .846 100 3 1 0 1 0 Home 55 221 186 31 43 6 2 9 24 10 4 32 53 .231 .348 .430 .779 80 0 2 0 1 0 Away 52 223 198 33 53 11 0 8 31 11 3 25 55 .268 .350 .444 .794 88 5 0 0 0 0 vs RHP as LHB 104 322 278 70 13 2 13 41 41 77 .252 .351 .453 .804 126 0 2 0 1 0 vs LHP as LHB 66 122 106 26 4 0 4 14 16 31 .245 .344 .396 .740 42 0 0 0 0 0 March 3 12 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 .000 .167 .000 .167 0 0 0 0 0 0 April 20 78 71 7 13 2 0 1 5 2 1 6 18 .183 .256 .254 .510 18 0 1 0 0 0 May 22 100 89 23 28 2 1 6 24 4 0 11 29 .315 .390 .562 .952 50 2 0 0 0 0 June 21 89 72 15 19 4 1 2 4 7 2 16 21 .264 .404 .431 .835 31 2 1 0 0 0 July 19 74 62 8 15 4 0 3 5 4 3 11 18 .242 .351 .452 .803 28 0 0 0 1 0 August 22 91 80 11 21 5 0 5 16 4 1 11 19 .263 .352 .513 .864 41 1 0 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 60 79 69 15 2 0 2 14 9 22 .217 .316 .333 .650 23 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 29 61 54 10 4 0 0 3 6 14 .185 .279 .259 .538 14 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 104 383 330 86 13 2 17 52 51 94 .261 .360 .467 .827 154 0 1 0 1 0 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. 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 96 396 323 52 81 17 5 7 47 23 4 61 88 .251 .377 .399 .777 129 5 7 1 4 0 Last 7 days 5 23 15 3 7 2 1 1 3 2 1 7 4 .467 .652 .933 1.586 14 1 1 0 0 0 Last 28 days 20 85 68 8 21 3 1 2 8 4 2 14 19 .309 .447 .471 .918 32 3 3 0 0 0 Last 90 days 62 264 212 37 54 8 4 6 29 16 4 42 61 .255 .384 .415 .799 88 4 5 1 4 0 Home 50 203 169 25 39 9 2 3 26 10 1 27 43 .231 .342 .361 .703 61 1 3 1 3 0 Away 46 193 154 27 42 8 3 4 21 13 3 34 45 .273 .415 .442 .856 68 4 4 0 1 0 vs RHP as LHB 94 309 249 61 11 5 4 37 51 75 .245 .380 .378 .757 94 0 5 1 3 0 vs LHP as LHB 50 87 74 20 6 0 3 10 10 13 .270 .368 .473 .841 35 1 2 0 1 0 March 4 19 16 2 4 0 0 1 5 0 0 3 5 .250 .368 .438 .806 7 0 0 0 0 0 April 11 45 41 7 14 4 0 0 7 2 0 4 8 .341 .400 .439 .839 18 1 0 0 0 0 May 18 63 51 5 9 5 1 0 5 5 0 10 13 .176 .333 .314 .647 16 0 2 0 0 0 June 20 90 74 16 16 2 2 3 14 4 0 12 20 .216 .326 .419 .745 31 0 1 1 2 0 July 21 86 67 13 15 2 1 1 5 8 2 17 21 .224 .384 .328 .712 22 1 1 0 1 0 August 22 93 74 9 23 4 1 2 11 4 2 15 21 .311 .441 .473 .914 35 3 3 0 1 0 2 outs, RISP 48 61 55 12 4 2 0 14 6 17 .218 .295 .364 .659 20 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 63 149 125 30 4 3 4 14 19 40 .240 .351 .416 .767 52 0 3 1 1 0 vs. Older Pitchers 92 247 198 51 13 2 3 33 42 48 .258 .393 .389 .782 77 0 4 0 3 0 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. 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 114 486 445 81 133 25 4 26 77 14 4 34 84 .299 .351 .548 .899 244 7 3 0 3 0 Last 7 days 6 24 21 5 11 4 0 2 8 0 2 2 5 .524 .583 1.000 1.583 21 0 1 0 0 0 Last 28 days 23 102 93 20 33 9 1 6 22 3 2 8 22 .355 .412 .667 1.078 62 1 1 0 0 0 Last 90 days 64 258 243 43 77 13 1 15 43 8 3 13 48 .317 .353 .564 .916 137 6 1 0 1 0 Home 59 245 224 37 68 14 2 13 35 8 3 17 44 .304 .357 .558 .915 125 5 2 0 1 0 Away 55 241 221 44 65 11 2 13 42 6 1 17 40 .294 .344 .538 .883 119 2 1 0 2 0 vs RHP as RHB 113 360 326 101 16 3 19 60 27 61 .310 .365 .552 .917 180 0 3 0 3 0 vs LHP as RHB 61 126 119 32 9 1 7 17 7 23 .269 .310 .538 .847 64 0 0 0 0 0 April 22 104 89 21 26 6 1 6 18 4 1 12 18 .292 .379 .584 .963 52 1 1 0 1 0 May 27 120 109 17 30 6 2 5 16 2 0 9 18 .275 .333 .505 .838 55 0 1 0 1 0 June 19 81 79 13 26 3 0 7 11 3 0 2 13 .329 .346 .633 .979 50 1 0 0 0 0 July 21 71 67 10 17 1 0 2 10 2 1 3 12 .254 .282 .358 .640 24 4 0 0 1 0 August 25 110 101 20 34 9 1 6 22 3 2 8 23 .337 .391 .624 1.015 63 1 1 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 58 76 70 18 5 1 1 17 5 18 .257 .316 .400 .716 28 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 77 184 174 43 7 3 8 23 8 36 .247 .279 .460 .738 80 0 0 0 1 0 vs. Older Pitchers 108 302 271 90 18 1 18 54 26 48 .332 .394 .605 .999 164 0 3 0 2 0 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. 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 26 113 87 26 23 4 2 6 17 7 2 20 26 .264 .425 .563 .988 49 0 5 0 1 0 Last 7 days 6 26 18 9 7 1 2 2 6 1 1 6 5 .389 .577 1.000 1.577 18 0 2 0 0 0 Last 28 days 24 102 78 23 20 3 2 5 16 7 2 19 23 .256 .422 .538 .960 42 0 4 0 1 0 Last 90 days 26 113 87 26 23 4 2 6 17 7 2 20 26 .264 .425 .563 .988 49 0 5 0 1 0 Home 12 49 38 10 7 0 0 2 6 5 0 9 11 .184 .347 .342 .689 13 0 1 0 1 0 Away 14 64 49 16 16 4 2 4 11 2 2 11 15 .327 .484 .735 1.219 36 0 4 0 0 0 vs RHP as LHB 25 96 71 19 3 2 5 14 20 20 .268 .448 .577 1.025 41 0 4 0 1 0 vs LHP as LHB 10 17 16 4 1 0 1 3 0 6 .250 .294 .500 .794 8 0 1 0 0 0 July 1 6 5 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 .400 .500 1.200 1.700 6 0 0 0 0 0 August 25 107 82 24 21 3 2 5 16 7 2 19 24 .256 .421 .524 .945 43 0 5 0 1 0 2 outs, RISP 16 20 11 3 0 0 0 3 8 4 .273 .600 .273 .873 3 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 25 78 58 15 1 2 5 14 16 16 .259 .436 .603 1.039 35 0 3 0 1 0 vs. Older Pitchers 18 35 29 8 3 0 1 3 4 10 .276 .400 .483 .883 14 0 2 0 0 0 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. Image courtesy of USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect View full article

Two of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects highlighted this week’s top hitters from throughout minor league baseball. First baseman Ralphy Velazquez, MLB’s No. 32 prospect with the Columbus Clippers (Triple-A, Cleveland Guardians), and outfielder Walker Jenkins, MLB’s No. 15 prospect with the St. Paul Saints (Triple-A, Minnesota Twins), were both included on this week’s list. Velazquez and Jenkins were joined by catcher ,Adam Zebrowski of the Columbus Clingstones (Double-A, Atlanta Braves); outfielder, Tony Blanco of the Greensboro Grasshoppers (High-A, Pittsburgh Pirates); and catcher, Broedy Poppel of the San Jose Giants (Single-A, San Francisco Giants). Ralphy Velazquez, 1B, MLB No. 32 prospect – Columbus Clippers (Triple-A, Cleveland Guardians) The Columbus Clippers last week took on the St. Paul Saints (Minnesota Twins) in a seven-game series that included a makeup game from a suspended game from earlier in the season. Columbus took just three of seven from the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate. Despite only taking three wins, MLB’s No. 32 prospect had a huge weekend at the plate, going 10-for-22 and hitting .455/.500/1.273, with a 1.773 OPS in six games. He drove out six home runs, including three on August 22nd. He drove in 12 RBIs and had eight runs scored on the week, accumulating 28 total bases in six games. Velazquez played in 35 games earlier this season with Double-A before being advanced up to Triple-A in May, where he has now made 69 Triple-A appearances. Over the course of those games, he is batting .280/.361/.559, with a .920 OPS. He has 11 doubles, one triple, and 20 home runs, with 50 RBIs and 44 runs scored in Triple-A; he also has one stolen base. While Velazquez has a strong bat, the Indians currently have first base occupied by Rhys Hoskins and Nathaniel Lowe. While they could use his bat in the lineup, the question becomes where in the field do you use Velazquez, or do you put him as the DH if you call him up? The good news for the Guardians is that they have depth in Triple-A if they need it due to injury. 