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April's hottest hitting prospects

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April's hottest hitting prospects

The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game’s best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest League in slugging at age 18 and Pirates shortstop/center fielder Konnor Griffin and Brewers shortstop Jesús Made are raking in their full-season debuts.

Below, we spotlight the hottest hitters on each organization’s Top 30 Prospects list. They include nine members of our overall Top 100 Prospects list as well as seven guys who rank in the bottom third of their team’s Top 30 lists.

Blue Jays: Arjun Nimmala, SS (No. 1/MLB No. 83)
The 2023 first-rounder hasn’t had much trouble carrying last year’s second-half surge into a new season at a new level. Nimmala homered in three straight games from last Friday to Sunday and now has five dingers through 19 games for High-A Vancouver, tied with Eduardo Tait for the most in the Minors among players in their age-19 season or younger.

Orioles: Ethan Anderson, C/1B (No. 18)
Speedster Enrique Bradfield Jr. got off to a really good start (1.032 OPS), but has been on the injured list since April 11. Anderson, the O’s second-rounder in last year’s Draft out of Virginia is more than holding his own, hitting for average (.290) and getting on base (.413 OBP), walking nearly as often as he’s striking out while also going 9-for-10 in stolen-base attempts for High-A Aberdeen.

Rays: Cooper Kinney, 2B/3B (No. 23)
With a career .287 average and .810 OPS in his fourth season, Kinney has always produced offensively when healthy during his time in the Tampa Bay system, but this might be one of his best stretches yet. He’s gone deep four times over his last seven games for Double-A Montgomery and has six homers on the season, only four fewer than his career high of 10. Again, it’s still only April. His .699 slugging percentage on the season leads Double-A qualifiers, while his 1.111 OPS and 222 wRC+ rank second.

Red Sox: Roman Anthony (No. 1/MLB No. 2)
Baseball’s top position prospect is pushing for his first big league callup by slashing .306/.439/.565 with five homers in 24 Triple-A games at age 20, burnishing his reputation as a plus hitter with plus-plus raw power. The Red Sox don’t have an obvious spot for the 2022 supplemental first-rounder from a Florida high school, but they’re going to need to find one soon.

Yankees: George Lombard Jr., SS (No. 1/MLB No. 98)
The son of former big leaguer and current Tigers bench coach George Lombard Sr., he’s displaying an advanced approach as a 19-year-old at High-A, batting .309/.500/.456 while ranking second in the Florida State League in on-base percentage and walks (22 in 21 games). A 2023 first-rounder out of a Florida high school, he also has 11 steals and is playing quality defense.

Guardians: C.J. Kayfus, 1B/OF (No. 8)
Kayfus began this season by hitting .364/.475/.591 with nine extra-base hits in 18 Double-A games, which is good enough to lead the Eastern League in OBP and OPS (1.066) — and to earn a promotion to Triple-A on Monday. The 2023 third-rounder is showing more power in pro ball than he did in college at Miami now that he’s attacking driveable pitches early in counts and looking to launch them in the air to his pull side.

Royals: Asbel Gonzalez, OF (No. 23)
If you’ve smelled burning rubber in the Columbia area recently, it’s probably been Gonzalez, who has stolen 29 bases over 21 games for Kansas City’s Single-A affiliate. That’s the most in the Minors, and no one else has more than 24. Of course to steal bags, you have to be on base, and Gonzalez is accomplishing that with a .500 OBP and more walks (12) than strikeouts (seven). He hasn’t shown much power (only one extra-base hit), but that may not be as needed if he’s picking up extra bases in other ways.

Tigers: Max Anderson, 2B (No. 22)
The 2023 second-rounder started his second full season with a bang and caught even more fire lately. Over his last eight games with Double-A Erie, Anderson is 18-for-37 (.487) with four homers and two doubles, pushing his season line to .342/.388/.620 through 19 contests. He has as many extra-base hits on the season as strikeouts (12) and is one of only two Minor League qualifiers to maintain a K rate below 15 percent while slugging above .600.

Twins: Billy Amick, 3B (No. 14)
The Twins’ first- and second-round picks from the 2024 Draft are both hitting well for High-A Cedar Rapids right now. We’ll give Amick, the second-rounder out of Tennessee the nod only because first-rounder Kaelen Culpepper missed time on the injured list. Amick is going to have to watch the strikeouts (27.4 percent K rate so far), but he’s also drawing walks (15.8) while posting a .333/.474/.444 line over his first 20 games.

