Thursday's top prospect performers

July 5th, 2019

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

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: Gabriel Moreno, C (No. 17) -- 2-for-4, HR (Class A Lansing)
Moreno provided Lansing's only offense in an 8-1 loss to Great Lakes, belting his sixth home run of the season in the fourth inning. It was the 19-year-old catcher's first homer since June 8. However, he has six multihit games since June 20, and his five total bases on Thursday matched his second-highest total of the season. Playing above Rookie-level ball for the first time in his pro career, Moreno is batting .298/.364/.524 with 22 RBIs and 13 extra-base hits in 35 games in the Midwest League this season. Blue Jays prospects stats »

Orioles: Yusniel Diaz, OF (No. 4) -- 2-for-3, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB (Double-A Bowie)
Diaz put Bowie on the board with a two-run homer in the first inning, hit a sacrifice fly in his next trip to the plate and added an RBI single in the eighth to finish with a season-high four RBIs in the Baysox's 13-0 rout of Harrisburg. The homer was the 22-year-old's fifth in 12 games since returning from the birth of his child, and he's now gone deep nine times in 45 games this season at the Double-A level, leaving him two homers short of his 2018 career-high total. The uptick in Diaz's power this season is a good sign, as it's long been the component of his game that's been questioned by evaluators. Orioles prospects stats »

Rays: Vidal Brujan, 2B (No. 6, MLB No. 79) -- 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI (Double-A Montgomery)
A night removed from posting his first four-hit game at the Double-A level, Brujan checked off another box as he connected on a his first Double-A home run, hitting a two-run shot in the third inning of Montgomery's win against Tennessee. Though known more for his blazing-fast speed and plus hitting ability from both sides of the plate, the 20-year-old possesses some sneaky pop, especially from the left side of the plate, which is the side he homered from Thursday. For context, Brujan hit each of his career-best nine homers last season against right-handed pitching. Rays prospects stats »

Red Sox: Bobby Dalbec, 3B (No. 2) -- 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB (Double-A Portland)
The homers keep coming for Dalbec, as he's now gone deep five times in his past six games after he teed off on a two-run shot in Portland's win over New Hampshire. The 24-year-old can be a bit streaky at the plate and tends to hit his home runs in bunches, but there are few hitters in the Minors who can match his massive raw power from the right side of the plate. He's smashed 19 homers in 79 games this season after finishing fourth in the Minors with 32 in 2018.
Red Sox prospects stats »

Yankees: Josh Stowers, OF (No. 24) -- 2-for-5, R, SB (Class A Charleston)
Stowers missed half of June due to injury, and he's slowly but surely getting back to his basestealing ways. The 22-year-old out of Louisville swiped 20 bags over 58 Rookie-level games in his pro debut, and he's up to 16 in 54 Class A games. In fact, nearly all of his statistics are similar to those posted during his first season in the Minors, a promising sign as the outfielder tries to climb the ladder in the Yankees' system. Yankees prospects stats »

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Indians: Ernie Clement, SS (No. 16) -- 3-for-5, R (Double-A Akron)
Clement's three-hit performance for the RubberDucks was his fifth mult-hit game during a seven-game hitting streak that's boosted his season average from .279 to .298. Selected by the Indians in the fourth round of the 2017 Draft out of the University of Virginia, the 23-year-old Clement is an advanced right-handed hitter who makes a ton of contact and consistently works counts. After batting .289/.358/.375 with 18 steals and more walks (41) than strikeouts (35) while ascending three levels to Double-A in 2018, Clement has returned to the Eastern League this season to compile a .298/.350/.381 line with 15 walks and 22 strikeouts in 54 games. Indians prospects stats »

