Fredrick's Week 11 MiLB Review

Featuring Brody Hopkins, Andrew Fischer, Briggs McKenzie, Jhomnardo Reyes, and more

By Tyler Fredrick · June 14, 2026 · Updated October 11, 2026

{"template":"baseball-prospect-risers","subtitle":"Featuring Brody Hopkins, Andrew Fischer, Briggs McKenzie, Jhomnardo Reyes, and more","readTime":"10","intro":"Hello all, back again to take a look at some notable performances from the past couple of weeks of Minor League Baseball. Eli Willits doesn't qualify for any of the categories here but I wanted to mention him for a second. First of all, Four homers in his first four games as an 18 year old in A+ is ridiculous, he's really, really good. Second of all, the minor league ball is so juiced, especially at A+ and AA. Willits has almost as many homers in 4 A+ games as he did in 47 A ball games. Hartshorn is doing something similar. Both fantastic prospects that I love, but I can't help but note that when I look at their performances after waking up in the morning. ","tiers":[{"id":"tier-1","label":"% Owned on Fantrax There has been a lot of noise about Hopkins recently after two fantastic starts where he walked 3 batters over 10 innings while striking out 16. He took the mound on Thursday looking to continue that trend but ran into some trouble, lasting only 2 innings while walking 6 and giving up 6 runs. That's been the story with Hopkins this year. The strikeouts and the stuff are there, if he can find the zone then it's usually a fantastic day. But those days happen all too infrequently and it's been a rough year overall. I usually stay away from pitchers who struggle with command at this rate. "},{"name":"Quinn Mathews","team":"STL","position":"SP","age":"25","pctOwned":"40","writeup":"It feels like Matthews has been in AAA forever now and he's continued to struggle this season. He's been on fire the past two outings though, going 6 innings in both contests while striking out 15 and only walking 2 over those 12 innings. It's great to see him keep the walks down because there's potential here, there was a reason he got so much hype prior to 2025. If he can keep continuing that and locate the fastball then maybe that mid rotation projection is still in play. "},{"name":"Andrew Fischer","team":"MIL","position":"3B","age":"22","pctOwned":"39","writeup":"Fischer has been fantastic recently, hitting .419 with 5 homers since June began. It has come with 13 strikeouts though and I can't help but look at the 62% contact rate and worry about his hit tool as he advances to higher levels. The power is real but so is the hit tool risk. Hopefully he will be promoted to AA soon so we can see how he does against better pitching but I will continue to be lower than consensus until then. "},{"name":"Zac Veen","team":"COL","position":"OF","age":"24","pctOwned":"34","writeup":"Veen drew some attention after showing up to spring training looking like a new man. Sadly, it did not seem to translate into anything and he started off the season terribly, putting up a 4 wRC+ in 37 big leagues PA's before getting sent down. He's been really good since May began though, hitting .367/.473/.675 with 7 homers and 8 stolen bases. More importantly, he's striking out just 17.8% of the while walking 16.4%. He even put up a new maxEV of 113.4. The tools and the ceiling are very exciting so it's hard to give up on a guy like this. But on the other side, the above average chase rates are still there and the contact numbers haven't changed all that much from last year. I'm definitely interested but still skeptical. "},{"name":"Jefferson Rojas","team":"CHC","position":"SS","age":"21","pctOwned":"26","writeup":"Rojas has been one of the hottest bats in the minors recently, hitting 4 homers in the past week while striking out just three times and walking twice. His season line is up to .286/.358/.500 and looks extremely impressive for a guy that just turned 21 a month ago. This is a great all-around hitter and while he doesn't have the biggest tools, he's a very exciting prospect. "}]},{"id":"tier-2","label":"% Owned on Fantrax Root has been stellar all season, even more so this past month. The stuff seems to have ticked up across the board and it's certainly working in A+ ball. He's likely not a top of the rotation type with the stuff he has and I'd like to see him continue this at AA before truly getting excited but he looks legit so far and I'm a fan. "},{"name":"Briggs McKenzie","team":"ATL","position":"SP","age":"19","pctOwned":"17","writeup":"McKenzie has been one of the hottest names after dominating in his A ball debut then immediately being promoted to A+ ball right after. Unfortunately, his A+ debut didn't go as well and he only lasted 1.2 innings while giving up 4 runs, but the 19 year old is still a very exciting prospect. He's got a very good and big curveball that pairs with a decent fastball and a developing changeup that has some potential. He's not huge but he's athletic and has some room to add to his frame. A very interesting prospect that I like and should be owned in all deep leagues. "},{"name":"Bishop Letson","team":"MIL","position":"SP","age":"21","pctOwned":"16","writeup":"One of my favorite prospects going into the year has had a rough couple months. I haven't given up on him though, and his last couple of starts have only reignited my