White Sox: Caleb Bonemer, SS/3B (No. 11)
The White Sox gave Bonemer an over-slot $2,997,500 bonus as a second-round pick out of a Michigan high school last July, and the early returns from his 2025 pro debut have been good. His bat speed and considerable raw power have translated into a .294/.425/.485 slash line with nine extra-base hits in 19 games at Single-A.

Angels: Denzer Guzman, SS (No. 9)
The 21-year-old Guzman’s slash line of .243/.341/.443 is relatively modest, but there are some encouraging trends here for a guy who’s struggled to gain any offensive traction since signing in 2021. He’s striking out a smidge less and drawing more walks and that’s helped him tap into his raw power more than he has previously. He has four homers over 19 games, and that’s just three shy of his career high.

Astros: Joseph Sullivan, OF (No. 12)
Yes, a guy right at the Mendoza Line has the highest OPS on our Astros Top 30 list. Sullivan is slashing .200/.461/.433 thanks to four homers and a High-A South Atlantic League-leading 24 walks in 20 games. The grandson of 1971 Heisman Trophy winner Patrick Sullivan and a seventh-round pick from South Alabama last year, he makes good swing decisions and uses his plus speed to steal bases (eight this year) and chase down balls in center field.

A’s: Logan Davidson, UTIL (No. 30)
Just added back to the A’s Top 30, the 27-year-old Davidson had a .915 OPS in 2024, but with what has been his typical K/BB ratio (109/30 in 90 games). This year at Triple-A, he’s still striking out a lot (31.0 percent) but he’s drawing a lot more walks (22 in 25 games) that has helped him post a .348/.487/.472 line while seeing time at five different positions.

Mariners: Lazaro Montes, OF (No. 2/MLB No. 39)
Montes has shown he can get to his power at every stop since signing in 2022, including hitting 21 homers and driving in 105 runs last year in his first full year in full-season ball. He’s just 20 for all of this season, more than two years younger than the average hitter in the High-A Northwest League, and he leads the circuit in extra-base hits (13) and is tied for the league lead in homers (five) and total bases (47) while sitting second in slugging (.588) and fourth in OPS (.988).

Rangers: Justin Foscue, 2B/1B (No. 15)
A Mississippi State product drafted 14th overall in 2020, Foscue has some of the best bat-to-ball skills and plate discipline in the Rangers’ system, but he’s blocked at the big league level because he doesn’t provide much power or defensive value. He’s off to a .300/383/460 start with three homers in 26 Triple-A games.

Braves: Carlos Rodríguez, OF (No. 29)
The Braves signed Rodríguez as a Minor League free agent and added him to their 40-man roster this offseason because they liked his bat-to-ball skills and he’s doing kind of what he’s always done: hit. He had to start the year back at Double-A, but got bumped up after hitting .342 over his first 10 games with Columbus. For the year, he’s at .296 with a .348 OBP, right in line with his career marks of .291 and .355.

Marlins: Joe Mack, C (No. 9)
The 31st overall pick in the 2021 Draft as a New York high schooler, Mack finally broke out offensively last season and hasn’t slowed down this year. He’s batting .328/.458/.627 with five homers in 19 games between Double-A and Triple-A, and he’s also a much better defender behind the plate than Marlins rookie sensation Agustín Ramírez.

Mets: A.J. Ewing, OF/2B (No. 27)
Ewing played 71 games for Single-A St. Lucie last year but showed he didn’t plan on having as extended a stay this time around. The 2023 fourth-rounder hit .400/.506/.615 over 18 games to open his age-20 season and was promoted to High-A Brooklyn to begin this week. His 26 hits, four triples, 14 steals and 1.122 OPS still lead the Florida State League.

Nationals: Daylen Lile, OF (No. 9)
If you hit, you’ll move. Lile has certainly hit with a 14-game hitting streak for Double-A Harrisburg entering Wednesday. He’s gone 23-for-62 (.371) with two homers, two triples and four doubles over that stretch, all while striking out only four times. And now he’s certainly moving with a trip up to Triple-A Rochester less than a month into his age-22 campaign. The Nationals have a crowded outfield depth chart, but the left-handed slugger is elbowing his way into consideration for a look this summer ahead of his Rule 5 eligibility in the offseason.

