Leading the league is one thing. Leading a level is another. Leading the entire Minor Leagues? Well, that's a horse of a different color.

There's so much that can go into why a certain player might lead the Minors in a category. Obviously, environment plays a part in that. It's more likely that a player in the Pacific Coast League is going to lead the Minors in a slugging category than a player in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League (which is why it boggles the mind that Lakeland's Christin Stewart somehow leads in home runs with 14). There's also age and level to consider. It's a lot less fun, for instance, if a 23-year-old pitcher is leading the Minors in strikeouts while beating up on Class A hitters. It's all a matter of context and perspective.

So let's add a little of both to the first two months of the Minor League season. Below are notable prospects who are leading all of the Minor Leagues in some traditional and advanced statistical categories. (Note: all stats are through Monday's games.)

Astros SS Alex Bregman, Double-A Corpus Christi, 1.085 OPS -- We start with something relatively simple and unsurprising. The Astros' top prospect has caught plenty of fire in the first two months of his first full season and has surprised many with his power in the early going, having hit a Texas League-best 11 homers despite missing almost two weeks with a hamstring injury. That's seven more homers than he hit in 2015 in 153 fewer at-bats. Add the power with the fact that he's got a .421 on-base percentage (thanks to a 12.8 percent walk rate), and Bregman has shown the whole offensive package in April and May. There's a reason why the Astros have given him four starts at third base over the last two weeks as they try to speed up his route to Houston.

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Reds OF Phillip Ervin, Double-A Pensacola, 9.7 Spd -- Speed scores are typically something we save for the offseason, but it can't hurt to check in on the stat now either. In a world where Yoan Moncada is swiping as many bases as he can get his hands on and Jorge Mateo's 80-grade speed even simply exists, Ervin's place at the top of the Spd leaderboard might be a bit of a surprise, but he's done everything this particular stat likes. He's stealing a lot of bases at very efficient rates, going 17-for-18 on the basepaths. He's scoring a lot of runs with 28 in 37 games. Two of his 30 hits have resulted in triples. Ervin is considered a plus runner with a 60-grade speed tool but hasn't posted a Spd higher than 7.7 in a Minor League season before. Part of this stems from the fact that Ervin is attempting more steals in 2016 than ever before, but something this extreme might be more of a two-month mirage.

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Braves C Willians Astudillo, Double-A Mississippi, 1.5 K% -- The 24-year-old backstop has become notorious for being the most contact-prone hitter in the Minor Leagues in recent seasons, and that's been no different since he signed with the Braves this offseason. Playing in his first season at the Double-A level after five years in the Phillies system, Astudillo has fanned only twice in 137 plate appearances for Mississippi. True to his nature, he's also only taken a free pass twice in that same span. So while his strikeout rate is the lowest in the Minors, his 1.5 percent walk rate is third-lowest. Astudillo has produced a .262/.285/.323 line with one homer and 16 RBIs with the M-Braves, and without any other standout numbers than his contact rate, he doesn't project as much more than a statistical anomaly going forward. But for now, he can certainly claim a skill few others in the sports can.

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Pirates C Reese McGuire, Double-A Altoona, 1.9 BB/K -- The Pirates' No. 5 prospect has drawn plenty of praise for his defensive abilities behind the plate, namely his receiving and framing, so maybe it makes sense that that kind of acumen would translate into an especially strong knowledge of the zone when at the plate as well. As of Monday, McGuire had drawn 15 walks while striking out only eight times in 114 plate appearances for Altoona. With a .268 average and .330 slugging percentage, McGuire's ability to reach base via the walk has been his offensive saving grace in his introduction to the Eastern League, but the Bucs will certainly take it, given the value he can bring defensively.

Rangers 2B Travis Demeritte, Class A Advanced High Desert, .359 ISO -- Gasp! A High Desert hitter is leading the Minors in isolated slugging percentage! OK, sarcastic exasperation aside, it's no surprise that a Rangers prospect with above-average power has been able to use the Minors' most hitter-friendly ballpark and most hitter-friendly league to his advantage. In fact, eight of Demeritte's 13 homers this season have come at Mavericks Stadium, and his home ISO (.400) easily trumps his road number (.309). But even then, his road ISO would be eighth-best in the Minors. Is Demerrite, who had a .152 ISO at two levels in 2015, a product of his environment? Of course. Can we fault him for hitting where he's sent? No. The more accurate test of the 21-year-old second baseman's offensive abilities will come at Double-A Frisco, but he'll need to cut down on his 33 percent strikeout rate if he wants to make that jump soon.

Pirates RHP Mitch Keller, Class A West Virginia, 17.3 K/BB -- A second-round pick in 2014, Keller is entering the top-100 prospect conversation as he figures out the one thing that hampered his stock entering the 2016 campaign -- an ability to throw strikes. The Pirates' No. 14 prospect has issued only three walks in 45 innings this season with West Virginia, one season after he served up 16 free passes in 19 2/3 frames at Rookie-level Bristol. What's more, he's struck out 52 batters in that frame, putting him in a four-way tie atop the South Atlantic League leaderboard in the category. With a plus fastball and above-average curve, Keller has the stuff to excel and become a mid-rotation Major League starter. He just needed to find his control. Well, no one has done better in the Minors in that respect in 2016.

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Mariners RHP Edwin Diaz, Double-A Jackson, 30.3 K-BB % -- Much has been made this season already about the Mariners' decision to move their No. 2 prospect to the bullpen full-time as they groom him to become a potentially elite back-end reliever, and the move is already paying dividends in the control department. Diaz has struck out 11 of the 25 batters (44 percent) he's faced as a reliever and has walked none as of yet, boosting his K-BB% to a Minors-best 30.3 percent. Because of the 29 innings he logged as a starter (during which he had a still-good 27.5 K-BB%), he still has enough frames to qualify. If you have doubts about K-BB%'s ability to measure a good pitcher, the top five Major Leaguers in the category are Clayton Kershaw (31.9), Noah Syndergaard (28.8), Jose Fernandez (24.9), Max Scherzer (24.7) and Stephen Strasburg (24.3). Diaz likely doesn't have the future of those star hurlers, but it's very encouraging that he could be a key piece of Seattle's bullpen sooner rather than later.

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Athletics RHP Daniel Mengden, Double-A Midland/Triple-A Nashville, 94.4 LOB% -- Want to know how Mengden is sporting a 0.72 ERA in 50 innings this season? Almost 95 percent of the opposing batters he's allowed to reach base have been stranded there. For the sake of context, an average left-on-base percentage is considered to be in the low-70s. Anything considerably higher than that makes a pitcher a candidate for future regression. This isn't meant to cheapen the accomplishments of the No. 14 A's prospect. In fact, pitchers who strike out a lot of batters (i.e., keep the ball from reaching play) can typically have higher LOB percentages, and with a 9.2 K/9 this season, Mengden certainly fits that category. However, if you thought his microscopic ERA was in any way sustainable, that simply won't be the case as his LOB percentage gets closer to normal levels, meaning more runners will score and his ERA will climb. That's backed up by the fact that his 2.72 FIP is almost two runs higher than his ERA.

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