Minor League Baseball Weekly Top Performers for August 23
Minor League Baseball Weekly Top Performers
With complex league playoffs beginning this week, this seemed like a great time to look at the minor league baseball playoff situation:
AAA
International League East – Durham leads Lehigh Valley by 2 games
International League West – Nashville leads Columbus by 2.5 games
Pacific Coast League East – Oklahoma City leads El Paso by 2.5 games
Pacific Coast League West – Reno leads Las Vegas by 8 games
AA
Eastern League 1st half division winners: Somerset and Richmond
Eastern League East – Portland leads Somerset by 0.5 games
Eastern League West – Bowie and Erie are tied
Southern League 1st half division winners: Rocket City and Pensacola
Southern League North – Rocket City leads Tennessee by 1 game
Southern League South – Montgomery leads Mississippi by 5.5 games
Texas League 1st half division winners: Tulsa and San Antonio
Texas League North – Wichita leads Springfield by 6 games
Texas League South – Midland leads Frisco by 2 games
High-A
Midwest League 1st half winners: Great Lakes and Cedar Rapids
Midwest League East – Lake County leads West Michigan and Great Lakes by 1 game
Midwest League West – South Bend leads Beloit and Cedar Rapids by 5 games
Northwest League 1st half winner: Eugene
Northwest League – Eugene leads Vancouver by 1.5 games
South Atlantic League 1st half winners: Aberdeen and Bowling Green
South Atlantic League North – Brooklyn leads Hudson Valley and Aberdeen by 1.5 games
South Atlantic League South – Rome leads Bowling Green by 4.5 games
Single-A
California League 1st half winners: Fresno and Lake Elsinore
California League North – Modesto leads Fresno by 1 game
California League South – Inland Empire leads Lake Elsinore by 2 games
Carolina League 1st half winners: Lynchburg and Myrtle Beach
Carolina League North – Fredericksburg leads Carolina by 2.5 games
Carolina League South – Charleston leads Columbia by 3.5 games
Florida State League 1st half winners: St. Lucie and Fort Myers
Florida State League East – St. Lucie and Palm Beach are tied
Florida State League West – Bradenton leads Dunedin by 0.5 games
Complex
Arizona Complex League East – ACL Giants Black lead ACL Rockies by 2.5 games
Arizona Complex League Central – ACL Reds lead ACL Brewers Gold by 3 games
Arizona Complex League West – ACL Rangers lead ACL Padres by 3 games
Arizona Complex League Wild Card – ACL Rockies lead ACL Angels by 1.5 games
Dominican Summer League North – DSL Boston Blue clinched
Dominican Summer League South – DSL Rockies clinched
Dominican Summer League Northeast – DSL Pittsburgh Gold clinched
Dominican Summer League Northwest – DSL Dodgers Mega leads DSL Braves and DSL Dodgers Bautista by 1 game
Dominican Summer League Baseball City – DSL Diamondbacks Black clinched
Dominican Summer League San Pedro – DSL Phillies White and DSL Texas Blue tied
Dominican Summer League Wild Card (2) – Winner of San Pedro division and DSL Phillies Red lead DSL Boston Red, DSL Houston Orange and DSL Padres by 1 game
Florida Complex League East – FCL Mets lead FCL Nationals by 1 game
Florida Complex League North – FCL Yankees clinched
Florida Complex League South – FCL Rays clinched
Florida Complex League Wild Card – FCL Red Sox lead FCL Nationals by 2 games
Now to our regularly scheduled review of players over the past week!
Hitter of the Week
An elite raw athlete from the Atlanta area, Harry Ford was the Seattle Mariners’ first-round pick in the 2021 draft at 12th overall. Ford was a catcher with impressive athleticism, so many teams viewed him at a different position, but the Mariners have played him only behind the plate thus far and been impressed with his raw skills, though he has work to do to polish his receiving skills. On the offensive end, he has shown his impressive combination of athleticism as a backstop, with 20 stolen bases on the season and 32 extra-base hits. This week, Ford put together a huge week, slashing .400/.613/.900 with four doubles and a pair of home runs with five steals.
Pitcher of the Week
The Minnesota Twins signed Daniel Gossett as a minor league veteran with more than 100 major league innings under his belt as well. Rather than providing depth that could help the major league club, however, Gossett has struggled at the Triple-A level. That led to Gossett being dropped to Double-A Wichita, where the Twins have had a strong overall rotation until recent trades and promotions. Gossett was put into one of those rotation spots this last week and responded with the first no-hitter in Wichita history, a nine-inning no-hitter, allowing three walks, striking out 10. Gossett is not a “prospect” on the mound, but he’s an example of the type of pitcher in the upper minors that could really impact playoff runs over the next month or two.
