The curtain has drawn on the Single-A, High-A and Double-A regular seasons, but the prospect action is far from finished.
The playoffs for the lower-level systems got underway last week while Double-A is getting underway with some of the game's brightest up-and-coming stars vying for championships.
2026 Minor League playoffs
- Brackets & schedules | Procedures
- Every ranked prospect on MiLB playoff rosters
- Royals' most stacked affiliate takes High-A crown
- Top White Sox prospects bolster arms to win High-A title
- High-A Blue Jays claim second crown in four years
- Top Astros prospects, 2026 draftees lead to Single-A crown
- Astros win first FCL title since 1994 on a walk-off
- Rockies cap record-setting season with first title since 2021
- DSL Padres Gold wins second straight DSL Cup
On this week's MLB Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo took turns exploring the top prospects in each playoff matchup at the Double-A level and made predictions for which squad will hoist the trophy in each league.
These rosters are loaded, with No. 1 prospects from the Angels (Arjun Nimmala), Cardinals (Rainiel Rodriguez), Cubs (Josiah Hartshorn), Phillies (Gage Wood), Rangers (Sebastian Walcott) and Tigers (Zyhir Hope) still playing for their respective affiliates.
With Double-A entering the playoff picture, there are now 27 players from MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list, headlined by the top-ranked prospect in the sport, Jesús Made, involved in the Minor League postseason:
Jesús Made, SS, Brewers (No. 1)
Sebastian Walcott, SS/3B, Rangers (No. 9)
Grady Emerson, SS, Rays (No. 10)
Mike Sirota, OF, Dodgers (No. 15)
Josuar Gonzalez, SS/2B, Giants (No. 16)
Rainiel Rodriguez, C/1B, Cardinals (No. 17)
Eduardo Quintero, OF, Dodgers (No. 19)
Luis Peña, SS, Brewers (No. 20)
Luis Hernández, SS/3B, Giants (No. 26)-x
Zyhir Hope, OF, Tigers (No. 27)
Jackson Flora, RHP, Giants (No. 30)
Gage Wood, RHP, Phillies (No. 32)
Edward Florentino, OF, Pirates (No. 34)
Christian Zazueta, RHP, Dodgers (No. 35)
Arjun Nimmala, SS, Angels (No. 37)
Josiah Hartshorn, OF/1B, Cubs (No. 38)
Liam Doyle, RHP, Cardinals (No. 43)
Tyler Bremner, RHP, Angels (No. 45)
Aidan Miller, SS, Phillies (No. 60)
Aiva Arquette, SS, Marlins (No. 62)-x
Jacob Lombard, SS, Marlins (No. 66)
Kevin Alvarez, OF, Astros (No. 79)
Cooper Flemming, INF, Rays (No. 82)
Dax Kilby, SS, Yankees (No. 85)
Charles Davalan, OF, Dodgers (No. 86)
Josh Adamczewski, OF, Brewers (No. 87)
Bryan Rincon, SS, Phillies (No. 100)
x-Not currently on team's active roster
And the prospect pool runs deeper than just the Top 100. Here are the other ranked prospects on each organization's Top 30 list.
More from MLB Pipeline:
• Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage
Double-A
Hartford: Jackson Cox, RHP (No. 8); Jared Thomas, OF (No. 10); Andy Perez, SS (No. 16); Konnor Eaton, LHP (No. 18)
Reading: Gage Wood, RHP (No. 1); Aidan Miller, SS (No. 2); Bryan Rincon, SS (No. 4); Aroon Escobar, 2B (No. 6); Dante Nori, OF (No. 7); Cody Bowker, RHP (No. 15); Wen-Hui Pan, RHP (No. 21); Carson DeMartini, 3B (No. 24); Mavis Graves, LHP (No. 27)
Mayo: Jared Thomas missed a lot of the year. He had a hammate injury and then had a bone spur on top of that. So I'll be excited to see him back swinging the bat healthy. And Andy Perez had a little bit of a breakout in Double-A this year.
