Offensive Players of the Week

Here's a look at the top offensive performers in each league for the week ending May 24:

International League
Matt Hague, Buffalo
(.414/.485/.690, 12-for-29, 8 2B, 9 RBI, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 K)
Playing in his first full season in Buffalo after being selected off waivers from the Pirates by the Blue Jays last August, Hague has shown an impressive knowledge of the strike zone, walking more times (21) than he's struck out (16) through 44 games this season. Splitting his time between first and third base, the 29-year-old slugger has been consistent through the first two months, producing a .345/.421/.482 line thus far. With Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson at the corners in the Majors, Hague is a depth option for the Jays right now, but with a spot on the 40-man roster and his performance thus far, he's proving he could be a solid option off the bench if Toronto needs an option there.

Pacific Coast League
Nick Evans, Reno
(.462/.500/.923, 6 G, 12-for-26, 3 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K)
In each of his past two campaigns with Reno, the 29-year-old first baseman/third baseman/left fielder has been nothing short of an RBI machine. Evans plated 47 runs in 51 contests for the Aces in 2014 and is up to an RBI-per-game pace (41 in 41 games) so far this season. To start last week, he drove in 12 over a four-game stretch starting Sunday. What's more, he's driven his average up to .314 during an ongoing nine-game hitting streak.  

Eastern League
Wynton Bernard, Erie
(.462/.481/.769, 6 G, 12-for-26, 5 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB, 1 CS)
The Tigers' No. 28 prospect has one of the cooler stories you'll find here this week. A 35th-round pick in 2012, Bernard was cut by the Padres and latched onto the Tigers after a tryout in March 2014. The outfielder broke out to become the Midwest League MVP last season after hitting .323 with 45 stolen bases. Detroit put him on the 40-man roster and allowed him to skip a level this season, and that still hasn't stopped Bernard. After his strong six-game performance last week, Bernard is once again hitting .323 and has 14 doubles, a triple, two homers and 11 steals through 39 Double-A games. With a 65-grade run tool, don't be surprised to see Bernard earn a spot as a pinch-run specialist with the big club come September. 

Southern League
Max Kepler, Chattanooga
(.407/.448/.815, 7 G, 11-for-27, 5 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 SB)
Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano get the majority of the ink, but the Germany native and No. 15 Twins prospect is as much responsible for the Southern League's best offense as those two uber-prospects. Following last week, Kepler leads the Lookouts in batting average (.345), slugging (.555) and OPS (.939). Kepler, a left-handed bat who hit just .264 in the Florida State League last season, has split his time between first base and all three spots in the outfield, and he's ticketed to climb in the rankings if he can continue to show offensive potential at Double-A.

Texas League
Joey Gallo, Frisco
(.375/.444/.875, 6 G, 9-for-24, 3 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 5 R, 3 BB, 8 K)
We know Gallo has power in spades, and it's that tool that's earned him his first Player of the Week award of the season. The top Rangers prospect homered twice and drove in six runs last Tuesday and added another solo blast Wednesday. With a homer Monday (outside of consideration for the Player of the Week but notable all the same), the left-handed slugger has eight homers, putting him a tie for third-most in the Texas League despite playing in only 29 games after missing two weeks due to ankle surgery. Beyond just power, he also possesses a .330 average and .440 on-base percentage. Strikeouts remain a concern (34.4 percent K rate), but the rest of the results shouldn't temper any of the optimism the 21-year-old carried into his third full season.

California League
Danry Vasquez, Lancaster
(.419/.500/.710, 7 G, 13-for-31, 3 2B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB, 3 K, 1 CS)
The Astros acted a little aggressively in sending Vasquez to the Class A Advanced level as a 20-year-old in 2014 and returned him there for this season after a .760 OPS with the JetHawks a summer ago. He's riding an 11-game hitting streak that has his average up to .315 and his OPS up to .835. Still about two years younger than the average California League player, Houston's No. 20 prospect seems to be hitting his stride for the first time in the Astros system.

Carolina League
Bradley Zimmer, Lynchburg
(.450/.607/.850, 6 G, 9-for-20, 2 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 10 R, 6 BB, 1 K, 2 SB)
Playing in his first full season since being taken 21st overall last June, Zimmer is showing why the Indians grabbed him with their first-round selection. A solid all-around player, the 22-year-old outfielder hit for both average and power last week and added two stolen bases, not to mention his 1-to-6 K/BB ratio. Through 44 games in the Carolina League, the left-handed slugger is tied for the circuit lead in homers (eight) and ranks second in OPS (.944). 

Florida State League
Michael Conforto, St. Lucie
(.367/.441/.567, 7 G, 11-for-30, 3 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 K)
Conforto, the 10th overall pick, gives us two straight 2014 first-round outfielders on this list. The Oregon State product dominated at the plate in April (hitting .313 with six homers and a .962 OPS) but had yet to find his form in May before last week. Entering the week with a .280 average for the season, he's pushed that back up to .295. His homer on Wednesday was his first of the month. It's hard to produce gaudy numbers from even a talent like Conforto in the pitcher-friendly FSL, so the power drought wasn't unexpected, but the return to form is encouraging all the same.

Midwest League
Ruddy Giron, Fort Wayne
(.515/.556/.848, 7 G, 17-for-33, 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 8 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 SB, 4 CS)
How's this for a first impression? The Padres alerted Giron that he was moving from extended spring training up to Fort Wayne at 3 a.m. last Monday, and hours later he went 6-for-6 with a homer in his Class A debut. That would have been good for a week's work for the 18-year-old Dominican shortstop, but he didn't stop there. In all, he put together five multiple-hit games last week, including four straight from Wednesday to Saturday. Signed in July 2013 for $600,000, Giron has earned plaudits for his speed, as evidenced by a pair of triples last week.

South Atlantic League
Joseph Daris, Rome
(.462/.481/.731, 8 G, 12-for-26, 1 2B, 3 3B, 8 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 SB)
Daris went 2-for-3 with a triple and four RBIs on Saturday and then 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI on Sunday to grab the Sally League's weekly honor. What's more, he raised his average from a meek .244 to a much a stronger .293 following that perfect performance against Savannah. With three triples last week, the left-handed-hitting outfielder sits atop the circuit with six three-baggers on the season.