2026 August Farm Report: AL West

Jacob Cozart made an impact in his first few weeks as an Angels prospect. Cozart, acquired in a trade with the Angels at the deadline, hit four home runs and posted a .902 OPS in his first 14 games with Double-A Rocket City.

Whether Cozart, a former second-round pick, takes the reins behind the plate for Los Angeles remains to be seen, very much so. But Cozart does have some upside, which is what the organization needs.

Speaking of Double-A, Austin Gordon put together a fine month with Rocket City. Gordon struck out 30 batters over his last four starts, good for third-most in the Southern League. It’s the continuation of what has been a good season for Gordon, one of several notable pitching prospects in Double-A. Also, there is Tyler Bremner, who has pitched well of late with the Trash Pandas.

Moving down the list, the Angels’ Low-A affiliate received some reinforcements over the past few weeks. One of those is Jaxon Willits, who walked 16 times in his last 17 games with Rancho Cucamonga. Dating back to his days on the Cape, Willits has been one to work deep into counts. And that trend continued in pro ball.

Athletics

Let’s talk about some first-round picks.

We’ll start with Jamie Arnold, the Athletics’ 2025 first-rounder. It was a fantastic last month for Arnold, who struck out 31 over 23 innings and walked just four batters down in Double-A Midland. For a club that badly needs help in the Major League rotation, Arnold could be a flotation device in the near future, perhaps as soon as early 2027.

Then, there’s Drew Burress, the Athletics’ top pick from the 2026 MLB Draft. Burress, the all-time Georgia Tech home run leader, continued right where he left off in college, as he hit five home runs and posted one of the highest Take% in the California League over the last month.

Sticking with the outfielder theme, Devin Taylor had himself a blistering month for the Double-A Midland Rockhounds. Taylor slashed .320/.426/.515 with five home runs and 10 extra-base hits across his last 25 contests.

Gavin Turley, another one of the Athletics’ picks from 2025, hit five home runs over the last month for Low-A Stockton.

Astros

The Astros received good early returns from Texas Tech outfielder Logan Hughes, the club’s top pick from the 2026 MLB Draft. But what about the club’s 2025 first-rounder, Xavier Neyens?

Well, it was more or less the same kind of game that Neyens played in Low-A. Neyens was the top take hitter in the South Atlantic League, which helped him accumulate 26 walks over 18 contests. Roughly a third of those takes resulted in called strikes, notable since that number wasn’t egregiously high for a player of that nature. On the other hand, Neyens posted a 40.5% Whiff% in the noted time span.

Switching to pitchers for a second, the Astros have some very good pitching prospects down in Triple-A. Bryce Mayer and Jackson Nezuh are close.

Will Bush, meanwhile, had the third-lowest qualified batting average (.167) in the past month for Texas League hitters. Chase Call, Jason Schiavone, and Kenni Gomez, meanwhile, were in the bottom 10 of the league in Whiff% from July 21 through August 19.

Mariners

The Mariners picked up a nice power-hitting infielder when Ace Reese fell to the club in the first round. Thus far, Reese has produced up to standards for a first-round pick. The former MSU infielder had 18 hits in his last 12 games with Inland Empire, good for a .439 batting average. Plus, six extra-base hits.

He’s not the only notable 2026 MLB Draft pick to rip up Low-A. Hayden Yost hit five home runs and eight total extra-base hits over his first 15 games with the 66ers. Not a lot of swing-and-miss from Yost, either, even though he did strike out 16 times in that span.

Moving to Triple-A, it’s been a tale of two months for Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo. A monstrous 15.9% Barrel% for Montes from July 21 through August 19, as he hit nine home runs over a 24-game span in the last month. Yes, there were an awful lot of strikeouts, as his 31 punchouts were second-most in the PCL. But that element has always been there. It’s more of a matter of what he can do when he squares up.

Arroyo, meanwhile, slashed just .219/.306/.385 for Tacoma over the last month. Yes, he did hit for pop, with four home runs and eight extra-base hits. What was good for Arroyo was that he only swung and missed at pitches in the strike zone a tick above 14%, so you can’t blame it on that.

Rangers

The past month was a good one for outfielders Paulino Santana and Pablo Guerrero, both of whom ranked among the top 10 in the Carolina League in total hits. Guerrero, part of the Guerrero family, had six home runs and drove in 28 runs in the last month, while Santana racked up 29 hits, tied with Guerrero.

AJ Russell had an interesting month. Russell allowed three home runs and walked eight over 12.1 IP for High-A Hub City. However, he struck out 22 for the Spartanburgers.

In Double-A, Dylan Dreiling and Rafe Perich just continue to hit. Dreiling, over his last 20 games, had 32 hits, including seven home runs. After a year in which the process was good but the results weren’t showing, the results are now there. Perich had 14 extra-base hits (10 2B) over his last 22 games.