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 105 468 406 68 119 20 4 27 80 2 0 51 92 .293 .380 .562 .942 228 3 8 0 3 0 Last 7 days 6 26 22 8 10 0 0 6 12 0 0 3 3 .455 .500 1.273 1.773 28 0 0 0 1 0 Last 28 days 21 92 79 23 29 1 0 16 32 1 0 9 15 .367 .424 .987 1.411 78 0 1 0 3 0 Last 90 days 64 279 244 42 67 8 1 20 50 1 0 26 59 .275 .355 .562 .916 137 1 6 0 3 0 Home 59 249 215 44 70 10 2 19 49 2 0 30 47 .326 .406 .656 1.061 141 0 1 0 3 0 Away 46 219 191 24 49 10 2 8 31 0 0 21 45 .257 .352 .456 .807 87 3 7 0 0 0 vs RHP as LHB 102 347 300 89 15 3 22 70 38 70 .297 .383 .587 .970 176 0 6 0 3 0 vs LHP as LHB 59 121 106 30 5 1 5 10 13 22 .283 .372 .491 .863 52 0 2 0 0 0 April 21 99 83 12 23 2 1 3 14 1 0 14 16 .277 .394 .434 .828 36 2 2 0 0 0 May 24 108 96 14 31 10 2 4 17 0 0 11 23 .323 .398 .594 .992 57 1 1 0 0 0 June 22 98 87 15 25 4 1 2 9 0 0 9 25 .287 .367 .425 .793 37 0 2 0 0 0 July 21 87 74 6 15 4 0 4 14 0 0 9 17 .203 .299 .419 .718 31 0 2 0 2 0 August 17 76 66 21 25 0 0 14 26 1 0 8 11 .379 .447 1.015 1.463 67 0 1 0 1 0 2 outs, RISP 65 105 92 32 3 0 9 34 12 22 .348 .429 .674 1.103 62 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 2 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 .000 .600 .000 .600 0 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 105 463 404 119 20 4 27 80 48 91 .295 .378 .564 .942 228 0 8 0 3 0 Waker Jenkins, OF, MLB No. 15 prospect – St. Paul Saints (Triple-A, Minnesota Twins) In a flip of the teams, Jenkins and the Saints this week took on Velazquez and the Clippers, taking four of seven games from the Guardians’ affiliate in dominating fashion. Jenkins, MLB’s No. 15 prospect, was 10-for-20 on the week, hitting .500/.600/1.100, with a 1.700 OPS. He had four home runs (two on August 19 and two on August 23), driving in seven runs for St. Paul and stole three bases, with six runs scored. He totaled five walks on the week as well. The 21-year-old and 2023 first-round draft pick found himself on the injured list early in the year and made rehab appearances in Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids before reuniting with St. Paul in June. Since then, he has appeared in 67 games with St. Paul. He is batting a combined .306/.406/.525, with a .931 OPS. He has 17 doubles, three triples, and 11 home runs, with 27 RBIs and 48 runs scored. He has been walked 41 times and has stolen 16 bases on the year. Outfield is a position Minnesota has a little too much of as they try to figure out their depth chart, where and how to utilize it most efficiently, with a lot of strong bats down on the farm as well. It’s no secret that Jenkins is MLB-ready; however, the question for Minnesota, like that with Velazquez for the Guardians, is: where do you put Jenkins if you call him up? 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 71 315 271 53 87 18 3 13 30 16 4 42 48 .321 .416 .554 .969 150 3 2 0 0 0 Last 7 days 5 25 20 6 10 0 0 4 7 3 0 5 3 .500 .600 1.100 1.700 22 0 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 20 93 79 17 31 4 1 7 12 7 2 14 16 .392 .484 .734 1.218 58 1 0 0 0 0 Last 90 days 46 204 181 38 64 12 3 11 21 11 3 23 30 .354 .427 .635 1.062 115 3 0 0 0 0 Home 36 159 143 32 43 10 2 7 16 6 2 14 26 .301 .371 .546 .917 78 3 2 0 0 0 Away 35 156 128 21 44 8 1 6 14 10 2 28 22 .344 .462 .563 1.024 72 0 0 0 0 0 vs RHP as LHB 67 230 195 64 14 2 12 23 34 32 .328 .430 .605 1.036 118 0 1 0 0 0 vs LHP as LHB 42 85 76 23 4 1 1 7 8 16 .303 .377 .421 .798 32 0 1 0 0 0 March 3 12 9 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 .333 .500 .444 .944 4 0 0 0 0 0 April 19 86 70 9 14 2 0 1 4 4 1 14 15 .200 .349 .271 .620 19 0 2 0 0 0 May 3 13 11 5 6 3 0 1 4 1 0 2 3 .546 .615 1.091 1.706 12 0 0 0 0 0 June 9 38 36 9 16 3 2 2 5 1 0 2 5 .444 .474 .806 1.279 29 0 0 0 0 0 July 21 91 80 16 21 7 0 2 4 4 1 11 13 .263 .352 .425 .777 34 2 0 0 0 0 August 16 75 65 13 27 2 1 7 12 6 2 10 12 .415 .493 .800 1.293 52 1 0 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 39 46 38 10 3 0 2 9 7 7 .263 .391 .500 .891 19 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 1 3 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .667 .667 .667 1.333 2 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 70 312 268 85 18 3 13 29 42 48 .317 .414 .552 .966 148 0 2 0 0 0 Adam Zebrowski, C – Columbus Clingstones (Double-A, Atlanta Braves) This week, the Clingstones welcomed the Rays’ Double-A affiliate Montgomery Biscuits to Columbus. They took four of six from Montgomery with a strong week at the plate for Zebrowski. The 25-year-old went 7-for-16, hitting .438/.471/1.438, with a 1.909 OPS. He had one double and five home runs, driving in nine RBIs and six runs scored through four games. He was walked once and accumulated 23 total bases on the week. Zebrowski has found himself bouncing around between Double-A and Triple-A this year. Over the course of his time in Double-A, he has batted .287/.348/.610, with a .958 OPS. He has eight doubles and 15 home runs, with 34 RBIs and 27 runs scored. The 25-year-old has walked 14 times and has one stolen base. While he’s batting well in Double-A, he has struggled in Triple-A, posting a .717 OPS in 70 plate appearances. He’ll need to prove he can maintain a stronger performance at the plate to find himself staying a full 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 67 251 224 37 59 12 0 18 52 1 0 23 70 .263 .335 .558 .893 125 3 2 0 2 0 Last 7 days 4 17 16 6 7 1 0 5 9 0 0 1 2 .438 .471 1.438 1.908 23 2 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 17 64 61 10 20 4 0 7 19 0 0 3 12 .328 .359 .738 1.097 45 2 0 0 0 0 Last 90 days 42 151 139 23 37 10 0 11 36 1 0 11 35 .266 .318 .576 .893 80 2 0 0 1 0 Home 36 135 118 23 30 4 0 13 30 0 0 15 36 .254 .341 .619 .959 73 3 1 0 1 0 Away 31 116 106 14 29 8 0 5 22 1 0 8 34 .274 .328 .491 .818 52 0 1 0 1 0 vs RHP as RHB 62 190 173 48 10 0 16 41 13 55 .278 .332 .613 .944 106 0 2 0 2 0 vs LHP as RHB 34 61 51 11 2 0 2 11 10 15 .216 .344 .373 .717 19 0 0 0 0 0 April 13 54 45 8 12 0 0 5 9 0 0 6 15 .267 .370 .600 .970 27 0 2 0 1 0 May 13 49 43 6 10 2 0 2 7 0 0 6 21 .233 .327 .419 .745 18 1 0 0 0 0 June 14 50 48 7 10 4 0 3 12 0 0 2 16 .208 .240 .479 .719 23 0 0 0 0 0 July 13 47 39 9 10 2 0 3 10 1 0 7 10 .256 .362 .539 .900 21 0 0 0 1 0 August 14 51 49 7 17 4 0 5 14 0 0 2 8 .347 .373 .735 1.107 36 2 0 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 36 50 45 11 1 0 4 16 4 17 .244 .320 .533 .853 24 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 55 156 135 34 7 0 12 31 18 39 .252 .340 .570 .910 77 0 1 0 2 0 vs. Older Pitchers 45 95 89 25 5 0 6 21 5 31 .281 .326 .539 .866 48 0 1 0 0 0 Tony Blanco Jr., OF – Greensboro Grasshoppers (High-A, Pittsburgh Pirates) Greensboro was in Bowling Green this week, taking on the Rays’ High-A affiliate in a six-game series in which they took five of six. All of their wins featured them scoring six or more runs per game, including an 11-run game on Sunday. Blanco Jr. played in five of those six games and went 8-for-17, hitting .471/.571/1.235, with a 1.806 OPS. He hit one double and four home runs (two each on August 22 and August 23), driving in seven RBIs, and had five runs scored; he walked three times this week and accumulated 21 total bases on the week. In terms of his RBIs, Blanco Jr. had three RBIs on Saturday, and then four RBIs on Sunday, ending the week well at the plate. Blanco has played all of 2026 in Greensboro outside of four games spent on rehab assignments prior to being activated off the injured list. Over the course of 70 games in High-A, the young 21-year-old is batting .264/.352/.606, with a .958 OPS. He has hit 16 doubles, one triple, and 23 home runs over the course of the season, driving in 54 Rbis, and 44 runs scored. He has been walked 31 times, stolen one base, and accumulated 154 total 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 74 305 267 46 69 16 1 23 54 1 0 32 87 .258 .348 .584 .932 156 5 5 0 1 1 Last 7 days 5 21 17 5 8 1 0 4 7 0 0 3 4 .471 .571 1.235 1.807 21 1 1 0 0 0 Last 28 days 19 72 60 14 21 4 0 10 15 0 0 10 16 .350 .458 .917 1.375 55 3 2 0 0 0 Last 90 days 44 171 149 29 41 8 1 16 29 1 0 18 48 .275 .368 .664 1.033 99 3 4 0 0 0 Home 36 144 126 23 31 5 0 10 17 0 0 16 42 .246 .340 .524 .864 66 0 2 0 0 0 Away 38 161 141 23 38 11 1 13 37 1 0 16 45 .270 .354 .638 .992 90 5 3 0 1 1 vs RHP as RHB 70 244 213 49 10 0 17 37 26 75 .230 .328 .516 .844 110 0 5 0 0 1 vs LHP as RHB 36 61 54 20 6 1 6 17 6 12 .370 .426 .852 1.278 46 0 0 0 1 0 April 15 70 61 5 13 3 0 2 11 0 0 8 22 .213 .300 .361 .661 22 1 0 0 1 1 May 19 80 72 14 19 6 0 6 15 0 0 7 21 .264 .338 .597 .935 43 1 1 0 0 0 June 15 60 53 10 12 2 1 4 8 1 0 6 18 .226 .317 .528 .845 28 0 1 0 0 0 July 9 37 35 6 8 2 0 4 9 0 0 1 12 .229 .270 .629 .899 22 0 1 0 0 0 August 16 58 46 11 17 3 0 7 11 0 0 10 14 .370 .500 .891 1.391 41 3 2 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 46 66 57 11 4 0 4 17 7 18 .193 .303 .474 .777 27 0 2 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 9 20 18 6 0 0 3 6 1 6 .333 .400 .833 1.233 15 1 1 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 74 285 249 63 16 1 20 48 31 81 .253 .344 .566 .910 141 0 4 0 1 1 Broedy Poppell, C – San Jose Giants (Single-A, San Francisco Giants) San Jose took on the Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres); The Giants’ Single-A affiliate dominated Lake Elsinore, sweeping the six-game series, scoring nine or more runs in four of the six games, 21 runs on the 21st, and five or more in the last two games of the series. Broedy Poppell, the 24-year-old catcher, played in all six games. He had 26 plate appearances over those six games, going 10-for-20, hitting .500/.630/1.100, with a 1.730 OPS. He had four doubles, a triple, and two home runs, driving in nine RBIs and nine runs scored. He walked six times this week, stole one base, and accumulated 22 total bases. Drafted by the Giants just last year in the 13th round of the draft out of Florida A&M, Poppell is in his first professional season and found himself advancing to Single-A after just eight rookie-level games. He is batting .243/.358/.414, with a .772 OPS. He has 12 doubles, one triple, and eight home runs in High-A, with 38 RBIs and 49 runs scored. He’s got a great amount of speed, stealing 14 bases and accumulating a total of 92 bases through 66 games. 