Phillies: Aroon Escobar, 2B/3B (No. 13)
Tip of the cap to Otto Kemp, who is knocking on the big league door with nine homers and a 1.139 OPS at Triple-A, but we’re going to give the nod to the younger guy in A ball. Escobar is just 20 and making his full-season debut look easy. The infielder has already set his career high in home runs with four, has a .357/.464/.600 line and is currently third in the Florida State League with a 1.064 OPS.

Brewers: Jesús Made, SS/3B (No. 2/MLB No. 52)
Made opened 0-for-9 over his first two games for Single-A Carolina (contests sandwiched between an absence due to an ankle issue), and it could have been a slow start for a 17-year-old pushed into the deep end of full-season ball. So much for that. The switch-hitter has gone 21-for-57 (.368) with three homers in 14 games since then. His four-hit performance Tuesday tied a career high for knocks in a game and featured his latest dinger, a long ball off the videoboard in left field. The Mudcats have Single-A’s (if not the entire Minors’) most exciting lineup, and Made is their superstar.

Cardinals: Travis Honeyman, OF (No. 24)
The former Boston College star missed much of his first full season with shoulder issues and got off to a delayed start this year with an April 11 debut. But he’s done plenty to make up for lost time, opening with a nine-game hitting streak for Single-A Palm Beach. Even when that came to an end Tuesday, he still reached base with two walks. Honeyman is 15-for-36 (.417) with an equal 5/5 K/BB ratio through 10 contests and should see High-A Peoria before long in his age-23 campaign.

Cubs: Moisés Ballesteros, C/1B (No. 4/MLB No. 65)
After winning the Cubs’ Minor League player of the year award in both 2023 and 2024, Ballesteros is looking to make it a trifecta. He’s slashing .402/.459/.619 with four homers in 24 games, pacing the Triple-A International League in batting and hits (39). Signed for $1.2 million out of Venezuela in 2021, he has nothing left to prove offensively in the Minors but his defense is still a work in progress.

Pirates: Konnor Griffin, SS/OF (No. 2/MLB No. 40)
Griffin is sure to hit some bumps along the way during his pro debut this year with Single-A Bradenton, and he’ll need to keep working on his approach (29.2 percent K rate and 6.7 pct BB rate), but it’s been fun to see him tap into his considerable tools already. The 19-year old is in the Florida State League top five in home runs (four), extra-base hits (nine), total bases (38) and steals (11) over his first 19 games.

Reds: Héctor Rodríguez, OF (No. 11)
Rodríguez has always had a feel for hitting, but also had a tendency to be overaggressive. He’s never swung and missed much (14.9 percent career K rate), but chased out of the zone a lot (40 percent in 2024). So far this year, that chase rate is at 23 percent, according to Synergy, a big reason why he’s slashing .365/.427/.514 and leading the Southern League in hitting (second in OPS) in his first taste of Double-A.

D-backs: Jordan Lawlar, INF (No. 1/MLB No. 10)
There’s been plenty of attention paid to where Lawlar is playing defensively following shortstop Geraldo Perdomo’s extension with Arizona — it’s been a lot of second base with some short and third mixed in — but it’s the bat that keeps him in the conversation about the top prospects in baseball. Lawlar has been an extra-base-hit machine for Triple-A Reno with 20 (six homers, two triples, 12 doubles) in 27 games, second-most in the Minors. He leads MiLB with 39 hits total and sports a .365/.460/.682 line. The hitter-friendly environs help, but Lawlar is taking advantage with good swing decisions, decent power and the ability to pull fly balls.

Dodgers: Mike Sirota, OF (No. 20)
The grandnephew of Hall of Famer Whitey Ford, Sirota went to the Reds in the third round of the 2024 Draft out of Northeastern and joined the Dodgers in the Gavin Lux trade in January. A potential 20/20 center fielder, he’s destroying the California League in his pro debut, batting .361/.451/.672 in 15 games and leading the Single-A circuit in slugging, OPS (1.123) and extra-base hits (12).

