The Daily Briefing — Friday, August 28
By Morgan Davis ·
Yesterday's best performances across the minor leagues, with scouting context from 80Grade.
Fischer Puts Up a Three-Homer Night at Biloxi
Andrew Fischer went 3-for-4 with three home runs and five RBI for Double-A Biloxi on Thursday, pushing his season total to 42 home runs across High-A Wisconsin and Double-A. This applies fresh pressure to the evaluation question that has followed him all year. The 22-year-old left-handed third baseman carries a 60 power grade, and that grade has been performing closer to 70 for most of 2026. The hit tool sits at 50, and the concern is that swing-and-miss risk becomes a real problem against better stuff. Over his last 30 days at Double-A, his contact rate is down to 60.6% and his strikeout rate has climbed to 36.4%, which aligns with the pattern the scouting file warns about. Three home runs in one game does not resolve that tension, but it adds another data point to what is becoming an impossible-to-dismiss power season.
The defensive picture stays the same regardless of what Fischer does at the plate: limited range, below-average foot speed, and a profile that points firmly toward first base. Not a disqualifying outcome, but it raises the offensive bar considerably. He is already clearing it in terms of raw counting numbers, 42 home runs and 100 RBI in 496 combined plate appearances, and the walk rate at Double-A has held at 14.8%, which keeps the on-base profile functional even when contact thins. The real test is whether he can sustain any version of this production against the sequencing quality he will face at Triple-A and beyond. The power has never been in doubt. It is the batting average floor that determines whether Fischer ends up an everyday first baseman or a useful-but-limited corner bat. He sits at #127, and that feels light if the second half holds.
Quick Hits
Daniel Eagen, RHP, Cardinals (AA, Springfield) · #185 · Eagen struck out 11 over 5.2 innings Thursday, allowing 4 hits and 2 earned runs while generating 20 swinging misses on 87 pitches, 52 for strikes. The 23-year-old has been one of the more dominant starters at the Double-A level over the last 30 days: a 2.79 ERA across 29 innings in five starts, 38 strikeouts, a 4.5% walk rate, and a 40.9% whiff rate in that span. The season ERA of 4.61 across Double-A and Triple-A combined is dragged by early-year numbers; the underlying contact suppression right now is a different story. The 55-grade curve and 55-grade fastball are doing real work when he is synced, and the 45-grade command has been holding at functional levels through this recent stretch.
Anthony Eyanson, RHP, Orioles (AA, Bowie) · #48 · Eyanson worked 3.2 scoreless innings, fanning 8 while allowing 3 hits and 3 walks and generating 20 swinging misses on 85 pitches. Command was not sharp, but the whiff production was there regardless. Twenty swinging misses in 3.2 innings is a stuff-over-command outing that keeps the profile credible. Over his last 30 days at Double-A, he is striking out 40.0% of batters faced with a 43.6% whiff rate and a 2.52 ERA across 25 innings. The season line across all levels sits at a 1.51 ERA and 126 strikeouts in 89.1 innings, with a 37% K rate. As Baltimore's top pitching prospect, with the fastball sitting 94-98 and the slider both grading 55, the mid-rotation projection has every reason to hold.
Ethan Salas, C, Padres (AAA, El Paso) · #22 · Salas went 3-for-4 with a triple and a walk Thursday, his latest productive output since the Triple-A promotion. The 20-year-old left-handed catcher is slashing .325/.402/.554 with 3 home runs, 6 doubles, 2 triples, and 22 RBI in 97 plate appearances at El Paso. The contact rate sits at 91% with just a 9.3% strikeout rate; he has fanned only 9 times across those 97 Triple-A plate appearances. For a catcher graded at 70 defensively, this offensive competitiveness makes the everyday projection feel considerably safer than it did coming out of Double-A.
Tai Peete, OF, Cardinals (AA, Springfield) · #390 · Peete drove in 3 on 3 hits, including 2 home runs, across 5 plate appearances Thursday without striking out. The 21-year-old left-handed outfielder is slashing .348/.400/.587 over his last 30 days at Double-A with 4 home runs, 6 doubles, 2 triples, and 20 RBI in 100 plate appearances. The hit tool grades at 40 and the swing-and-miss is real (53.5% swing rate on the season, 66.8% contact rate), but the raw power (55) and athleticism (55) are showing up in the production. The defensive home is unsettled, with third base as the primary projection and a corner outfield fallback, but the bat is making a reasonable case right now.
Cam Cannarella, OF, Marlins (AAA, Jacksonville) · #104 · Cannarella went 3-for-4 with three doubles and a walk Thursday. No power, which is on-brand. The 40 power grade has not budged, and in 89 plate appearances at Triple-A over the last 30 days he has zero home runs with 7 doubles and a .310 average. What he has done is post a 16.9% walk rate while keeping the strikeout rate at 21.3%, all with a 39.2% swing rate that reflects a disciplined approach. The 55 hit tool and 65 field grade are the carrying tools for the everyday center field projection. Three doubles and a walk is close to the ceiling of what this profile promises in a single game.
Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF · Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a double and a homer Thursday, his 10th home run of the season at Triple-A. Over his last 30 days, the 23-year-old left-handed outfielder has hit .297/.435/.527 with 4 home runs, 15 walks, and a 16.3% walk rate across 92 plate appearances, while swinging at just 39.8% of pitches. The 60 power grade and 55 hit tool anchor the everyday right-field projection, and the 25-plus home run potential gets more credible every week he stays healthy and selective.
Ace Reese, 3B, Mariners (A, San Bernardino) · #39 · The 2025 16th-overall pick reached base four times Thursday on 2 hits and 3 walks without striking out across 5 plate appearances, adding an RBI. Across his first 15 professional games, Reese has slashed .469/.580/.694 with 2 home runs, 5 doubles, 16 walks, a 23.2% walk rate, and a 14.5% strikeout rate. The 65 power grade was always the headline, but the plate discipline, reflected in a 37.6% swing rate, is the part that makes this early sample look like more than a hot sprint. Long-term he is likely headed to first base, though the bat is giving the organization every reason to take its time on the defensive question.
Jeferson Quero, C, Brewers (AAA, Nashville) · #161 · Quero hit a home run, drew a walk, and drove in 3 runs across 5 plate appearances Thursday. His season line at Nashville sits at .258/.333/.414 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI in 422 plate appearances. The 60 field grade is the foundation of the profile; the bat has been functional rather than loud, with modest pop (45 power grade) showing up more in counting stats than the slash line. Run production tends to come in bunches for this kind of profile, and Thursday was a good example of that.
Jake Schaffner, SS, Red Sox (A+, Greenville) · #152 · INF, Red Sox (A+, Greenville) · #152 Schaffner, the 74th overall pick in 2025, went 3-for-3 with a triple Thursday. The 21-year-old left-handed shortstop is slashing .297/.350/.405 over his first 16 games at High-A with a 22.5% strikeout rate and an 80.5% contact rate. The 55 hit and 55 field grades anchor a profile that projects him at shortstop with second-division regular upside. Power (40 grade) remains the ceiling limiter, but contact quality and zone coverage have been what the report promises.
Sebastian Dos Santos, SS, Cardinals (A, Jupiter) · #333 · Dos Santos went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 3 RBI Thursday. The switch-hitting 18-year-old has slashed .292/.448/.523 over his last 30 days at Low-A with 4 home runs, 18 walks, and a 20.7% walk rate across 87 plate appearances; his walks are outpacing his strikeouts in that stretch. The 50 hit tool and utility second base projection leave him as a development bet rather than a near-term factor, but the plate discipline at 18 is already doing something the profile hoped for without explicitly promising.