Pirates trio among top prospect performers Saturday

Pittsburgh's top two prospects, right-hander Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Austin Meadows, impressed Saturday, helping propel the Pirates to a 5-4 win over the Tigers. Right-hander Glasnow (No. 8 overall) racked up nine strikeouts in four innings, while Meadows (No. 9) clubbed the go-ahead home run.
Glasnow, 23, is competing in a bid for the fifth and final spot in the Pirates rotation. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk in his outing. The three runs were all scored on a home run by Detroit right fielder Tyler Collins.
"You can come into Spring Training and tell yourself, 'Let's go out and compete.' But early on, it's kind of tough," Glasnow said. "The last two starts is the best I've felt. I've really been into the game and really competitive. I know it's only up from here."

With the Bucs trailing, 4-3, in the home half of the eighth, Adam Frazier and Meadows each belted solo homers to flip the game in Pittsburgh's favor. Meadows entered the game in the seventh as a pinch-runner for Andrew McCutchen, then remained in the game in right field, batting third. The home run was his second of the spring.
Pirates No. 10 prospectSteven Brault also pitched well against Detroit, earning the win by holding the Tigers to one run over four innings of relief. The southpaw allowed four hits and struck out three batters against one walk.
More notable performances from top prospects on Saturday
• Cubs prospects Ian Happ and Chesny Young were part of a big six-run outburst for Chicago in the fifth inning against the Reds on Saturday. Happ (Cubs No. 2, No. 28 overall) and Young (Cubs No. 14) each homered in the inning. Young led off the inning with his shot, while Happ punctuated the frame with a three-run blast. No. 13 prospectVictor Caratini also homered in the Cubs' 11-7 split-squad win over the Reds.

• Rockies No. 4 prospectGermán Márquez struck out six batters in six innings against the Cubs. Marquez, baseball's No. 73 overall prospect, allowed two runs, both scored on a home run by Jason Heyward in the sixth. The outing marked spring-highs for the righty in strikeouts and innings.
• No. 100 overall prospectMatt Chapman put the A's on the board early in their afternoon matchup against the Dodgers at Camelback Ranch. In his first trip to the plate, Chapman (A's No. 4) launched a three-run blast against Los Angeles starter Rich Hill. Hill began the game by issuing walks to two of the first three batters he faced, and Chapman brought them each home.

• Mariners No. 20 prospectDillon Overton tossed six innings of one-run ball in Seattle's win over the Rangers. Overton allowed one run -- a solo homer by Ryan Rua -- and struck out four batters. His performance lowered his spring ERA from 3.27 to 2.65.

• Orioles No. 12 prospectGabriel Ynoa turned in his best start of Spring Training Saturday against the Twins. Ynoa allowed one walk and one hit in five scoreless frames and struck out three in a 6-3 win.
• White Sox No. 26 prospectJacob May got his team off to a quick start against the Indians with a leadoff homer off of Cleveland righty Josh Tomlin. It was May's first home run of spring. The 25-year-old center fielder hit just one long ball in 301 at-bats with Triple-A Charlotte in 2016.
In that same contest, Chicago's No. 27 prospectDylan Covey turned in a strong starting performance. The right-hander held the Indians scoreless for 3 2/3 innings of work, yielding just three hits and a walk while fanning three batters.
• Yankees No. 26 prospectJonathan Holder tossed two perfect innings against the Blue Jays on Saturday, including a strikeout of former American League Most Valuable Player Josh Donaldson.