hope. On 6/7, he went 6 innings, giving up no runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, while striking out 8. He followed that up with another solid start yesterday, going 5 innings, giving up 3 runs, 3 walks, and striking out 5. Not as impressive but he's on the right track. He's still only 21 years old in AA, I still like the stuff, and he has a history of good command outside of the start to this year, I'm staying in on him. "},{"name":"Marek Houston","team":"MIN","position":"SS","age":"22","pctOwned":"15","writeup":"Houston has been really good in the month of June, hitting .346/.486/.577 with two homers, 6 SB's, and a 2.67 BB/K ratio since the month began. It's everything you want to see from the 16th overall pick in last year's draft and you have to think that he'll be getting a promotion to AA soon if he continues to play like this. He's showing good contact rates and at 6'3\" 205, you have to wonder if there's more power in there somewhere. Right now the profile doesn't look too exciting but he's got a high floor and maybe there's more in the tank. "},{"name":"Caden Bodine","team":"TB","position":"C","age":"22","pctOwned":"13","writeup":"Bodine hasn't slowed down since being promoted to A+. He's hitting .299 with a .286 BABIP, he's still walking more than he's striking out, and he's added 3 homers in 19 games on top of that. The hit tool has been elite this year and it gives him a very high floor. The lack of power limits his ceiling but he's looking like a very good prospect and I wouldn't be surprised if he continues rising up lists. "}]},{"id":"tier-3","label":"% Owned on Fantrax Alvarez has been impressive this season, hitting .300/.401/.466 with 6 homers and 32! stolen bases in 56 games. He's continued to hit well since the new month began and at 6'3\" 190 with plus athleticism, I'm surprised he's only at 10% owned. He's got all the tools you want to see in an elite fantasy bat and if he's promoted and continues to hit, he's going to fly up rankings. I ranked him 70th on my top 100 and with those tools, I wouldn't be surprised if he finished the season as a top 25 prospect. "},{"name":"Jhomnardo Reyes","team":"MIN","position":"OF","age":"18","pctOwned":"6","writeup":"I wrote about Reyes two weeks ago when his ownership % was at 3%. It's now at 6% and he's generating some serious hype by continuing to crush the ball and putting up some impressive exit velocities while doing it. The hit tool still has some risk but he looks like a seriously legitimate prospect. If you didn't grab him when I wrote about him two weeks ago and he's still available, go get him. "},{"name":"Carlos Jorge","team":"CIN","position":"2B/OF","age":"22","pctOwned":"6","writeup":"I remember Jorge generating some serious buzz after performing well in the DSL in 2021 then hitting well in the complex league the year after. He couldn't sustain that level of performance in recent years so it's nice to see him playing well again. He's hitting .343/.431/.479 this season with 6 homers and 19 stolen bases in 45 games and is still only 22. The hit tool took a step forward last season and he's continued that to AA by putting up a 79.3% contact rate. He's not a huge guy and seems to have maxed out his 5'10\" frame, so he's unlikely to grow into any more power than he has, but his glove has turned out to be great in center field and may give him chances to hit. It's not the most exciting profile but if you're in a deeper league and need speed then you might want to be interested. "}]},{"id":"tier-4","label":"% Owned on Fantrax Ayers came out of nowhere as a 24 year old in A ball last year before absolutely crushing the Arizona Fall League and putting himself on the map. He's continued that this season by dominating A+, earning a quick promotion to AA, and continuing to dominate there. He is 25 so you have to temper your expectations but you really can't ask much more from a guy like this. He's a pretty good fielder too so he might earn himself a chance in the bigs and I recommend adding in all deep leagues to see if he can keep it up. A great story from the 19th rounder. "},{"name":"Brooks Brannon","team":"BOS","position":"C/1B","age":"22","pctOwned":"3","writeup":"The 22 year old is having a breakout year, hitting .295/.408/.615 with 9 homers in 34 AA games so far this season. Brannon has 70 grade power but the hit tool was always the issue. It seems to have taken a step forward this season though. His contact rate has jumped from 67% to 72% and his K rate has gone from 34% in AA last year to 29% so far this year. I'm still skeptical and will be watching the contact numbers closely, especially if he earns a promotion to AAA ball, but he is a much more interesting prospect if he can maintain 70+% contact rates. That power is real. "},{"name":"Xavier Cruz","team":"STL","position":"SP","age":"20","pctOwned":"2","writeup":"Cruz made a name for himself by striking out 6 of the 13 batters he faced in his A ball debut the other day. It came with 3 walks and 2 unearned runs but the stuff looked really nasty. The fastball hit 99 with 18\" IVB, the curveball sat above 3000 RPM's, and the slider above 2700. Impressive stuff from the 20 year old. While the numbers don't jump off the page, some refinement and consistency might be all that's needed for him to break out. "}]}]}