It’s About Darn Time: A Minor-League Update

By Scott Barancik, Editor

The minor-league season is more than a month old, so we decided it was about darn time to provide you an update.

We begin by noting that at least six Jewish players are ranked among their franchise’s Top 30 prospects, according to MLB.com.

And now, on to the highlights!

Triple-A

RHP Harrison Cohen (Yankees/AAA) hasn’t allowed an earned run since an April 10 blowout that ballooned his ERA. In 6.2 innings over five games, the 26-year-old prospect has yielded one hit and 5 walks while striking out eight. Highlights included his first 2026 save and striking out OF RJ Schreck (Blue Jays/AAA) on a 78.6-mph sweeper on May 2 in a 2-inning, no-hit outing (5/5/2026)

1B Rowdy Tellez (Braves/AAA) has homered in four of his last 10 games, including two of the past three, and leads his team with seven. His massive shot out of the park on May 3 tied the score 9-9 in the top of 9th inning, but the White Sox affiliate scored in the bottom of the inning to win 10-9 (5/5/2026)

LHP Colton Gordon (Astros/AAA) tossed 3.2 scoreless innings in an April 29 loss to the Diamondbacks affiliate, his first appearance since Houston optioned him on April 25. The 6’4″ southpaw started a double play to escape a 2nd-inning jam and strukc out the first two batters in the 4th inning before being replaced. In four minor-league starts this season, Gordon is 1-1 with a 1.42 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 17 strikeouts against four walks (5/5/2026)

Double-A

RHP Charlie Beilenson (Mariners/AA) held opponents scoreless in his first seven appearances of 2026. The third-year pro earned three saves in three chances, recorded a 0.57 WHIP over 12.1 combined innings, and fanned 17 batters while walking just one. Highlights included an April 18 appearance in which he struck out MLB’s #12 and #22 prospects. Beilenson finally gave up a run on May 1, but his ERA remained a slim 0.68 (5/5/2026)

It’s been feast or famine for 3B Jake Gelof (Dodgers/AA). His 21% walk rate ranks #3 in the Texas League among batters with at least 80 plate appearances, while his 34.6% strikeout rate ranks #13. Gelof has tallied only 12 hits in 64 ABs, but five have been home runs. They include a walkoff dinger with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning on April 18, shots to left field and right-center field on April 24, and a 3-run, first-pitch home run that gave his 1st-place team the lead for good in an April 28 win over the Padres affiliate (5/5/2026)

Speaking of Jake Gelof, he and older brother Zack Gelof (Athletics) both homered on April 24. It was the sixth time the brothers have gone yard on the same date over their pro careers (5/5/2026)

2B Noah Mendlinger (Cardinals/AA) had quite a game on May 2. The sixth-year pro’s two-run home run in the 6th inning put his team up 3-2 on May 2, and his 7th-inning walk drove in LF Zach Levenson to tie the game at five. Mendinger finished the day 2-for-3 with two walks and three RBIs, but the Royals affiliate ultimately prevailed 7-5 (5/5/2026)

High-A

After hitting .216 (8-for-37) with just one RBI in his first 10 games of 2026, SS Henry Godbout has raised his average to .263, thanks to a nine-game run in which he hit .308 (12-for-39) with 2 HRs and 7 RBIs. That included three three-hit games between April 21 and April 28 (5/5/2026)

OF Sam Biller (Mets/High-A) earned a promotion from Single-A after starting the season with an 11-game hitting streak, good for a .359 batting average (14-for-39), .457 OBP, and 8 RBIs. It may take a bit to adjust to High-A, though. The undrafted lefty is hitless with nine strikeouts in his first four games (5/5/2026)

Single-A

RHP Levi Sterling (Pirates/Single-A), who earned a $2.5-million signing bonus at age 17 in 2024, is starting to live up to the hype. Unimpressive in his first three starts this season, the 6’5″ Californian shone in a 6-3 win over the Phillies affiliate on April 26, yielding 3 hits and zero walks over 5 innings while striking out a career-high nine batters. A week later, Sterling tossed 6 shutout innings on just 69 pitches in an 8-5 victory over the Tigers affiliate. The 19-year-old gave up 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out two (5/5/2026)

Transactions

• Cardinals call up LHP Jared Shuster from Triple-A (5/1/2026)
• Phillies send RHP Max Lazar to High-A on rehab assignment (4/30/2026)
• Mets promote OF Sam Biller to High-A (4/28/2026)

Thank you to Jewish Baseball Players for providing several of the video links above.

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