All five AL East teams had breakout prospects in 2026. And, many of those players rounded out the year with some terrific performances. Here’s our look at the September 2026 farm report for the AL East, the last one in our monthly report series for this season.
Blue Jays
While the 2026 campaign wasn’t ideal at the MLB level, it wasn’t bad at all for the Minor League teams.
Toronto’s High-A affiliate won the Northwest League title, and that roster was headlined by none other than JoJo Parker. Parker finished the final two plus weeks tied with Giants prospect Walker Martin for the most walks (13) in the Northwest League. He’s had no problem working pitchers, and no problems putting the ball in play over his first pro season.
Also helping to lead that charge in Vancouver was Jake Casey, one of Toronto’s 2025 picks and the son of Sean Casey, and former third-rounder David Calabrese. Calabrese roared through the playoffs after he signed with the Jays after being released by Los Angeles (AL) in August, continuing a hot run in which he batted .404 with three home runs and six extra-base hits.
Up in Double-A, Johnny King and Nolan Perry both had 22 strikeouts over their final four respective outings in 2026 with New Hampshire. Both will enter 2027 as pitchers who may not be all that far off from the Majors.
In Low-A, the 2026 ended on a tough note for 18-year-old Juan Sanchez. Sanchez, who slashed .213/.296/.342, showed a lot of pop, and a good amount of pull-side power in particular down the stretch. However, he slashed .185/.290/.296 over his last eight games.
Carson Messina, a trendy name to watch in 2027, missed a lot of bats in the Florida State League.
Orioles
It was a strong 2026 for several emerging infielders in the Orioles’ system, as DJ Layton and Jaiden Lo Re both had very good years in A-ball. So did 2025 first-rounder Wehiwa Aloy, who finished the 2026 on a tear with Double-A Bowie.
Over Aloy’s last 18 games with Chesapeake, he slashed .290/.347/.594 with six home runs and 20 total hits. That finished up a campaign in which the 2025 Golden Spikes Award winner belted 25 home runs and 49 extra-base hits, along with 20 stolen bases between Frederick & Chesapeake.
Anthony Eyanson, meanwhile, struck out 23 over his final 13.2 IP to conclude a mammoth 2026 campaign. Over 99 innings, Eyanson struck out 141 and posted a clean 1.54 ERA in a season where his prospect stock jumped considerably.
Down to High-A, Frederick made the 2026 South Atlantic League playoffs. While the Keys didn’t make it to the postseason, there were a lot of positives from the year. Down the stretch, Boston Bateman was exceptional. Bateman struck out 16 over his final 10 innings, and posted a stellar 40.2% Whiff% with the Keys over the last two plus weeks of 2026.
Down in Low-A, two teenage outfielders were among the focus down in Delmarva. Stiven Martinez had 20 hits, three of which were home runs, over his last 15 games with the Shorebirds. On a team that saw the likes of Braylon Whitaker & Jordan Sanchez shine, so did Martinez. The 19-year-old finished 2026 with 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases.
The other was Eric Booth Jr., the Orioles’ top pick from the 2026 MLB Draft. As we noted earlier in September, a lot of groundballs. But also, a bunch of hits in his pro debut.
Red Sox
Yes, Boston gutted the farm system to a certain extent over the last year. But why the Red Sox are not in a bad position is because the club had, and added to, their pool of prospect depth.
The Red Sox have a potential 2027 pitching option in John Holobetz, who continued a strong 2026 with 25 strikeouts and an ERA a touch above 2.00 in his final 24 innings. Blake Wehunt, another potential option for 2027, allowed just one home run over his last 26 frames.
Moving further down, Dylan Brown finished up a monstrous 2026 with 17 strikeouts over 14.2 IP. Brown allowed just four home runs over 106.2 total IP this year.