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 74 298 253 54 61 14 1 11 49 14 0 35 84 .241 .349 .435 .784 110 6 8 0 2 0 Last 7 days 6 27 20 9 10 4 1 2 9 1 0 6 6 .500 .630 1.100 1.730 22 1 1 0 0 0 Last 28 days 16 70 57 14 16 6 1 3 15 1 0 11 22 .281 .414 .579 .993 33 1 2 0 0 0 Last 90 days 48 190 161 34 40 11 1 9 32 8 0 23 52 .248 .358 .497 .855 80 4 5 0 1 0 Home 35 136 114 23 23 4 0 3 16 9 0 17 37 .202 .324 .316 .639 36 1 4 0 1 0 Away 39 162 139 31 38 10 1 8 33 5 0 18 47 .273 .370 .532 .903 74 5 4 0 1 0 vs RHP as LHB 73 240 203 56 14 1 11 46 29 64 .276 .379 .517 .896 105 0 6 0 2 0 vs LHP as RHB 31 45 39 4 0 0 0 1 5 16 .103 .222 .103 .325 4 0 1 0 0 0 vs ?HP as ?HB 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 vs LHP as LHB 7 13 11 1 0 0 0 2 1 4 .091 .231 .091 .322 1 0 1 0 0 0 April 15 62 51 12 12 0 0 1 11 4 0 8 18 .235 .355 .294 .649 15 2 2 0 1 0 May 16 64 56 13 13 3 0 3 8 2 0 7 19 .232 .328 .446 .775 25 2 1 0 0 0 June 14 51 46 7 11 4 0 1 3 1 0 3 11 .239 .314 .391 .705 18 0 2 0 0 0 July 15 59 50 9 10 1 0 3 13 6 0 6 17 .200 .305 .400 .705 20 1 2 0 1 0 August 14 62 50 13 15 6 1 3 14 1 0 11 19 .300 .436 .640 1.076 32 1 1 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 45 65 54 13 3 0 3 19 7 16 .241 .369 .463 .832 25 0 4 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 72 255 215 53 12 1 11 43 31 69 .247 .357 .465 .822 100 0 7 0 2 0 vs. Older Pitchers 28 43 38 8 2 0 0 6 4 15 .211 .302 .263 .566 10 0 1 0 0 0 MLB Pipeline Top-100 We already mentioned that Velazquez and Jenkins were in the top five hitters of the week as a whole from throughout the minor leagues this week. Joining them on the top five list that includes only top-100 prospects is No. 3 prospect, catcher Rainiel Rodriguez of the Springfield Cardinals (Double-A, St. Louis Cardinals); the No. 71 prospect, shortstop Seaver King of the Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A, Washington Nationals); and the No. 80 prospect, outfielder Kevin Alvarez of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Houston Astros). This week, Rodriguez (Double-A Springfield) was 14-for-24, batting .583/.577/1.083, with a 1.660 OPS. He had three doubles, three triples, and three home runs, driving in nine RBIs. King, the shortstop with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings (Washington), was 11-for-25, batting .440/.548/1.000, with a 1.548 OPS. He had a triple and four home runs, driving in 10 RBIs, and stole three bases. Alvarez, the No. 80 prospect and outfielder with Fayettville (Single-A, Houston Astros) was 4-for-12, batting .333/.550/.917, with a 1.467 OPS. He had two home runs on the week, with six RBIs, six walks, and stole three bases. The minor leagues only have a few weeks left of their season as minor leaguers look to close out their 2026 campaigns well. Image courtesy of St. Paul Saints View full article

There has been quite a bit of movement throughout the minor leagues over the course of the last week as teams call players up and move the ‘stars of tomorrow’ around the farm system. This week’s top hitters primarily represent Double-A affiliates, with Single-A and Rookie prospects creeping in. But it was all about the guys in the middle at Double-A this week. Rookie outfielder, Francisco Renteria (MLB’s No. 81 prospect) from the DSL Phillies (Rookie, Philadelphia Phillies); Outfielder, Luis Fragoza with the Single-A Fort Myers Miracle (Single-A, Minnesota Twins); Third baseman Luke Mann from the Midland Rock Hounds (Double-A, The Athletics); Catcher, Ryan Cesarini with the Akron Rubber Ducks (Double-A, Cleveland Guardians); and outfielder, Avery Owusu-Asiedu with the Amarillo Sod Poodles (Double-A, Arizona Diamondbacks) were this week’s top hitters from throughout Minor League Baseball for August 11th through August 16th. Francisco Renteria (MLB No. 81 Prospect), OF – DSL Phillies (Rookie level, Philadelphia Phillies) MLB’s No. 81 prospect, Francisco Renteria, is already off to a phenomenal start to his professional career. Signed by the Phillies just seven months ago, he’s been red hot in the Dominican Summer League, hitting .379 in his first season. This week with the DSL Phillies taking on the DSL Yankees, Twins, Marlins, and Mariners, Renteria went 9-for-13, hitting .692/.810/1.615, with a 2.425 OPS. He hit a double, triple, and three home runs, driving in 10 RBIs and nine runs scored. He was walked five times and stole five bases. He had three hits in back-to-back games, along with three RBI days on August 11 and 13 as well. Through his first 53 professional games, he is batting .379/.470/.682, with a 1.152 OPS. He has nine doubles, nine triples, and 11 home runs, with 55 RBIs and 34 walks. Once on the base pads, he’s a force to be reckoned with, with 24 stolen bases on the year. At the pace he’s going, it would be no surprise if Renteria finds himself in Single-A to end the year. 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 52 233 195 65 74 9 9 11 54 24 4 34 36 .380 .472 .687 1.159 134 4 2 0 2 1 Last 7 days 4 21 13 9 9 1 1 3 10 5 1 7 3 .692 .810 1.615 2.425 21 0 1 0 0 1 Last 28 days 19 87 73 22 29 7 3 6 26 7 3 13 13 .397 .494 .822 1.316 60 0 1 0 0 1 Last 90 days 52 233 195 65 74 9 9 11 54 24 4 34 36 .380 .472 .687 1.159 134 4 2 0 2 1 Home 26 112 92 34 37 6 5 2 26 13 2 18 13 .402 .509 .641 1.150 59 2 2 0 0 0 Away 26 121 103 31 37 3 4 9 28 11 2 16 23 .359 .438 .728 1.166 75 2 0 0 2 1 vs RHP as RHB 52 203 171 65 9 8 10 49 28 33 .380 .468 .702 1.170 120 0 2 0 2 1 vs ?HP as RHB 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 vs LHP as RHB 19 30 24 9 0 1 1 5 6 3 .375 .500 .583 1.083 14 0 0 0 0 0 vs ?HP as ?HB 2 9 7 4 0 2 0 0 2 0 .571 .667 1.143 1.810 8 0 0 0 0 0 June 22 97 85 27 33 1 4 3 18 11 0 11 15 .388 .464 .600 1.064 51 4 1 0 0 0 July 19 88 73 23 24 3 3 4 21 7 3 13 12 .329 .421 .616 1.037 45 0 0 0 2 0 August 11 48 37 15 17 5 2 4 15 6 1 10 9 .460 .583 1.027 1.610 38 0 1 0 0 1 2 outs, RISP 35 47 43 18 1 3 5 25 4 5 .419 .468 .930 1.398 40 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 21 42 32 11 0 0 2 12 7 6 .344 .452 .531 .984 17 0 1 0 2 0 vs. Older Pitchers 50 191 163 63 9 9 9 42 27 30 .387 .476 .718 1.194 117 0 1 0 0 1 Luis Fragoza, OF – Fort Myers Miracle (Single-A, Minnesota Twins) Luis Fragoza is another player who began his career very early in his teenage years. The Twins signed the outfielder as a free agent in 2024, and now, still just 19 years old, the righty batter from Valencia, Venezuela finds himself having a star-studded year in Single-A in Fort Myers. This week the Mighty Mussels took on the Clearwater Threshers (Phillies). They took four out of six from the Phillies’ Single-A affiliate at home in Fort Myers, with Fragoza going 8-for-12 with two doubles and three home runs. He drove in six RBIs and nine runs scored, with seven walks and five stolen bases. He hit a combined .668/.800/1.583, with a 2.383 OPS through five games. On August 13, he hit two home runs and drove in four. The 19-year-old played 10 games at the start of the year with the FCL Twins before being promoted to the Florida State League in May. Since then, he has hit .322/.398/.607, with a 1.005 OPS as he cruises through Single-A. He has 18 doubles and 14 home runs, driving in an accumulated 51 RBIs and 43 runs scored. He has 15 stolen bases in Single-A. His BABIP is .400, and he has 36 extra-base hits through 59 games, an impressive feat. The Twins have depth at the outfield position, but Fragoza’s bat is one they could use higher up, and his speed on the base pads is like that of Royce Lewis and could benefit the Twins right now as well. 