Pipeline Preview: Jackson looks to continue torrid start

Here's a look at top prospects to watch in today's Minor League action:
Hitter to watch: Alex Jackson (Braves' No. 23), Florida at Clearwater (1 p.m. ET)
Jackson has simply been raking for the Florida Fire Frogs, the Braves' Class A Advanced affiliate. He went 3-for-5 with a home run and a double against Clearwater on Friday, and he's now batting .338 with six homers and 13 RBIs on the season, having hit safely in 14 of his 16 games. The 21-year-old catcher, the No. 6 overall Draft pick by the Mariners in 2014, struggled after Seattle tried to make him an outfielder, but he's bounced back strong since he was traded to Atlanta this offseason and returned to his original position behind the plate. 

Pitcher to watch: Anthony Banda (D-backs' No. 1), Reno at El Paso (3:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV)
Banda put together his strongest outing of the young season his last time out. Pitching for Triple-A Reno, he tossed 5 2/3 innings of two-run baseball against the Albuquerque Isotopes with five strikeouts, the most he's had in any of his three starts thus far. The 23-year-old left-hander is coming off a 2016 campaign in which he threw 150 innings, led the Arizona organization in strikeouts (152) and finished second in ERA (2.88). He'll look to continue proving he's close to Major League-ready against El Paso.

Duel of the day: Sean Reid-Foley (Blue Jays' No. 2) vs. Ryan Castellani (Rockies' No. 7), New Hampshire vs. Hartford (1:35 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV)
Reid-Foley, the Blue Jays' top pitching prospect and the No. 59 prospect in all of baseball, hasn't quite been at the top of his game for Double-A New Hampshire early on in 2017 (5.68 ERA), but he had his best start of the season to date five days ago against Trenton. The 21-year-old right-hander, Toronto's second-round Draft pick in 2014, went three scoreless innings, allowing only a pair of hits and striking out three. 

Castellani, also a second-round pick in 2014 but by Colorado, has a 3.94 ERA in his three starts for Hartford this season and has struck out 20 batters in 16 innings. The 21-year-old righty's best outing of 2017 so far was a five-inning, no-run, eight-strikeout performance against the Harrisburg Senators on April 11. He'll try to replicate that and outduel Reid-Foley when the two prospects clash on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday's Top 100 prospect probables
No. 49 Kolby Allard (Braves' No. 3) at Hunter Wood (Rays' No. 27), Mississippi at Montgomery (3:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV)
No. 66 Carson Fulmer (White Sox No. 5), Charlotte vs. Rochester (2:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV)
No. 74 Justus Sheffield (Yankees' No. 6) at Trey Ball (Red Sox's No. 28), Trenton at Portland (1 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV) 
No. 75 Sean Newcomb (Braves' No. 5), Gwinnett vs. Pawtucket (1:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV)
More top prospect probables
Josh Staumont (Royals' No. 3), Omaha at New Orleans (Triple-A)
Chih-Wei Hu (Rays' No. 8), Durham at Louisville (Triple-A)
A.J. Cole (Nationals' No. 9) vs. Gabriel Ynoa (Orioles' No. 12), Buffalo vs. Columbus (Triple-A)
Dan Slania (Giants' No. 21), Sacramento vs. Las Vegas (Triple-A)
Ryan Merritt (Indians' No. 23), Columbus at Buffalo (Triple-A)
Andrew Moore (Mariners' No. 4) vs Jack Flaherty (Cardinals' No. 8), Arkansas vs. Springfield (Double-A)
Taylor Clarke (D-backs' No. 5) at Jorge López (Brewers' No. 13), Jackson at Biloxi (Double-A)
Luis Castillo (Reds' No. 7) at Osmer Morales (Angels' No. 22), Pensacola at Mobile (Double-A)
Connor Sadzeck (Rangers' No. 11), Frisco vs. Corpus Christi (Double-A)
Yeudy Garcia (Pirates' No. 13), Altoona at Akron (Double-A)
Cory Taylor (Giants' No. 22), Richmond vs. Reading (Double-A)
Keegan Akin (Orioles' No. 6), Frederick vs. Salem (Class A Advanced)
Eric Lauer (Padres' No. 10), Lake Elsinore vs. Lancaster (Class A Advanced)
Spencer Turnbull (Tigers' No. 15) vs. Taylor Widener (Yankees' No. 29), Lakeland vs. Tampa (Class A Advanced)
Jake Woodford (Cardinals' No. 17), Palm Beach vs. Charlotte (Class A Advanced)
Corbin Burnes (Brewers' No. 20), Carolina vs. Buies Creek (Class A Advanced)
Foster Griffin (Royals' No. 22) vs. Zach Thompson (White Sox No. 30), Wilmington vs. Winston-Salem (Class A Advanced)
Jordan Romano (Blue Jays' No. 23), Dunedin vs. Fort Myers (Class A Advanced)
Drew Harrington (Braves' No. 25), Florida at Clearwater (Class A Advanced)
Justin Donatella (D-backs' No. 26) vs. Pablo Lopez (Mariners' No. 27), Visalia vs. Modesto (Class A Advanced)
Dane Dunning (White Sox No. 10), Kannapolis vs. Hickory (Class A)
Justin Maese (Blue Jays' No. 10), Lansing vs. Bowling Green (Class A)
Mike Shawaryn (Red Sox's No. 12), Greenville vs. Rome (Class A)
Tyler Watson (Nationals' No. 19) vs. Zach Muckenhirn (Orioles' No. 27), Hagerstown vs. Delmarva (Class A)
Aaron Civale (Indians' No. 21), Lake County at West Michigan (Class A)
Jorge Alcala (Astros' No. 29), Quad Cities vs. Clinton (Class A)
Gerson Garabito (Royals' No. 29), Lexington at Columbia (Class A)