With over 200 teams spanning three countries and two continents, Minor League Baseball is bigger and better than ever. Assuming ~25 players on each team, that’s over 5000 players playing the greatest game in the world at the professional level! These athletes work hard daily to achieve one goal: to become a Major Leaguer. While each player is worthy of recognition for their ongoing commitment to greatness, only a select few can be Prospects of the Month!
We are two months into full-season ball, and the Complex League has now kicked off, meaning even more players are in action. There have been so many early breakout stars and even a few late bloomers so far in 2026, but the year is still young. With all of this emerging talent, there were several memorable performances in May, but only a select few can be Prospects of the Month!
**Stats entering play on 5/26/26*
C: Jason Schiavone, HOU
Entering 2026, 23-year-old Jason Schiavone was batting below .200 for his career, with just 8 homers and a strikeout rate well over 30%. Development is not linear, and Schiavone is proving that point. In May alone, Schiavone hit .306 with nine homers and three steals, adding seven doubles. That brings his season-long HR total to 18 in just 40 games, more than doubling his career output. It’s worth noting that he is 23 and just got moved to Double-A last week, so his age-to-level production should be considered. Plus, he’s still striking out over 30% of the time despite the power surge. At the same time, it’s hard to overlook a guy who is experiencing such a huge breakout at this point in his career, even if he is a late bloomer.
1B: Ralphy Velazquez, CLE
Fresh off a promotion to Triple-A, Guardians top prospect Ralphy Velazquez is our player of the month at first base. The slugger posted a .367/.444/.696 slash line in May, adding 16 extra-base hits, including four homers. In the month, over half of his 29 total hits went for extra bases. Since making the jump to AAA last week, Velazquez has tallied six hits over his first five games, including three doubles. The 20-year-old is on the short list among the top first base prospects in the game.
Ralphy Velazquez has his second consecutive multi-hit game for the Clips ✌️
His second hit of the game is a stand-up double! pic.twitter.com/KSAdiEsTPf
— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) May 25, 2026
2B: Luke Hill, CLE
Velazquez isn’t the only Guardian on the list, as 2025 fourth-rounder Luke Hill checks in. Hill struggled quite a bit in April, batting just .176, but was red hot in May. Over 17 games, the former Ole Miss Rebel was batting .364 with seven homers and seven doubles, and added three steals. Hill also walked 17 times against just 15 strikeouts, the second consecutive month where his walks exceeded his strikeouts. This year, Hill is now batting .274 with nine homers and four steals and owns an OBP of .436 thanks to his proficiency with drawing walks.
SS: Devin Fitz-Gerald, WSH
With each passing day, the Mackenzie Gore trade looks like a terrific deal for both sides, especially with the emergence of Devin Fitz-Gerald in 2026. Fitz-Gerald had a strong year in 2025, slashing .302/.428/.482 playing across two levels. The biggest question entering this season was how much power Fitz-Gerald could get after managing six homers in his pro debut. The answer is a lot. In May alone, he belted eight homers and accumulated 23 RBI in just 20 games at High-A Wilmington, with all of the power damage being done over a ten-game stretch from May 5th to May 19th. Fitz-Gerald has ascended very quickly in prospect rankings and is now a Top 100 prospect in most places.
3B: Andrew Fischer, MIL
After a brief 18-game debut following the draft, former Tennessee Vol Andrew Fischer is experiencing plenty of highs and lows in his first full season. Playing at High-A, the 20th overall pick from 2025 is absolutely hammering the baseball, to the tune of 13 homers on the season with eight of those coming in May. But with the power comes plenty of swing-and-miss. Through 37 games, he’s already whiffed 58 times (33.9% K rate). It’s still too early to panic about the long-term picture, but there needs to be some marginal improvements over the course of the season before we can get too enamored with the power. If this profile feels similar, it’s reminiscent of both Brock Wilken and Eric Bitonti, two very powerful sluggers in their system who also pose a significant strikeout risk.
Andrew Fischer CRUSHES his 📢*league leading* 14th homer and gets crowned with a cheesehead! 🧀😎 @sirfischer3
Chiefs 1 | Rattlers 1 #tratnation pic.twitter.com/5KescVIvaI
— Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (@TimberRattlers) May 27, 2026
OF: Yeremy Cabrera, WSH
I could’ve gone down the Henry Bolte path here, but I’ll take Yeremy Cabrera, who has parlayed a dominant May into a promotion up to High-A. The 20-year-old was stellar this month, batting .333 with four doubles, three homers, and eight steals, while posting a .955 OPS. Cabrera was another player acquired by the Nationals in the Mackenzie Gore trade, and, like Fitz-Gerald, is benefiting from a terrific player development system in DC. It’s pretty wild to think about Cabrera as a 20-year-old, considering he began his pro career in 2022 as a 16-year-old in the DSL. Now that he’s grown into his frame and continued to improve his skill set year-over-year, he’s a hot name in prospect circles and is gathering plenty of helium as 2026 rolls on.
UTIL: Edwin Arroyo, SS, CIN
Arroyo is a guy I’ve had a love-hate relationship with for several years. The tools have always been there, but he’s never performed at the level you’d anticipate for a guy with this skill set. All of that has changed in 2026. Arroyo is hitting for both average and power while also significantly cutting down his strikeouts. In May, the 22-year-old is hitting over .400 with seven homers, three steals, and a .446 OBP. His performance raises his season-long slash to .344/.402/.595 with ten homers and eight steals for Triple-A Louisville. Don’t be surprised when Arroyo gets the call at some point over the next month or so.
SP: Karson Milbrandt, MIA
I fully anticipated and had come to terms with this portion of the report being the Seth Hernandez and Kade Anderson show. While each of them had their own dominant months, nobody did what Marlins’ righty Karson Milbrandt did. The 22-year-old was otherworldly in May, winning all four of his starts with a 0.38 ERA and 0.63 WHIP. Milbrandt struck out 40 batters in just 24 innings with five walks and one earned run allowed. He’s making a case to be the Minor League Pitcher of the Year, posting a 1.06 ERA and a ridiculous 31.7% K-BB rate across 42 1/3 innings.
Karson Milbrandt has been ridiculous this season. His strikeout rate of 29% in 2025 was already great and he's bumped that by 10% this year. He also has cut the walk rate by nearly 4%.
He has a 43% whiff rate across his arsenal. 35% on the heater and 50% on his breaking balls. pic.twitter.com/SgEptZH41m
— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) May 25, 2026
