Offensive Players of the Week
Here's a look at the top offensive performers in each league for the week ending May 26:
International League
Matt Hague, Indianapolis
(.360/.407/.920, 6 G, 9-for-25, 5 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 7 R, 2 BB, 4 K)
Hague was an All-Star in 2011, his first season with the Indians, but saw his OBP slip 40 points and his slugging percentage dip 100 points last year. The 27-year-old infielder has been better than ever so far this spring, batting .296/.387/.462 over his first 51 games. Last week he clubbed three home runs in a four-game set at Buffalo, giving him four for the season and matching his total from last year. Hague now leads the first-place Indians with 55 hits, 17 doubles and 28 RBIs.
Hague hits a two-run homer
Pacific Coast League
Scott Moore, Sacramento
(.455/.556/.864, 6 G, 10-for-22, 0 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 9 R, 4 BB, 5 K)
Moore was having an average week until the River Cats arrived in Tucson, where the 29-year-old third baseman erupted for eight hits -- three of them homers -- on Saturday and Sunday. Moore went 5-for-6 with two longballs and four RBIs Saturday night -- his first five-hit outing in more than 1,000 Minor League games -- before adding a solo shot and a pair of singles the next day. Moore scored seven times in the two games as Sacramento won by scores of 7-4 and 20-5.
Eastern League
Mark Minicozzi, Richmond
(.500/.629/.808, 7 G, 13-for-26, 2 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 9 R, 8 BB, 6 K)
The 30-year-old first baseman spent four years away from affiliated ball from 2008-2011 after injuries and a release derailed his pro career. Now in his second season back in the Minors after signing with the Giants last year, he's proving to be more than just a nice comeback story. Thanks to his monster week, Minicozzi now leads the Eastern League with a .347 average, ranks third with a .442 OBP and fifth with a .951 OPS. Those represent vast improvements over his .278, .350 and .787 numbers in the same categories over 81 games with the Flying Squirrels in 2012.
Minicozzi hits fourth homer of season
Southern League
Keon Broxton, Mobile
(.400/.400/.920, 6 G, 10-for-25, 4 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 4 R, 0 BB, 6 K)
After undergoing surgery for a broken hand during the offseason, Broxton did not join the BayBears until May 5 and got off to a very slow start, going 7-for-47 in his first 14 games. The last six have been much better, with Broxton homering twice at Pensacola on Monday night and adding three more multi-hit games against visiting Mississippi later in the week. The outburst has lifted his slugging percentage from .234 to .472 -- a higher mark than he posted while hitting 19 homers for Class A Advanced Visalia last season.
Mobile's Broxton hits his second homer of game
Texas League
Angelys Nina, Tulsa
(.409/.435/.818, 6 G, 9-for-22, 3 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 4 SB)
The 24-year-old Nina is having a breakthrough season at the plate in his second go-round with the Drillers. After hitting .269/.315/.369 with six homers for Tulsa last year, the second baseman owns a .321/.379/.512 line in 2013 and has already smacked five longballs -- two of them last week. Though Nina doesn't draw many walks -- he has 12 in 43 games -- he doesn't fan much either, with just 20 strikeouts on the season. With hits in 15 of his last 17 games (and multiple hits in 10 of them), Nina ranks third in the Texas League in batting.
California League
Andrew Aplin, Lancaster
(.462/.517/.885, 6 G, 12-for-26, 5 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 8 R, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 SB)
A fifth-round pick out of Arizona State in 2012, Aplin got off to a brilliant start with Tri-City in the New York-Penn League last summer, hitting .348/.441/.537 in 44 games and being named a Topps Short-Season All-Star. Following a solid April, the 22-year-old outfielder has soared in May. He homered, doubled twice and drove in four runs against Rancho Cucamonga on Tuesday and collected four more RBIs with a homer and two singles against Inland Empire on Friday. Aplin leads the Cal League with 43 RBIs, ranks third in runs scored and fourth in walks while striking out just 18 times in 47 games.
Carolina League
Michael Taylor, Potomac
(.500/.565/.650, 5 G, 10-for-20, 3 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB, 1 K, 2 SB)
Not to be confused with Sacramento's Michael Taylor, the Nationals' No. 5 prospect collected a pair of hits in each of his five games last week. Taylor is a great athlete now adjusting to center field after starting as a shortstop, but he's still working on his plate discipline -- he's struck out 44 times in 46 games this season, his second with the P-Nats, after fanning 113 times last year. Last week was a strong one for Taylor in that regard as well: he struck out just once in 20 at-bats.
Florida State League
Alen Hanson, Bradenton
(.440/.481/.760, 6 G, 11-for-25, 2 2B, 3 3B, 1 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 SB, 1 CS)
Hanson had a breakout performance at West Virginia last year, hitting .309/.381/.528 with 16 homers and 35 stolen bases, and is ranked 49th among MLB.com's top prospects. He hasn't yet duplicated that success in the Florida State League this season -- he's gone deep just once in his first 45 games -- but his bat is coming around in other ways, with a .326 average in May. The 20-year-old switch-hitter had his biggest game of the season Wednesday night, going 4-for-5 with a pair of triples and a double in Bradenton's 12-4 win over Tampa. Hanson has a hit in each of his last seven contests and leads the Marauders with 53 hits on the season.
Midwest League
Albert Almora, Kane County
(.538/.586/.731, 6 G, 14-for-26, 5 2B, 4 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 CS)
The sixth overall pick in the 2012 Draft, Almora suffered a broken hand in mid March and did not make his season debut until Wednesday. The 19-year-old has been making up for lost time with a flurry of hits in his first six games. Almora, MLB.com's No. 37 prospect, collected three hits in his Cougars debut and four the next day. About the only thing Almora didn't do well in his first taste of full-season baseball was steal bases: he was nabbed in his only attempt.
South Atlantic League
Stetson Allie, West Virginia
(.517/.588/1.000, 7 G, 15-for-29, 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 9 R, 5 BB, 4 K)
Taken as a pitcher in the second round of the 2010 Draft, Allie's transition to power-hitting first baseman is going swimmingly. The 22-year-old slugged two homers at Kannapolis on Tuesday, went 4-for-4 with four RBIs on Thursday and has hits in 11 straight games. Along with the hits are a host of RBIs: 15 last week, including at least one in eight straight games and 10 of 11, giving him 47 on the season -- second-most in the Minor Leagues. Allie leads the Sally League in RBIs, homers (13) and slugging (.643) while ranking fourth in batting (.346) and on-base percentage (.425).