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1. Sean Gallagher, rhp, Cubs (Low Class A Peoria)

In each of his last two starts, Gallagher has allowed an earned run . . . those are the only two earned runs he's allowed all year. The ERA is 0.37, and opposing hitters are batting a measly .121 against him. That's not just hot, that's No. 1 hot.

2. Chuck James, lhp, Braves (Double-A Montgomery)

James made his Double-A debut on Saturday, striking out eight over 4 2/3 innings, but defensive lapses led to three unearned runs. In 46.1 innings overall, he's allowed 22 hits and 10 walks, while striking out 67.

3. Rickie Weeks, 2b, Brewers (Triple-A Nashville)

In the midst of an 11-game hitting streak, the 2003 No. 2 overall pick is hitting .336/.440/.688 overall, and a whopping .476-4-12 in 14 May games. For the record, Milwaukee second baseman Junior Spivey's OPS is only 10 points higher than Weeks' slugging percentage alone.

4. Justin Verlander, rhp, Tigers (High Class A Lakeland)

In Saturday's start, Verlander set a career-high with eight innings, tied a career-high with 12 more strikeouts and lowered his ERA to 1.43. With runners in scoring position, opposing batters are 3-for-36 with 18 whiffs. If there is some sort of Justin Verlander bandwagon, we're driving.

5. Brandon Wood, ss, Angels (High Class A Rancho Cucamonga)

Held the minor league home run lead for about 24 hours, slugging his 14th and 15th of the year on Sunday; 27 of his 49 hits have gone for extra bases, and his slugging percentage versus lefties is .882

6. Billy Butler, 3b, Royals (High Class A High Desert)

With seven hits, two homers and four RBIs in his last two games, Butler may be starting yet another hot streak. Even when he's not on fire, he's at least consistent, reaching base in all but three games.

7. Jeremy Hermida, of, Marlins (Double-A Carolina)

With 14 hits in his last eight games, Hermida has brought his average up to .315 to go along with his 10 home runs and more walks (33) than strikeouts (32). Want more fundamentals? He's a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen bases. 8. Brad Eldred, 1b, Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis)

Eldred responded to losing the minor league home run lead on Sunday by slugging a pair of home runs (No. 15 and 16) on Monday, as if to stay, "Step aside puny Brandon Wood and bask in my power!"

9. Rich Hill, lhp, Cubs (Double-A West Tenn)

Feel the breeze! Hill has been unhittable of late, going 4-0, 0.47 in his last six starts, allowing just 17 hits in 47 1/3 inning while striking out 64.

10. Hunter Pence, of, Astros (Low Class A Lexington)

The Astros' second-round pick last year out of UT-Arlington, Pence hit five home runs over the weekend, and is batting .359-12-30 overall, with a Sally League-leading .702 slugging percentage.

11. Andy LaRoche, 3b, Dodgers (High Class A Vero Beach)

In his last 16 games, LaRoche has scored 19 runs and driven in 16. Is among the Florida State League leaders in more categories than we can put here, even with the small font.

12. Matt Murton, of, Cubs (Double-A West Tenn)

It's mid-May, and Murton is still over .400 (.403 to be exact). How hard is it to hit .400? In his current nine-game hitting streak, Murton's average has actually dropped four points.

13. Howie Kendrick, 2b, Angels (High Class A Rancho Cucamonga)

The hit machine has cooled off a little, but still had a hit in every game he played in this week, including home run No. 9 on Saturday.

14. Andre Ethier, of, Athletics (Double-A Midland)

How hot was Ethier's start? He went just 3-for-19 on the week and still leads the Texas League in batting (.380), runs (33) and hits (54).

15. Jon Papelbon, rhp, Red Sox (Double-A Portland)

Papelbon's allowed just two runs in his last four starts (25 1/3) innings. The former Mississippi State Bulldog is just that in the clutch -- opposing batters are 1-for-28 against him with runners in scoring position.

16. Chris Snelling, of, Mariners (Triple-A Tacoma)

Snelling played in just 106 games from 2002-04 while dealing with more injuries than Wily E. Coyote. Missing the first two weeks of the season due to (what else?) an injury, Snelling has hit .391-5-21 in 25 games.

17. Adam Wainwright, rhp, Cardinals (Triple-A Memphis)

Wainwright allowed four runs in his first start of the year, but has a 1.30 ERA since while putting together a string of seven consecutive quality starts and compiling a nifty strikeout-to-walk ratio of 45-to-6.

18. Dave Haehnel, rhp, Orioles (Low Class A Delmarva)

The 2004 eighth-round pick out of Illinois-Chicago replaces Chad Orvella (who gave up a run on Sunday) as our Hot Sheet reliever with a 0.00 ERA: 15 games, 18 1/3 innings, zero runs.

19. Justin Huber, 1b, Royals (Double-A Wichita)

Huber continues to reach base at an alarming pace, getting on 80 times in 37 games. Cal Pickering didn't work out, Ken Harvey isn't exactly tearing it up. Will Huber get a look? Couldn't hurt.

20. Anibal Sanchez, rhp, Red Sox (High Class A Wilmington)

Sanchez gave up five runs on seven hits over four innings on April 21st. In his other six starts, he's 3-0, 1.09 with 49 strikeouts in 33 innings, so we'll give him the mulligan.

 

 

 

Special Mention Category

 

 

Scott Seabol, 3b, Cardinals (Triple-A Memphis)

A 1996 88th-round draft pick (that's not a typo, that's EIGHTY-EIGHTH) by the Yankees, Seabol is in his 10th season as a pro, and third with Memphis. Proving last year's 31-home run showing was no fluke, Seabol was hitting .325-8-31 for the Redbirds before getting the call, and delivering his first big league hit on Saturday against the Mets.

 

 

 

In The Team Photo

 

 

Dallas Braden, lhp, Athletics (High Class A Stockton)

Philip Hughes, rhp, Yankees (High Class A Charleston)

Conor Jackson, 1b, Diamondbacks (Triple-A Tucson)

Dan Johnson, 1b, Athletics (Triple-A Sacramento)

Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3b, Indians (High Class A Kinston)

Matt Moses, 3b, Twins (High Class A Ft. Myers)

Felix Pie, of, Cubs (Double-A West Tenn)

Carlos Quentin, of, Diamondbacks (Triple-A Tucson)

Chris Shelton, 1b/dh, Tigers (Triple-A Toledo)

Brandon Sing, 1b, Cubs (Double-A West Tenn)

Tony Sipp, lhp, Indians (Low Class A Lake County)

Ian Snell, rhp, Pirates (Triple-A Indianapolis)

Ryan Sweeney, of, White Sox (Double-A Birmingham)

Ty Taubenheim, rhp, Brewers (High Class A Brevard County)

Josh Willingham, c, Marlins (Triple-A Albuquerque)

Delmon Young, of, Devil Rays (Double-A Montgomery)

Verlander....woot.

Ian Snell

 

mr no no

wow, can't wait for Hermida to be in the show.