The other component is that the notable hitters down in A-ball look like real potential assets. Look no further to Jake Schaffner & Owen Hull, Boston’s top two picks from 2026. As he did in college, Schaffner was a contact machine in Greenville. Over his last 11 games, Schaffner slashed .353/.389/.510 with 18 hits. Plus, a tidy Whiff%.
As for Hull, he had 18 total hits (seven XBH) over his last 12 games. It also went deeper than that in Greenville, as Luke Heyman hit three home runs and five extra-base hits over his last nine games. While Heyman has his flaws, the power is undeniable.
Salem also had their heavyweights, headlined by Franklin Primera. Primera finished 2026 with an OPS of .960 in Low-A. While it was in smaller sample size of 46 games, he showed an impressive blend of pop and bat-to-ball skills (see more down below on that).
Franklin Arias, arguably the club’s best prospect, rolled through Triple-A down the stretch. Arias had 31 hits, nine of which were extra-base hits, over his final 21 games with Worcester. While Boston traded away a lot of prospects, Arias is still with the team.
Rays
The Rays will have some decisions to make this winter, starting with what should be an easier one with Xavier Isaac.
Isaac had one of the top highest Whiff% (43%) in Triple-A over the last month, which falls in line with his game. He’s a power hitter. The 22-year-old hit 27 home runs and walked 94 times over 117 games between Double-A and Triple-A, and it’s hard to teach what Isaac possesses. But for 2027, the questions that arise are A) how close is he and B) where does he slot in that lineup?
Moving to Double-A, Theo Gillen ended the year on a good note. Gillen picked up 20 hits over his last 18 games with Montgomery, seven of which were extra-base hits. Plus, he stole four bases.
In High-A, Ryan Cermak inconspicuously had a mammoth conclusion to 2026. Once a second-round pick out of college in 2022, Cermak hit a South Atlantic-League-high eight home runs over the last two plus weeks. Quite the run for an infielder who spent parts of three years in High-A, and never played more than 52 games in a year thanks to injury.
The Charleston Riverdogs made the 2026 Carolina League playoffs, thanks in no large part to a deep club. Dean Moss and Cooper Flemming ended the years near the top of circuit leaderboard over the final few weeks. Both Moss & Slater de Brun both ranked among the top 10 lowest Whiff% in the league.
Back to Bowling Green for a second, the Hot Rods had three pitchers (Dominic Fritton, Trevor Harrison, Jonathan Russell) among the SAL leaders in strikeouts down the stretch. As noted above, both Harrison and Russell were missing a lot of bats for Bowling Green.
Yankees
The Arizona Fall League will mark a renewed opportunitity for Dax Kilby.
Kilby only played 36 games this season, and it was a mixed bag. Over the last couple of weeks, Kilby was actually the league leader in both walks and Take%. He also hit two home runs for Tampa, a team that wound up making the Florida State League final. Yes, he slashed .188. In reality, though, the 2025 first-rounder was doing the right things.
That Tampa team had some interesting players, including college hitters Tyce Armstrong and Luke Pettitte. Both were 2026 MLB Draft picks and both combined for seven home runs down the stretch. Armstrong, who garnered some attention have a nice slugging season at Baylor, was near the top in Barrel% over the last two plus weeks.
Up in High-A, Pico Kohn came on strong after missing a significant chunk of time this season. He struck out 19 over 11.2 IP, which gave Kohn 31 strikeouts over 22 innings. Luis Serna finished the final few weeks with 26 strikeouts over his last 20 innings, giving him 140 over 118.2 IP.
Bryce Cunningham missed some time over the past few seasons. However, the last three plus weeks of his 2026 campaign might have been some of his most impressive work as a pro. Cunningham struck out 27 and walked two over 25 innings with Somerset.
Josh Moylan hit eight home runs over his final 22 games, which gave him 27 overall on the year.
We’ll have more on the prospects from all five of those teams, plus the other 25, in our yearly club-based reports. Those will come out during the 2026-27 MLB offseason. Check out more of our Minor League coverage.