We turn our attention to the California League, a circuit more known to be friendly for hitters than others in Low-A. That reputation held in 2026, as several hitters hit the 20-home-run plateau. And one posted numbers never seen before at the Low-A level.
The traditional numbers
Dodgers first baseman prospect Easton Shelton had a historic 2026 campaign in Low-A Ontario, thanks to a 37-home-run season that easily put him first in the league in that category.
Shelton became the first-ever player in that circuit to have a 30-home-run season since it became a Low-A league in 2021. The last time any player cracked that number was 2017, when then-Athletics prospect Seth Brown hit 30 for High-A Stockton. He also finished fourth in total hits (121).
Joendry Vargas was the California League hit king, as the Dodgers infield prospect racked up 151 for Ontario. As for stolen bases, Angels prospect Hayden Alvarez had 46 to lead the league, with Padres prospect Conner Westenburg (45) and Ryan Wideman (43) right behind him.
Moving to pitching, 13 hurlers had at least 100 strikeouts. That list included several of the top swing-and-miss pitchers (more on that in the next section) in the league. Atop all of those pitchers was Rockies hurler Brady Parker, with 152 strikeouts over 112.1 IP.
Parker was a 12th-round pick in 2025.
Whiff rates
Let’s start with the pitchers who had the highest swing-and-miss rates in the California League:
Leading the list is Angels relief pitcher prospect, Fulton Lockhart. Lockhart, a 13th-round pick out of USF in 2024, had 72 strikeouts over 43.2 IP. He walked 33 but was certainly impressive in a category that means a lot.
Dylan Jordan was one of the other Angels prospects here. Jordan, a fifth-rounder two years ago, cemented his status as one of Los Angeles’ top overall prospects in 2026. Before the Angels promoted him to High-A, Jordan struck out 113 over 80 innings and posted a sub-4.00 ERA with Rancho Cucamonga.
The Dodgers, unsurprisingly, placed four on this list: Accimias Morales, Will Gagnon, Brady Smith, and Jecsua Liborius. Smith is the headliner among the four, although he’s no longer in the organization. Los Angeles traded him to Detroit as part of the Tarik Skubal trade this past August.
Now, a look at the pitchers with the lowest Whiff% in the California League this past year:
Let’s move on to hitters. Here are the bats with the lowest swing-and-miss rates in the California League from 2026:
Isaiah Barkett was a 10th-round pick by the Giants out of Stetson in 2025. Barkett was one of two Stetson players taken by San Francisco that year, as Lorenzo Meola was picked in the fourth round. Meola hit fine with 15 home runs and 128 hits, the latter of which was the second-most in the league. But Barkett jumped past him in San Jose.
Barkett hit .331/.411/.474 with 97 hits in 73 games. The Giants have heavily prioritized hit-tool-dominant players in recent years, and you’re going to see that in subsequent MiLB league overviews. The 22-year-old Barkett is one such example.
Two other names of notable interest here are Kayson Cunningham and Tanner Thach.
Cunningham, the D-Backs’ top pick from 2025, excelled in Visalia. But so did Thach, a first baseman who headed into 2025 as a potential Day 1 pick. He slipped and, to the Rockies’ benefit, had a fine 2026 campaign in Fresno. Thach slashed .339/.414/.541 with 11 home runs and 35 extra-base hits over 73 games.
Now, a look at the hitters with the highest Whiff%:
Yes, Shelton is an interesting hitter. He does have his flaws, though.
Ryan Picollo of the Mariners had the highest Whiff% at 48.7%. Grant Jay, a slugger at Dallas Baptist, was third.
Most patient hitters
It’s time to take a look at swing tendencies. Here are the hitters who took the most, percentage-wise, in the California League last season:
The Rockies had five players on this list, one of whom split time between Ontario and Fresno. That would be Landyn Vidourek, who was acquired by Colorado last July for Seth Halvorsen.
Perhaps the most notable name among those five was Daniel Jackson, the 2026 Golden Spikes winner. Jackson was a force in Low-A, as he cracked six home runs and walked 14 times over 22 contests. Those were numbers one would like to see from an advanced hitter in Low-A.
Georgia Tech is also well-represented here, as 2026 MLB Draft picks Carson Kerce and Drew Burress landed on this list. Burress’ Take% of 63.4% was the third-highest in the circuit.
Before moving on, let’s take a look at the hitters on the opposite side of the spectrum:
The list includes 2025 draft picks Damian Bravo (Giants) and AJ Soldra (Dodgers), plus Rockies prospect Roldy Brito. But don’t take that as a knock on Brito whatsoever. Brito had an incredible 2026, which started with a slash line of .327/.390/.506 with Fresno.
The pull-heavy hitters
Again, we look at this for one simple reason: it’s a good (but imperfect) indicator of current and potential home run value. This list above includes seven of the top 25 hitters in the circuit, in terms of total home runs hit last season.
Bobby Blandford, who hit 20 home runs for Stockton. As is the aforementioned Grant Jay. Plus, two interesting prospects in the Giants’ system: former Northeastern outfielder Cam Maldonado and Rod Barajas Jr.
Groundball machines
We’re going to finish this up with the top groundball pitchers in the California League this past year:
Check out more of our Minors coverage, including our look at 2026 Carolina League numbers.