Fredrick's Week 9 MiLB Review

Reviewing some hot bats from the past week of minor league baseball

By Tyler Fredrick · May 31, 2026 · Updated October 13, 2026

{"template":"baseball-prospect-risers","subtitle":"Reviewing some hot bats from the past week of minor league baseball","readTime":"10","intro":"The minor league leaderboards are a bit crazy at the moment. Everyone seems to be hitting the ball harder and more homers are leaving the park than ever. So how do you determine which power breakouts are real and which ones are due to the state of the game? I'm not sure we can, sadly. We really need to wait and see but that's not always possible when other guys are sniffing around the same group of players looking to add them before you. My approach will be to take a lot of these power breakouts with a grain of salt, especially from the smaller guys, but it won't stop me from picking up the hot hand just in case the breakout is legit. Now let's take a look at some of the notable names from the past week. ","tiers":[{"id":"tier-1","label":"% Owned on Fantrax The once hyped Texas A&M bat has been struggling mightily in A+ ball but has been playing much better as of late. In the past two weeks he's hit .361 with 3 homers and most importantly, only 10 strikeouts in 43 PA's. The hit tool will be what makes or breaks his career and the 63% contact rate is not making me very confident right now. I was never in on him and I still don't have much faith even though he's been putting together a nice stretch. "},{"name":"Blaze Jordan","team":"STL - AAA","position":"1B/3B","age":"23","pctOwned":"27","writeup":"I wrote about Jordan in my week 2 review and he has continued to hit in AAA. His 90.7 avgEV and 113.3 maxEV are very good, his contact numbers are looking fantastic, and it's led to an impressive 138 wRC+. However, I was pretty down on him then and I'm still not a fan. He still hits way too many ground balls and his 38% chase rate is a major issue. Profiles like this tend to limit power upside and that will be a problem for a corner only bat that needs to produce to get into the lineup. "},{"name":"Khal Stephen","team":"CLE - AA","position":"SP","age":"23","pctOwned":"24","writeup":"Stephen had one of his best outings of the year on Wednesday, throwing 6IP, giving up 2 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 3. It's been a bit of a lackluster season for Stephen despite the 2.74 ERA so far. He's not really missing bats and the 10.6% BB rate is a bit disappointing for a command guy. I see him improving on that as the year goes on and I still like him as a prospect but the lack of stuff makes it hard for me to see him as more than a 4 or 5. "},{"name":"Kayson Cunningham","team":"ARI - A","position":"SS","age":"19","pctOwned":"23","writeup":"Cunningham has been on fire this past week, hitting .500 and adding 3 extra base hits on up of that. He's only struck out twice and walked 4 times in that span and stolen 3 bases as well. The hit tool looks fantastic and he's looking like a very solid prospect, though the profile is playing out as expected as a hit tool guy without a lot of power so don't get too excited about the nice looking statline. "},{"name":"Ty Johnson","team":"TB - AAA","position":"SP","age":"24","pctOwned":"22","writeup":"Johnson was one of my biggest targets back when he was breaking out in 2024 and I've ended up with a good amount of shares as a result. He's got good size at 6'6\", his velocity was climbing at the time, and he's put up fantastic numbers since. Now recovered from a back injury, Johnson has made 5 starts and finally gave up some runs last night in his most recent one. His 30.9% K rate looks amazing and I want to get excited, yet I can't help but feel a bit underwhelmed. The fastball is only sitting 91.7, he's only thrown 4 changeups, and is still a 2 pitch fastball slider guy. I just have a hard time seeing how that is going to be effective in the big leagues. He did just recover from injury, plays for a great org for pitching development, and is dominating AAA so I still have a bit of hope though. "},{"name":"Josiah Hartshorn","team":"CHC - A+","position":"1B/OF","age":"19","pctOwned":"22","writeup":"Recently promoted to A+, Hartshorn has continued hitting well and looks to be one of the biggest risers of 2026. He's