2026 June Farm Report: NL East

The 2026 campaign has been much kinder to Tate Southisene, the Braves’ first-rounder last year. Southisene, last season, showed a lot of swing-and-miss in the game. However, that was cut down in 2026. A 24% Whiff% over his final few weeks with Low-A Augusta before he earned a promotion to High-A Rome.

Southisene has emerged as a big-time prospect in the Braves’ system. Power and a penchant to steal. He swiped 36 bases over 51 games, to add to his eight home runs and 20 extra-base hits with the Augusta Greenjackets.

And one constant is that, while the results haven’t been there with Rome yet, Southisene is going to work counts.

Circling back to Low-A for a second, Southisene ranked well in Pull FB%, as he was above the league media in the Carolina League. But so was Luis Guanipa, the 20-year-old outfielder who had 28 hits over his first 20 games this month with Augusta. He, too, is a must-watch name.

As for pitchers, Cam Caminiti‘s numbers have steadily improved month-to-month. Owen Murphy, meanwhile, is among the names one must watch, as far as potential callups for the second half are concerned.

Marlins

Last month, we noted just how impressive Karson Milbrandt was over the first few weeks of 2026. And somehow, he turned it even more in May. That paved the way for Milbrandt to earn a promotion to Triple-A Jacksonville. And thus far, he’s been excellent there, as well.

Add Milbrandt to the list of Marlins pitchers to watch, which will also include Thomas White once he comes off the injured list.

Moving off to the hitters, it’s been an interesting few months for some of the Marlins’ 2025 MLB Draft picks. Aiva Arquette, who’s shown a penchant to be aggressive and swing (sub-50% Take% through 6/21) in Double-A, has slashed 221/.279/.434 with seven home runs but also, just eight walks, through 27 contests.

The good news is that Arquette has consistently made contact. That’s also true of Cam Cannarella, who has been a revelation at the dish this season. Across 39 games over two levels, Cannarella slashed .373/.450/.563 with seven home runs. Four of those homers came in 2020 June contests with the Blue Wahoos.

Dillon Lewis, acquired from the Yankees in the Ryan Weathers trade back in January, has been fantastic in his first season with the Fish. A pull-heavy hitter, Lewis is up to 17 home runs this season with Pensacola.

On the downside, the Marlins have yet to see PJ Morlando or Andrew Salas take that next step forward. Way too much swing-and-miss from Morlando (39% Whiff% from 5/1-6/21). Salas, meanwhile, is now in the FCL after spending parts of two seasons with Low-A Jupiter.

Mets

It’s been a tough few months for the Mets at the MLB level. However, it’s been almost just as tough across the teams’ Minor League levels.

Now that Nolan McLean, Carson Benge, and A.J. Ewing have graduated to the Majors, the system is now heavily reliant on the likes of Jonah Tong, Mitch Voit, Chris Suero, Ryan Clifford, and Elian Pena to be that next wave. And while Pena — arguably the best prospect in the system — has had a very good year, some of those other names did not.

Clifford entered 2026 as one of the best power hitters in the system, and that still stands today. Heading into play on June 27, he had 14 home runs. However, Clifford is a boondoggle of a prospect. Dating back to his A-ball days, Clifford had a penchant for taking too many “too good to pass up” pitches. And that couldn’t be more true in 2026, as his Called Strike/Take% is over 34%, way too high for someone who doesn’t take too much.

Too many disadvantage counts can lead to the strikeouts piling up. That’s been the case for Clifford, who also sported a 32% Whiff% over the last seven weeks before the second half start. Currently, he has 113 strikeouts over 75 games.

Suero, like Clifford, has seen sky-high strikeout and swing-and-miss rates. Voit, who had two down months, started to pick up the pace in June. The 21-year-old slashed .286/.414/.429 in his first 18 games during June.

The pitching, meanwhile, has looked more promising. Syracuse’s roster featured the second-best swing-and-miss pitcher in Triple-A (Dylan Ross), plus another big arm in Nate Lavender. Lavender, a former Rule 5 pick back in the Mets’ organization, has been quite good. with 49 strikeouts over 28.1 IP. If the deadline goes the way it likely does, the lefty could be in Queens soon.

Even Ryan Lambert, the flamethrower who’s dealt with a bout of walks, has been performing.

Jonathan Santucci (34.6% Whiff% from 5/1-6/21) and Jack Wenninger (30%) have also been performing well. Santucci cut down the walks after a turbulent April with Double-A Binghamton.

Nationals

As far as best prospects in all of baseball are concerned, Eli Willits is, one year after he was drafted, near that #1 spot.

Willits showed elite contact ability with Low-A Fredericksburg, stole 29 bases, and showed good pop in the Carolina League. That earned him a promotion to High-A, and in June, he had an impressive run in Greensboro. Willits hit four home runs in one week, and then tallied another one at home against the Mets’ High-A affiliate shortly thereafter.

That resulted in some gaudy pull-side numbers for the former first-overall pick.

Willits’ move was part of a shift, as the Nationals moved Devin Fitz-Gerald and Ethan Petry to Double-A Harrisburg. Fitz-Gerald, who hit 12 home runs with the Blue Rocks, outgrew High-A rather quickly and has risen to become an elite prospect fast. Not a shock, as he played very well in a short stint with the Rangers’ Low-A affiliate last season.

Another name to watch, out of the many prospects in Washington’s system, is former first-rounder Caleb Lomavita. Lomavita pelted a lot of groundballs last season, and didn’t have much of a chance in High-A Wilmington as far as power was concerned. But he’s up to 10 home runs this season, seven of which came in June.

Lomavita only had six home runs all of last season.

As for the pitching, watch for Jackson Kent & Robert Cranz. Both, after dominating Double-A, have ascended to Triple-A. Opposing batters hit just .176 off Kent in Double-A this season. Cranz, a reliever, received his second in-season promotion in mid-June.

Phillies

While Gage Wood might not be an option for the Phillies’ rotation right now, the former University of Arkansas standout has been one of the best stories in the system this year.

Wood plowed through Low-A hitters, which earned him a promotion to Double-A in late May. He showed what one would like to see with a pitcher of his pedigree: high swing-and-miss, particularly on the fastball, and secondary stuff evolution. You have to understand that when Wood tossed his no-no against Murray State in the 2025 College World Series, he was essentially a two-pitch pitcher.

His first month with Double-A Reading went very well. Wood’s 38% Whiff% from his promotion through the end of the first half was among the top-10% of all Double-A pitchers. And overall to this point, 29 strikeouts over 20 innings with the Fightin’ Phils.

Wood wasn’t the only standout in Clearwater this season amongst the pitching staff. Former Vandy pitcher Cody Bowker (32.2% Whiff% from 5/1-6/21) showed a lot of swing-and-miss. The king of that metric, though, was Ramon Marquez, a three-pitch pitcher who posted an obscene Whiff% in the FSL before he was promoted. Sinker up to 97 MPH, as well as a low-80s changeup.