Royals: Kyle Isbel, OF (No. 9) -- 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, SB (AZL Royals)
Isbel batted .348 with eight extra-base hits and five steals over his 13 games for Class A Advanced Wilmington this season before undergoing surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his hand in mid-April. After a nearly two-and-a-half month layoff, the 2018 third-round pick returned to action on Thursday to hit a two-run homer and a double in his first two at-bats. The 22-year-old opened eyes last summer by hitting .326 (.893 OPS) with 31 extra-base hits (7 HR) and 24 steals in 64 games while reaching full-season ball, and there are some who believe that his advanced bat could help him become one of the first hitters from his Draft class to reach the Majors. Royals prospects stats »

Tigers: Jose Azocar, OF (No. 29) -- 3-for-5, HR, 2 RBI (Double-A Erie)
Azocar accounted for much of Erie's offense on Thursday, as he tallied three of the team's eight hits and plated three runs in the SeaWolves' 6-5 loss against Altoona. Azocar rebounded from a disappointing 2017 campaign in the Florida State League by hitting .297/.320/.399 last year across two levels. Now playing in his first Double-A campaign, the 23-year-old outfielder has built upon last year's progress by hitting .288/.327/.401 over his 77 games in the Eastern League. Tigers prospects stats »

Twins: Luis Rijo, RHP (No. 30) -- 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K (Class A Cedar Rapids)
Rijo retired the final 15 batters and faced one over the minimum, throwing 56 of 71 pitches for strikes in the Kernels' 4-2 win against Burlington. His 10 strikeouts were a new career high, and he also matched a career-best mark by completing seven frames, something he's done three times in four pro seasons. The 20-year-old right-hander has been lights out over his last five turns, allowing only one earned run (0.34 ERA) on nine hits in that span while racking up 28 strikeouts over 26 2/3 innings. Twins prospects stats »

White Sox: Luis Robert, OF (No. 1, MLB No. 5) -- 2-for-5, 3 R, 2B, 3 SB; Nick Madrigal, 2B (No. 4, MLB No. 39) -- 3-for-4, 2 R, BB, 2 SB (Double-A Birmingham)
Batting first and second, respectively, for Birmingham on Thursday, Robert and Madrigal combined for five hits, five runs and five steals as they propelled Birmingham past Pensacola, 8-5. Robert established a new career high with his trio of stolen bases, and he's now recorded multiple steals on seven occasions this season en route to 29 steals in 74 games. The 21-year-old has also hit 15 home runs and sports an OPS of 1.010. Madrigal is right behind his teammate in the steals department with 28, and he's batting .313/.383/.412 -- with an active 12-game hitting streak -- after his second straight three-hit game. Both players will represent the White Sox in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game this Sunday. White Sox prospects stats »

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

A’s: Sheldon Neuse, 3B (No. 9) -- 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI (Triple-A Las Vegas)
Neuse's two-run homer, which came in the second inning, provided Las Vegas' only offense in an 8-2 loss to Albuquerque. It was the 24-year-old infielder's 14th home run of the season. Neuse's power numbers are up after a down year in 2018 during which he only hit five homers in 499 at-bats. This season, he's batting .306/.386/.521 through 307 at-bats in 79 games, collecting 36 extra-base hits and 63 RBIs, which is tied for seventh most in the Pacific Coast League. A's prospects stats »

Angels: Jeremiah Jackson, SS (No. 7) -- 3-for-4, 2 HR, BB (Rookie-level Orem)
Mired in a 2-for-23 funk at the plate over his previous seven games, Jackson broke out with multi-homer performance as part of a three-hit game in Orem's win over Grand Junction. It was the second two-homer game this season for the 19-year-old shortstop, and he's now gone deep six times during his first 18 games in the Pioneer League while posting a .958 OPS. Selected by the Angels in the second round of the 2018 Draft, Jackson has the the type of lightning-quick right-handed bat and projectable power needed to become an offensive force -- if he can stick at a middle-infield spot. Angels prospects stats »

