Snell among top prospect performers Tuesday
No need to panic, Blake Snell is back to his old self. The Rays' top prospect (No. 12 overall) gave up five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in his last start, but promptly quelled any cause for concern with his bounceback performance Tuesday night.
The left-hander fired five scoreless innings, limiting his opponents to just three hits and a pair of walks as Durham topped Scranton, 5-0.
Snell struck out five in the outing and threw 57 of his 95 pitches for strikes.
Tuesday's start was the second consecutive outing in which Snell, who has had control problems in the past, walked three batters, but rather than being haunted by walks, Snell was able to keep Scranton in check.
The rest of the best performances from top prospects Tuesday:
• Make that back-to-back three-hit games for Manuel Margot. The Padres' top prospect is locked in right now and crushing everything in the zone. Margot, the No. 40 overall prospect, went 3-for-4 with a run on Tuesday and has eight hits in his last 12 at-bats for El Paso.
• Willson Contreras continues to collect RBIs as the Cubs' No. 2 prospect drove in three runs in Iowa's win over Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Contreras, who has 11 RBIs over his past four games, went 2-for-5 with a triple in the game, extending his hitting streak to 10 games.
• Tyler Jay put together the best start of his career Tuesday night. The No. 55 overall prospect (Twins' No. 3) set career-highs in innings (eight) and strikeouts (11) as he led Fort Myers to a win over St. Lucie. Jay recorded a then-season high eight strikeouts in his previous outing, but on Tuesday he was lights out. The left-hander gave up just two hits and a walk as he dominated his way through eight scoreless frames.
"What's ironic is that was probably the worst I've ever warmed up before a game," Jay told MiLB.com. "I had an extra day off and I was a little amped up. When that happens, my bullpens tend to be a little wild, but everything returned to normal when I got out there. Even my changeup, which I'm still working on because I never threw it as a reliever, was working well for me. Everything ended up being on point. I couldn't have asked for anything better."
• Padres' No. 3 prospect Hunter Renfroe also had a big night for El Paso. The 24-year old went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs as he extended his hitting streak to six games. Renfroe has 12 homers through 48 games this season after hitting 20 and 21 each of the past two seasons.
MILB Video - Title: Renfroe goes yard - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=761262083
• Roman Quinn's night got off to a great start as the Phillies' No. 7 prospect led off the game with his second homer of the season. The blast gave Double-A Reading an early lead and set the tone in a 6-4 victory over Portland. Quinn finished the game 3-for-5 -- his second three-hit game over his past three contests -- with three RBIs.
MILB Video - Title: Quinn's homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=760638183
• Rowdy Tellez, the Blue Jays' No. 8 prospect, turned in his third three-hit game of the season, going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs in New Hampshire's win over Harrisburg.
MILB Video - Title: Watch: Rowdy drives in run - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=762687983
• It's not every day that a pitcher in Class-A goes head-to-head with a Major Leaguer, but Junior Fernandez (Cardinals' No. 15) responded to the challenge Tuesday. The 19-year-old right-hander outpitched Matt Garza, who was pitching on a rehab assignment, as Peoria defeated Wisconsin. Fernandez gave up three hits and struck out eight over six scoreless frames.
• It did not take D-backs No. 7 prospect Peter O'Brien long to get reacquainted with his old surroundings. After a stint with the Major League club, O'Brien was optioned to Triple-A Reno on Monday. On Tuesday, he went 3-for-4 with three doubles and three RBIs.
MILB Video - Title: Watch: O'Brien doubles - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=762669583
• Mariners' No. 4 prospect Tyler O'Neill continues to swing the bat well, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs in Jackson's win over Tennessee. O'Neill has an RBI in eight straight games and a hit in five straight, raising his average to .328, the highest it's been since he was hitting .330 on May 5. Mariners' No. 10 Andrew Moore started the game for Jackson, just his second start at the Double-A level, and gave up one run on five hits in seven innings.
MILB Video - Title: O'Neill's fourth hit - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=760738283
• Austin Dean (Marlins' No. 6) powered Jacksonville to a win with his second multi-homer game of his career. Dean already has six homers after hitting just five a season ago. The 22-year old outfielder finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs at the plate. Dean first career-multi-homer game also came this season when he hit a pair of homers on May 10.
MILB Video - Title: Dean's second homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=760904183
• The Bowie Baysox cruised past the Richmond Flying Squirrels, 10-0, and Orioles' No. 10 prospect Christian Walker was a big reason why. Walker went 4-for-5 at the plate, a season-high for hits, with a homer, double and four RBIs.
MILB Video - Title: Watch: Walker goes yard - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=760867083
• Alex Dickerson's eighth inning single in El Paso's win over Sacramento did not have any impact on the final score, but it was a big hit nonetheless. Riding a 28-game hitting streak, entering his final at-bat of the night, the Padres' No. 22 prospect needed a hit to extend the streak and was able to come through with a groundball up the middle. Dickerson's streak now sits at 29 games after he went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
MILB Video - Title: Watch: Dickerson extends hitting streak - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=761247583
• A pair of Red Sox prospects led the way as Greenville topped Charleston, 11-3. Marc Brakeman, Boston's No. 24 prospect, set the tone with six quality innings on the mound and Josh Ockimey, the No. 16 prospect, provided the offense, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs.. Brakeman struck out nine and gave up one run on five hits in six innings -- his best start since the Red Sox selected him in the 16th round last year.
MILB Video - Title: Ockimey drives in two - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=761977683