Our penultimate round of 2026 Minor League monthly reports is going out. The first one covers the five teams in the NL East, a division that saw some teams trade away prospects. Others, meanwhile, loaded up on assets for 2027 & beyond. Here’s a look at how some of those new faces, plus MLB Draft picks, are doing.

Braves

We’ll start with the Braves, who shuttled several notable prospects up the system over the last month. Just in the last few weeks. Cam Caminiti, John Gil, Luis Guanipa, and Alex Lodise have been among those promoted.

Lodise, in fact, received two promotions in the month. Atlanta moved him to Rome in late July, and then pushed the Florida State product to Double-A Columbus after he picked up 24 hits across a 17-game span with the Emperors. And Lodise was a contact machine, reliably putting the ball in play. He struck out just six times in High-A.

Another 2025 MLB Draft pick that’s trended upward in recent weeks is Conor Essenburg. Essenburg hit just .200 in his first 15 games with Rome, after the club promoted him from August two weeks ago. The 19-year-old ripped through the Carolina League in his final few days, with six home runs in a nine-game span. That gave him 14 on the year with Augusta.

Patience is a key part of Essenburg’s game, even though he can be too passive at the plate. But that approach has resulted in a lot of walks for the fifth-rounder from 2025. So far, 76 walks in 79 total games.

Now, these farm reports at this stage are interesting because we have received first looks at some of the picks from the 2026 MLB Draft. As of this writing, AJ Gracia has not made his pro debut. Carter Beck, taken later in the first round, did, and put up some good numbers in Low-A Augusta.

Beck, through 11 games with the Greenjackets, slashed .409/.480/.500 with two extra-base hits and 18 total hits. That earned Beck a speedy promotion to Rome.

As for pitching, good production from two Double-A hurlers: Brett Sears and Garrett Baumann. Baumann posted a 39% Whiff% in two starts, in which he struck out 17 over 14 innings and allowed just two runs. Sears, meanwhile, struck out 35 over 32 innings and posted a sub-2.00 ERA through five starts in the last month.

Marlins

The Marlins scooped up a potential top-10 MLB Draft talent at #14 when Jacob Lombard was taken off the board by Miami. Thus far, the early returns have been promising.

Lombard, through his first 12 games, hit three home runs and stole six bases for Low-A Jupiter. Low chase rate, just a tick above 17%, accompanies all the tools that made the shortstop a first-round pick. It’s a small sample size — but a promising one, to say the least.

Speaking of first-round picks, Cam Cannarella has held his own, and may very well be much closer to another promotion. Cannarella was promoted to Triple-A in late July, and slashed .274/.396/.381 with seven extra-base hits over his first 23 contests with Jacksonville. From an overall standpoint, he’s jumped ahead of Aiva Arquette, who’s had a down season and limited due to injuries.

Brandon Compton had another strong month. Compton hit nine home runs over a 24-game span to tie Blake Burke for the Southern League lead over the last month. The 22-year-old now has 17 home runs in Pensacola, and 29 overall in his first pro season.

Moving to the pitchers, it’s another reminder that the club has some special arms. One of them is Elier Morillo, who now has 89 strikeouts over 47 innings with Jupiter this season. But with 39 walks, it’s self-explanatory what the issue is.

Liomar Martinez (31% Whiff%) struck out 28 over 20.2 IP over the last month for High-A Beloit. And, unfortunately, Karson Milbrandt has had a hard time beating hitters in Triple-A. Milbrandt allowed seven home runs over his last 15 innings with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

Mets

The Mets added reinforcements to the farm system over the last month. That was expected, as the club didn’t meet expectations in 2026 and used that as an opportunity to sell off MLB assets for prospects.

Jefferson Rojas was the big catch for the Mets, as the club acquired him for Clay Holmes just before the deadline passed. Rojas was, arguably, the second-best prospect in the Chicago system, coming off a strong run in Double-A. New York kept him at the level, starting him off in Binghamton. Thirteen total hits, including two home runs, in 12 contests.

The Mets’ Double-A affiliate was a hot spot for prospects in recent weeks. Marco Vargas and Chris Suero both hit well, while 2025 first-rounder Mitch Voit went off after he was promoted mid-season from High-A. Voit slashed .433/.531/.657 with 12 extra-base hits over a 17-game span. And little swing-and-miss.

And in more good news for the club, Elian Pena was promoted to High-A in August. That move came after a 19-game span, in which Pena picked up 25 hits, 11 of which were extra-base hits, for Low-A St. Lucie. He was blown away a little too often by fastballs over his final few weeks. But that was a rare blemish on his record.

On the reverse end of that scale, Ryan Clifford‘s 2026 season continued to go sour. Across his last 15 games (as of 8/20), Clifford slashed .088/.175/.123 and 31 strikeouts, third-most in the International League. Just from looking at the Whiff% numbers, it’s not hard to see why that happened.

Getting back to the trade deadline acquisitions for a second, you can see above why the Mets like John Spikerman: disciplined approach, coupled with speed. As for some of the others, Aidan Smith hit well in his first games as a Met prospect. Luke Gabrysh, acquired in the Brooks Raley deal, also checks the analytics box (see below).

Nationals

It’s not easy to hit for a ton of power in High-A Wilmington, as Frawley Stadium is known for being pitcher-friendly. Jacob Walsh did hit quite a few of his 10 home runs from the past month on the road. But nonetheless, a very good year for the former Oregon Duck.

Walsh, after his 10-home-run month, now has 21 on the season. Six of those came in Low-A Fredericksburg this season.

Another potent slugger, Ethan Petry, hit six home runs and 12 extra-base hits for Harrisburg over the last four weeks. That’s not a shock, given his prowess both in college and as a Minor Leaguer. Petry now has 21 home runs this season.

But perhaps the most notable performer over the last four weeks was Seaver King, who hit six home runs and now has an opening at short should the Nats pull the trigger.

Also, when Miguel Sime Jr. is on, the tall righty is among the group of must-watch Minor League pitchers.

Phillies

The Phillies dipped into the system for MLB roster help before the deadline, and that splurge did cost the club a high-priced pitching prospect in Ramon Marquez. Still, the cupboard is not bare.

It wasn’t the cleanest month for Gage Wood, who allowed 14 earned runs over 17 frames down in Double-A Reading. While the walks haven’t been as much of an issue, the home run ball has been for the righty, largely a dominant power fastball/slider pitcher. He allowed four home runs, putting him at 12 total over 49.2 IP with the Fightin’ Phils.

However, one prospect who’s had a nice breakout season is Bryan Rincon. Rincon has largely been more known as a defensive pro who can work counts. The bat, though, developed slowly. This year, the production has been there, as Rincon has hit five home runs and 11 extra-base hits across the last month.

Eight of his career-high 18 home runs this season have come on the road. And, just in the last month, he ranked in the top-10 in both Pull FB% and Take% in the Eastern League.

Lastly, Cody Bowker struck out 24 over his final 17 innings with High-A Jersey Shore. He formed a nice rotation alongside Marquez and Cade Obermueller, the latter of whom had a Whiff% above 30% in the last month. Bowker is now in Double-A Reading.

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