The Midwest League rankings feature the up and coming Jaff Decker who will reach San Diego far too late to save Kevin Towers his job. I never had a huge problem with Towers. He was far more handicapped (and successful despite this) by his team's ownership and budget than a frequent complainer like J.P. Ricciardi and his $100 million dollar losing squads.MLB Fantasy Prospects wrote a great piece on Jaff Decker that I may have mentioned previously, but if you missed it you should certainly check it out. the site is an excellent resource for the prospect crazy or just the committed Advanced Fantasy Baseball Shark in need of an edge.
The big boy was no slouch this year at Low-A hitting .299, with 16 HRs, a .442 OBP, and a .514 SLG. Decker has a phenomenal eye that is indicative of a future fantasy star. He had a 19.2% walk rate and .92 BB/K rate batting third in the Fort Wayne (Padres’ Low-A affiliate) batting order. Notably, Decker has had a fairly high Batting Average on Balls in Play [BABIP] (.364 at Low-A /.432 in the AZL). Usually, such a high BABIP suggests a lucky hitter. In this case, there’s no luck involved, as Decker’s BABIP is sky high because he hits the ball freakishly hard.MLB Fantasy Prospects has recently reported on prospects like Derek Norris of the Washington Nationals, Hector Rondon of the Cleveland Indians, and Brian Matusz of the Baltimore Orioles.
Top 25 Midwest League Batters (minimum 50 at-bats)
| Name | Team | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG | ISO | Spd | BABIP | wOBA |
| James Darnell | Padres | 20.40% | 23.00% | 0.329 | 0.468 | 0.518 | 0.189 | 4 | 0.402 | 0.449 |
| Brett Jackson | Cubs | 8.90% | 28.60% | 0.295 | 0.383 | 0.545 | 0.25 | 8.2 | 0.356 | 0.436 |
| Jaff Decker | Padres | 19.20% | 25.70% | 0.299 | 0.442 | 0.514 | 0.215 | 4.8 | 0.364 | 0.434 |
| Chris Dennis | Brewers | 12.60% | 29.50% | 0.318 | 0.409 | 0.538 | 0.22 | 4.2 | 0.427 | 0.432 |
| Xavier Scruggs | Cardinals | 15.10% | 33.30% | 0.295 | 0.409 | 0.527 | 0.233 | 3.4 | 0.392 | 0.427 |
| Jermaine Curtis | Cardinals | 14.50% | 18.80% | 0.304 | 0.426 | 0.438 | 0.134 | 5.3 | 0.367 | 0.417 |
| Kyler Burke | Cubs | 14.40% | 21.30% | 0.303 | 0.405 | 0.505 | 0.202 | 5.8 | 0.359 | 0.417 |
| Kyle Russell | Dodgers | 13.00% | 37.40% | 0.272 | 0.371 | 0.545 | 0.272 | 7.6 | 0.382 | 0.416 |
| Joseph Becker | Dodgers | 10.60% | 20.30% | 0.339 | 0.403 | 0.492 | 0.153 | 3.9 | 0.413 | 0.407 |
| Sawyer Carroll | Padres | 13.80% | 22.80% | 0.316 | 0.41 | 0.464 | 0.148 | 5.1 | 0.394 | 0.406 |
| Josh Vitters | Cubs | 2.50% | 15.60% | 0.316 | 0.351 | 0.535 | 0.219 | 4.4 | 0.33 | 0.402 |
| Conner Crumbliss | Athletics | 18.00% | 18.00% | 0.28 | 0.438 | 0.4 | 0.12 | 6.5 | 0.341 | 0.401 |
