Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Theo Gillen, the organization’s No. 2 prospect and No. 12 overall prospect in baseball, is one of three finalists for MLB Pipeline’s 2026 Hitting Prospect of the Year award after posting a .315/.419/.546 line with 22 home runs and 44 stolen bases across 116 games at High-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery.
Gillen, 21, became one of only five 20-40 players in the Minor Leagues this season. Of those five, he was the only one with an OPS above .900 or a wRC+ above 125 — finishing at .965 and 151, respectively. He was named South Atlantic League MVP with Bowling Green before earning a promotion to Montgomery on June 23.
The 18th overall pick in the 2024 Draft, Gillen had shown promise in his first full season in 2025, hitting .267/.433/.387 with five homers and 36 steals in 73 games at Single-A Charleston before a wrist injury cut his year short. His 22 home runs in 2026 were four times the foundation he set the prior season. He also drove in 91 runs, drew 74 walks and posted a .419 on-base percentage across the two levels.
Gillen is joined on the finalist list by Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Andrew Fischer, 22, who led all of Minor League Baseball with 48 home runs — the highest single-season total in the Minors since Ron Kittle hit 50 for Triple-A Edmonton in 1982 — along with a Minor League-leading 1.067 OPS and .654 slugging percentage across 126 games. The third finalist is St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yerlin Rodriguez, 19, who hit .324/.413/.574 with 27 home runs and 87 RBIs across 115 games at High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield, drawing comparisons to Mike Trout’s 2011 Double-A season.
The award, presented annually by MLB Pipeline since 2013, carries significant pedigree: past winners have gone on to earn All-Star selections 26 times, win 10 Silver Sluggers, three Rookie of the Year awards and two league MVPs. Recent winners include Konnor Griffin of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2025 and Kristian Campbell of the Boston Red Sox in 2024.
MLB Pipeline is expected to announce the 2026 winner as part of its full Minor League awards slate.