Astros: Seth Beer, OF/1B (No. 8) -- 5-for-6, 4 R, HR, 2 RBI (Double-A Corpus Christi)
Beer homered for a third straight game and collected a career-high five hits -- and was robbed of a sixth in his final at-bat -- as part of a monster night at the plate in the Hooks' 22-5 rout of Midland. Over his past three games, the 22-year-old Beer is 12-for-16 at the plate with nine runs scored and seven RBIs. The Astros' 2018 first-round pick's home run, a sixth-inning solo shot to the opposite field that he deposited just inside the left-field pole, was his 10th for Corpus Christi and 19th of the season -- a total he's reached in only 77 games. Beer hit 12 homers in 67 games during his pro debut last summer after going deep 56 times as a three-year starter at Clemson. Astros prospects stats »

Mariners: Justus Sheffield, LHP (No. 4, MLB No. 74) -- 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K (Double-A Arkansas); Logan Gilbert, RHP (No. 3, MLB No. 68) -- 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K; Joe Rizzo, 3B (No. 22) -- 3-for-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI (Class A Advanced Modesto)
Something has clicked for Sheffield since his demotion from Triple-A Tacoma to Arkansas, for whom he's posted a 1.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 29/5 K/BB over 27 innings. With Thursday's outing, the 23-year-old southpaw completed seven innings for the third time in four starts for the Travelers after doing so just once in 13 outings with Tacoma. One level down, Gilbert racked up seven strikeouts in five scoreless frames to lower his California League ERA to 1.95. The 2018 first-rounder from Stetson has been superb thus far in his pro debut, posting a 1.85 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 78 innings (16 starts) across two levels. Rizzo, a former second-round pick (2016), backed Gilbert's performance with his first multi-homer game of 2019. With seven homers in 80 games this season, the 21-year-old has already matched his career-high mark and blown past his total from his first California League campaign in 2018, when he went deep four times in 123 games for the Nuts. Mariners prospects stats »

Rangers: Julio Pablo Martinez, OF (No. 4) -- 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB (Class A Adv Down East)
A two-run home run in the second inning highlighted Martinez's third multihit effort in his last four games for the Wood Ducks, who edged Salem, 6-5, on Thursday. After batting just .162 with four homers over his first 37 games in the Carolina League, the 23-year-old outfielder owns a .337 average with four homers in 26 games since the beginning of June. He's hit nine home runs overall this season across two levels, while his season batting line sits at .235/.303/.409 through 73 games. Rangers prospects stats »

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Drew Waters, OF (No. 4, MLB No. 44) -- 2-for-4, R, BB (Double-A Mississippi)
Two of the best outfield prospects in baseball call the top of the M-Braves' lineup home, as Cristian Pache leads off and Waters follows in the second spot in the order. This proves a powerful one-two punch for Atlanta's Double-A affiliate, since both 20-year-olds are capable of setting the table and driving in runs themselves. Waters has the best batting average in the Southern League and the second best at the Double-A level after raising it to .326 after Thursday's game. He now has multiple hits in four of his past five starts, with three walks over that span as well. Braves prospects stats »

Marlins: Edward Cabrera, RHP (No. 8) -- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K (Double-A Jacksonville)
Cabrera got off to a rocky start Thursday as he walked three of the first six Mobile batters he faced, but the hard-throwing righty quickly settled in and ultimately completed six scoreless frames, allowing just two hits in his second Double-A start. Despite some occasional lapses in his control, the 21-year-old has done a much better job throwing strikes in 2019, and it has enabled him to pitch deeper into games and begin to make progress up the Minor League ladder. In 13 starts between Class A Advanced Jupiter and the Jumbo Shrimp, Cabrera has pitched to a 2.06 ERA while holding hitters to a .184 average and compiling 84 strikeouts and only 23 walks in 70 innings. Marlins prospects stats »

Mets: Patrick Mazeika, C/1B (No. 25) -- 2-for-2, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB (Double-A Binghamton)
Mazeika put Binghamton on the board in the fourth inning with a solo home run and later added a sacrifice fly as part of a perfect night at the plate that also included a double and a walk. The 25-year-old's big fly was his ninth this season, which matches the career-high mark he reached in 87 games last season during a disappointing (.231/.328/.363) first full season in Eastern League. The former eighth-round pick (2015) is faring better in his second tour of the level, with a .250/.321/.427 line and 45 RBIs through 69 games. Mets prospects stats »

