Friday's top prospect performers

Cubs' No. 1 makes impressive Triple-A debut

April 21st, 2018

Here's MLB Pipeline's roundup of the top prospect performances in the Minor Leagues on Friday.

's 2018 season got off to a late start, but his debut with Triple-A Iowa was certainly worth the wait.

After suffering an ankle injury in Spring Training, Alzolay began the 2018 campaign in extended spring training, but he was added to the Iowa roster on Friday and was lights out in a win over Nashville.

The 23-year-old, who fired 50 of his 75 pitches for strikes, was perfect through four innings and carried a no-hitter into the sixth before giving up a solo homer. However, Alzolay was able to limit the damage as that was the only run he surrendered.

The right-hander finished the sixth and was lifted after striking out six and giving up the one run on two hits.

Other top prospect performances from Friday's action:

No. 3 overall prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays' No. 1) and No. 13 Bo Bichette (Blue Jays' No. 2) provided all of the offense for Double-A New Hampshire in a loss to Reading. Guerrero went 0-for-4 at the plate, but he drove in two runs via groundouts, while Bichette, who also drove in a pair, collected two hits a day after his 10-game hitting streak came to a close.

• No. 25 overall prospect Brendan McKay (Rays' No. 3) broke out of his slump and collected a career-high four RBIs in Class A Bowling Green's win over Lake County. McKay, who had been hitless over his past four games (11 at-bats), went 2-for-4, including RBI hits in the seventh and eighth.

• No. 55 overall prospect Matt Manning (Tigers' No. 2) got off to a particularly fast start in his 2018 debut with Class A West Michigan. Manning, a first-round pick from the 2016 Draft, struck out nine batters over the first three innings, including eight in a row, and ultimately finished with 10, a career high. However, after cruising through three innings, Manning ran into trouble in the fourth and was lifted after giving up three runs on two hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings.

MILB Video - Title: Manning notches 10th K - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1957686683

• No. 62 overall prospect Jo Adell (Angels' No. 2) and Brandon Marsh (Angels' No. 5) were at the center of Class A Burlington's offensive explosion in a 28-7 win over Quad Cities. The duo, hitting third and fourth in the Bees' lineup, combined to go 6-for-11 with 15 RBIs and six runs scored. Adell went 4-for-6 with a double, a grand slam and eight RBIs, while Marsh drove in seven and also hit a grand slam in a 2-for-5 effort.

Athletics' No. 6 prospect Austin Beck hit his first homer of the season and posted another multi-hit performance, going 2-for-5 with three RBIs for Class A Beloit. Beck, the A's first-round pick from 2017, has an RBI in three straight games and five hits in his past 10 at-bats.

Brewers No. 4 prospect Lucas Erceg pushed his average to .362 and set a season high with four hits (4-for-5) in Double-A Biloxi's win over Mobile. The 22-year-old also drove in four runs via a solo homer in the first, a two-run single in the fifth and a base hit in the eighth.

Cardinals No. 25 prospect Johan Oviedo spun his best start of the season for Class A Peoria. After giving up nine runs in five innings over his first two starts, Oviedo threw six scoreless in a win over Wisconsin. The right-hander struggled with command -- walking five -- but notched eight strikeouts and gave up just three hits.

Indians No. 20 prospect extended his hitting streak to five games with his first homer of the season, a three-run blast, in the first inning of Triple-A Columbus' loss to Rochester. Haase, who is batting .341 through 11 games, added a pair of singles later in the game, finishing 3-for-4.

Nationals No. 4 prospect lowered his ERA to 1.80 with his second scoreless start for Triple-A Syracuse. Fedde, who yielded just two hits, retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced as he cruised through five scoreless frames. The 25-year-old threw 40 of his 75 pitches for strikes, walked one and struck out seven.

Marlins No. 11 prospect Brian Miller matched his career high with four hits for Class A Advanced Jupiter. Batting atop the Hammerheads order, Miller, who went 4-for-5, has hits in 11 of the 13 games he's played and is slashing .311/.354/.361.

Phillies No. 23 prospect McKenzie Mills put together another strong start for Class A Advanced Clearwater. The 22-year-old lefty gave up one run on three hits over seven innings and has now fanned 10 and given up two runs over his past 13 frames (two starts).