The curtain has drawn on the Single-A and High-A regular seasons, but the prospect action is far from finished.
The playoffs for the lower-level systems get underway this week, and some of the game's brightest up-and-coming stars will be vying for championships.
On the latest MLB Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo took turns exploring the top prospects in each playoff matchup and made predictions for which squad will hoist the trophy in each league.
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There are currently 19 players from MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list, headlined by the 2026 No. 2 overall pick, Grady Emerson, involved in the postseason.
Here are the ones participating in Minor League playoffs this week:
Grady Emerson, SS, Rays (No. 10)
Josuar Gonzalez, SS/2B, Giants (No. 17)
Eduardo Quintero, OF, Dodgers (No. 20)
Emil Morales, SS/3B, Dodgers (No. 24)
JoJo Parker, SS, Blue Jays (No. 26)
Luis Hernández, SS/3B, Giants (No. 27)
Jackson Flora, RHP, Giants (No. 31)
Edward Florentino, OF, Pirates (No. 35)
Drew Burress, OF, Athletics (No. 41)
Jhonny Level, SS/2B, Giants (No. 47)
Aidan Miller, SS, Phillies (No. 61)
Nathan Flewelling, C, Rays (No. 65)
Jacob Lombard, SS, Marlins (No. 67)
Kevin Alvarez, OF, Astros (No. 80)
Cooper Flemming, INF, Rays (No. 83)
Dax Kilby, SS, Yankees (No. 86)
Charles Davalan, OF, Dodgers (No. 87)
Steele Hall, SS, Reds (No. 91)
Ramon Marquez, RHP, Giants (No. 99)
Of course, when the top two levels of the Minors wrap up their regular season, more will join these ranks.
And meanwhile the prospect pool runs deeper than just the Top 100, Here are the other ranked prospects on each organization's Top 30 list.
x-Not currently on team's active roster
High-A
Dayton: Justin Lebron, SS (No. 3); Tyson Lewis, SS/3B (No. 5); Eric Becker, SS (No. 7); Jose Franco, RHP (No. 12); Mason Morris, RHP (No. 25); Edgar Colon, RHP (No. 27); Deivi Villafana, RHP (No. 30)
Great Lakes: Eduardo Quintero, OF (No. 3); Emil Morales, SS/3B (No. 4); Charles Davalan, OF (No. 6); Cam Leiter, RHP (No. 16); Jaron Elkins, OF (No. 18); Nico Perez, 2B/3B (No. 23); Sterling Patick, LHP (No. 24); Brooks Auger, RHP (No. 29)
Mayo: I know we talk a lot about this Dodgers farm system, but it’s kind of crazy looking at this Great Lakes roster. And I know a great roster does not make a champion, necessarily. But, this Great Lakes team is stacked with three Top 100 prospect bats and I’m not sure that there’s another single roster with this kind of high-end talent. It’s pretty impressive.
And then for Dayton, they’ve got a couple of their ’26 draftees there highlighted by Justin Lebron and Eric Becker.
South Bend: Josiah Hartshorn, OF/1B (No. 1); Ethan Conrad, OF (No. 3); Jose Escobar, OF/2B (No. 16); Jostin Florentino, RHP (No. 22); Angel Cepeda, SS (No. 24); Logan Poteet, C (No. 27); Dominick Reid, RHP (No. 28); Pierce Coppola, LHP (No. 30)
Quad Cities: Kendry Chourio, RHP (KC No. 1); David Shields, LHP (KC No. 4); Blake Mitchell, C (KC No. 5); Zion Rose, OF (KC No. 6); Ramon Ramirez, C (KC No. 7); Asbel Gonzalez, OF (KC No. 15); Camden Johnson, SS (KC No. 23); Blake Wolters, RHP (KC No. 29); L.P. Langevin, RHP (KC No. 30)
Callis: These are not two of the deeper farm systems, but a lot of interesting players in this series for the Cubs. Josiah Hartshorn, their top prospect, one of the biggest breakout players of the year. Just really impressed everybody with his physicality and his swing decisions, well beyond his years. The most interesting pitcher for South Bend is Jostin Florentino, he’s healthy this year and he’s one of those guys that you have to prove it at every level. He’s missed bats at A-ball and we’ll see if it plays at higher levels.
And the Royals have a nice concentration of prospects here. Kendry Chourio and David Shields, both teenagers, two of the most precocious pitchers in the Minors. They’ve also got Blake Mitchell. And another guy who’s interesting here is the No. 6 pick in the Draft Zion Rose out of Louisville.
