Offensive Players of the Week

Here's a look at the top offensive performers in each league for the week ending Aug. 23:

International League
Richie Shaffer, Durham (TB)
(.387/.429/.774, 7 G, 12-for-31, 3 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 8 R, 3 BB, 7 K)
At the start of the season, MLB.com had Shaffer ranked as the Rays' No. 22 prospect. Twenty-six Minor League home runs (and two more in eight big league contests) later, and the Clemson product is one of the breakout stars of the 2015 campaign. Optioned to the IL after his brief MLB debut, Shaffer hurried back to the Bulls to deliver four multi-hit games and drive in eight runs. The Rays are pretty well set at third base, but they'll make a spot for Shaffer if he continues to hit like this.

Pacific Coast League
Jose Martinez, Omaha (KC)
(.552/.606/1.034, 7 G, 16-for-29, 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 9 R, 4 BB, 2 K)
The worst thing you can say about Martinez is that -- for a guy listed at 6-foot-7 -- he doesn't show a lot of power -- even though he homered three times last week. Everything else he's done at the plate this year has been simply outstanding. After piling up 16 hits in seven games this week, the 27-year-old outfielder leads all full-season Minor Leaguers with a .384 batting average and .451 OBP. Martinez has fanned just 46 times (compared to 38 walks) in 89 games this season. Martinez is demonstrating beautifully that there's more to hitting than simply bashing homers.

Eastern League
Dominic Ficociello, Erie (DET)
(.600/.600/.950, 6 G, 12-for-20, 3 2B, 2 3B, 10 RBI, 5 R, 0 BB, 3 K)
A midseason All-Star for Lakeland in the Florida State League, Ficociello has been even better since his promotion to Erie, batting .337/.364/.510 with 22 RBIs in his first 28 Double-A games. The 23-year-old University of Arkansas product wrapped up a scorching week by going 7-for-10 at Akron over the weekend. Ficociello has only drawn three walks in his 28 Eastern League games, but that won't be an issue as long as the switch-hitter continues to hit everything in sight.

Southern League
Cameron Seitzer, Montgomery (TB)
(.409/.500/.909, 6 G, 9-for-22, 5 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 K)
Seitzer has had a breakthrough in his third season with the Biscuits. A Southern League All-Star in 2013, the first baseman, now 25, suffered a subpar 2014 campaign despite twice earning league Player of the Week awards. This year he's posted the best numbers of his full-season career, particularly in an August in which he's hit .367/.427/.570. Not coincidentally, the Biscuits have the league's best record in the month and own a 2 1/2-game lead in the North Division.

Texas League
Ryon Healy, Midland (OAK)
(.469/.485/.719, 6 G, 15-for-32, 5 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 7 R, 1 BB, 7 K)
Healy has been more than solid all year -- he was a Texas League midseason All-Star and a rare hitter whose numbers rose upon leaving the Cal League -- but the best adjective for his play recently is "blistering." The 23-year-old third baseman is batting .400/.430/.589 in August and has twice been named the Texas League's offensive player of the week. Healy ranks fourth in the league with 201 total bases and has the RockHounds well on the way to a second-half division title.

California League
Brandon Bayardi, Inland Empire (LAA)
(.438/.486/1.063, 8 G, 14-for-32, 2 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 9 R, 3 BB, 7 K)
Bayardi began the week with six homers on the season and ended it with 10, wrapping up the surge by going 4-for-8 with two long balls, 5 RBIs and four runs scored in a doubleheader split Sunday. A 36th-round pick out of UNLV in 2013, the 24-year-old Bayardi has only played 170 pro games, but has a career .279/ .355/.460 line with 22 homers, 39 doubles and 100 RBIs.