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 69 281 240 50 76 22 0 14 52 19 2 24 73 .317 .401 .583 .984 140 6 11 0 2 0 Last 7 days 5 21 12 9 8 2 0 3 6 5 0 7 4 .667 .800 1.583 2.383 19 0 1 0 0 0 Last 28 days 20 84 64 18 19 5 0 4 16 7 1 12 25 .297 .432 .563 .995 36 2 4 0 1 0 Last 90 days 59 245 211 43 68 18 0 14 51 15 2 20 66 .322 .398 .607 1.005 128 5 8 0 2 0 Home 37 146 122 27 42 12 0 10 26 13 1 18 34 .344 .438 .689 1.126 84 4 3 0 1 0 Away 32 135 118 23 34 10 0 4 26 6 1 6 39 .288 .361 .475 .836 56 2 8 0 1 0 vs RHP as RHB 67 224 194 66 20 0 10 41 15 54 .340 .409 .598 1.007 116 0 9 0 2 0 vs ?HP as RHB 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 vs LHP as RHB 31 57 46 10 2 0 4 11 9 19 .217 .368 .522 .890 24 0 2 0 0 0 May 20 75 64 11 18 7 0 3 11 5 0 6 17 .281 .387 .531 .918 34 1 5 0 0 0 June 20 89 82 17 27 7 0 6 22 6 0 5 23 .329 .382 .634 1.016 52 3 2 0 0 0 July 19 73 62 9 16 5 0 1 8 3 2 3 22 .258 .314 .387 .701 24 2 3 0 2 0 August 10 44 32 13 15 3 0 4 11 5 0 10 11 .469 .605 .938 1.542 30 0 1 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 43 62 50 18 5 0 5 23 9 14 .360 .484 .760 1.244 38 0 3 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 12 19 13 3 0 0 0 1 3 4 .231 .412 .231 .643 3 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 69 262 227 73 22 0 14 51 21 69 .322 .400 .604 1.004 137 0 10 0 2 0 Luke Mann, 3B – Midland RockHounds (Double-A, The Athletics) Mann, recently called up to Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday, finished off his week strong in Double-A, finding himself a top hitter in the league for the week, which makes it no surprise that he has heard his name called to make the leap to Triple-A this week. Last week the RockHounds took on the Amarillo Sod Poodles (Arizona Diamondbacks), splitting the series 3-3. Mann, drafted by the Athletics in 2023, played in five of six games, missing the sixth because he was on his way to Vegas. Over those five games he did appear in, the 26-year-old third baseman hit .588/.600/1.706, with a 2.306 OPS. He went 10-for-17, with two doubles and six home runs, driving in a big 12 RBIs and seven runs scored. He had back-to-back two-home run games on August 13 and 14, driving in four RBIs and two runs scored on the 13th and two home runs with three RBIs and two runs scored on the 14th. Through 71 games with Midland in 2026, Mann was hitting .230/.300/.437, with a .737 OPS. He had 10 doubles and 14 home runs with 46 RBIs and 32 runs scored. He was walked twice and stole two bases. 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 72 286 256 34 59 10 0 14 46 2 0 25 95 .231 .302 .434 .735 111 2 2 0 2 2 Last 7 days 6 25 21 9 11 1 0 6 12 0 0 2 6 .524 .560 1.429 1.989 30 0 1 0 1 1 Last 28 days 20 85 73 16 24 4 0 10 21 0 0 9 23 .329 .405 .795 1.199 58 0 1 0 1 1 Last 90 days 50 205 178 25 45 7 0 12 37 2 0 22 63 .253 .338 .494 .833 88 0 2 0 2 1 Home 39 153 135 17 29 6 0 3 17 1 0 14 51 .215 .296 .326 .622 44 2 2 0 1 1 Away 33 133 121 17 30 4 0 11 29 1 0 11 44 .248 .308 .554 .862 67 0 0 0 1 1 vs RHP as ?HB 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000 1 0 1 0 0 0 vs RHP as LHB 67 231 205 45 9 0 11 37 23 81 .220 .299 .424 .723 87 0 1 0 2 2 vs LHP as ?HB 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 vs LHP as LHB 22 50 47 13 1 0 3 9 2 12 .277 .306 .489 .796 23 0 0 0 0 0 April 12 43 40 6 8 2 0 1 5 0 0 3 15 .200 .256 .325 .581 13 1 0 0 0 1 May 20 78 71 6 14 1 0 3 12 0 0 5 34 .197 .256 .338 .594 24 1 1 0 1 0 June 14 53 47 5 7 2 0 0 3 1 0 6 14 .149 .245 .192 .437 9 0 0 0 0 0 July 13 58 50 4 12 3 0 2 10 1 0 8 16 .240 .345 .420 .765 21 0 0 0 0 0 August 13 54 48 13 18 2 0 8 16 0 0 3 16 .375 .415 .917 1.332 44 0 1 0 1 1 2 outs, RISP 44 62 53 14 1 0 5 20 8 20 .264 .361 .566 .927 30 0 0 0 0 2 vs. Younger Pitchers 66 203 182 41 7 0 11 34 18 74 .225 .292 .445 .737 81 0 0 0 2 1 vs. Older Pitchers 46 83 74 18 3 0 3 12 7 21 .243 .325 .405 .731 30 0 2 0 0 1 Ryan Cesarini, C – Akron RubberDucks (Double-A, Cleveland Guardians) Ryan Cesarini, the lefty-batting, righty-throwing catcher from Scranton, PA, was drafted by the Guardians in the 14th round (pick number 415 overall) of the 2024 MLB draft. After quickly working his way through Single-A and High-A, he found himself behind the dish at the Double-A level last month. He has played 21 games in Double-A, including the last four games against the Altoona Curve, whom he dominated at the plate. He was 9-for-19, hitting .474/.500/1.421, with a 1.921 OPS. He drove out six home runs, driving in 11 RBIs and seven runs scored. August 11th was his big day to shine, going 3-for-6 with all three hits being home runs. He drove in six RBIs. He then followed that with a home run on August 12th and two home runs on August 14th. It was a great week for the 23-year-old from Pennsylvania as he now finds himself in Triple-A. Over the course of 34 Double-A games, he hit .260/.331/.472, with a .803 OPS. He had six doubles and seven home runs, with 21 RBIs and 21 runs scored as well. He had seven stolen bases. He’s already off to a strong start in Triple-A as well. 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 55 232 205 43 63 13 0 15 43 13 1 24 43 .307 .377 .590 .967 121 3 0 1 2 0 Last 7 days 4 20 19 7 9 0 0 6 11 1 0 1 2 .474 .500 1.421 1.921 27 1 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 19 79 70 20 27 7 0 8 21 4 1 8 11 .386 .449 .829 1.277 58 1 0 1 0 0 Last 90 days 27 112 98 27 34 7 0 9 23 8 1 12 19 .347 .414 .694 1.108 68 1 0 1 1 0 Home 31 123 110 24 33 10 0 7 21 6 1 12 21 .300 .369 .582 .951 64 1 0 1 0 0 Away 24 109 95 19 30 3 0 8 22 7 0 12 22 .316 .385 .600 .985 57 2 0 0 2 0 vs RHP as LHB 53 189 166 51 11 0 11 32 21 33 .307 .383 .572 .955 95 0 0 1 1 0 vs LHP as LHB 29 43 39 12 2 0 4 11 3 10 .308 .349 .667 1.016 26 0 0 0 1 0 April 15 64 59 5 17 2 0 3 11 3 0 5 11 .288 .344 .475 .818 28 2 0 0 0 0 May 13 56 48 11 12 4 0 3 9 2 0 7 13 .250 .339 .521 .860 25 0 0 0 1 0 July 15 59 52 11 14 2 0 2 5 5 1 6 12 .269 .339 .423 .762 22 0 0 0 1 0 August 12 53 46 16 20 5 0 7 18 3 0 6 7 .435 .500 1.000 1.500 46 1 0 1 0 0 2 outs, RISP 33 53 44 13 1 0 5 18 9 6 .296 .415 .659 1.074 29 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 33 75 68 20 5 0 6 16 7 14 .294 .360 .632 .992 43 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 50 157 137 43 8 0 9 27 17 29 .314 .385 .569 .954 78 0 0 1 2 0 Avery Owusu-Asiedu, OF – Amarillo Sod Poodles (Double-A, Arizona Diamondbacks) Owusu-Asiedu, the outfielder from the Sod Poodles, joins Mann from the Midland Rock Hounds, who took on the Sod Poodles this week, on the week’s top five MiLB hitters. Across the dugout, RockHounds outfielder Owusu-Adiedu went 12-for-23, hitting .522/.586/1.304, with a 1.890 OPS. He had three doubles, with five home runs, 12 RBIs, and seven runs scored. The 23-year-old from Canada had one or more home runs in four straight games. On August 13th, he drove two home runs out, driving in three RBIs that day with two runs scored. The day prior, he had four RBIs on a double and a home run. Over the course of the season, the 2023 draftee (originally drafted by Philadelphia) is batting an impressive .522/.586/1.304, with a huge 1.890 OPS. He has three doubles in Double-A, with five home runs, driving in 12 RBIs, and seven runs scored through six games. It’s a trend that the Diamondbacks hope to see continue as they could use some bats in the major leagues right now too. 