We move to the Midwest League for our next 2026 Minor League numbers look. For this circuit, it was a very good year, filled with former first-rounders and high-end prospects. And as one would expect, many of those top names were statistical standouts.

The traditional numbers

Ten players in the Midwest League had at least 20 home runs this season. That list included some big names, including prospects Blake Mitchell, Eduardo Tait, Charles Davalan, Emil Morales, Braylon Payne, and Andrew Fischer (more on those names in a bit).

Royals prospect Derlin Figueroa wound up leading the Midwest League in home runs with 26. Right behind him was Brewers infield prospect Eric Bitonti, who had 25 in 111 games for Wisconsin.

Davalan, a former first-round pick by the Dodgers in 2025, was the Midwest League hit king with 128 total hits. He finished five ahead of teammate Eduardo Quintero, who had 123 hits and also finished tied with Brewers prospect Daniel Dickinson for walks (88).

The two players who finished ahead of Dickinson and Quintero, as far as walks were concerned, were Kane Kepley (96) and Blake Mitchell (113).

Lastly, Royals prospect Asbel Gonzalez was the Midwest League stolen-base king with 67. Daniel Dickinson was the only other player to have a 60-stolen-base season, as the former LSU infielder hit that number on the dot.

Liomar Martinez, who missed a lot of bats both in Low-A Jupiter in 2025 and High-A Beloit in 2026, was the Midwest League strikeout leader, with 146. Behind him was Royals prospect David Shields, who struck out 139 over 116.2 IP in what was a big year for the left-hander.

In total, 13 pitchers had 100+ strikeouts in the Midwest League this season. Two (L.P. Langevin and Melkis Hernandez) were relievers, and we’ll get more into those two in the next section.

Whiff rates

Let’s take a look at the pitchers with the highest swing-and-miss rates in the Midwest League:

Langevin doesn’t throw hard but was one of the most difficult pitchers to hit in the Midwest League this season. Opposing batters hit just .142 off Langevin, who struck out 106 batters in 56 innings for Quad Cities.

Abel Mercedes was the top swing-and-miss pitcher in the Carolina League in 2025. The Athletics plucked him in the MiLB phase of the 2025 Rule 5 Draft from Houston. Mercedes walked 49 and struck out 51 over 36 innings for Lansing.

Yhoiker Fajardo mowed down hitters in High-A Peoria. Acquired by St. Louis in the Willson Contreras trade from last December, the right-hander struck out 106 over 76.1 IP in the Midwest League.

This list also includes two Guardians prospects (Jackson Humphries & Donovan Zsak), as well as Nazier Mule. Mule, who struck out 79 over 63 innings for South Bend, is Rule 5-eligible this year.

Now, a look at the pitchers with the lowest swing-and-miss rates:

Samuel Dutton led the Midwest League in innings pitched (122.1 IP) during his first full pro season. However, the former Auburn pitcher struck out just 67 over 122.1 IP for Lansing.

We move to hitters, starting with the hitters with the lowest swing-and-miss rates in the Midwest League:

Casey Yamauchi, yet again, was one of the best pure contact hitters in the Midwest League this season. The A’s prospect had the lowest Whiff% in the circuit, with a tick under 14%.

Right behind him is Kane Kepley, one of several outfielders the Cubs can dream on. Kepley, aside from being a fast runner, also gets on base a lot and makes consistent contact.

Charles Davalan and Eduardo Quintero, two of the top hitters as noted above in the Midwest League, were here as well.

Lastly, a look at the hitters with the highest Whiff% in the Midwest League:

It’s a who’s who of power hitters.

Brandon Compton had quite an interesting season. Compton walked significantly more in High-A this year, compared to Double-A. There was also a lot of swing-and-miss in Beloit for the former Arizona Wildcat, who hit 12 of his 38 total home runs with the Sky Carp.

Nolan Schubart hit 35 total home runs, 20 of which came in Lake County. He is a bat to watch for sure; Schubart was a top college hitter at Oklahoma State and was a third-round pick back in 2025. He walked 103 total times this year but the hit tool is a question mark.

The same can be said for Blake Mitchell, who did have a very good year. Mitchell posted the rare 20-20 season for a catcher, posted a .414 on-base percentage, and is still very much the best catching prospect in the Kansas City system.

Andrew Fischer, who hit 20 of his 48 home runs from 2026 with Wisconsin, is here, too.

Most patient hitters

Next up is swing tendencies:

For those who read our monthly division recaps for MLB recaps, you probably remember we mentioned Dean Curley a lot.

Curley, a second-round pick out of Tennessee in 2025, walked 107 total times between High-A and Double-A. His high-take tendency is on to watch, especially since Curley piled up the strikeouts, too. But a middle infielder who has the potential to hit 20+ home runs and get on base is someone to watch, no matter what.

This list also includes some other names we didn’t mention earlier, including outfielders Jaison Chourio and Mike Sirota. Both Chourio and Sirota are top outfield prospects in their respective organizations.

Now, a look at the hitters with the lowest Take%:

Tyson Lewis, the 20-year-old who was a second-round pick in 2024, had an interesting 2025 campaign. Lewis has a lot of tools, which is important since he doesn’t get on base a lot.

The pull-heavy hitters

Some big power hitters here, including Reds catching prospect Alfredo Duno. Duno, one of the younger players in the Midwest League, slashed .260/.390/.512 (.902 OPS) for Dayton this past year.

Groundball machines

Lastly, we take a look at the pitchers who had the highest GB% in the Midwest League this season:

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