up to two homers in 5 games since the promotion and is still walking more than he's striking out. The hit tool looks great, the plate approach is good, and there's real power there. There's a possibility that he ends up being a 1B guy but he's still getting plenty of time in RF and even a few games in CF so the Cubs seem to want to keep him out there. I'm a huge fan. "}]},{"id":"tier-2","label":"% Owned on Fantrax Dzierwa has now made two AA starts and while the 5 ER in 10 innings isn't very exciting, it comes with 19 K's, just 1 BB, and a 0.14 FIP. We always wonder if these college pitchers that succeed in A+ can continue their success at a higher level and Dzierwa seems to be doing so thus far. I'm not sure if he has the highest ceiling but lefties with good command and a good changeup are a good demographic to bet on and he'll certainly be in my top 100 that will be coming out soon. "},{"name":"Abimelec Ortiz","team":"WSH - AAA","position":"1B","age":"24","pctOwned":"18","writeup":"Ortiz has smashed 4 homers in the past week and looks to have shaken off a slow start to the season. I've never been his biggest fan due to poor platoon splits but he hits fly balls, has a passable hit tool, and the power will play. Luis Garcia Jr and Andres Chaparro are not the answer for the Nats at 1B so he'll likely get a chance in the near future. If you need a strong sided platoon bat there are worse options. "},{"name":"Alex Clemmey","team":"WSH - AA","position":"SP","age":"20","pctOwned":"17","writeup":"Clemmey has put together a great stretch of games, striking out 20 in the past starts and has a 2.60 ERA to show for it. Most importantly, he's been keeping the walks down and is only walking 8% of batters in that time frame. I'm not sure the stuff is all that great right now but he's only 20 with great size as a lefty. If he can continue to keep the walks down then he's all of a sudden a much more interesting prospect. "},{"name":"Zach Root","team":"LAD - A+","position":"SP","age":"22","pctOwned":"14","writeup":"Root was the Dodgers first rounder out of Arkansas this past draft and has put together a nice start to the season so far. His last outing on Wednesday was particularly impressive, going 4 IP, striking out 9, walking 2, and only giving up 1 hit. There's a lot to like here: the 2.12 ERA looks fantastic, I've read that the fastball is up a bit in velocity, he's got good offspeed stuff, and has shown great command in the past. There's also a lot I'm questioning: he's an SEC arm in A+ ball, the command was supposed to be good but he's walking almost 16% of batters, he's averaging less than 3 innings per start so far. It's an intriguing profile but I'll need to see a lot more before I'm in on him. "},{"name":"JD Dix","team":"ARI - A","position":"2B","age":"20","pctOwned":"13","writeup":"Dix has had a great week, hitting 3 homers and adding 3 stolen bases to go along with it. I wrote about Dix in my prospect risers article and while the numbers don't jump off the page, I like everything that I see so far. The homers are starting to show up with 9 already this year and if not for a low BABIP, the line would be looking pretty exciting. I'd like to see him at a higher level soon but I'm still a fan and I'm buying. "}]},{"id":"tier-3","label":"% Owned on Fantrax Mendez is having quite the interesting minor league career. He started with MIL then was sent to Philly for Oliver Dunn, then sent to Minnesota last year for Harrison Bader. He's got a fantastic hit tool and is hitting the ball really hard this year with a 55% hard hit rate and 92 MPH average EV. The main flaw in his profile is his extreme ground ball rate. The 50% he's at right now is his career low and it's going to severely impact his upside unless he can find a change. As a LF and DH only bat without a ton of speed, it could pose a problem. Still, the hit tool will give him chances and while I'm not really a fan of the extreme ground ball types, I can see why some would be interested here. At 9% owned, he definitely should be added in deeper leagues. "},{"name":"Wyatt Sanford","team":"PIT - A+","position":"SS","age":"20","pctOwned":"10","writeup":"Sanford had himself a week, hitting 3 homers this past Tuesday and adding another one the next day. His season line is now up to .287/.414/.551 but it comes