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 98 387 335 52 75 14 1 18 47 22 4 43 97 .224 .312 .433 .745 145 5 2 2 5 0 Last 7 days 6 29 23 7 12 3 0 5 12 1 0 5 4 .522 .586 1.304 1.891 30 0 0 0 1 0 Last 28 days 23 97 85 20 32 5 0 10 24 4 0 9 16 .377 .423 .788 1.211 67 2 0 0 3 0 Last 90 days 62 240 206 39 53 9 0 15 38 14 2 26 49 .257 .340 .519 .860 107 2 2 2 4 0 Home 54 210 185 33 47 8 1 12 36 9 2 19 50 .254 .317 .503 .820 93 4 0 2 4 0 Away 44 177 150 19 28 6 0 6 11 13 2 24 47 .187 .305 .347 .652 52 1 2 0 1 0 vs RHP as RHB 95 301 268 62 11 0 12 30 30 73 .231 .310 .407 .717 109 0 1 1 1 0 vs LHP as RHB 55 86 67 13 3 1 6 17 13 24 .194 .318 .537 .855 36 0 1 1 4 0 April 23 97 87 10 13 3 1 3 7 5 0 10 33 .149 .237 .310 .547 27 2 0 0 0 0 May 22 85 74 9 15 4 0 1 4 7 2 10 24 .203 .294 .297 .591 22 1 0 0 1 0 June 19 69 55 10 10 1 0 3 8 4 1 12 16 .182 .338 .364 .702 20 0 1 1 0 0 July 21 80 72 10 17 2 0 3 11 2 1 4 16 .236 .279 .389 .667 28 2 1 1 2 0 August 13 56 47 13 20 4 0 8 17 4 0 7 8 .426 .482 1.021 1.503 48 0 0 0 2 0 2 outs, RISP 63 76 73 12 4 1 3 16 3 31 .164 .197 .370 .567 27 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 62 131 113 30 6 0 12 23 14 31 .266 .344 .637 .981 72 0 1 0 3 0 vs. Older Pitchers 93 256 222 45 8 1 6 24 29 66 .203 .295 .329 .624 73 0 1 2 2 0 MILB Top-100 Prospects, Top five hitters of the week Joining Renteria, who was a top hitter for all of the minor leagues this week, Ralphy Velazquez with Triple-A Columbus (Cleveland Guardians), Caleb Bonemer with Double-A Birmingham (Chicago White Sox), Eduardo Quintero with High-A Great Lakes (Los Angeles Dodgers), and Ethan Salas with Triple-A El Paso (San Diego Padres) rounded out this week's top hitters. Velazquez is MLB’s No. 32 prospect. This week he hit .467/.556/1.067, with a 1.623 OPS. He went 7-for-15 with three home runs and six RBIs, along with six runs scored. Bonemer, ranked No. 30 in baseball, hit .381/.519/.810, with a 1.329 OPS in Double-A this week. He went 8-for-21, with two doubles, two triples, a home run, and drove in four RBIs. Quintera (ranked No. 20 among all minor leagues) hit .563/.667/.625, with a 1.292 OPS. He went 9-for-16 with two doubles and seven runs scored; he had five walks and three stolen bases. Rounding out this week’s hitters of the week is MLB’s No. 23 prospect, Ethan Salas, with Triple-A El Paso. He went 8-for-17, hitting .471/.524/.765, with a 1.289 OPS. He hit two doubles and a home run, driving in eight RBIs. It was a strong week for the Double-A guys and some Triple-A as well. Just over a month remains in the minor league schedule before a champion is crowned at each level. View full article

High-A players stole the show last week as three players found themselves among the top hitters across the minor leagues for the week, along with a player from the DSL and one Triple-A player. Shortstop Antonio Anderson from the Greenville Drive (High-A, Boston Red Sox); shortstop Axel Sanchez from the Everett AquaSox (High-A, Seattle Mariners); second baseman Juan Torres from the DSL Yankees (Rookie affiliate, New York Yankees); Left fielder Zac Veen with the Albuquerque Isotopes (Triple-A, Colorado Rockies); and Jhonny Level with the Eugene Emeralds (High-A, San Francisco Giants) were a top this week’s lead hitters. Antonio Anderson, SS – Greenville Drive (High-A, Boston Red Sox) Anderson and the Greenville Drive took on the Yankees’ High-A affiliate Hudson Valley Renegades in a five-game series in Greenville last week, in which Hudson Valley took the series 4-2. But a bright spot for the Drive was the bat of Anderson, who hit .615/.706/1.231, with a 1.937 OPS. He was 8-for-13, hitting two doubles, two home runs, driving in six RBIs and seven runs scored over the course of four games played. He walked four times. Anderson’s biggest game came August seventh when he went 4-for-5; however, he had the most runs scored on August fourth (three) and August ninth (three). Over the course of the season, Anderson (drafted in 2023 in the third round by Boston) is hitting an accumulated .284/.378/.482, with a .860 OPS. He has a total of 13 doubles, three triples, and eight home runs, with 38 RBIs and 41 runs scored. He has one stolen base. After ending his season in High-A last year, he’s played the entirety of this season so far in High-A and could hear his name called up to Double-A soon if his progress continues. 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 64 255 218 41 62 13 3 8 38 1 1 30 58 .284 .378 .482 .860 105 4 4 0 2 0 Last 7 days 3 14 11 4 6 2 0 1 4 0 0 2 2 .546 .615 1.000 1.615 11 0 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 17 69 59 14 22 5 2 3 13 0 0 7 16 .373 .456 .678 1.134 40 1 2 0 0 0 Last 90 days 45 180 156 34 52 12 3 7 30 1 1 19 42 .333 .419 .583 1.002 91 4 4 0 0 0 Home 36 142 120 25 41 7 3 6 22 0 1 17 34 .342 .433 .600 1.033 72 1 3 0 1 0 Away 28 113 98 16 21 6 0 2 16 1 0 13 24 .214 .310 .337 .646 33 3 1 0 1 0 vs RHP as LHB 64 205 175 50 11 2 7 34 25 50 .286 .378 .491 .869 86 0 2 0 2 0 vs LHP as RHB 32 50 43 12 2 1 1 4 5 8 .279 .380 .442 .822 19 0 2 0 0 0 April 13 51 41 6 4 1 0 0 5 0 0 8 10 .098 .235 .122 .357 5 0 0 0 2 0 May 13 50 42 6 11 1 1 1 6 0 0 7 13 .262 .380 .405 .785 17 2 1 0 0 0 June 12 49 44 8 15 3 0 3 7 1 1 4 13 .341 .408 .614 1.022 27 0 1 0 0 0 July 21 83 74 14 24 6 2 2 14 0 0 7 19 .324 .398 .541 .938 40 2 2 0 0 0 August 5 22 17 7 8 2 0 2 6 0 0 4 3 .471 .571 .941 1.513 16 0 0 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 36 44 36 11 1 1 2 11 7 7 .306 .432 .556 .987 20 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 9 12 7 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 .000 .417 .000 .417 0 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 64 243 211 62 13 3 8 38 25 54 .294 .376 .498 .874 105 0 4 0 2 0 Axel Sanchez, SS – Everett AquaSox (High-A, Seattle Mariners) Sanchez and the AquaSox took on High-A Vancouver (Toronto Blue Jays) in a six-game series this week, dropping the series 2-4 to Vancouver. Sanchez had 15 plate appearances this week and was walked a massive seven times. He was 4-for-8 in at-bats, hitting .500/.733/1.125, with a 1.858 OPS. Along with being walked seven times over the course of four games, he had two doubles, one home run, driving in two RBIs, and five runs scored. He also had one stolen base. Over the course of the season so far, Sanchez, who started his season in Triple-A and was later demoted to High-A, is batting .246/.373/.440, with a .813 OPS in High-A. He has eight doubles and six home runs, with 23 RBIs and 22 runs scored. He has walked 24 times this year. Sanchez, signed by the Mariners in 2019, has not had an easy, vertical career path in the minor leagues. Struggles at the plate and injuries have caused him to struggle to make it far in the league. However, he continues to persevere and find a way to keep swinging. 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 59 213 174 30 40 9 0 8 29 13 3 29 47 .230 .352 .420 .772 73 3 6 0 4 0 Last 7 days 4 15 8 5 4 2 0 1 2 1 0 7 1 .500 .733 1.125 1.858 9 0 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 11 42 31 8 10 4 0 2 6 1 2 9 4 .323 .500 .645 1.145 20 1 2 0 0 0 Last 90 days 42 144 117 19 25 6 0 4 15 9 2 22 30 .214 .347 .368 .715 43 2 3 0 2 0 Home 31 116 90 17 25 7 0 2 15 8 2 19 24 .278 .414 .422 .836 38 0 4 0 3 0 Away 28 97 84 13 15 2 0 6 14 5 1 10 23 .179 .278 .417 .695 35 3 2 0 1 0 vs RHP as RHB 55 162 135 32 7 0 6 23 20 37 .237 .346 .422 .768 57 0 4 0 3 0 vs LHP as RHB 32 51 39 8 2 0 2 6 9 10 .205 .373 .410 .783 16 0 2 0 1 0 April 14 60 48 10 13 3 0 3 10 4 0 7 15 .271 .383 .521 .904 25 1 3 0 2 0 May 11 33 31 2 4 0 0 2 5 0 1 2 10 .129 .182 .323 .504 10 0 0 0 0 0 June 16 55 45 9 10 1 0 1 5 6 0 7 17 .222 .327 .311 .638 14 1 1 0 2 0 July 13 46 39 4 8 2 0 1 7 2 2 6 3 .205 .326 .333 .659 13 1 1 0 0 0 August 5 19 11 5 5 3 0 1 2 1 0 7 2 .455 .684 1.000 1.684 11 0 1 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 38 50 44 4 1 0 2 7 5 12 .091 .200 .250 .450 11 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 36 89 69 18 3 0 3 10 17 17 .261 .416 .435 .851 30 0 2 0 1 0 vs. Older Pitchers 49 124 105 22 6 0 5 19 12 30 .210 .307 .410 .716 43 0 4 0 3 0 Juan Torres, 2B – DSL NYY Yankees (Rookie Level, New York Yankees) Torres was signed by the Yankees as a free agent to a minor league contract just last year in 2025, spending last season and this season so far in the DSL, already showing signs of improvement over the course of the last 12-plus months. This week, with four games against the DSL Rockies (one), Phillies (one), and Rangers Red (two), Torres was 12-for-18, hitting .667/.727/1.056, with a 1.783 OPS. He struck for one double and two home runs with 13 RBIs and seven runs scored. He was walked three times and flashed some speed with two stolen bases. On August 7th against the Rangers Red, Torres was 5-for-6, with a double, both of his home runs, driving in seven RBIs, and four runs scored in a huge game for the DSL Yankees Bombers. Over the course of this season as a whole, Torres is hitting a combined .378/.462/.644, with a 1.106 OPS. He has 22 doubles, two triples, and eight home runs, driving in 61 RBIs and 49 runs scored. To put things in perspective, he only had a .359 average last year, and 43 RBIs, with 32 runs scored. With two months still left to play this season, he is already demolishing his past career bests from last season. It would be no surprise if Torres finds himself in Single-A by the end of this year or to definitely start the 2027 season. 