Tuesday's top prospect performers

September 22nd, 2021

Here's a look at Tuesday’s top Minor League performers from each team's Top 30 Prospects list:

Giants: Marco Luciano, SS (MLB No. 5), High-A Eugene
Ricardo Genovés, C (No. 18), High-A Eugene

Genovés enjoyed the second multihomer game of his career, clubbing two home runs and driving in four runs as part of Eugene’s win over Spokane in Game 1 of the High-A West Championship Series. Genovés’ first home run of the evening, a two-run shot, came in the first inning as part of Eugene’s eight-run frame that set an imposing tone early. Genovés then kept the good times rolling with a solo home run in the third inning. Genovés has now hit 14 home runs this season, more than his previous four professional seasons combined (13).

Luciano would’ve liked to borrow one of Genovés’ home runs, as he fell a long ball shy of the cycle in Eugene’s big win. The 20-year-old also played a role in Eugene’s big first inning, legging out a run-scoring triple, then scoring on Genovés’ two-run home run. It was a continuation of the work Luciano did in the regular season, where he slashed .258/.344/.471 with 19 homers. Giants prospect stats »

D-backs: Alek Thomas, OF (MLB No. 41), Triple-A Reno
Drew Ellis, 3B (No. 15), Triple-A Reno

One four-hit game is nice, but how about two in a row on back-to-back nights? Thomas once again stuffed the box score with another four-hit night, including his third triple in his past two games. Thomas has been sensational since joining Reno, but has been white-hot during his seven-game hitting streak. During this stretch, Thomas is 16-for-33 (.484) with three doubles, three triples and four homers.

Not to be outdone, Ellis one-upped his teammate with five hits (three doubles and a triple) and five RBIs. Ellis is on a tear of his own, having recorded a hit in eight of his past nine games with five home runs and 18 RBIs during this stretch. Ellis has had a phenomenal season for Reno, slashing .304/.411/.627 with 19 homers across 76 games. D-backs prospect stats »

Astros: Jeremy Peña, INF (No. 4), Triple-A Sugar Land
Coming into this season, Peña wasn’t exactly known for his power. If you only looked at his last handful of games, including Tuesday, you wouldn’t know it. Peña clubbed not one, not two, but three home runs, the last of which was a walk-off, two-run shot. Peña’s power has been quite the development in recent days. In 2018 and 2019, Peña hit eight home runs in 145 games. This season, Peña has eight home runs in 27 games with an eye-popping .638 slugging percentage. Of those eight home runs this season, six have come in the past seven games. Astros prospect stats »

Indians: Peyton Battenfield, RHP (No. 17), Double-A Akron
Battenfield saved his best performance for the brightest of lights. The 24-year-old threw a career-high seven innings and matched his career high of 10 strikeouts, leading Akron to a 5-1 win in Game 1 of the Double-A Northeast Championship Series over Bowie. Battenfield’s night, for as great as it turned out, started off rocky as he allowed a home run to the first batter he faced. From there, however, Battenfield was nails, striking out the side in both the second and fourth innings. He got better as the game went along, retiring the final 13 batters he faced to complete his masterful evening. Indians prospect stats »

Yankees: Antonio Gomez, C (No. 25) Low-A Tampa
Gomez put Tampa’s offense on his back in Game 1 of the Low-A Southeast Championship Series against Bradenton, driving in all three of the team’s runs. Gomez broke a scoreless tie with a solo shot in the top of the sixth, then after Bradenton put up two runs in the bottom of the seventh, he drove in two more runs with a single in the top of the eighth. Gomez’s effort was not enough as Bradenton put up two runs in the bottom of the ninth to come back and snag the first game of the series. Yankees prospect stats »