During their Minor League tenures, Wednesday standouts Bubba Chandler (Pirates), Nolan McLean (Mets) and Christian Moore (Angels), among others, were frequent nominees for this space. But that’s the nature of the Minors -- one day you’re tearing it up down on the farm, the next day you're making history in the big leagues. Meanwhile over the MiLB landscape, the Braves’ top two prospects both twirled gems, while everything keeps coming up Brewers as their absurdly stacked High-A lineup showed out once again to highlight an uber-competitive night on the farm.
JR Ritchie, RHP, Gwinnett (ATL No. 2)
It’s been a bit of a mixed bag since Ritchie was promoted to Triple-A, but if his latest start was a chip, it would be the one with tons of seasoning and the perfect crunch. The 22-year-old struck out a career-high 11 batters across six scoreless frames for Gwinnett, allowing just one hit -- to the leadoff batter. From there, the Braves’ Compensation Round A selection (35th overall) in the 2022 Draft retired 15 in a row. Ritchie had his entire six-pitch arsenal working, registering 14 swings-and-misses while deftly working in his two varieties of fastballs and breaking balls. The Seattle-area native has posted a 2.75 ERA this season across three levels and 22 starts. Gameday
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Jesús Made, SS, Wisconsin (MIL No. 1/MLB No. 5)/Andrew Fischer, 3B/1B, Wisconsin (MIL No. 6)
That’s some 1-2 punch atop the lineup. Made and Fischer combined for seven hits in High-A Wisconsin’s latest outing, which included the first professional homer for the latter. Made, despite being the youngest player in the Midwest League, has been on a tear since his promotion, slashing .347/.420/.569 across 18 contests. Fischer, whom the Brewers nabbed with the No. 20 pick in July’s Draft, has been similarly hot for the Timber Rattlers en route to a .318 average and an .832 OPS. A left-handed-hitting corner infielder, the New Jersey native led the SEC in home runs (25) this spring and already has five multihit games (out of 11) under his belt. Gameday
JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, Memphis (STL No. 1/MLB No. 6)
MLB Pipeline doesn’t hang a 65-grade hit tool on just anybody. Wetherholt is one of only four prospects who currently have that mark or better and he’s proven why in 2025, soaring to the Minors’ highest level while continuing to pummel opposing pitching. The seventh overall pick in the 2024 Draft delivered a three-hit performance out of the leadoff spot for Triple-A Memphis, scoring a pair of runs and adding a stolen base (his 21st of the year across two levels). Wetherholt, who has 32 multihit games and 11 with three or more, is slashing .314/.423/.528 across two levels in his first full pro season and his 157 wRC+ entered the night as second in the Cardinals organization. Gameday
Cam Caminiti, LHP, Augusta (ATL No. 1/MLB No. 80)
It was a career night across the board for the Braves’ 2024 first-rounder, who threw his first complete game as a pro. As part of Single-A Augusta's doubleheader, Caminiti needed just six innings to hit the milestone, stretching out to a career-high 91 pitches while racking up nine strikeouts, the most he’s recorded across his first 17 pro outings. After not allowing a hit the first time through the order, the southpaw battled through some traffic and finished with first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 23 batters he faced. The 19-year-old hasn't allowed more than two runs in 11 of his 12 starts while posting a 2.32 ERA for the GreenJackets this season. Across 50 1/3 frames in full-season affiliate ball this year, he’s up to 68 punchouts with just one home run allowed. Gameday
Brody Hopkins, RHP, Montgomery (TB No. 3)
Somewhat quietly, Hopkins has emerged as one of the Double-A Southern League’s premier hurlers during a season that has featured a proliferation of top-tier talent. The 23-year-old compiled eight punchouts across five scoreless frames, scattering just a ground-ball single and three walks in his 23rd start of the season. Acquired in the Randy Arozarena deal with Seattle last summer, Hopkins hasn't allowed more than two runs in 11 consecutive starts for Montgomery, good for a 1.29 ERA in that span. His 130 strikeouts this year rank second in the Rays organization, while batters are hitting just .170 off the 2023 sixth-round pick this month. Gameday
Kash Mayfield, LHP, Lake Elsinore (SD No. 4)
For the ninth time in 18 starts during his debut season, Mayfield put up a goose egg in the earned run column of his box score. The Padres’ 2024 first-rounder completely overwhelmed the opposition for Single-A Lake Elsinore, recording a career-best nine strikeouts across five frames with just three hits and one walk allowed. He peppered the zone, throwing 50 of his 74 pitches for strikes and recording 17 swings-and-misses and 12 called strikes. Hitters are slugging just .280 off Mayfield this season, while his 13.0 K/9 ranks fourth in the California League. Gameday
Brody Brecht, RHP, Fresno (COL No. 5)
When the Rockies nabbed Brecht with their Compensation Round A pick in the 2024 Draft, they landed a hurler whose fastball/slider combination drew Paul Skenes comparisons during his collegiate days. Both of those offerings were on full display in his latest Single-A Fresno outing as he compiled eight strikeouts across 4 2/3 scoreless frames. Each of his first three punchouts came on the heater and the final five came on the slider. Back inflammation knocked out a good chunk of Brecht’s summer, but through 15 starts in the California League, he's posted a 2.58 ERA and is up to 82 punchouts in 52 1/3 innings. Gameday
Kaeden Kent, SS, Hudson Valley (NYY No. 12)
After leading Texas A&M this spring with 19 multihit outings, Kent delivered his second in pro ball -- and this one will be hard to top. The son of 2000 National League MVP Jeff Kent collected five hits for High-A Hudson Valley, starting with his second homer over the past month. The left-handed-hitting shortstop followed that up by going single, single, double, single to finish with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Kent already has five games with at least two RBIs to his credit and is up to 14 in 16 total contests. Gameday
Aaron Zavala, OF, Frisco (TEX unranked)
You’ve heard the axiom, “they don’t ask you how far, they just ask how many you hit.” Zavala lived up to that sentiment, peppering three home runs just over the left-field fence for Double-A Frisco in his first multihomer game since July 2022. You don’t have to look too deep into the RoughRiders record book to find the last time they had a three-homer performance -- it came just eight days ago when Cameron Cauley (TEX No. 17) notched the milestone. The 25-year-old Zavala has been finding his swing during August, posting an .873 OPS across 21 contests. He sits just two homers off his career high (16), which he set in '22. Gameday