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 47 221 186 48 71 22 2 8 61 23 5 23 16 .382 .464 .651 1.114 121 4 8 0 3 0 Last 7 days 4 19 17 5 10 1 0 2 9 1 1 2 0 .588 .632 1.000 1.632 17 1 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 17 76 59 17 20 5 0 3 21 8 1 11 3 .339 .467 .576 1.043 34 2 4 0 1 0 Last 90 days 47 221 186 48 71 22 2 8 61 23 5 23 16 .382 .464 .651 1.114 121 4 8 0 3 0 Home 23 112 95 33 45 17 2 7 43 14 2 11 6 .474 .545 .916 1.460 87 4 5 0 1 0 Away 24 109 91 15 26 5 0 1 18 9 3 12 10 .286 .380 .374 .753 34 0 3 0 2 0 vs RHP as RHB 47 188 157 60 18 2 7 49 19 15 .382 .465 .656 1.121 103 0 8 0 3 0 vs ?HP as RHB 1 3 3 3 0 0 2 5 0 0 1.000 1.000 3.000 4.000 9 0 0 0 0 0 vs LHP as RHB 21 33 29 11 4 0 1 12 4 1 .379 .455 .621 1.075 18 0 0 0 0 0 June 20 98 85 23 32 11 1 5 30 9 2 8 11 .377 .439 .706 1.145 60 1 3 0 2 0 July 20 89 73 14 24 8 1 0 15 11 2 11 4 .329 .432 .466 .898 34 2 3 0 1 0 August 7 34 28 11 15 3 0 3 16 3 1 4 1 .536 .618 .964 1.582 27 1 2 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 35 51 48 20 12 0 3 23 2 6 .417 .440 .854 1.294 41 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 42 134 111 41 13 1 5 40 13 10 .369 .451 .640 1.091 71 0 6 0 3 0 vs. Older Pitchers 35 87 75 30 9 1 3 21 10 6 .400 .483 .667 1.150 50 0 2 0 0 Zac Veen, LF – Albuquerque Isotopes (Triple-A, Colorado Rockies)/ Recently recalled on August 11 to Colorado After Veen dealt with injuries in 2025, the left fielder who made his debut last year found himself back in Triple-A to start the 2026 season and has been there the entirety of this season so far. He was, however, recalled on Tuesday, August 11, to the MLB and the Rockies. But over the course of this last week, Veen and the Isotopes took on the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate, Sugar Land Space Cowboys, taking the series 4-2. Veen was 11-for-23 on the week, hitting .478/.556/1.174, with a 1.730 OPS. He had two doubles, one triple, and four home runs on the week, with 10 RBIs and nine runs scored. It was a strong week for the 24-year-old as he also walked three times and stole three bases. On August 8, Veen went an impressive 5-for-5, with a double, a triple, and three home runs, just a single shy of the cycle, but a very rare hat trick of home runs. He drove in seven RBIs on the day and four runs scored. Clearly the Rockies were impressed enough by his progress that they recalled Veen back up to the big league club on August 11. Over the course of the season prior to his call-up, Veen was hitting a combined .327/.402/.635, with a 1.037 OPS. He had 33 doubles, eight triples, and 24 home runs, with 87 RBIs and 82 runs scored through 100 games in 2026. He was, as mentioned, recalled to Colorado on August 11th. 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 100 445 392 82 128 33 8 24 87 18 2 48 91 .327 .402 .635 1.037 249 3 3 0 2 0 Last 7 days 5 23 19 9 11 2 1 4 10 2 0 3 2 .579 .652 1.421 2.073 27 1 1 0 0 0 Last 28 days 19 89 77 23 30 7 3 8 28 4 0 10 15 .390 .472 .870 1.342 67 1 2 0 0 0 Last 90 days 65 292 268 58 92 26 8 20 62 9 0 20 56 .343 .394 .724 1.118 194 1 3 0 1 0 Home 52 227 194 41 62 13 4 11 44 12 1 30 47 .320 .410 .598 1.008 116 2 1 0 2 0 Away 48 218 198 41 66 20 4 13 43 6 1 18 44 .333 .395 .672 1.066 133 1 2 0 0 0 vs RHP as LHB 98 302 262 90 26 8 18 58 36 61 .344 .424 .710 1.134 186 0 2 0 2 0 vs ?HP as LHB 1 2 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 .500 .500 2.000 2.500 4 0 0 0 0 0 vs LHP as LHB 66 143 130 38 7 0 6 29 12 30 .292 .357 .485 .841 63 0 1 0 0 0 March 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 April 24 102 89 15 24 5 0 2 15 5 0 12 23 .270 .353 .393 .746 35 2 0 0 1 0 May 23 106 81 22 29 4 1 5 21 6 2 23 19 .358 .500 .617 1.117 50 0 1 0 1 0 June 24 104 101 20 37 13 4 7 19 3 0 3 20 .366 .385 .782 1.167 79 0 0 0 0 0 July 20 92 84 12 23 6 2 5 20 2 0 7 19 .274 .337 .571 .908 48 0 1 0 0 0 August 8 37 33 13 15 5 1 5 12 2 0 3 7 .455 .514 1.121 1.635 37 1 1 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 64 91 77 25 6 3 7 37 12 19 .325 .429 .753 1.182 58 0 2 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 34 62 52 20 4 3 4 15 9 16 .385 .484 .808 1.292 42 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 99 383 340 108 29 5 20 72 39 75 .318 .389 .609 .998 207 0 2 0 2 0 Jhonny Level, SS/2B (MLB No. 46-ranked player) – Eugene Emeralds (High-A, San Francisco Giants) Level has had a solid start to his career with the San Francisco Giants. Over the course of the last two years since being signed in 2024, he has worked himself up to High-A Eugene. This week, High-A Eugene took on High-A Spokane, defeating them 4-1 in the series, and the final game in Spokane was canceled due to air quality. Over the course of the week, MLB’s No. 46 prospect hit .563/.652/1.063, with a 1.715 OPS. He had one triple and two home runs, with eight RBIs and six runs scored on the week. His home runs came on August 5 and August 8; however, he got on base in at least nine of 16 at-bats. Over the course of the series as a whole, Level is batting a combined .310/.374/.531, with a .905 OPS. He has 31 doubles, three triples, and 17 home runs, with 78 RBIs and 73 runs scored. We will now see what he does being back up in 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 92 446 397 73 123 31 3 17 78 17 7 35 75 .310 .374 .532 .906 211 11 9 0 5 1 Last 7 days 3 17 13 4 7 0 1 2 5 0 0 4 2 .539 .647 1.154 1.801 15 0 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 14 71 57 13 16 0 1 5 16 0 2 12 11 .281 .394 .579 .973 33 2 0 0 2 0 Last 90 days 63 304 269 49 81 21 2 12 48 7 5 23 51 .301 .365 .528 .893 142 9 7 0 5 1 Home 40 190 174 35 56 14 1 7 35 10 3 10 35 .322 .368 .535 .903 93 3 4 0 2 1 Away 52 256 223 38 67 17 2 10 43 7 4 25 40 .300 .379 .529 .908 118 8 5 0 3 0 vs RHP as LHB 90 346 307 103 24 3 14 65 28 53 .336 .399 .570 .969 175 0 7 0 4 1 vs LHP as RHB 52 100 90 20 7 0 3 13 7 22 .222 .290 .400 .690 36 0 2 0 1 0 vs LHP as LHB 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 April 20 100 93 19 33 8 1 4 24 7 2 6 16 .355 .400 .591 .991 55 2 1 0 0 0 May 24 117 98 19 29 6 1 6 23 4 0 11 20 .296 .385 .561 .946 55 2 5 0 3 1 June 23 109 103 13 30 10 0 1 9 5 2 3 20 .291 .330 .418 .748 43 5 3 0 0 0 July 19 87 77 16 22 7 0 4 14 1 3 9 10 .286 .356 .533 .889 41 2 0 0 1 0 August 6 33 26 6 9 0 1 2 8 0 0 6 9 .346 .455 .654 1.108 17 0 0 0 1 0 2 outs, RISP 50 70 61 18 2 0 5 22 6 13 .295 .386 .574 .960 35 0 3 0 0 1 vs. Younger Pitchers 1 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333 .333 .333 .667 1 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 92 443 394 122 31 3 17 78 35 74 .310 .375 .533 .908 210 0 9 0 5 1 MLB Top 100 Prospects Level represented one of MLB’s top prospects; however, four others had strong performances this week as well. Outfielder Josiah Hartshorn with the South Bend Cubs (High-A, Chicago Cubs) this week went 7-for-15, hitting .467/.571/.933, with a 1.505 OPS. He hit one double and two home runs, driving in six RBIs and four runs scored on the day. He walked five times and stole one base. A second outfielder to represent the top-100 MLB prospects was Eduardo Quintero of the Great Lakes Loons (High-A, Los Angeles Dodgers). He was 6-for 16, with three doubles, two home runs, six RBIs, and four runs scored. He walked five times and stole one base on the week. JoJo Parker, shortstop for the Dunedin Blue Jays (Single-A, Toronto Blue Jays), was 7-for-14 this week, hitting .500/.563/.929, with a 1.491 OPS. He hit three doubles, with one home run, driving in six RBIs, and two runs scored. He walked twice and had one stolen base. Finally, last but not least was outfielder Lazaro Montes of the Tacoma Rainiers, Triple-A affiliate for the Seattle Mariners. This week he went 10-for-26, hitting .385/.484/.885, with a 1.368 OPS. He had one double and four home runs, driving in nine RBIs and nine runs scored. He was walked four times. This week marked the first week in the last several weeks where an MLB Top Prospect found themselves in the top five hitters. The time is now when games begin to matter for minor leaguers as they enter the last month and a half of their season. Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images View full article

