This past month was a big one for several Brewers prospects, in what is a vastly deep farm system. The Cubs saw several of their outfielders shine, including their first-round pick from 2025. Those are just some of the notes in our August 2026 farm report for the five NL Central clubs.

Brewers

While the Brewers parted with several notable prospects at the deadline, it only made a dent in what is a deep prospect pool.

We’ll start in Triple-A, where Blake Burke joined Luke Adams and others in Nashville. Burke, a former first-rounder, nearly got lost in the shuffle after what was a good 2025 campaign. But this season, in his second round down in Biloxi, Burke hit 30 home runs in Double-A. That performance earned him a move up.

Moving to Biloxi, Andrew Fischer showed both the good & bad in his game. Over his last 25 games as of this writing, Fischer struck out 41 times. However, he also hit eight home runs in that span. As far as “three true outcomes” players are concerned, Fischer is pretty close to that. He wants to drive and pull the baseball — but it comes at a cost.

Fischer is one of several standout infielders on a deep Biloxi team, one that only got deeper with the promotions of Luis Pena and Braylon Payne. We’ll get to those two in a second. But before then, let’s go over some others. Jesús Made had 28 hits over his last 25 contests, while Josh Adamczewski picked up eight extra-base hits over his last 19 contests.

Pena moved up after he slashed .298/.384/.420 over 51 games with Wisconsin. Payne, a former first-rounder, hit five home runs in his final 16 games with the Timber Rattlers. The 20-year-old left High-A with 23 home runs and 22 stolen bases on the season.

And further down the system, another one of the many names to watch is 18-year-old Brailyn Antunez. Amidst all the firepower in Low-A Wilson, including the now-promoted infielder Brady Ebel, Antunez had a 21-game span in which he slashed .405/.510/.734 with seven home runs and 12 extra-base hits.

Cardinals

It’s been fascinating to see how well the Cardinals’ pitching prospects have developed over the past year. And the club added even more depth via the MLB Draft & mini sell-off at the deadline.

One of the many prospects acquired in August was Daniel Eagen, who topped a deep list of Texas League pitchers in swing-and-miss over the last month. It was a splendid month for Eagen, who struck out 37 over 29.1 IP and limited opposing hitters to a .176 opponents’ batting average. Potential for him to be a starter, thanks to a mid-90s fastball that will get swing-and-miss, plus a power curveball.

Liam Doyle and Braden Davis also made the above list. Like Eagen, Doyle had a terrific past four weeks. The 2025 first-round pick struck out 37 over 26 innings for Double-A Springfield. Plus, one home run allowed.

Jurrangelo Cijntje, now in Triple-A, ranked third among International League pitchers in strikeouts (33). Cijntje was able to land called strikes, which made up for a Whiff% just above 26%, not the number one would associate with a high-strikeout pitcher. The former first-rounder had a 29.3% Chase% from July 20 through August 19.

On the downside, Nate Dohm, acquired last July alongside Jesús Báez, allowed six home runs over 12 innings.

As for the hitters, it’s been a grand year for Báez. The ex-Mets prospect now has 31 home runs on the season, seven of which came in the last month. Báez was one of the top pull hitters in the Texas League, which is not a shock. Rather, a sign of how often he drives the ball when just getting out in front of it a touch.

Baez is one of several high-end bats in a system that’s improved over the past weeks and months. Since mid-July, the club added Alexander Frias, Josiah Ragsdale, and 2026 first-rounder Trevor Condon. Condon went 4-for-9 in his first two games with Low-A Palm Beach.

Cubs

The Cubs dealt away Jefferson Rojas, who hit very well in his first few weeks in the Mets’ system, at the deadline. Despite that trade, the Cubs’ system is in good shape.

Josiah Hartshorn, who is arguably the best prospect in the Chicago system, continued to hit well in High-A South Bend. Hartshorn slashed .302/.404/.558 with 12 extra-base hits and 24 RBI over a 23-game span as of August 23. Aside from the power potential, what makes the outfield prospect exciting is that he has a nuanced approach; he’ll attack when need be but doesn’t strike out a lot. Plus, high contact rates.

Kane Kepley, now in Double-A, slashed .302/.492/.558 with two home runs, six extra-base hits, 10 stolen bases, and 13 stolen bases over his first 13 contests. He hasn’t changed his approach since moving to Knoxville.

One of the top outfield prospects in the Chicago system is Ethan Conrad, now in High-A. Conrad, in his college career, showed polish as a hitter. He would make consistent contact, and that stayed true during his brief stay with Myrtle Beach.

Pirates

After Murf Gray ripped through Low-A and Double-A, the 2025 second-round cooled with Double-A Altoona.

Gray (29.7% Whiff% from 7/20-8/19) slashed .217/.389/.333 with a pair of home runs and four total extra-base hits over his last 21 contests with the Curve. The good news is that Gray is still taking his walks.

Down in Greensboro, Jared Jones (7) and Edward Florentino (5) both were among the leaders in home runs among South Atlantic League hitters this season. Florentino, now up to 22 home runs on the season, has been among the most consistent High-A hitters in terms of contact hit to the pull side.

Reds

High-A Dayton received a jolt in early August when Justin Lebron joined the Dragons. And thus far, Lebron carried over the momentum from what was a strong finish to a weird 2026 campaign in Alabama.

Mason Neville and Tyson Lewis both ranked among the league leaders in strikeouts down in the Midwest League over the last month. Neville slashed .183/.254/.483 with five home runs but also 34 strikeouts in 18 games. Swing-and-miss has been an issue since the former Oregon Duck went pro. As for Tyson Lewis, he slashed a better .257/.283/.386 with seven extra-base hits in his last 24 contests.

Lewis has long been an aggressive hitter. But that was ramped up from July 20 through August 19, as Lewis had a Take% of just 33.8%. Meaning it’s more of a given than not that Lewis will swing away. Given the .283 on-base percentage over the last month, a low Take% shouldn’t be a shock.

Steele Hall, meanwhile, moved to Low-A Dayton after spending the first three months of his 2026 season in the ACL. An interesting move, given that most of Hall’s peers from the first round were in full-season ball. It has not been an easy run for Hall in Daytona to this point. An OPS of .648 and an awful lot of swing-and-miss.

Check out more of our MLB and Minor League coverage.