Pair of slugging Top 100 prospects headline latest Team of the Week

A year ago, Owen Ayers was a late-round selection who was still trying to find his footing as one of the oldest players in Single-A when a broken hand prematurely ended the season. Since his return, he's looked like an entirely different hitter.

After a tremendous Fall League campaign in which he won Breakout Prospect of the Year honors, the Cubs catching prospect has been a hitting machine in 2026, earning four Prospect Team of the Week honors after this latest nod. With nine weeks to go in the campaign, he's already among elite company:

5 PTOW honors in a season: Yordan Alvarez (2019), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2018)
4 PTOW honors in a season: Ayers (2026), Sal Stewart (2025), Logan O'Hoppe (2022), Matt Wallner (2022), James Karinchak (2019), Kyle Tucker (2019), Jared Walsh (2019), Brendan Rodgers (2018), Gary Sánchez (2016), Kyle Schwarber (2015), A.J. Reed (2015)

That's quite an array of talent, with both potential Hall of Famers and role players, but regardless of how Ayers' career turns out, it really underscores how far he's come in a year. Once well off Chicago's Top 30 Prospects list, he's now one of the club's top 10 prospects.

Ayers isn't the only returning player to this latest Prospect Team of the Week. Yankees prospects Henry Lalane and Wilson Rodriguez are back after making it two weeks ago, and Rockies slugger Charlie Condon (three previous appearances) and Marlins outfielder Fenwick Trimble (one) -- also fellow Fall League standouts -- are familiar faces.

To be eligible for the Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week, Minor League players must be ranked among their club's Top 30 prospects on Pipeline's lists. (Those in the Majors do not qualify.)

This is the Prospect Team of the Week for June 22-28:

C: Owen Ayers, Knoxville Smokies (Double-A)
Cubs No. 9
.529/.652/.941, 5 G, 9-for-17, 2 HR, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 7 R, 6 BB, 3 K, 1 CS

All Ayers has done this season is mash the ball, with three multihit performances last week, including a four-hit game to end the series. In fact, the 25-year-old has more games with multiple hits (25) than with one hit (18). All of that adds up to a 1.113 OPS across two levels this season, which ranks second among qualified Minor Leaguers behind only Andrew Fischer. Notably, the switch-hitter struggled against southpaws last season (.533 OPS) but has shown very little platoon split this year: .326/.444/.696 vs. righties and .340/.436/.574 vs. lefties.

1B: Charlie Condon, Albuquerque Isotopes (Triple-A)
Rockies No. 2/MLB No. 66
.500/.583/1.200, 5 G, 10-for-20, 3 HR, 2 3B, 1 2B, 9 RBI, 8 R, 3 BB, 6 K

Condon's red-hot June reached its zenith last week as he bookended his most recent series with a pair of three-hit games, the latter of which also included two homers. The 2024 first-rounder is slashing .321/.455/.778 in June, and his nine long balls this month are one off the Triple-A lead. Fully healthy after hand and wrist injuries and playing in the hitter's haven that is the Pacific Coast League, it's no surprise that Condon has already set a career high in homers this season. But he's crucially also improved his strikeout and walk rates a few points each as he's taken a more disciplined approach with fewer swings, whiffs and chases.

2B: Max Anderson, Toledo Mud Hens (Triple-A)
Tigers No. 4
.481/.500/.852, 6 G, 13-for-27, 2 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 8 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Always an aggressive hitter, Anderson is swinging at a 56.1 percent clip this season, which would tie for fourth-highest in the Majors, and it's paying off as he nears his big league debut. MLB's No. 4 second-base prospect is slashing a robust .308/.352/.538 this season and is coming off one of his hottest stretches yet. The 2023 second-rounder delivered four games with at least three hits in a week's span, capping it off with a five-hit, two-homer performance on Saturday. The Fall League standout has been especially dangerous against lefties this season, with a .392/.407/.765 slash line and five homers in 54 plate appearances.

3B: Xavier Neyens, Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Single-A)
Astros No. 2/MLB No. 90
.400/.714/1.400, 5 G, 4-for-10, 3 HR, 1 2B, 6 RBI, 7 R, 9 BB, 2 K, 1 SB

After the Astros drafted him 21st overall last July, Neyens entered pro ball with a reputation for top-of-the-line power. That has certainly translated -- four of his 12 homers have come in his past six games -- but he's also proven extremely disciplined, with a 24.2 percent walk rate and .442 OBP that both rank second in the Carolina League. His tremendous feel for the zone has enabled him to capitalize on his 65-grade power when he does unleash his left-handed swing, as his hitting coach pointed out after he joined Kevin Alvarez (HOU No. 1/MLB No. 75) and Anthony Huezo (HOU No. 17) in hitting back-to-back-to-back homers on Tuesday.