For Reading, getting to see Gage Wood make another start. I know we all were hoping maybe he'd be up in the big leagues helping the Phillies bullpen out. And then Aidan Miller, who has worked his way back, is there, along with Bryan Rincon.
Richmond: Jackson Flora, RHP (No. 3); Gavin Kilen, SS/2B (No. 6); Dakota Jordan, OF (No. 7); Jacob Bresnahan, LHP (No. 9); Henry Lalane, LHP (No. 11); Trevor Cohen; OF (No. 14); Miguel Mendez, RHP (No. 16); Jance Villarroel, C (No. 18); Kaeden Kent, SS (No. 20); Lisbel Diaz, OF (No. 29)
Erie: Zyhir Hope, OF (No. 2): Thayron Liranzo, C/1B (No. 15), Lucas Elissalt, RHP (No. 26)
Callis: Jackson Flora will be pitching Thursday, followed by Jacob Bresnahan, who's one of the more underrated lefties, not too far off the Top 100. So that'll be a good pitching combo for Richmond. Gavin Kilen, last year's first-round pick. Dakota Jordan, extremely good athlete. Trevor Cohen, a contact-hitting outfielder. That's a pretty loaded Richmond team.
And then for Erie, Zyhir Hope, who was at the forefront of the Tarik Skubal trade this summer, he and the other best player on that Erie SeaWolves team is another former Dodger, Thayron Liranzo, catcher/first baseman, former Top 100 prospect.
Finals predictions:
Callis: Richmond over Reading
Mayo: Richmond over Reading
Knoxville: Josiah Hartshorn, OF/1B (No. 1); Kane Kepley, OF (No. 5); Brooks Caple, RHP (No. 9); Ariel Armas, C (No. 18); Brody McCullough, RHP (No. 29)
Rocket City: Arjun Nimmala, SS (No. 1); Tyler Bremner, RHP (No. 2); Juan Flores, C (No. 14); Nate Snead, RHP (No. 17); Jake Munroe, 3B (No. 20); Jacob Cozart, C (No. 22)
Mayo: This is a fun one. The No. 1 prospect for each organization is in the lineups. Josiah Hartshorn, he's had a big year for the Cubs. Knoxville has a couple more top-10 guys. Kane Kepley has had a very good year, the outfielder for the Cubs, and Brooks Capel is No. 9 on the Cubs list.
There's Arjun Nimmala for Rocket City. Rocket City also has Tyler Bremner, who was the Angels' first-round pick in 2025, now up in Double-A.
Biloxi: Jesús Made, SS (No. 1); Luis Pena, SS (No. 2); Josh Adamczewski, OF (No. 3); Andrew Fischer, 3B (No. 5); Braylon Payne, OF (No. 6); Bishop Leston, RHP (No. 8); Josh Knoth, RHP (No. 9); Marco Dinges, C (No. 14)-x; J.D. Thompson, LHP (No. 18); Jaron DeBerry, RHP (No. 27)
Pensacola: Aiva Arquette, SS (No. 2)-x; Dillon Lewis, OF (No. 11); Jacob Kisting, RHP (No. 21); Adrian Santana, SS (No. 22); Cristian Hernández, SS/2B (No. 24); Fenwick Trimble, OF (No. 26); Max Williams, OF (No. 27)
Callis: Biloxi, you've got the best prospect in baseball in Jesús Made. Josh Adamczewski is a Top 100 prospect. Andrew Fischer, I've lost count, 48 home runs. Braylon Payne ... who's had a breakout season in the Minor Leagues. Even guys like Bishop Letson and Josh Knoth are two interesting arms.
And then Pensacola, Jacob Kisting, I haven't checked if he pitched enough innings, he led the Minor Leagues in ERA. So he's an unsung right-handed pitcher they got at the Trade Deadline. Dillon Lewis, a 20-20 center-field type. Aiva Arquette has been on the IL, so I don't think we're necessarily going to see him in that series for Pensacola.