| Kris Sanchez | Mariners | 13.60% | 27.20% | 0.291 | 0.391 | 0.496 | 0.205 | 1.7 | 0.366 | 0.401 |
| Billy Nowlin | Tigers | 8.10% | 16.00% | 0.311 | 0.39 | 0.483 | 0.172 | 3.9 | 0.346 | 0.399 |
| Chris Swauger | Cardinals | 7.30% | 20.00% | 0.296 | 0.357 | 0.522 | 0.226 | 6.7 | 0.341 | 0.397 |
| Jerry Sands | Dodgers | 12.60% | 30.80% | 0.26 | 0.361 | 0.51 | 0.25 | 5.9 | 0.328 | 0.395 |
| Grant Desme | Athletics | 7.50% | 31.30% | 0.274 | 0.334 | 0.49 | 0.216 | 8.4 | 0.359 | 0.394 |
| Charles Cutler | Cardinals | 9.00% | 10.30% | 0.351 | 0.41 | 0.455 | 0.103 | 2.8 | 0.38 | 0.393 |
| Byron Wiley | Reds | 16.60% | 29.80% | 0.275 | 0.395 | 0.461 | 0.186 | 5.4 | 0.363 | 0.392 |
| Brian Van Kirk | Blue Jays | 14.00% | 25.70% | 0.278 | 0.389 | 0.451 | 0.173 | 4.1 | 0.344 | 0.392 |
| Alexia Amarista | Angels | 9.50% | 12.80% | 0.319 | 0.39 | 0.468 | 0.149 | 7.8 | 0.359 | 0.391 |
| Nick Van Stratten | Royals | 9.90% | 12.50% | 0.318 | 0.393 | 0.447 | 0.129 | 7.7 | 0.36 | 0.39 |
| Blake Ochoa | Mariners | 7.50% | 20.20% | 0.318 | 0.379 | 0.48 | 0.162 | 3.6 | 0.376 | 0.387 |
| Josh Harrison | Cubs | 5.00% | 8.30% | 0.337 | 0.377 | 0.479 | 0.142 | 7.3 | 0.358 | 0.386 |
| Marc Krauss | Diamondbacks | 10.90% | 18.30% | 0.304 | 0.377 | 0.478 | 0.174 | 3.1 | 0.359 | 0.386 |
| Luis Flores | Cubs | 20.00% | 22.90% | 0.208 | 0.387 | 0.458 | 0.25 | 1.9 | 0.229 | 0.385 |
| Brendan Duffy | Diamondbacks | 11.10% | 20.90% | 0.308 | 0.414 | 0.393 | 0.085 | 7.7 | 0.39 | 0.384 |
| Anthony Delmonico | Dodgers | 11.20% | 23.60% | 0.285 | 0.383 | 0.43 | 0.145 | 4.4 | 0.352 | 0.382 |
| Andrew Cumberland | Padres | 12.10% | 12.40% | 0.293 | 0.386 | 0.41 | 0.117 | 7.9 | 0.329 | 0.382 |
| Matt Carpenter | Cardinals | 13.90% | 12.40% | 0.295 | 0.405 | 0.39 | 0.095 | 4.6 | 0.337 | 0.381 |
| Matt Clark | Padres | 11.60% | 28.60% | 0.266 | 0.352 | 0.484 | 0.218 | 1.6 | 0.331 | 0.381 |
| Ramon Santana | Twins | 11.90% | 25.30% | 0.296 | 0.384 | 0.453 | 0.156 | 4 | 0.377 | 0.379 |
| Anthony Hatch | Dodgers | 9.60% | 14.60% | 0.294 | 0.363 | 0.463 | 0.169 | 5.4 | 0.327 | 0.379 |
| Jarrod Dyson | Royals | 6.90% | 20.90% | 0.343 | 0.397 | 0.403 | 0.06 | 8 | 0.434 | 0.377 |
| Scott Savastano | Mariners | 11.90% | 17.90% | 0.3 | 0.39 | 0.404 | 0.104 | 6.1 | 0.354 | 0.377 |
Top 25 Midwest League Pitchers (minimum 50 IP)
| Name | Team | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | WHIP | BABIP | LOB% | ERA | FIP |
| Andrew Taylor | Angels | 14.55 | 3.33 | 0 | 0.94 | 0.32 | 85.40% | 1.23 | 1.08 |
| Brad Brach | Padres | 11.59 | 1.55 | 0.14 | 0.74 | 0.264 | 82.70% | 1.27 | 1.54 |
| Cheyne Hann | Mariners | 9.75 | 1.05 | 0.26 | 0.82 | 0.279 | 83.30% | 1.32 | 1.85 |