Midwest League Finals predictions:
Mayo: Great Lakes over Quad Cities
Callis: Great Lakes over Quad Cities
Eugene: Jhonny Level, SS/2B (No. 4); Ramon Marquez-x, RHP (No. 5); Henry Lalane, LHP (No. 11); Kaeden Kent, SS (No. 20); Luis De La Torre, LHP (No. 25)
Vancouver: JoJo Parker, SS (No. 1); Dasan Hill, LHP (No. 8); Ty Southisene-x, SS (No. 19); Jake Casey, OF (No. 25)
Callis: Eugene has Jhonny Level, and I don’t know if we’ve talked about him on every podcast, but I bet if we did a Top 10 of the players mentioned on the most podcasts this year he might crack that list. One of several precocious shortstops in the Giants system, just really impressed with him. It’s a shame that Ramon Marquez is on the injured list, but if you want two other guys to look at that they got from trades: LHP Henry Lalane, who’s got a ton of upside, and SS Kaeden Kent, son of Jeff, who is having a fine debut this year.
From the Blue Jays, you have JoJo Parker, who is one of the best young players in the Minors. And also, a couple more guys to watch: LHP Dasan Hill, who was a trade acquisition from the Twins, a ton of upside there. OF Jake Casey had a breakout year at Kent State in 2025, and now he’s on Vancouver.
Northwest League Finals winner:
Mayo: Eugene
Callis: Eugene
Frederick: Nate George, OF (No. 6); Enddy Azocar, OF (No. 9); Boston Bateman, LHP (No. 11); Kyson Witherspoon-x, RHP (No. 12); Ty Head, OF (No. 15); Jaiden Lo Re; UTIL (No. 19); DJ Layton, SS/3B/OF (No. 26)
Greensboro: Edward Florentino, OF (No. 2); Wyatt Sanford, SS (No. 5); Axiel Plaz, C/1B (No. 7); Levi Sterling, RHP (No. 12); Jhostynxon Garcia, OF (No. 13); Yordany De Los Santos, SS/3B/2B (No. 14); Reinold Navarro, LHP (No. 21); Tony Blanco Jr., 1B (No. 27); Jhonny Severino, 3B/OF (No. 28)
Mayo: The Keys are pretty stacked even though there are guys that are hurt. Witherspoon on IL, Ike Irish on IL, but I think the guy that interests me the most is Enddy Azocar, who the Orioles got in the Adley Rutschman trade. He very sneakily had one of the most productive years in the Minors. He put together a 20-20 season. He’s the kind of exciting player I think can make something happen in a short series. Boston Bateman is the best arm they’ve got there, they got him from the Padres last year.
For Greensboro, the best prospect is Edward Florentino, who has had a bit of a weird year. He’s still super young, still a teenager, but he’s hit 27 homers, and it’s not just because of Greensboro’s hitter-friendly park. He’s hit for power on the road as well, he just hasn’t been the complete hitter that he’s been in the past. On the mound, Levi Sterling really interests me. High-end high school arm, who was a good two-way player in high school. It’s taken him a little while to get going, but this year things started to click in Bradenton a lot more. He got bumped up to Greensboro not that long ago. I’m curious to see how he finishes off the season.
Bowling Green: Nathan Flewelling, C (No. 4); Jose Urbina-x, RHP (No. 11); Trevor Harrison, RHP (No. 21); Brendan Summerhill, OF (No. 28)
Winston-Salem: Javier Mogollon, 2B/SS (No. 12); Kyle Lodise, SS/2B (No. 13); George Wolkow, OF (No. 14); Christian Oppor, LHP (No. 20); Ely Brown, OF (No. 21)
Callis: This one is not as star laden. Bowling Green has Nathan Flewelling, who wound up winning MVP at the Futures Game and he’s really interesting. I’m also intrigued by OF Brendan Summerhill, supplemental first-round pick last year. He’s tooled up.
The disappointment here is Winston-Salem would have had Roch Cholowsky, the No. 1 pick in the Draft. He’s got right wrist soreness, so he’s out. Javier Mogollon and Kyle Lodise are an offensive-minded double play combination. You know I love my suburban Chicago product -- George Wolkow has jaw-dropping power. I don’t know if Christian Oppor will pitch in this series, but I thought he had a chance to jump onto the Top 100 this year, but he’s had a really rough year.