Giants: Bo Davidson, OF (No. 9)
Signed for $50,000 as a nondrafted free agent out of Caldwell (N.C.) CC in 2023, Davidson posted a 1.042 OPS last season and is continuing to thrive in the High-A Northwest League. He’s slashing .339/.388/.565 with eight extra-base hits in 14 games and showing the potential for at least solid tools across the board.

Padres: Leo De Vries, SS (No. 1/MLB No. 17)
The 18-year-old was the youngest player on a High-A Opening Day roster in 2025, but he sure isn’t playing like it. A five-hit, two-homer cycle on April 22 was his biggest highlight of the season so far for Fort Wayne, but he hasn’t stopped there, going 3-for-3 with a homer and a double Tuesday. De Vries leads the Midwest League with a .609 slugging percentage over 18 games and ranks second with a .968 OPS, despite being more than four years younger than the average hitter on the circuit.

Rockies: Jared Thomas, OF (No. 12)
Thomas was thought to be one of the best pure hitters as a Draft-eligible sophomore coming out of Texas last year and that’s why the Rockies took him in the second round. He’s lived up to that billing so far during his full-season debut with High-A Spokane, putting up a .349/.462/.535 line over his first 22 games. He tops the Northwest League in hits (30) and is second in average and third in OPS.

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Liberty League Performers of the Week for January 12, 2026

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Women’s Track & Field Rookie of the Week – Lola Gitlin

Lola Gitlin won the 3,000-meter race by more than 12 seconds at Cornell’s Southern Tier Invitational as she clocked a time of 10:37.55. Gitlin’s time is good for 24th nationally.

Women’s Track & Field – Field Performer of the Week – Lily Seyfert

Lily Seyfert placed third in the shot put at the Cornell Southern Tier Invitational with a mark of 12.72 meters, which is just shy of her top mark of 12.78 this season (17th in Division III). Seyfert also finished third in the weight throw at 16.20 meters and ranks eighth in the country after that performance.

Men’s Track & Field Rookie of the Week – Raphael Campanile

Raphael Campanile placed fifth in the pole vault with a mark of 4.50 meters at the Cornell Southern Tier Invitational on Saturday and currently ranks 25th in Division III with that performance.

HONOR ROLL

Matthew Zenker totaled 44 points on 18-of-31 shooting, to go along with nine rebounds and three steals in a 1-1 week for Ithaca. Zenker netted 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting in a 101-72 win over RIT and followed up with 24 points and eight rebounds as he shot 10-of-15 from the floor in a loss to Union.

Junior forward McNamara delivered a pair of strong performances despite setbacks against RIT and Union. Against the Tigers, she was flawless from the floor, going 3-for-3 while adding seven rebounds and two blocks. She carried that momentum into the Union matchup, coming just shy of her first career double-double with nine points and eight boards.

 



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Area Briefs: SU’s Bellenbaum earns ODAC men’s volleyball weekly award | Winchester Star

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Shenandoah University men’s volleyball freshman Simon Bellenbaum was named the ODAC’s Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

The York, Pennsylvania, native accumulated six solo blocks and eight digs in SU’s two matches against Randolph and Regent, with three blocks in each game and five digs versus the Royals.

Boys’ basketball: Sherando 48, Strasburg 44

STEPHENS CITY — Sherando defeated Strasburg for its fourth straight win on Monday. The Warriors are 9-4.

Girls’ basketball: Strasburg 39, Sherando 29

STRASBURG — Strasburg completed a season sweep with a win over Sherando on Monday.

The Warriors (3-11) trailed 18-7 after one quarter, 23-10 at the half and 29-22 after three quarters.

Sherando leaders: Kinsley Richardson 10 points, 8 rebounds; Avery Ryan 8 points, 2 assists, 2 steals.  

— Compiled by Robert Niedzwiecki 



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Damis, Johnson Awarded Weekly LEC Awards from Weekend Action

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Two Keene State College student-athletes honored by the Little East Conference for their achievements accomplished for the week of January 5-11.
 
Men’s Swimming and Diving
 
Freshman diver Keegan Johnson (Durham, N.H.) was named the LEC Diver of the Week and the Rookie Diver of the Week from his dives across the Owls’ final two home meets this season over the past weekend. Against Eastern Connecticut State University, Johnson placed first in the 1M diving with a score of 129.75 on Friday afternoon, and on Saturday morning against Norwich University, he placed first in the 1M diving with a score of 141.38 and first in the 3M diving with a score of 170.31.
 
