These three top prospects are finalists for Hitter of the Year

MLB Pipeline started handing out the Hitting Prospect of the Year award in 2013, and since then, winners have gone on to be All-Stars 26 times over and have won a combined 10 Silver Sluggers, three Rookie of the Year awards and two league MVPs. And those are just the winners.

Last year's finalists included Konnor Griffin, Kevin McGonigle and JJ Wetherholt. While Griffin's injury-limited season will keep him out of Major League awards talk for now, McGonigle and Wetherholt will appear at or near the top of many American and National League Rookie of the Year ballots, respectively, as they translated their Minor League production to the Majors quicker than most.

Below are the three Hitting Prospect of the Year finalists for the 2026 season, as selected by members of the MLB Pipeline staff. Only Minor League results were considered for the award, and as such, the MiLB stats for each slugger are included.

Andrew Fischer, 3B/1B, Brewers (No. 5)
Age: 22
High-A: .298/.443/.675, 1.118 OPS, 54 G, 20 HR, 1 3B, 10 2B, 50 RBIs, 45 BB, 82 K, 4 SB
Double-A: .254/.389/.637, 1.026 OPS 72 G, 28 HR, 2 3B, 7 2B, 64 RBIs, 57 BB, 103 K, 5 SB
Total: .273/.413/.654, 1.067 OPS, 126 G, 48 HR, 3 3B, 17 2B, 114 RBIs, 102 BB, 185 K, 9 SB

If you followed Minor League Baseball at all in 2026, you probably know about Fischer's hitting exploits in the Milwaukee system. The 2025 20th overall pick led the Minors in slugging percentage (.654), OPS (1.067) and total bases (287) across 126 games at High-A Wisconsin and Double-A Biloxi, but most famously, he also topped the Minors with 48 homers, nine more than his closest competition (Jesús Báez, 39). His 48 blasts were the highest single-season total in the Minors since Ron Kittle went deep 50 times for Triple-A Edmonton in 1982. The left-handed hitter's 33.0 percent strikeout rate may put into question the long-term outlook of his hit tool, but when he did make contact, it was often loud, pulled and in the air -- a great combination for getting the tremendous raw power he showed at Duke, Ole Miss and Tennessee into the pros. Throw in a strong .413 OBP built on an 18.2 percent walk rate, and Fischer's 162 wRC+ was second-best among 724 full-season qualifiers this year.

Theo Gillen, OF, Rays (No. 2/MLB No. 12)
Age: 21
High-A: .342/.449/.589, 1.038 OPS, 57 G, 12 HR, 3 3B, 12 2B, 44 RBIs, 38 BB, 63 K, 28 SB
Double-A: .288/.390/.504, .894 OPS, 59 G, 10 HR, 4 3B, 11 2B, 47 RBIs, 36 BB, 53 K, 16 SB
Total: .315/.419/.546, .965 OPS, 116 G, 22 HR, 7 3B, 23 2B, 91 RBIs, 74 BB, 116 K, 44 SB

The 18th overall pick in the 2024 Draft, Gillen enjoyed an impressive first full season last year with a .267/.433/.387 line, five homers and 36 steals in 73 games with Single-A Charleston before a wrist injury ended his 2025 early. However, he took a significant leap forward in his age-20 season this summer, primarily in the power department. His 22 homers between High-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery were four times the foundation he set in ‘25. With his plus speed, he added in 44 steals and became one of only five 20-40 players in the Minors this season. Of those five, he was the only one with an OPS above .900 (.965) or a wRC+ above 125 (151). Gillen was so good with that power-speed combination to start the season with Bowling Green that he was named South Atlantic League MVP despite earning a promotion to Montgomery on June 23.

Rainiel Rodriguez, C/1B, Cardinals (No. 1/MLB No. 16)

Age: 19
High-A: .311/.430/.519, .949 OPS, 28 G, 4 HR, 1 3B, 8 2B, 21 RBIs, 19 BB, 24 K, 4 SB
Double-A: .328/.408/.591, .999 OPS, 87 G, 23 HR, 22 2B, 66 RBIs, 41 BB, 77 K, 7 SB
Total: .324/.413/.574, .987 OPS, 115 G, 27 HR, 1 3B, 30 2B, 87 RBIs, 60 BB, 101 K, 11 SB

Coming off a breakout 20-homer season across three domestic levels in 2025, Rodriguez went flying out of the gate to begin his age-19 season with High-A Peoria, prompting the Cardinals to promote the catcher to Double-A Springfield on May 12 -- an accelerated move for someone so young. After a slightly bumpy introduction to the Minors' second-highest level, the right-handed slugger not only caught up to the standard of the Texas League but proved to be one of its best hitters by the second half. From July 26 onward, Rodriguez hit .417/.482/.806 with 14 homers, 14 doubles and just an 11.9 percent strikeout rate over his final 36 games of the regular season. By the end, he accrued 402 total plate appearances with Springfield. Since 2006, only 14 teenagers have gotten at least 400 PA in a Double-A season. Only one has a higher wRC+ than Rodriguez's 151 with Springfield in 2026. That would be Mike Trout with a 162 mark in 2011.

Previous winners:

2013: Byron Buxton, MIN
2014: Kris Bryant, CHC
2015: Kyle Schwarber, CHC
2016: Alex Bregman, HOU
2017: Ronald Acuña Jr., ATL
2018: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR
2019: Luis Robert Jr., CWS
2020: None (COVID)
2021: Anthony Volpe, NYY
2022: Gunnar Henderson, BAL
2023: Jackson Holliday, BAL
2024: Kristian Campbell, BOS
2025: Konnor Griffin, PIT