It wasn’t the prettiest or strongest week at the plate for players across the minor leagues. With emotions high and the trade deadline on the minds of many, this was somewhat expected as players navigated the week. But nonetheless, this week’s top hitters from throughout the minor leagues were left fielder Zac Veen with the Albuquerque Isotopes (Triple-A, Colorado Rockies); First baseman Xavier Isaac of the Montgomery Biscuits (Double-A, Tampa Bay Rays); Outfielder Conor Essenburg of the Augusta Green Jackets (Single-A, Atlanta Braves); Center fielder Enddy Azocar of the Greenville Drive (High-A, Boston Red Sox); and third baseman Jalen Hairston of the Daytona Tortugas (Single-A, Cincinnati Reds). All five of this week’s top hitters have been with their respective teams during the trade deadline and were not dealt to different teams before the trade deadline came to a close. Zac Veen, LF – Albuquerque Isotopes (Triple-A, Colorado Rockies) Veen, the 24-year-old from Port Orange, FL has been with the Rockies since he was drafted in 2020. It hasn’t been an easy road for the outfielder as he’s battled through injuries that have caused him to bounce around the minor league levels and rehab and come back from several injuries, but so far he’s found a way to remain healthy this season and has played the entirety of the season to this point in Triple-A. This week with the Isotopes taking on the El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego Padres), Veen hit .448/.515/1.069. He accrued 13 hits, four doubles, one triple, and four home runs over the course of 33 plate appearances through six games. He drove in 14 RBIs on the week with 11 runs scored. On July 30, he drove in five, the most RBIs in the series for him, and on July 31, drove in three. He hit at least one home run in four of six games this week. Over the course of the season, Veen is batting over .300 with a combined .317/.392/.602, with a .994 OPS. He has 117 hits: 31 doubles, seven triples, and 20 home runs. He has walked 45 times and has 16 stolen bases, along with 77 RBIs and 73 runs scored. His BABIP is .365. 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 94 418 369 73 117 31 7 20 77 16 2 45 85 .317 .392 .602 .994 222 2 2 0 2 0 Last 7 days 6 33 29 11 13 4 1 4 14 1 0 3 4 .448 .515 1.069 1.584 31 0 1 0 0 0 Last 28 days 18 83 75 14 22 6 2 4 19 2 0 7 15 .293 .361 .587 .948 44 0 1 0 0 0 Last 90 days 65 292 263 52 88 25 7 17 56 8 1 26 56 .335 .397 .677 1.074 178 0 2 0 1 0 Home 46 200 171 32 51 11 3 7 34 10 1 27 41 .298 .390 .521 .911 89 1 0 0 2 0 Away 48 218 198 41 66 20 4 13 43 6 1 18 44 .333 .395 .672 1.066 133 1 2 0 0 0 vs RHP as LHB 92 278 242 79 24 7 14 48 33 58 .326 .407 .657 1.064 159 0 1 0 2 0 vs ?HP as LHB 1 2 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 .500 .500 2.000 2.500 4 0 0 0 0 0 vs LHP as LHB 65 140 127 38 7 0 6 29 12 27 .299 .364 .496 .860 63 0 1 0 0 0 March 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 April 24 102 89 15 24 5 0 2 15 5 0 12 23 .270 .353 .393 .746 35 2 0 0 1 0 May 23 106 81 22 29 4 1 5 21 6 2 23 19 .358 .500 .617 1.117 50 0 1 0 1 0 June 24 104 101 20 37 13 4 7 19 3 0 3 20 .366 .385 .782 1.167 79 0 0 0 0 0 July 20 92 84 12 23 6 2 5 20 2 0 7 19 .274 .337 .571 .908 48 0 1 0 0 0 August 2 10 10 4 4 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 .400 .400 1.000 1.400 10 0 0 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 60 84 72 22 6 3 5 31 11 18 .306 .405 .681 1.085 49 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 30 53 46 16 4 3 2 10 7 15 .348 .434 .696 1.130 32 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 93 365 323 101 27 4 18 67 38 70 .313 .386 .588 .975 190 0 2 0 2 0 Xavier Isaac, 1B - Montgomery Biscuits (Double-A, Tampa Bay Rays) Isaac is another player who also remains with his drafting team, the Tampa Bay Rays. He was drafted in the first round by Tampa in 2022 out of East Forsyth, Kernersville, NC. Over the last several seasons Isaac has bounced around the minor leagues, with this season begins his third he’s played with Double-A, already putting up his best Double-A average. This week the Biscuits took on the Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee Brewers). During the course of the five games he appeared in, Isaac batted .529/.654/1.294. He was 9-for-26 with a double and four home runs, with eight walks. He drove in 11 RBIs and eight runs scored. So far this season, Isaac is batting a combined .250/.394/.493, with a .887 OPS, all stats that are Double-A bests for the first baseman. He has a combined 70 hits, including five doubles, three triples, and 19 home runs, with 66 walks and 16 stolen bases. He has 55 RBIs and 57 runs scored on the season. His BABIP is .319. 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 83 349 279 57 69 5 3 19 55 16 2 66 103 .247 .393 .491 .884 137 3 2 0 2 1 Last 7 days 5 26 17 8 9 1 0 4 11 1 0 8 4 .529 .654 1.294 1.948 22 0 0 0 1 1 Last 28 days 14 66 49 13 17 1 1 5 16 3 1 16 15 .347 .500 .714 1.214 35 0 0 0 1 1 Last 90 days 61 258 213 40 53 5 1 12 44 12 1 41 68 .249 .372 .451 .823 96 2 2 0 2 1 Home 42 173 136 28 33 3 1 11 26 8 1 35 55 .243 .405 .522 .927 71 3 2 0 0 0 Away 41 176 143 29 36 2 2 8 29 8 1 31 48 .252 .381 .462 .842 66 0 0 0 2 1 vs RHP as LHB 82 295 233 59 4 2 19 50 58 84 .253 .403 .532 .936 124 0 2 0 2 1 vs LHP as LHB 40 54 46 10 1 1 0 5 8 19 .217 .333 .283 .616 13 0 0 0 0 0 April 19 79 59 15 14 0 2 6 10 3 1 20 32 .237 .430 .610 1.041 36 1 0 0 0 0 May 24 99 80 16 21 4 0 6 16 8 0 17 27 .263 .404 .538 .942 43 0 2 0 0 0 June 22 89 75 12 14 0 0 2 12 2 0 13 23 .187 .303 .267 .570 20 2 0 0 1 0 July 17 76 62 11 18 1 1 3 10 3 1 14 20 .290 .421 .484 .905 30 0 0 0 0 1 August 1 6 3 3 2 0 0 2 7 0 0 2 1 .667 .667 2.667 3.333 8 0 0 0 1 0 2 outs, RISP 49 64 47 15 0 1 3 18 16 15 .319 .500 .553 1.053 26 0 1 0 0 1 vs. Younger Pitchers 15 29 24 4 1 0 2 2 5 8 .167 .310 .458 .769 11 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 83 320 255 65 4 3 17 53 61 95 .255 .400 .494 .894 126 0 2 0 2 1 Conor Essenburg, OF - Augusta Green Jackets (Single-A, Atlanta Braves) Essenburg was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round (Pick No. 157 overall) out of Lincoln-Way East High School in New Lenox, IL during the 2025 MLB draft. One year later, he finds himself playing with Single-A Augusta and hitting well. This week the Green Jackets took on the Columbia Fireflies (Kansas City Royals). Essenburg was 8-for-21, hitting two doubles, a triple, and three home runs. He was walked six times in four games and had 11 RBIs and five runs scored. His biggest game came on July 28 in game one when he hit three home runs, driving in five RBIs and scoring three runs on the day. Over the course of the season so far as a whole for Essenburg, he is batting .279/.418/.536, with a .954 OPS. He has 66 hits, with 13 doubles, three triples, and 14 home runs between the FCL and Augusta. At Augusta alone, he is batting .286/.427/.564, with a .990 OPS. He has 13 doubles in Single-A, three triples, and 14 home runs. He has 55 walks in Single-A, with six stolen bases, and has driven in 44 RBIs and 48 runs scored. It’s been a successful stint for Essenburg in Single-A. While it’s likely he finishes out the season in Augusta, a promotion up to Double-A to start the 2027 season could be likely. 