South Atlantic League Finals predictions:
Mayo: Bowling Green over Greensboro
Callis: Greensboro over Bowling Green
Single-A
San Jose: Josuar Gonzalez, SS/2B (No. 1); Luis Hernández, SS/3B (No. 2); Jackson Flora, RHP (No. 3); Keyner Martinez, RHP (No. 12); Argenis Cayama, RHP (No. 17); Lorenzo Meola, SS/2B (No. 19); Peyton Bonds-x, OF (No. 22); Alexander Fuentes, RHP (No. 26); Leandro Rodriguez, LHP (No. 28)
Stockton: Drew Burress, OF (No. 2); Edgar Montero, SS (No. 12); Shotaro Morii-x, 2B/RHP (No. 15); Roman Martin, SS (No. 17)
Mayo: It’s a shame that Luis Hernández is on the injured list because it would be a pretty packed team. But, it starts with the Giants top prospect Josuar Gonzalez, who is having an absolutely big year making it into full season ball. One of a number of really talented hitters in the Giants system. And I don’t know if Jackson Flora is going to pitch, he’s one of the few arms from the ’26 class that has thrown at all. But he did pitch recently so it wouldn’t shock me, and to see him pitch in a playoff setting this summer is not something I thought we would get to see.
And then on the Stockton side, more talent from the 2026 Draft. I’m actually a little surprised that Drew Burress hasn’t gotten promoted, but it may be because they decided, ‘Let’s just let him play in the playoffs rather than move him up.’ But he and then Roman Martin, who is a really interesting infielder out of UCLA.
Lake Elsinore: Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP (No. 2); Ty Harvey, C (No. 4); Elliot Lascelles, SS (No. 5); Lan-Hong Su, RHP (No. 9); Jorge Quintana, SS (No. 11); Jesus A. Castro, RHP (No. 16); Michael Salina, RHP (No. 18); Alex Conover, OF (No. 21); Nu'u Contrades, 2B/3B (No. 22); Truitt Madonna, C (No. 24)
Ontario: Ching-Hsien Ko, OF (No. 12); Kellon Lindsey, 2B/SS (No. 13); Marlon Nieves, RHP (No. 27); Aidan West-x, SS (No. 28)
Callis: A less stakes Padres-Dodgers rivalry here. A lot of talent in this one. For Lake Elsinore, LHP Kruz Schoolcraft, one of our favorite players in last year’s Draft. Big-time upside, big-time potential. They’ve got a slugging catcher in Ty Harvey, and a high school player out of this year’s Draft in Elliot Lascelles. RHP Lan-Hong Su pitched really well all year, I got to see him in Spring Breakout. That Padres team has the highest concentration of prospects from their Top 30 of any of their affiliates.
And no shortage of interesting players with this Dodgers team. Probably the two that jump out to me the most are OF Ching-Hsien Ko, who I think gets overlooked because he’s at the lower levels and he’s one of their younger guys. But he’s got a chance to hit for average and power. And then Kellon Lindsey has had kind of nagging injuries his first full seasons of pro ball, but he’s one of the fastest players in the Minor Leagues. He’s hit for more impact than I think people thought he would right away.
California League Finals predictions:
Mayo: Lake Elsinore over San Jose
Callis: San Jose over Lake Elsinore
Fredericksburg: Gavin Fien, OF (No. 8); Landon Harmon, RHP (No. 11); Coy James, INF (No. 15)
Fayetteville: Kevin Alvarez, OF (No. 1); Logan Hughes, OF (No. 3); Juan Fraide, RHP (No. 20); Kam Durnin, SS (No. 24); Luis De Leon, C/1B (No. 25); Jagger Beck, RHP (No. 27)
Mayo: The most intriguing player for Fredericksburg is Gavin Fein. It’s been kind of a weird year for him. First-round pick of the Rangers a year ago and then sent to the Nats in the MacKenzie Gore trade. He’s missed a bunch of time. But he has been playing recently and he has been playing well. So maybe he can ride his hot bat into this playoff series.
I actually just saw Fayetteville, and I got a look at a bunch of these guys and Kevin Alvarez is their No. 1 prospect. He’s a really talented player who has a chance to be really good. Chance to hit for average and power -- and he’s only 18, and the fact that he's held his own in full-season ball is really impressive. He’s probably the most interesting player in this series. Logan Hughes, the top pick in their Draft this year, he’s another guy who I thought they could have promoted and I wonder if they’re just keeping him there for the playoffs. I saw Jagger Beck pitch in person and he’s kind of intriguing, he’s the kind of guy that could give them a quality start in a playoff series.