| Chris Huseby | Cubs | 12.17 | 1.67 | 0.5 | 0.98 | 0.335 | 86.90% | 1.83 | 1.94 |
| Vladimir Veras | Angels | 9.83 | 3 | 0 | 1.13 | 0.316 | 68.30% | 3 | 2.13 |
| Matt Daly | Blue Jays | 9.59 | 3.55 | 0 | 1.09 | 0.283 | 76.80% | 1.95 | 2.31 |
| Bryan Woodall | Diamondbacks | 9.86 | 2.3 | 0.27 | 1.35 | 0.382 | 68.00% | 3.24 | 2.34 |
| Blaine Hardy | Royals | 9.16 | 1.66 | 0.29 | 0.95 | 0.29 | 76.00% | 2.05 | 2.37 |
| Zachary Herr | Padres | 12.71 | 3.18 | 0.64 | 1.24 | 0.366 | 62.70% | 4.13 | 2.41 |
| Bayron Zepeda | Diamondbacks | 7.3 | 2.04 | 0 | 1.43 | 0.375 | 62.00% | 4.58 | 2.43 |
| Henderson Alvarez | Blue Jays | 6.66 | 1.38 | 0.07 | 1.13 | 0.317 | 63.60% | 3.47 | 2.43 |
| Nick Schmidt | Padres | 10.28 | 4.01 | 0 | 1.18 | 0.305 | 67.70% | 2.79 | 2.48 |
| Nick Schumacher | Padres | 8.74 | 2.22 | 0.16 | 1.08 | 0.305 | 88.20% | 1.11 | 2.49 |
| Barry Bowden | Royals | 11.22 | 3.86 | 0.35 | 1.01 | 0.257 | 75.70% | 2.28 | 2.56 |
| Ezequiel Infante | Reds | 7.91 | 1.55 | 0.34 | 1.15 | 0.325 | 69.30% | 3.44 | 2.57 |
| Robert Boothe | Dodgers | 12.46 | 4.63 | 0.32 | 1.49 | 0.396 | 62.20% | 4.95 | 2.65 |
| Kenn Kasparek | Mariners | 8.51 | 2.03 | 0.32 | 1.12 | 0.313 | 73.50% | 2.41 | 2.68 |
| Liam Hendriks | Twins | 8.37 | 2.03 | 0.41 | 1.32 | 0.357 | 65.30% | 3.51 | 2.69 |
| Ryan Buchter | Cubs | 11.66 | 5.02 | 0.15 | 1.15 | 0.273 | 77.10% | 1.33 | 2.69 |
| Jamie Richmond | Athletics | 7.2 | 0.9 | 0.54 | 1.06 | 0.308 | 74.30% | 2.7 | 2.74 |
| Tyler Stohr | Tigers | 8.11 | 2.36 | 0.3 | 1.23 | 0.328 | 69.20% | 3.54 | 2.76 |
| Casey Crosby | Tigers | 10.06 | 4.13 | 0.26 | 1.13 | 0.273 | 72.80% | 2.41 | 2.8 |
| Tyler Conn | Tigers | 7.97 | 2.31 | 0.39 | 1.19 | 0.314 | 72.70% | 3.21 | 2.8 |
| Simon Castro | Padres | 10.07 | 2.37 | 0.58 | 1.1 | 0.313 | 68.20% | 3.33 | 2.8 |
| Anthony Shawler | Tigers | 8.19 | 2.59 | 0.33 | 1.23 | 0.321 | 66.50% | 3.76 | 2.89 |
| Daniel Merklinger | Brewers | 9 | 2.89 | 0.51 | 1.17 | 0.303 | 76.10% | 2.55 | 2.9 |
| Austin Bibens-Dirkx | Cubs | 6.37 | 1.15 | 0.51 | 0.91 | 0.255 | 77.10% | 2.04 | 2.9 |
| Brayan Villarreal | Tigers | 10.28 | 2.96 | 0.44 | 1.15 | 0.316 | 73.60% | 2.87 | 2.91 |
| Steven Blevins | Twins | 7.87 | 3.05 | 0.23 | 1.37 | 0.34 | 66.90% | 3.52 | 2.97 |
| Michael Montgomery | Royals | 8.07 | 3.72 | 0.16 | 1.14 | 0.269 | 73.60% | 2.17 | 2.98 |
| Geison Aguasviva | Dodgers | 6.61 | 2.87 | 0.14 | 1.16 | 0.285 | 80.20% | 1.58 | 2.99 |
| Wily Peralta | Brewers | 10.24 | 3.99 | 0.43 | 1.32 | 0.33 | 71.60% | 3.47 | 3 |
| Christopher Archer | Cubs | 9.83 | 5.45 | 0 | 1.32 | 0.293 | 72.90% | 2.81 | 3.03 |
| Ramon Delgado | Cardinals | 7.46 | 1.87 | 0.55 | 1.06 | 0.285 | 74.40% | 2.41 | 3.03 |
| Luke Putkonen | Tigers | 6.93 | 2.83 | 0.18 | 1.31 | 0.321 | 70.60% | 3.13 | 3.05 |