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SS: Carlos Sanchez, Dayton Dragons (High-A)
Reds No. 25
.522/.560/.826, 5 G, 12-for-23, 1 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B, 8 RBI, 8 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 3 SB, 1 CS

The Reds are loaded with infield prospects, and Sanchez has been one of their best surprises this season as he's posted career highs in full-season ball with a .313/.409/.504 slash line. The left-handed hitter has posted 12 games of three or more hits this season, three of which came last week, including a four-hit game with two doubles and a triple. Notably, after primarily playing third last season with some shortstop and center field, the Dominican Republic native has played exclusively short this season and, after an up-and-down start to the season, has made just one error in his past 32 games.

OF: Fenwick Trimble, Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Double-A)
Marlins No. 18
.400/.464/.920, 6 G, 10-for-25, 3 HR, 4 2B, 8 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 2 SB

While Trimble doesn't have one carrying tool, he does a little bit of everything well. This past week, he showed his wide array of talents, hitting safely in all six games while posting a four-hit, two-homer game on Friday and going deep again on Sunday. The right-handed hitter leads all Marlins Minor Leaguers in doubles (17) and ranks in the top five in hits (71), homers (11) and runs (44).

OF: Wilson Rodriguez, Hudson Valley Renegades (High-A)
Yankees No. 17
.435/.533/.875, 6 G, 10-for-23, 3 HR, 2 2B, 10 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 SB

After picking up one total hit the week before, Rodriguez roared back to life last series. The left-handed hitter hit safely in all six games and homered in three consecutive games. The 2023 17th-rounder has shown a promising blend of power and discipline en route to a career-high .262/.374/.443 slash line this season. Among qualified South Atlantic League hitters with a strikeout rate below 20 percent, Rodriguez ranks fifth with a .180 isolated power, indicating there could be more over-the-fence pop in there with some shifts in his approach.

OF: Brailyn Antunez, ACL Brewers (ROK)
Brewers No. 28
.455/.500/1.000, 5 G, 10-for-22, 3 HR, 3 2B, 9 RBI, 7 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 SB

Few teams have developed international prospects in recent years like the Brewers have, and Antunez could be their next great find. The No. 42 prospect in the 2025 international class struggled in his debut in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League (.635 OPS) but has justified Milwaukee's decision to promote him to the Arizona Complex League, with a .288/.388/.545 slash line. The 18-year-old has been especially hot in his past 10 games, going 17-for-41 with four homers while splitting time between center and right field.

LHP: Henry Lalane, Tampa Tarpons (Single-A)
Yankees No. 14
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 K, 0.14 WHIP

After carrying a 6.30 ERA through his first six starts this season, Lalane has tapped into his massive ceiling lately. The 6-foot-7 lefty twirled his fourth scoreless outing in his past six starts while allowing just an infield single and striking out a career-high 12. The Bronx native mostly leans on his fastball (58.7 percent) and changeup (26.6 percent), and both pitches have been extremely effective this season. Opponents have rarely been able to square up his fastball (.313 slugging percentage) despite its low-90s velocity and are whiffing 50 percent of the time against the changeup.

RHP: Brady Smith, Ontario Tower Buzzers (Single-A)
Dodgers No. 29
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, 0.17 WHIP

Tommy John surgery shortly after signing limited Smith to 21 professional innings entering the season, but the 21-year-old has quickly shown why his talent made him a 2023 third-rounder. The Tennessee native went past the fourth inning for the first time last start and racked up 11 strikeouts while giving up just one hit. Despite only having 48 innings this year, he ranked third in the California League in strikeouts (81), and he's third among Minor League pitchers with as many innings as him in strikeout rate (39.7 percent) behind Kade Anderson and Seth Hernandez.

RP: Mathias LaCombe, Winston-Salem Dash (High-A)
White Sox No. 16
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 3 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 0.30 WHIP

LaCombe is perhaps best known as the first French-born pitcher ever selected in the MLB Draft, and he's quickly moving his way up the ladder in his second pro season. After starting last season, the 6-foot-2 righty has shifted to relief this season, where his strikeouts are up (38.7 percent) and walks are down (8.6 percent). The underlying numbers back up his improvement, too, as his whiff rate has jumped from 27 to 36 percent and his chase rate has doubled to 28 percent. LaCombe was especially dominant in his outing Friday, in which he recorded all seven of his outs via K.