Brayland Skinner Named Frontier League Player of the Week
PEARL, Miss. (June 29, 2026) - Singular games featuring a pinch-hit, go-ahead grand slam, five hits, four stolen bases and doing it all with a smile on his face. Brayland Skinner is your Week 8 Frontier League Player of the Week and the first in club history.
Monster Notes
Skinner put together one of the best weeks in Mud Monsters history against Lake Erie.
- Brayland Skinner went 14-for-23 against Lake Erie, good for a .609 batting average.
- Skinner drove in seven runs, stole eight bases and scored eight times during the week.
- He became the first Mud Monsters position player to win a Frontier League weekly award.
- He matched his own franchise record with four stolen bases in a game Friday night.
- He capped the week with a pinch-hit, go-ahead grand slam Sunday evening.
First in Club History
Skinner becomes the first Mississippi position player to earn the league's weekly honor.
The second-year Mud Monsters center fielder becomes the first Mississippi player recognized by the Frontier League's weekly award after going 14-for-23 against the Lake Erie Crushers, good for a .609 batting average while driving in seven runs, stealing eight bases and scoring eight times.
Brian Williams won Frontier League Pitcher of the Week last season for his performance during a week that spanned from June 24, 2025, to June 30, 2025, but Skinner is the first Mud Monsters position player to win the weekly award.
The Week Started Fast
Skinner set the tone in Tuesday's series opener.
It all started in the six-game series opener against Lake Erie. Mississippi claimed a 9-3 victory behind a 2-for-3 performance from Skinner, who scored twice, drove in two runs and stole the first two of his eight bases during the week.
In Wednesday's Game 2, the Mud Monsters managed just five hits as a team, but Skinner continued to swing a hot bat, finishing 2-for-5.
Thursday brought more of the same from the Southaven, Mississippi native. Skinner again went 2-for-5 while adding a run scored, an RBI and another stolen base to his weekly resume.
Four-Steal Friday
Skinner matched his own franchise record on the bases.
Friday belonged to Skinner's legs.
The Mud Monsters' stolen base leader matched the franchise record he set last season by swiping four bags in a single game. Coincidentally, his first four-steal performance also came against Lake Erie on July 25, 2025.
Skinner finished the night 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a walk, a hit-by-pitch and four stolen bases.
Five-Hit Harvest
Saturday brought another place in the Mud Monsters record book.
On Farmers Appreciation Night presented by Mississippi Farm Bureau, Skinner harvested five hits, going 5-for-6 with a double, three runs scored and another stolen base. The performance helped Mississippi establish a new franchise record with 20 hits in a game.
Skinner also became just the second Mud Monsters player to record five hits in a game, joining Victor Diaz, who accomplished the feat on Aug. 19, 2025, at Florence.
Pinch-Hit Grand Slam
Skinner's biggest swing of the week came Sunday night.
On Sunday, manager Jay Pecci gave Skinner the day off before calling upon him in the biggest moment of the game.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth and Mississippi trailing 6-3, Skinner stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter and crushed the first pitch he saw from Lake Erie reliever Dawson Hargrove over the right-field fence for a go-ahead grand slam.
It was the second grand slam in franchise history and the first by a Mud Monsters hitter this season.
More Than the Box Score
Skinner's week included big swings, stolen bases and highlight defense.
Skinner also flashed the leather throughout the week, highlighted by a diving catch in center field during Wednesday's game that robbed Garret Pike of a base hit for the first out of the seventh inning.
It is a well-deserved recognition for Mississippi's speedy center fielder, who will look to carry his remarkable stretch into another week as the Mud Monsters continue the longest homestand in franchise history with three games against the Gateway Grizzlies followed by another three-game series against the Florence Y'alls.
Longest Homestand in Franchise History
The Mud Monsters continue the longest homestand in franchise history this week with three games against the Gateway Grizzlies, followed by three more against the Florence Y'alls.
Six More in the Swamp
See what's coming up during the rest of the homestand.
About the Mississippi Mud Monsters
Baseball Lives Here. It Just Got a Little Weirder.
The Mississippi Mud Monsters are a professional baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, competing in the Frontier League. Built in the mud and rooted in Mississippi, the Mud Monsters believe baseball should be unapologetically fun, a little weird, wildly welcoming, and deeply tied to the place it calls home. Real baseball. Real people. This is swamp-built, Mississippi-made baseball, where the vibes matter just as much as the final score.