Finals predictions:
Callis: Biloxi over Rocket City
Mayo: Biloxi over Rocket City
Tulsa: Mike Sirota, OF (No. 2); Eduardo Quintero, OF (No. 3); Christian Zazueta, RHP (No. 5); Charles Davalan, OF (No. 6), Zach Root, LHP (No. 8); Kendall George, OF (No. 11); Adam Serwinowski, LHP (No. 14); Logan Wagner, 3B/2B (No. 19); Aidan Foeller, RHP (No. 21); Elijah Hainline, SS (No. 22); Jacob Kmatz, RHP (No. 25)
Springfield: Rainiel Rodriguez, C/1B (No. 1); Liam Doyle, LHP (No. 2); Tanner Franklin, RHP (No. 5); Josiah Ragsdale, OF (No. 11); Yhoiker Fajardo, RHP (No. 13); Jesús Báez, SS/2B (No. 15); Tai Peete, OF (No. 17); Daniel Eagen, RHP (No. 22); Jack Gurevitch, 1B/3B (No. 27)
Callis: Tulsa's got Mike Sirota, Eduardo Quintero and Charles Davalan. All those guys are Top 100 prospects. They have Christian Zazueta, who's one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. They've got Adam Serwinowski, who's got some of the best stuff of any lefty in the Minors. Even guys like Logan Wagner can really hit. Jacob Kmatz, one of the best relief pitchers in the Minors.
You go to Springfield, Rainiel Rodriguez, best catching prospect in baseball. Liam Doyle, extremely nasty stuff from the left side. Tanner Franklin, extremely nasty stuff from the right side. Josiah Ragsdale, super-talented guy they got from the Brewers in a trade at the Deadline. He has power and speed. Yhoiker Fajardo's got a good arm. Jesús Báez hit 25 homers in 59 games in Springfield.
Frisco: Sebastian Walcott, SS/3B (No. 1); Malcolm Moore, C (No. 6); Dylan Dreiling, OF (No. 13); Rafe Perich, 3B/1B (No. 19); Leandro Lopez, RHP (No. 27)
Amarillo: David Hagaman, RHP (No. 4); Carlos Virahonda, C (No. 5); Jansel Luis, 3B/SS (No. 10)-x; Wellington Aracena, RHP (No. 15); Alberto Barriga, C (No. 16); Cristofer Torin, SS/2B (No. 17); Brian Curley, RHP (No. 20); Druw Jones, OF (No. 23); Mason Marriott, RHP (No. 26); Junior Sanchez, RHP (No. 28)
Mayo: The big name here, obviously, is Sebastian Walcott, on his way back from injury. It's nice to see him playing shortstop again. This is a great opportunity for him to get some much-needed at bats. Malcolm Moore has had a nice bounceback season this year.
David Hagaman has had a really good year for Amarillo, and one of three guys in the top 10 on the Amarillo roster, Carlos Virahonda, the catcher. Jansel Luis has been hurt, so I'm not sure that he's going to be playing. And then lower on the Diamondbacks list, it's always interesting to know where Druw Jones is, even though he's not lived up to expectations as one of the top picks in his Draft class. He has reached Double-A and is still on the Diamondbacks' Top 30 at 23.
Finals predictions:
Callis: Tulsa over Amarillo
Mayo: Springfield over Amarillo
High-A
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)
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)
Callis: 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.
Mayo: And then for Dayton, they’ve got a couple of their ’26 draftees there highlighted by Justin Lebron and Eric Becker.
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)
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)
Callis: 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.
Mayo: 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.
Single-A
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)
San Jose: Josuar Gonzalez, SS/2B (No. 1); Luis Hernández, SS/3B (No. *2)*-x; 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)
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.
Callis: 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.
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)
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)
Callis: 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.
Mayo: 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.
Tampa: Dax Kilby, SS (No. 2); Wilberson De Pena, OF (No. 14)
Jupiter: Jacob Lombard, SS (No. 4), Luis Arana, SS (No. 17); Luis Cova, OF (No. 18); Cam Kozeal-x, SS/2B (No. 25)
Callis: 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.
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.