Phillies: Luis Garcia, SS/2B (No. 4) -- 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI (Class A Lakewood)
Garcia's three-run homer was one of four long balls the BlueClaws hit on Thursday as they narrowly defeated Greensboro, 11-10. The fourth-inning shot was the switch-hitting 18-year-old's fourth of the season and second in his past 13 games. He's had a tough first full season in the South Atlantic League, hitting .199/.285/.293 across 77 games after a very impressive 2018 pro debut in which he produced a .369/.433/.488 line in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. Phillies prospects stats »

Nationals: Luis Garcia, INF (No. 2, MLB No. 61) -- 2-for-4 (Double-A Harrisburg)
Garcia, 19, was overmatched in Double-A to begin the season and batted just .218 in 50 games between April and May. He's raking at a .333 clip in 29 games since the start of June, though, and his season line has climbed from .218/.251/.254 to .263/.293/.310 as a result. He's been very solid defensively, too, committing 11 errors in 54 games at shortstop and zero in 26 games as a second baseman. Nationals prospects stats »

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

Brewers: Adam Hill, RHP (No. 27) -- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 5 K (Class A Wisconsin)
Hill, 22, turned in a strong outing for the Timber Rattlers, who rallied to score three runs in the top of the ninth to defeat Kane County, 4-3. He struggled with his control, issuing two walks and also hitting two batters while throwing 54 of 89 pitches for strikes, but compensated by allowing just three hits while striking out five and recording another six outs via ground balls. A fourth-round pick in 2018 by the Mets, who shipped him to Milwaukee as part of the offseason Keon Broxton trade, Hill has pitched to a 3.78 ERA with 66 strikeouts and 33 walks in 78 2/3 frames thus far in his first full season. Brewers prospects stats »

Cubs: Miguel Amaya, C (No. 2, MLB No. 76) -- 4-for-5, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI (Class A Adv Myrtle Beach)
Amaya had his best offensive performance of the season on Thursday as he tallied a season-high four hits for Myrtle Beach in his final tune-up before he represents the Cubs in Sunday's Futures Game. With three hits, including a pair of RBI singles, already under his belt, the 20-year-old backstop stepped to the plate in the seventh inning and delivered a solo shot to left-center field, his seventh home run of the year. Chasing a fifth hit in his final at-bat, Amaya struck out swinging in the eighth inning. While he hasn't offered much in the way of average this season (.221 in 62 games), Amaya has shown an impressive blend of power potential and plate discipline while throwing out 33 of 98 (33.7 percent) of attempted basestealers. Cubs prospects stats »

Cardinals: Jhon Torres, OF (No. 5) -- 3-for-6, 4 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI (Rookie Johnson City); Justin Williams, OF (No. 13) -- 2-for-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI (Triple-A Memphis)
Torres and Williams both connected on two home runs on what proved to be a big day for the two outfield prospects acquired by the Cardinals last July. Torres, whom St. Louis received with Conner Capel in the Oscar Mercado trade, went deep twice, his first two homers of the year. He's batting .286 (.982 OPS) through eight games in the Appalachian League after being demoted from Class A Peoria (.167/.240/.212 in 21 games). As for Williams, he hit a pair of two-run shots for the Redbirds, giving him three homers in 22 games this season between the Double- and Triple-A levels. He made his big league debut as a member of the Rays last July, a little more than a week before the Cardinals acquired him in the Tommy Pham trade. He missed the first three months of 2019 while recovering from a fracture in his right hand that he suffered during the offseason while punching a television screen. Cardinals prospects stats »