Charleston: Grady Emerson, SS (No. 1); Cooper Flemming, INF (No. 5); Taitn Gray, 1B (No. 6); Slater de Brun, OF (No. 14); Andreimi Antunez; SS/2B (No. 19); Dean Moss, 2B/OF (No. 30)
Hickory: Yolfran Castillo, SS/3B (No. 5); Seong-Jun Kim, SS/RHP (No. 8); Josh Owens, SS/RHP (No. 9); Jacob Johnson, RHP (No. 17); Marco Argudin, OF (No. 23); Paulino Santana, OF (No. 29); Mason McConnaughey-x, RHP (No. 30)
Callis: This is a pretty loaded series. Even with Daniel Pierce on the IL, who was the first-round pick of the Rays last year, you’ve got Grady Emerson, the No. 2 pick in the Draft. Cooper Flemming, who is a Top 100, Taitn Gray, who is one of the best first base prospects in baseball. Slater de Brun, who was a sandwich pick last year. And Andreimi Antunez is an interesting international shortstop, so Charleston is loaded.
And so is Hickory. Yolfran Castillo has skills, I think he’s going to be a Top 100 prospect next year. Seong-Jun Kim and Josh Owens are two-way players, both shortstops/right-hander pitchers. Jacob Johnson is an interesting right-handed pitcher and Marco Argudin is an outfielder who has blossomed this year. That’s one of the more talented playoff series in all the Minors.
Carolina League Finals predictions:
Mayo: Charleston over Fayetteville
Callis: Charleston over Fayetteville
Jupiter: Jacob Lombard, SS (No. 4), Luis Arana, SS (No. 17); Luis Cova, OF (No. 18); Cam Kozeal-x, SS/2B (No. 25)
Daytona: Steele Hall, SS (No. 2), Aaron Watson-x, RHP (No. 6); Jirvin Morillo, C (No. 9); Mulivai Levu, 1B (No. 10); Adolfo Sanchez, OF (No. 13); Arnaldo Lantigua, OF (No. 19); Ethan Norby, LHP (No. 21); Tyner Horn, RHP (No. 29)
Mayo: We have to talk about both Lombards whenever possible and Jacob Lombard, younger brother of George Lombard Jr., people may remember they both homered on the same day – Jacob in his pro debut with Jupiter and George Jr. in his big league debut. Jacob was a high schooler taken No. 14 overall by the Marlins. They also have Luis Arana, who signed in January of 2025, who is a contact-first hitter who can really, really run. He’s a guy that can make some things happen in the playoffs.
Daytona has an interesting combination of players from the various avenues that teams can acquire talent. Steele Hall was the Reds first-round pick in 2025 and he’s joined by Jirvin Morillo, a catching prospect who has had a really good year in the Reds system this year. And then, probably my favorite hitter from the 2026 Draft, Mulivai Levu. He has a chance to do some damage in these Florida State League playoffs. So, three really interesting bats all on the Reds Top 10 on this Daytona roster.
Clearwater: Aidan Miller, SS (No. 2); Tyler Spangler, SS (No. 4); Caden Bogenpohl, OF (No. 8); Matthew Fisher-x, RHP (No. 17); Will Gasparino, OF (No. 18); Brad Pacheco, RHP (No. 19); Matthew Ferrara, SS/2B (No. 28)
Tampa: Dax Kilby, SS (No. 2); Wilberson De Pena, OF (No. 14)
Callis: You’ve got three prominent picks from this year’s Draft on Clearwater in Tyler Spangler, Caden Bogenpohl and Will Gasparino.
And then, for the Yankees, the Tarpons are going to counter with Dax Kilby, who missed a lot of season with hamstring injuries but he’s back. I actually had Dax Kilby becoming the Yankees top prospect by the end of the season and I’m probably going to be right because George Lombard Jr. is going to graduate. And two other guys to watch on that Tampa roster are Wilberson De Pena, who won the triple crown and led the Florida Complex League in just about everything, and not yet ranked outfielder Yostin Pena. He was so impressive in the Dominican Summer League that the Yankees skipped him over the Complex League and sent him straight to Single-A and he’s been impressive over 61 games there.
Florida State League Finals predictions:
Mayo: Daytona over Clearwater
Callis: Daytona over Clearwater