Carolina League
Ben Carhart, Myrtle Beach (CHC)
(.500/.529/1.143, 4 G, 7-for-14, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 0 K)
In 2013, Carhart played 112 games for Class A Advanced Daytona and hit three home runs. On the weekend of Aug. 22-23, he played two games for Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach and matched his '13 total while driving in seven runs. Carhart and the Pelicans, who won the first-half title in the Carolina League South, trail Winston-Salem by 1 1/2 games as the second half winds down.

Florida State League
Rhys Hoskins, Clearwater (PHI)
(.321/.367/.750, 7 G, 9-for-28, 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 10 R, 2 BB, 8 K)
The Florida State League is a tough place to play for power hitters, but Hoskins is taking it all in stride. A midseason All-Star for Class A Lakewood, the 22-year-old first baseman has put up very similar numbers in his first 56 Class A Advanced games, batting .304/.382/.510 for the Threshers. The FSL home run leader, Clearwater teammate Andrew Pullin has 14, while two players are tied with 32 doubles. Between Lakewood and Clearwater, Hoskins has 16 dingers and 34 two-baggers.

Midwest League
Nick Thompson, Peoria (STL)
(.458/.480/.792, 6 G, 11-for-24, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 K)
It's been an up-and-down first full season for Thompson, an eighth-round pick out of William & Mary in 2014. He started off hot in April, posting a .429 on-base percentage, before slumping in May and June. August is winding down on a high note, though, highlighted by huge back-to-back games against Beloit last week in which the 22-year-old outfielder went 7-for-8 with two homers and five RBIs.

South Atlantic League
Arturo Rodriguez, Greensboro (MIA)
(.368/.429/.895, 5 G, 7-for-19, 1 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K)
Rodriguez has been all about run production for the Grasshoppers in August. He has 14 RBIs in his last 10 games including at least one in each of his last six contests, thanks to three home runs during that stretch. The 23-year-old backstop's 17 homers on the season are one shy of teammate K.J. Woods and two behind Lexington's Ryan O'Hearn -- who has been promoted out of the league -- for the Sally League season lead.

New York-Penn League
Trey Amburgey, Staten Island (NYY)
(.545/.583/1.182, 3 G, 6-for-11, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 R, 1 K, 1 SB)
The New York-Penn League All-Star Game helped limit Amburgey to just three games this week, but he had plenty of time to get his hits in. The 2015 13th-round pick just lacks the plate appearances to qualify, but his .355 average would lead the NYPL and his .421 OBP would rank third. With 16 stolen bases in 19 attempts and 34 runs scored in 41 games, Amburgey is a big reason why the Baby Bombers have a hold on first place in the NYPL's McNamara Division.

Northwest League
Braden Bishop, Everett (SEA)
(.385/.429/.692, 6 G, 10-for-26, 2 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 SB)
Adjusting to the professional game (and wooden bats) can take time, even for high-level Draft picks. Bishop, a third-rounder out of the University of Washington, hit just .211 in June before posting a .299 mark in July. He's batting .410/.446/.574 in August and belted his first two homers last week in back-to-back games against Spokane. The outfielder, who turned 22 on Saturday, now ranks third in the league with a .316 batting average.

Appalachian League
Xavier Fernandez, Burlington (KC)
(.471/.550/.882, 5 G, 8-for-17, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K)
Fernandez's second season in Burlington has been a vast improvement on his first, in which he hit a miserable .152/.239/.215 in 2014. He ranks among the best in the league at .352/.413/.539 this year. Two of the 20-year-old catcher's four home runs came this week, including a three-run shot in a three-hit game against first-place Pulaski on Monday. Fernandez has fanned just 17 times in 128 at-bats this season.

Pioneer League
Carlos Belonis, Helena (MIL)
(.500/.560/1.000, 6 G, 11-for-22, 2 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 3 SB)
After hitting one homer in 45 Arizona Rookie League games last season, Belonis has seven for the Brewers this year -- including three in his last six outings. The 21-year-old outfielder piled up hits (and RBIs) of all kinds last week, raising his season batting average from .220 to .254 and going deep in back-to-back games over the weekend while driving in six runs.