After combing through the numbers behind the 2025 High-A and Low-A seasons, we’ve now reached Double-A. The Double-A level is a true test for prospective Major Leaguers, and this past season, some aced it. Hagen Smith, Sal Stewart, and Jaxon Wiggins were among those who did.
The traditional numbers
Let’s start with home runs. Twenty-two players in the Southern League had at least 10 home runs, headlined by league leader Ruben Ibarra. Ibarra, a 26-year-old prospect in the Reds’ system, hit 21 for Chattanooga this past season.
Other notable players who were in double-digits included 2023 first-round pick Brock Wilken (18), fellow Brewers prospects Luke Adams (11) and Blake Burke (11), as well as now-Reds infielder Sal Stewart (10).
Rays prospect Homer Bush Jr. led the Southern League in both total hits (142) and stolen bases (57). Two of his Montgomery teammates, Colton Ledbetter and Cooper Kinney, were in the top nine of the league in total hits.
Behind Bush Jr. in stolen bases was Brewers prospect Luis Lara (44), who led the league in total walks (86).
Moving on to the pitchers, the Rays had two pitchers in the top four of the league in strikeouts: Ty Johnson (149) and Brody Hopkins (141). However, the league leader was White Sox pitching prospect Riley Gowens, who struck out 151 over 132 innings. Gowens was one of several players the Sox received in the Aaron Bummer trade.
Angels prospect Walber Urena finished first in total walks, with 70 over 135.1 innings.
Whiff rates
Let’s move on to some other numbers. We’ll start with the best swing-and-miss pitchers in the Southern League:
| Player | MLB Team | Whiff% |
|---|---|---|
| Zach Franklin | White Sox | 40.7% |
| Elison Joseph | Braves | 39.7% |
| Jaxon Wiggins | Cubs | 38.4% |
| Thomas White | Marlins | 38.0% |
| Hagen Smith | White Sox | 36.0% |
| Blane Abeyeta | Braves | 35.7% |
| Ty Johnson | Rays | 35.7% |
| Will Childers | Brewers | 35.1% |
| Samy Natera Jr. | Angels | 34.3% |
The top honor went to 27-year-old reliever Zach Franklin, a former 10th-round pick by Chicago (AL) who finished the year in Triple-A. Franklin, a fastball/splitter/curveball pitcher, struck out 60 over 42 innings with Birmingham.
This top group includes several high-end pitching prospects, including Ty Johnson, Jaxon Wiggins, and 2024 first-rounder Hagen Smith.
As for Thomas White, the Marlins prospect had the highest Whiff% in the Midwest League during his brief stay in the circuit. That percentage didn’t drop much in the Southern League, where he struck out 75 over 45.1 IP.
Two other notable pitchers in the top-15 were Angels prospects George Klassen (33.2%) and Mitch Farris (32.9%).
Flipping the script
Now, we move on to the hitters who had the highest Whiff% in the Southern League:
| Player | MLB Team | Whiff% |
|---|---|---|
| Cole Fontenelle | Angels | 48.9% |
| Brock Jones | Rays | 44.0% |
| Grant Richardson | Marlins | 43.2% |
| Wilfred Veras | White Sox | 40.9% |
| Stephen Paolini | Braves | 40.7% |
| Jaylen Palmer | Cubs | 40.1% |
| Felix Stevens | Cubs | 40.0% |
| Spencer Bramwell | Marlins | 39.4% |
| Cade Bunnell | Braves | 38.9% |
| Xavier Isaac | Rays | 38.7% |
There are some notable names above, including former college standout Cole Fontenelle and Rays prospect Xavier Isaac.
Isaac has showcased a ton of raw power — but also a lot of swing-and-miss in his pro career. The 22-year-old first baseman slashed .201/.366/.466 in 41 games this season, a shortened one due to injury.
Another hitter who showed a lot of swing-and-miss in Double-A was Braden Montgomery (36.6%), who saw his Whiff% elevate after jumping up from the South Atlantic League.