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 64 299 237 48 66 13 3 14 45 6 2 58 95 .279 .418 .536 .954 127 3 1 0 3 0 Last 7 days 4 21 14 5 8 2 1 3 11 0 0 6 2 .571 .667 1.500 2.167 21 0 0 0 1 0 Last 28 days 18 86 61 18 23 4 1 8 24 3 1 22 17 .377 .523 .869 1.392 53 0 0 0 3 0 Last 90 days 56 261 208 43 60 12 2 13 39 5 2 49 78 .289 .422 .553 .974 115 3 1 0 3 0 Home 28 129 100 19 30 7 2 5 21 3 1 26 33 .300 .442 .560 1.002 56 2 1 0 2 0 Away 36 170 137 29 36 6 1 9 24 3 1 32 62 .263 .400 .518 .918 71 1 0 0 1 0 vs RHP as RHB 62 235 193 57 10 3 13 42 39 74 .295 .409 .580 .989 112 0 0 0 3 0 vs LHP as RHB 33 64 44 9 3 0 1 3 19 21 .205 .453 .341 .794 15 0 1 0 0 0 April 8 38 29 5 6 1 1 1 6 1 0 9 17 .207 .395 .414 .809 12 0 0 0 0 0 May 10 43 38 3 9 0 0 2 4 0 1 5 16 .237 .326 .395 .720 15 1 0 0 0 0 June 24 117 97 20 27 8 0 3 11 0 0 20 40 .278 .402 .454 .855 44 2 0 0 0 0 July 22 101 73 20 24 4 2 8 24 5 1 24 22 .329 .485 .767 1.252 56 0 1 0 3 0 2 outs, RISP 39 50 39 10 0 1 1 13 11 16 .256 .420 .385 .805 15 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 10 14 13 4 0 1 0 2 1 4 .308 .357 .462 .819 6 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 64 285 224 62 13 2 14 43 57 91 .277 .421 .540 .961 121 0 1 0 3 0 Enddy Azocar, CF – Greenville Drive (Single-A, Boston Red Sox) Single-A players shined this week as Azocar represents the second Single-A player to be featured in this week’s top-five MiLB hitters of the week, but he comes from the High-A level, the only High-A player featured this week. Azocar and the Greenville Drive this week took on the Asheville Tourists (Houston Astros) on the road in North Carolina. Over the course of the week, Azocar, signed as an international free agent to the Red Sox in 2024, this week batted .560/.577/1.040. He was 14-for-26 with three doubles and three home runs. He drove in 10 RBIs and 10 runs scored over the course of five games he appeared in this week. This was, however, Azocar’s final week with the Red Sox, as on Monday he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in a trade that brought Adley Rutschman to Boston and sent Azocar and a number of other prospects to Baltimore. Prior to the trade, however, Azocar, over the course of this season, was hitting .279/.338/.547, with a .885 OPS, with Greenville. He had hit 12 doubles, three triples, and 12 home runs, driving in 37 RBIs and 45 runs scored. He was walked 16 times and had four stolen bases on the year. He will now continue his career with the Baltimore Orioles’ organization. 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 85 399 367 76 105 27 6 18 63 11 2 28 95 .286 .341 .540 .880 198 2 3 0 1 0 Last 7 days 5 26 25 10 14 3 0 3 10 0 0 1 4 .560 .577 1.040 1.617 26 0 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 17 83 79 21 28 7 1 9 22 0 0 3 21 .354 .386 .810 1.196 64 0 1 0 0 0 Last 90 days 60 284 262 53 74 19 5 13 45 6 1 20 69 .282 .338 .542 .880 142 2 2 0 0 0 Home 40 189 171 39 45 10 5 6 25 7 0 15 38 .263 .328 .485 .813 83 1 2 0 1 0 Away 45 210 196 37 60 17 1 12 38 4 2 13 57 .306 .352 .587 .939 115 1 1 0 0 0 vs RHP as RHB 85 319 294 80 24 4 12 46 23 74 .272 .326 .503 .829 148 0 1 0 1 0 vs LHP as RHB 44 80 73 25 3 2 6 17 5 21 .343 .400 .685 1.085 50 0 2 0 0 0 April 22 101 92 20 27 7 1 4 15 3 1 7 24 .294 .347 .522 .868 48 0 1 0 1 0 May 22 103 95 16 28 8 4 3 17 4 1 7 19 .295 .350 .558 .907 53 1 1 0 0 0 June 20 93 83 16 18 5 0 1 5 4 0 10 26 .217 .301 .313 .614 26 0 0 0 0 0 July 19 91 86 20 27 5 1 8 22 0 0 4 25 .314 .352 .674 1.026 58 1 1 0 0 0 August 2 11 11 4 5 2 0 2 4 0 0 0 1 .455 .455 1.182 1.636 13 0 0 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 54 75 71 19 7 0 3 21 3 17 .268 .307 .493 .800 35 0 1 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 7 17 13 3 0 1 1 1 4 7 .231 .412 .615 1.027 8 0 0 0 0 0 vs. Older Pitchers 85 382 354 102 27 5 17 62 24 88 .288 .338 .537 .874 190 0 3 0 1 0 Jalen Hairston, 3B – Daytona Tortugas (Single-A, Cincinnati Reds) Hairston, the 22-year-old from Winter Haven, FL, was drafted by the Reds in the 18th round of the 2024 MLB Amateur Draft from the State College of Florida in Bradenton. Over the course of the last two years, he has found himself advancing through the minor leagues, with 2026 marking his first year in Single-A. This week the Tortugas welcomed Hairston’s hometown minor league affiliate in the Bradenton Marauders. He appeared in five of those games, going 9-for-23, hitting .529.652/1.118. He had four doubles and two home runs, with six walks and a stolen base. He had nine RBIs and six runs scored on the week. Over the course of the season so far, Hairston is hitting a combined .317/.386/.518, with a .904 OPS. He has 13 doubles and five home runs, with 30 RBIs and 27 runs scored through 38 games. It’s been a strong year for the 22-year-old, and should he continue to hit the way he is, it would be no surprise if he finds his way to High-A soon. 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 50 200 174 37 55 14 0 9 44 3 5 19 46 .316 .392 .552 .944 96 1 4 1 2 0 Last 7 days 5 23 17 6 9 4 0 2 9 1 1 6 3 .529 .652 1.118 1.770 19 0 0 0 0 0 Last 28 days 19 88 75 17 27 8 0 3 19 3 2 10 17 .360 .437 .587 1.024 44 0 1 1 1 0 Last 90 days 48 194 169 36 55 14 0 9 43 3 5 19 44 .325 .399 .568 .967 96 1 3 1 2 0 Home 28 114 99 24 34 9 0 6 28 3 3 12 27 .343 .430 .616 1.046 61 0 3 0 0 0 Away 22 86 75 13 21 5 0 3 16 0 2 7 19 .280 .341 .467 .808 35 1 1 1 2 0 vs RHP as LHB 48 158 137 40 10 0 6 28 17 40 .292 .369 .496 .866 68 0 1 1 2 0 vs LHP as LHB 24 42 37 15 4 0 3 16 2 6 .405 .476 .757 1.233 28 0 3 0 0 0 May 11 39 33 10 10 0 0 4 14 0 2 5 9 .303 .410 .667 1.077 22 0 1 0 0 0 June 17 58 51 4 10 3 0 1 6 0 1 4 18 .196 .276 .314 .590 16 1 2 0 1 0 July 21 98 85 22 33 9 0 4 21 3 2 10 17 .388 .454 .635 1.089 54 0 1 1 1 0 August 1 5 5 1 2 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 .400 .400 .800 1.200 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 outs, RISP 36 45 40 9 3 0 2 13 3 13 .225 .311 .450 .761 18 0 2 0 0 0 vs. Younger Pitchers 42 111 97 37 7 0 7 32 11 21 .381 .451 .670 1.121 65 0 2 0 1 0 vs. Older Pitchers 39 89 77 18 7 0 2 12 8 25 .234 .318 .403 .721 31 0 2 1 1 0 MLB Pipeline Top-100 Five players from MLB Pipeline’s Top-100 had decent weeks, but also not the strongest. However, this week’s top five hitters were Cooper Ingle, Rainiel Rodriguez, Josue De Paula, Jesus Made, and Josh Adamczewski. Ingle is MLB Pipeline’s No. 58 prospect and a catcher with the Columbus Fireflies (Triple-A, Guardians). This week he was 13-for-29, hitting .520/.552/.960. He had three home runs with 10 RBIs and nine runs scored. Rodriguez ranks as MLB’s No. 12 prospect. Also a catcher, he is with the Springfield Cardinals (Double-A of the Cardinals). This week he was 10-for-21, hitting .526/.571/1.105. He hit three home runs and had five RBIs and six runs scored. DePaula, MLB’s No. 4 prospect, is a center fielder with the Tulsa Drillers (Double-A, Los Angeles Dodgers), an organization that’s had a very good trade deadline week. This week, DePaula was 9-for-29, hitting .391/.517/.957. He hit four home runs and drove in 10 RBIs and 10 runs scored. Jesus Made is MLB’s top prospect in all of baseball; the shortstop is ranked as the No. 1 prospect. Playing in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, Made is with Double-A Biloxi. This week he was 12-for-30, hitting .429/.467/.857. He hit three home runs and had 10 RBIs and 10 runs scored. Adadmczewski is the No. 87 prospect in baseball. The shortstop is also with Biloxi, whose players swept the rankings at the plate this week. He was 10-for-28, hitting .455/.536/.727 across six games. He hit one home run and drove in six RBIs and six runs scored. As mentioned, with the trade deadline on the minds of many, they weren’t the strongest stats many of these players have seen, but now with rosters settled, baseball will feel a little more “normal” to many of these players in the final weeks of the year. It was interesting to see many of these top players for this week remaining with their current teams, as mentioned, only one of the ten players mentioned above is now with a new team, and that was Azocar, who is now with Baltimore, but was moved after the week’s games had ended. Image courtesy of USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect - Jalen Hairston Shown View full article