Head of the Class: Double-A

With All-Star Games approaching across the Minor Leagues, members of the MiLB.com staff are looking back at some of the most notable performers from the first half of each of the four full-season levels and who could take off in the months to come. After looking at the Class A  and Class A Advanced levels, here, we look at players in the Double-A Eastern, Southern and Texas Leagues.

Most exciting hitter

Braves OF Drew Waters, Mississippi: The No. 44 overall prospect and No. 4 Braves prospect led the Southern League in batting average (.338), slugging percentage (.535), on-base plus slugging percentage (.917), hits (93), doubles (23), triples (eight), extra-base hits (36), total bases (147) and runs scored (42). His total bases led all Double-A circuits, and only the Eastern League's Wilson Garcia (Akron) matched his double tally, despite the SL's first half officially ending two days before the EL's and one day before the Texas League's. Considering Waters entered the year with a mere 30 games of experience at the Class A Advanced level and won't turn 21 until December, that's a darn-near historic first three months of his second full season of professional baseball. His age and experience also mean it'd be reasonable to see how he fares in the SL into the dog days of summer rather than promote him right away.

Most exciting pitcher:

Tigers RHP Casey Mize, Erie: The No. 1 overall pick of last year's Draft only pitched 52 innings across nine EL starts, but it was must-watch MiLB.TV every time he was on the bump for the SeaWolves. His status as the top-ranked pitcher in baseball may have made that true no matter what, but it sure didn't hurt that Mize appeared to be in almost total control of every one of his outings, from his complete-game, nine-inning no-hitter in his Double-A debut on April 29 right up until he exited his June 13 start after 2 1/3 innings. That turned out to be due to right shoulder inflammation, which has kept him on the injured list unfortunately. Nonetheless, he finished the half at 6-0 with an eye-popping 1.21 ERA, a .191 opponents' batting average and 50 strikeouts and 11 walks over 52 innings. 

Best team

Arkansas Travelers (Mariners): The Travelers were a well-oiled machine -- they went 21-14 at home and 22-11 on the road to lead all Double-A teams in winning percentage (.632) -- and had multiple players stand out as exceptional individual performers. No. 14 Mariners prospect Jake Fraley hit .313/.384/.537 (the highest slugging percentage in the TL) with 11 homers, 14 doubles, 47 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Donnie Walton (No. 28 in the M's system) was second in the league with a .398 OBP and matched Fraley with 71 hits. Evan White (No. 5) had 16 extra-base hits in 50 games, and Kyle Lewis (No. 7) was a consistent asset, posting a .367 OBP. Pitching-wise, No. 67 overall prospect Justin Dunn was 5-3 with a 3.46 ERA and 81 strikeouts over 65 innings before the All-Star break, and right-hander Darren McCaughan led the loop with a 2.60 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 79 2/3 innings pitched.

Second-half breakout

Nationals shortstop Luis Garcia, Harrisburg: Garcia's hit tool is too good for the left-handed hitting shortstop to not catch up to the EL in the near future. His pre-All-Star break .260/.293/.310 slash line is likely the product of a 19-year-old kid being exposed to Double-A ball in his second full professional season; all but the most freakish teenagers are up against a steep learning curve in that scenario. The second-ranked Nationals prospect (and No. 61 overall prospect) batted .298 between Class A Hagerstown and Class A Advanced Potomac last season, and he has the natural ability to hit much closer to .300 the rest of the way. In fact, after laboring to a .239 average in April and suffering to a .198 mark in May, Garcia hit .312 with six doubles (which gave him 11 on the year) in June. He also opened July with a four-hit performance.

Coming soon

Padres LHP MacKenzie Gore, Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore: Well, one would certainly hope so. Gore, the No. 3 prospect in baseball, has been all but unbeatable in the California League while enjoying perhaps the most dominant first half of any Minor Leaguer this year. The 20-year-old southpaw entered the Futures Game at 7-1 with a 1.02 ERA through 15 starts for the Storm. He's fanned 110 in 79 1/3 innings and held opponents to a .137 batting average. Seven -- that's almost half -- of his starts have been scoreless. In another seven, he gave up one run. In one, on a rough day, he gave up two runs. If he's not in an Amarillo Sod Poodles uniform and ready to torment Texas League hitters by the end of the week, consider starting a letter-writing campaign.