TWitM: Spencer Nivens is out of this world

Nivens is the hottest hitter in the entire minor leagues right now

This Week in the Minors is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?”

This Week in the Minors: Tuesday, August 20 to Sunday, August 25

AAA Omaha Storm Chasers (29-22, 4.5 GB, International League West, 1st half Division Champs)

Omaha continues at a steady pace toward a playoff appearance next month. Outfielder Tyler Gentry was promoted to the big leagues on Sunday, but not before he slashed .294/.333/.529 on the week at Omaha. He pinch-hit on Sunday and started game one on Monday but has not yet notched his first big league hit. Fellow outfielder Drew Waters continues to have a strong month at the plate as well. He had six hits on the week, and perhaps more impressively struck out just twice against four walks. His power stroke has slowed down of late (he slugged just .389) but he provides even more valuable depth in Omaha should the need arise in the coming month.

Nick Loftin led Omaha with eight hits across six games. Three hits were doubles, and he also walked four times against two strikeouts. His .906 OPS ranked third on the Omaha offense, behind Nelson Velázquez and Brian O’Keefe. Velázquez had just 13 at-bats on the week but made the most of them with a home run and three RBI. O’Keefe led Omaha with eight RBI, thanks to a three-run and two-run home run. He launched three home runs in all, posting a team-high 1.140 OPS on the week.

Lefty Daniel Lynch IV joined Tyler Gentry as a fellow promotion to Kansas City. He had been fantastic for Omaha over the last six weeks, and last week was no different. Lynch made one start, leading the roster with eight strikeouts and holding opponents to a .158 average. Noah Cameron continued his strong Triple-A debut, notching yet another quality start. He allowed three earned runs to score across six innings of work, striking out six and walking just four. The command issues aren’t normal for Cameron, who usually has impressive command. Even still, he has a dominant 1.72 ERA in five starts since joining the Storm Chasers.

Carlos Hernández pitched a scoreless week, leading to the final promotion so far this week for Kansas City. He struck out four without a walk over 3.1 innings of work. The 40-man roster may be the only barrier for Evan Sisk earning a big league call-up. There simply isn’t a place open for him currently, but he was perfect on the week. Sisk pitched 2.2 innings on the week, striking out five without allowing a baserunner.

AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals (25-25, 7.5 GB, Texas League North)

Reliever Ryan Brady was impressive in relief last week. He struck out seven with just one walk over three appearances, pitching to a 2.45 ERA on the week. Lefty Tyson Guerrero continued his recent hot stretch. He’s been under the radar for some time and continued that last week. In his lone start, Guerrero struck out six over 5.2 scoreless innings. He’s now allowed just two earned runs over his last six starts. In that span, he owns a 0.48 ERA, holding opponents to a .120 average with 30 strikeouts against ten walks.

Speaking of hot stretches, right-hander Steven Zobac remains on a scorcher. He allowed one earned run across six innings of work in his lone outing on the week. Zobac allowed six runs to score in his Double-A debut but has settled in since. Over his last seven starts, including last week, he’s pitched to a 1.21 ERA with 51 strikeouts and just seven walks across 37.1 IP. Reliever Beck Way pitched four full innings on the week, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out five.

Unfortunately, the offense was stone-cold last week for Northwest Arkansas. Javier Vaz led the offense with five hits. However, he hit just .208 with a .450 OPS. Infielder Peyton Wilson led the Naturals with a .812 OPS, thanks mostly to a home run and four walks. Outfielder Gavin Cross finished the week 0-for-14 and catcher Carter Jensen struck out six times against just one walk, slashing .111/.158/.167.

A+ Quad Cities River Bandits (29-25, 2.5 GB, Midwest League West)

If the offense was lethargic in Springdale last week, it was the polar opposite for the River Bandits. Outfielder Spencer Nivens was unsurprisingly named the Midwest League Hitter of the Week. He notched a team-high ten RBI on the back of four home runs. He walked six times against just three strikeouts, slashing and otherworldly .571/.667/1.333. Nivens is firmly cementing his name among the best-hitting prospects in the farm system and has raised his stock substantially in the last month.

Infielder Justin Johnson had seven hits on the week — including four doubles — en route to a .871 OPS. Carson Roccaforte has had a scorching hot month of August in his own right, dwarfed only by Nivens on the Quad Cities roster. He slugged .568 in August and continued that hot stretch with a home run and double last week. 2024 first-rounder, Jac Caglianone, hit two doubles and struck out just four times last week. He’s still yet to truly break out but has shown clear flashes of the talent that made him such a highly-touted prospect.

Starter Ryan Ramsey pitched a scoreless outing last week. It gives him four consecutive scoreless starts dating back to July 31. Over that span, he has 24 strikeouts in 22.0 IP with just three walks. He’s held opponents to a .135 average in that span. He’s also pitched with great efficiency, falling short of 90 pitches in each outing despite lasting six full innings in each of the last two.

2024 draftee, Nate Ackenhausen, made his professional debut. He pitched two outings in all last week. Across three innings, he didn’t allow a hit and struck out three. Starters Henry Williams and Ethan Bosacker each put together outstanding starts as well, giving the starting rotation a strong week overall. Williams allowed just one hit across five innings of work, with two walks and two strikeouts. Bosacker, fresh off a pitcher of the week nod earlier this month, posted yet another quality start. Bosacker allowed one earned run over six innings of work, working around just two hits and one walk.

A Columbia Fireflies (28-24, 3.0 GB, Carolina League South)

The Fireflies' offense wasn’t entirely sharp on the week, but there were a couple of notable performances nonetheless. Shortstop Austin Charles leads the Flies with 58 RBI this season. He slashed .350/.458/.500 last week with a home run and four walks against just three strikeouts. Outfielder Carter Frederick continues to stand out since making his professional debut earlier this month. The 2024 20th-round selection had seven hits — two doubles — on the week and has a .896 OPS in ten games this season for Columbia.

Catcher Blake Mitchell had a quiet week, notching just two hits. However, he did walk six times against four strikeouts. He also blasted his 18th home run of the season, making him just two shy of a 20/20 season in his first full professional season.

On the bump, the Columbia rotation continues to see shorter outings and limited innings. Kansas City’s pitching development has started to draw near innings limits for a handful of their young arms. Blake Wolters has already reached as much and continues to finish his season in Arizona. Hiro Wyatt had a handful of extra days of rest but made a start last week. He was fantastic, putting together five scoreless innings with five strikeouts and just one walk. Emmanuel Reyes pitched just 12 pitches before being relieved in his start. He did allow two earned runs to score in the second inning, but the bullpen was already working before the inning started.

21-year-old Elvis Novas had a standout week, pitching three perfect frames with two strikeouts on the week. He has been fantastic in his first taste of Low-A in 2024. The Dominican-born product owns a 1.74 ERA for Columbia this season with just five walks in 20.2 IP. 2024-draftee Zachary Cawyer made his fourth and fifth appearance of the season for Columbia. He’s now struck out six with just one walk as a professional, pitching solely in relief to this point.