Johnson and the Owls return to action for a double-dual meet against Brandeis University and Bridgewater State University on Saturday, January 17 at 12:00 PM.

Men’s Indoor Track and Field

 

Senior Eden Damis (Nashua, N.H.) was named the LEC Field Athlete of the Week from his performance at the Middlebury Snowflake Invitational on Saturday for the Owls. In the long jump, Damis posted a mark of 14.00 in the triple just for a new personal record in his final attempt of the day. His mark became the 21st best mark in NCAA Division III on the season, just one position for qualifying for nationals later this season.

 

Damis and the Owls return to action at the Panther Invitational I at Plymouth State University on Saturday, January 17, at 10:00 AM.



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TCNJ’s Garcia-Beltran and Scepkowski, Farmingdale State’s Vitale Earn NJAC Women’s Indoor Weekly Honors

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PITMAN — The New Jersey Athletic Conference announced its women’s indoor track & field weekly honors for the week ending Jan. 11
 


TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
LUCIA GARCIA-BELTRAN • The College of New Jersey
Senior • Hopewell, NJ/Hopewell Valley Central
 
Garcia-Beltran earned NJAC Track Athlete of the Week honors after setting a new program record in the 60 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The senior sprinter and Rutgers transfer clocked a time of 7.63 seconds, which ranks fifth in NCAA Division III.
 
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
SARAH SCEPKOWSKI • The College of New Jersey
Senior • Garwood, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson
 
Scepkowski claimed NJAC Field Athlete of the Week recognition after clearing 1.60 meters in the high jump at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The senior’s mark ranks 20th in NCAA Division III and stands as one of the top performances in the conference this season.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

AMELIA VITALE • Farmingdale State College

Freshman • Hauppauge, NY/Hauppauge

 

Vitale was named NJAC Rookie of the Week after posting a time of 2:30.87 in the 800 meters at the Spartan Invitational. The freshman’s performance represents the top mark in the event thus far in the NJAC this season and establishes her as the conference’s early leader in the middle-distance event.

 



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TCNJ Sweeps NJAC Men’s Indoor Weekly Honors; Rychkov, Paulmenn, Akinboboye Honored

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PITMAN — The New Jersey Athletic Conference announced its men’s indoor track & field weekly honors for the week ending Jan. 11.
 


TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
MAXIM RYCHKOV • The College of New Jersey
Sophomore • Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville
 
Rychkov earned NJAC Track Athlete of the Week honors after setting a new program record in the 400 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The sophomore clocked a time of 47.95 seconds, which ranks sixth in Division III. Rychkov’s record-breaking performance also leads both the NJAC and NCAA Metro Region in the event.
 
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
BRADEN PAULMENN • The College of New Jersey
Sophomore • Monmouth Junction, NJ/South Brunswick
 
Paulmenn claimed NJAC Field Athlete of the Week recognition after a strong showing in two throwing events at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The sophomore recorded a mark of 15.38 meters in the shot put (third place) and 13.98 meters in the weight throw (fourth place). His weight throw mark ranks third in the NJAC and 10th in the Metro Region. Paulmenn also owns the second-best shot put mark in the NJAC and NCAA Metro Region and is 26th in Division III.
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
VICTOR AKINBOBOYE • The College of New Jersey
Freshman • Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty
 
Akinboboye was named NJAC Rookie of the Week after clocking a time of 35.54 seconds in the 300 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The freshman’s performance ranks 18th in Division III and establishes him as one of the top first-year sprinters in the conference.

 



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Oldani Named Week 1 MPSF Defensive Player of the Week – BYU Athletics – Official Athletics Website

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Oldani had a match-high and career-high 10 digs in BYU’s season opener Friday night in Provo. He added another three digs on Saturday. Oldani also had five blocks over the two matches, as the Cougars started the season 2-0 for the fourth consecutive season.

Oldani is one of three transfers from Grand Canyon on this season’s BYU squad. He was a key contributor as a freshman last season for the Antelopes and has picked up where he left off with the Cougars.

Oldani and the No. 8 Cougars won in back-to-back sweeps last weekend over Saint Francis and have two more home matches this Friday and Saturday, as No. 10 UC San Diego visits the Smith Fieldhouse.



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