The summer college baseball season gets underway next week, and the MINK League is teaming with a local professional to highlight its top players and matchups in 2026.
The MINK is partnering with LJ Hatch, owner and instructor at The Lab KC, to compile top 30 player rankings featuring marquee talent across the league.
"This is a great opportunity to highlight some of the top talent within the MINK, while also assisting to showcase our players who are looking to make a change in their current academic institutions," league commissioner Clifton Glidewell said.
Hatch played for the Nevada Griffons before his professional career took him through the Colorado Rockies system as high as Triple-A Albuquerque, and later won a championship in the American Association with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he spent time as the Prep Baseball KC Scouting Director, and continues working in player development at The Lab KC.
The rankings will take many factors into account including the player's performance in the spring, high school stats, and previous Prep Baseball Report rankings, all to project an athlete's ceiling during his prime years.
"Taking the approach of how Major League Baseball evaluates their players and being able to project younger players, where they fit, and also the trends of the player as they get older," Hatch said. "They all kind of tell a story and lead us to believe where they're going to be and where we can see them impacting the game at their highest level."
The top 30 player rankings will bring more eyes to the MINK League as fans seek out exciting matchups, but it will also draw more attention from talent evaluators at the collegiate and pro levels.
"Players experience playing a schedule that closely mirrors that of a professional schedule and this new ranking system highlights those who are having success while also providing an avenue for college and professional coaches to quickly evaluate and assess if a player could be a good fit for their respective institution," Glidewell said.
"You get better by playing against better people, that's been the constant thing since I was a kid," Hatch added. "Being able to provide a ranking system that tells the whole story, that goes into the statistics, that gets into some of the eye test should help promote the league a little bit more and get more buzz around top matchups."
The first top 30 player ranking will come out in June and another in early July displaying players on the rise with the playoffs on the horizon.
The MINK League season gets underway Monday as the Carroll Merchants host the Nevada Griffons. Chillicothe, Clarinda and defending champ St. Joseph all open their summer campaigns later next week.