with a 32.5% K rate. There are lots of other red flags here, including a 49% ground ball rate, an unsustainable 41.7% HR/FB, and a 61.6% contact rate. The glove is great and will give him chances but I'm not interested here. "},{"name":"Denzer Guzman","team":"LAA - AAA","position":"SS","age":"22","pctOwned":"7","writeup":"Guzman is putting together a nice start to the season, hitting .321/.392/.538 with 10 homers, 8 steals, and an improved 19.2% K rate. The contact numbers look better but a look under the hood is less exciting. His xBA is .234, he's overperforming his xWOBA by almost 100 points, and his average EV is 88.5 MPH. He's got a nice glove and the line looks nice, but it's hard to see more than a utility guy here. "},{"name":"Adam Serwinowski","team":"LAD - AA","position":"SP","age":"21","pctOwned":"6","writeup":"When Serwinowski was sent to the Dodgers in a 3 way trade that sent Zack Littell to Cincinnati, I became very interested. The org does a good job with their pitchers and Serwinowski has some nasty stuff. He was fantastic to end 2025 while keeping the walks in check but has been back to his old ways in 2026. He's been good recently though, only giving up two runs in his last two starts while striking out 18. Unfortunately, that comes with 5 BB's as well. I'll always be keeping an eye on him because the stuff is that good but it's looking like he may end up as a reliever. He'll be a good one though. "}]},{"id":"tier-4","label":"% Owned on Fantrax Wing was an over slot prep arm that was drafted 4th round by the Cubs and is one of my favorite young pitching prospects. The fastball won't blow you away velocity wise but reports are showing it putting up fantastic IVB numbers and he's got a 70 grade changeup to pair with it. Add in a slider and curveball and you have a fantastic arsenal for a 19 year old. He's given up no runs while striking out 10 and walking 2 in two starts since getting promoted to A ball and I see him as a prospect on the rise. "},{"name":"Manuel Pena","team":"ARI - AA","position":"1B/2B/3B/LF","age":"22","pctOwned":"3","writeup":"I haven't really seen anyone talking about Pena but he's quietly putting up quite a ridiculous season. He's up to 20 homers in just 48 games and is sporting a .347 ISO at the moment. Now he is repeating AA, the hit tool isn't anything special, and he's swinging at very rates, but he's certainly making the most of his swings and is definitely notable for a 22 year old. I'm not sure it'll play at higher levels but he's worth keeping an eye on. "},{"name":"Jhomnardo Reyes","team":"MIN - CPX","position":"OF","age":"18","pctOwned":"3","writeup":"Reyes is off to a great start to his stateside career, hitting .378/.511/.892 as of Saturday morning. Now I always take complex league numbers with a grain of salt, the competition down there is all over the place, but I am interested in Jhomnardo. He's a projectable 6'3\" with lots of power and some speed to go along with it. There's certainly some hit tool risk here (he struck out 28.55% of the time in the DSL), but he's got the upside that I'm looking for in someone at his level and age. "},{"name":"Wilberson De Pena","team":"NYY - CPX","position":"OF","age":"19","pctOwned":"1","writeup":"De Pena was sent from the Angels to the Yanks in exchange for Oswald Peraza and is also on fire to begin the season. De Pena spent the past two years in the DSL and largely put up lackluster numbers, though he did show a bit of power last year. Now in the complex league, he's suddenly hit 7 homers and stolen 11 bases (both higher than his totals all last season). He's another guy with speed and power but a hit tool risk to go with it. I'll reiterate that complex league numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt but he's certainly grabbing my attention at the moment. "},{"name":"Yilver De Paula","team":"LAA - CPX","position":"SS","age":"18","pctOwned":"1","writeup":"De Paula showed impressive contact numbers in a small sample size as a 17 year old in the DSL last year and has had a good start to the year in the complex league. There's some interesting power here and while the contact numbers haven't been as good in the complex league so far, there's five tool potential that makes him a very intriguing add in deep leagues. I'm definitely interested. "}]}]}