As for the best contact hitters, White Sox prospect William Bergolla (6.4%) had the lowest Whiff% in the circuit. He was one of 13 hitters to have a sub-20% Whiff%. Other notables who did include Luis Lara, Leo Balcazar, and Sam Antonacci.
Looking at the first pitch
Now that we’re in the Double-A portion of our Minor League look, let’s take a look at the pitchers who tried to establish the strike zone most in the Southern League. More specifically, the best first-strike pitchers in the circuit:
| Player | MLB Team | First Pitch Strike% |
|---|---|---|
| Adam Laskey | Rockies | 68.2% |
| Landon Harper | Braves | 68.1% |
| Abdiel Mendoza | Brewers | 67.0% |
| Jake Palisch | White Sox | 66.8% |
| A.J. Puckett | Cubs | 66.3% |
These metric isn’t the be-all, end-all by any means. For example, Brody Hopkins (55.1%) and Hagen Smith (56.7%) also had relatively lower First Pitch Strike%, compared to the median of 60%.
However, it does give us an idea of how pitchers work at the beginning of the count.
Take kings
Next up in our look at the Southern League numbers are the hitters who had the highest Take% in the circuit:
| Player | MLB Team | Take% |
|---|---|---|
| Brock Wilken | Brewers | 65.7% |
| Luke Adams | Brewers | 64.8% |
| Brett Bateman | Cubs | 64.6% |
| Tatem Levins | Rays | 64.4% |
| Xavier Isaac | Rays | 62.6% |
There are several interesting things to think about when looking at the best — and also, the worst — take hitters in the Minors. One, can these players elicit walks? Two, will these hitters pass up on “good” pitches?
In the cases of Wilken, Bateman, and Levins, all three ranked among the 10 hitters who had the most walks in the circuit. All had walk rates above 10%, with Wilken, a former first-round pick, posting a 20.1% BB%.
Isaac did his fair share, as he walked 34 times over 175 plate appearances. The same can be said for Adams, who walked 43 times over 278 plate appearances.
Moving to the second point, 37.8% of Adams’ takes resulted in a called strike. That percentage was the highest in the Southern League. Wilken (34.4%) also ranked among the 10 highest CS% per take.
Isaac (27.1%) didn’t rank that high.
As for the most aggressive hitters, Bladimir Restituyo (35.9%), Arol Vera (41.0%), and Ben Gobbel (41.5%) had the three lowest Take% in the league.
Hard hitters
Next up are the hard hitters, or the individuals who MLB considered the players who had the best hard-hit percentage in the circuit:
| Player | MLB Team | Modified Hard-Hit% |
|---|---|---|
| DJ Gladney | White Sox | 16.1% |
| Sal Stewart | Reds | 15.6% |
| Matthew Etzel | Rays | 15.2% |
| Blake Burke | Brewers | 15.0% |
| Adam Zebrowski | Braves | 14.6% |
| Brock Jones | Rays | 14.2% |
| Kemp Alderman | Marlins | 14.0% |
| E.J. Exposito | Braves | 12.9% |
| Tatem Levins | Rays | 12.8% |
| Pablo Aliendo | Cubs | 12.7% |
Sal Stewart only played 80 games in Double-A this past season. However, he had quite an impact on the circuit.
Stewart had 10 home runs and 29 extra-base hits for the Lookouts.
Groundball masters
| Player | MLB Team | GB% |
|---|---|---|
| Brady Choban | Angels | 65.7% |
| Walbert Urena | Angels | 59.0% |
| Adam Laskey | Rockies | 58.4% |
| Evan Fitterer | Padres | 57.4% |
| JR Ritchie | Braves | 55.8% |
| Joel Valdez | Reds | 55.0% |
| Brandon Komar | Reds | 54.5% |
| Robby Snelling | Marlins | 52.6% |
| Arij Fransen | Reds | 52.1% |
| Rolddy Muñoz | Braves | 51.4% |
Adam Laskey was recently signed by the Rockies on a Minor League deal.
Check out more of our Minor League coverage.