Hitters
AAA
Camden Duzenack, Reno – .533/.588/1.400, 5 R, 4 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 2/0 BB/K, SB
Mason McCoy, Tacoma – .563/.632/1.188, 6 R, 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 3/1 BB/K, 3 SB
Mark Payton, Charlotte – .353/.500/1.059, 8 R, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 6/2 BB/K
Cristian Santana, Louisville – .368/.520/1.053, 5 R, 2B, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 6/3 BB/K
Chris Williams, St. Paul – .313/.381/1.125, 6 R, 2B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 3/5 BB/K
AA
Ryan Aguilar, Rocket City – .438/.591/.938, 6 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 6/6 BB/K, SB
Kyle Datres, Hartford – .400/.571/1.000, 5 R, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 5/5 BB/K, 3 SB
Tyler Fitzgerald, Richmond – .474/.545/1.053, 6 R, 2 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2/3 BB/K, 2 SB
Kaden Polcovich, Arkansas – .476/.522/1.095, 6 R, 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 2/3 BB/K
High-A
Damon Keith, Great Lakes – .471/.550/1.235, 6 R, 2 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 3/3 BB/K
Matthew Lugo, Greenville – .381/.435/1.048, 9 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 1/6 BB/K, 2 SB
Single-A
Griffin Doersching, Lake Elsinore – .435/.517/1.217, 10 R, 6 HR, 10 RBI, 4/9 BB/K
Harry Ford, Modesto – .400/.613/.900, 11 R, 4 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 7/7 BB/K, 5 SB
Yassel Pino, Daytona – .438/.571/1.000, 7 R, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 4/4 BB/K
Shane Sasaki, Charleston – .444/.500/.926, 8 R, 5 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3/6 BB/K, 4 SB
Complex Leagues
Jackson Holliday, FCL Orioles – .385/.591/.692, 4 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 8/1 BB/K, SB
Jose Meza, DSL Dodgers Mega – .450/.500/1.150, 8 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 1/6 BB/K, 2 SB
Angel Pierre, DSL Kansas City Stewart – .500/.571/.938, 7 R, 5 2B, 3B, 5 RBI, 3/6 BB/K, SB
Pitchers
AAA
Michael Grove, Oklahoma City – 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
AA
Daniel Gossett, Wichita – 9 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 10 K
Kyle Harrison, Richmond – 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
Jesus Vargas, Binghamton – 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
High-A
Bryan Woo, Everett – 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 11 K
Single-A
Jackson Rutledge, Fredericksburg – 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K
Complex Leagues
Gerelmi Maldonado, ACL Giants Orange – 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K
Eligio Paredes, DSL Cubs Blue – 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 12 K
Luis Serna, FCL Yankees – 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
Statistical leaders across minors (min. 200 PA or 90 IP)
Hitting
AVG – Vaun Brown .352, Samuel Munoz .351, Josue De Paula .349, Frederick Bencosme .349, Jancarlos Cintron .348
OBP – Keiner Delgado .515, Niko Kavadas .464, Austin Gauthier .455, Esteury Ruiz .455, Josue De Paula .448
SLG – Sean Bouchard .667, Matt Gorski .664, Moises Gomez .652, Kyle Manzardo .649, Kerry Carpenter .645
HR – Moises Gomez 33, Alexander Canario 31, Kerry Carpenter/Hunter Goodman 30, Seven with 28
SB – Wilderd Patino 67, Esteury Ruiz 65, Omar De Los Santos/Luis Valdez 63, Max Ferguson/Mike Antico 58
wRC+ – Niko Kavada/Keiner Delgado/Kyle Manzardo 185, Vaun Brown 179, Matt Gorski 170
Pitching
GP – Zach Lee 52, Reagan Todd 49, Miguel Del Pozo/Fernando Cruz 47, Four with 4
IP – Brandon Pfaadt 131 1/3, Collin Wiles 129 1/3, Peyton Battenfield 127 1/3, Ryne Nelson/Zane Mills 125
ERA – Gavin Stone 1.50, Gavin Williams 1.80, Luis Devers 1.92, Taylor Dollard 1.93, Tanner Bibee 2.10
WHIP – Jack Leftwich 0.87, Casey Lawrence 0.88, Luis Devers 0.92, Mason Englert 0.93, Gavin Williams 0.94
K – Brandon Pfaadt 170, Royber Salinas 156, Kyle Harrison 153, Mason Montgomery 147, Logan Allen 141
FIP – Gavin Stone 2.42, Brant Hurter 2.48, Jack Leftwich 2.49, Brayan Bello 2.70, Kyle Harrison 2.93
Benjamin Chase
After 6 years of writing for FanSided on various sites and offering contributions to various other websites, family changes have encouraged me to start this site. I spend a ton of time watching baseball at all levels, but I love watching minor league baseball on milb.tv as I'm hours away from the closest minor league team. This is an effort of all those games I enjoy on a daily basis!