Pirates: Oneil Cruz, SS (No. 4, MLB No. 78) -- 2-for-4, SB (Class A Adv Bradenton)
One of three Marauders to collect multiple hits Thursday, Cruz singled in his first and last at-bats from the No. 3 spot in the lineup to help lead Bradenton over Florida, 5-2. After spending nearly two months on the shelf with a right foot fracture, the 20-year-old shortstop has returned to the Florida State League to post three two-hit performances in his first four games. He's actually hit in seven straight games including his three-game rehab stint in the Gulf Coast League. As a 6-foot-6 shortstop with left-handed power potential and a cannon for an arm, Cruz is one of the more interesting prospects in baseball. Pirates prospects stats »

Reds: Scott Moss, LHP (No. 14) -- 6 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K (Double-A Chattanooga)
The Lookouts scored four runs in the first two innings to give Moss an early lead, and the 24-year-old southpaw did his part by tossing six frames of one-run ball to earn the win against Jackson. After struggling with his control during the first two months of the season, Moss has now rattled off five straight starts with two walks or fewer since he issued a season-high six walks on June 2. He continues to miss a healthy number of bats, too, as Thursday's outing brings the former fourth-round pick (2016) to 99 punchouts in 80 1/3 innings (16 starts) on the season to go along with a 3.36 ERA. Reds prospects stats »

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

D-backs: Matt Tabor, RHP (No. 13) -- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K (Class A Kane County)
Tabor continued his strong season for Kane County with his second straight start that consisted of six innings of one-run ball. He took a no-decision in a 4-3 loss to Wisconsin, but he struck out at least six for the fourth consecutive outing. In his first season in the Midwest League, the right-hander has a 2.49 ERA and 0.83 WHIP while issuing only six walks over 50 2/3 innings. Tabor has allowed two or fewer runs in all but one of his 11 starts, and he only allowed three in the other. D-backs prospects stats »

Dodgers: Gavin Lux, SS/2B (No. 2, MLB No. 31) -- 4-for-6, 4 R, RBI (Triple-A Oklahoma City)
Lux continued to swing a hot bat, extending his hitting streak to seven games and his on-base streak to 19 games between time with Oklahoma City and Double-A Tulsa. This was Lux's second four-hit game in five days and his fifth of the season. In Oklahoma City's 13-7 win over Round Rock, all four of Lux's hits were singles, and he went on to score each time. His lone RBI came in the eighth inning during a three-run frame that sealed the Dodgers' win. Lux is 14-for-27 through his first six games with Oklahoma City. Dodgers prospects stats »

Giants: Marco Luciano, SS (No. 3) -- 2-for-4, R, RBI, SB (AZL Giants)
Luciano has gotten off to a torrid start in his first professional season. He now has a six-game hitting streak and has collected multiple hits in four of his past five games. The 17-year-old is slashing .393/.493/.821 through his first 14 games in the Arizona League, collecting six homers, four doubles, a triple and 17 RBIs. After going a combined 0-for-8 in his first two games, Luciano has now reached base in 12 consecutive games. Giants prospects stats »

Padres: CJ Abrams, SS -- 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B (AZL Padres)
Abrams continued his impressive start to his pro career by collecting at least three hits for the fourth time in 13 games. He has gotten at least one hit in every game so far in the Arizona League, and he's recorded multiple hits 10 times. On Thursday, he doubled and notched a pair of singles to raise his batting average to .467. He has a 1.142 OPS, six RBIs and seven extra-base hits. The Padres' first-round pick in the 2019 Draft, the 18-year-old Abrams is quickly showing he might be ready to advance above Rookie-level play. Padres prospects stats »

Rockies: Sam Hilliard, OF (No. 9) -- 2-for-3, HR (Triple-A Albuquerque)
After a slow start to the season, Hilliard is having a tremendous start to July. Over the past four games, he's 6-for-16 with three homers and seven RBIs. His solo homer on Thursday helped lift Albuquerque to an 8-2 win over Las Vegas. He led off the eighth inning with a home run, combining with Brian Mundell to hit back-to-back homers that sealed the Isotopes' victory. In his first season at the Triple-A level, Hilliard is batting .253/.313/.548 with 23 home runs and 68 RBIs. Rockies prospects stats »