Athletics' best prospect performers of the week
Here’s a look at the top performances of the past week by A's prospects in the Minor Leagues:
Sunday, Sept. 8: Heim homers as Minor League seasons end for A's affiliates
No. 21 prospect Jonah Heim launched a solo home run on Sunday, finishing the day 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, but it wasn’t enough as Triple-A Las Vegas was eliminated from postseason play with a 7-3 loss to Sacramento in Game 5 of its semifinals. Over 85 games split between Double-A and Triple-A this season, the 24-year-old catcher hit .310 with nine home runs and an OPS of .863. Heim’s homer put the Aviators on the board in the fifth inning, but they managed just four hits on the night and were unable to catch up after Sacramento put up four runs in the top of the first.
With Double-A Midland also being eliminated with a loss on Sunday, the Minor League season has ended for all of Oakland’s affiliates. Sunday's prospect stats »
Saturday, Sept. 7: Bolt stays hot at plate as Aviators fall
The Las Vegas Aviators fell to Sacramento, 5-3, on Saturday, which will push their Pacific Coast League semifinals to a fifth and deciding game. No. 16 prospect Skye Bolt went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. Over 89 games at the Triple-A level in the regular season, Bolt hit .269 with 11 home runs and an .809 OPS. Game 5 of the series goes on Sunday in Las Vegas, with the winner heading to the PCL championship series beginning on September 10. Saturday's prospect stats »
Friday, Sept. 6: Luzardo, Bolt help put Aviators up 2-1
Led by a pair of top prospects, the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators went up 2-1 in their Pacific Coast League semifinals series on Friday night. Jesus Luzardo, the A’s top prospect and the No. 18 prospect in baseball, tossed his second-longest outing of the season, going 5 2/3 innings with only one run allowed, giving up seven hits and two walks, striking out seven. He threw 58 of his 91 pitches for strikes.
On the offensive side, Skye Bolt continued his incredible postseason, homering for the third straight game and finishing 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Bolt went through a bit of a power slump late in the regular season, hitting only six home runs after April and only three in 36 games from July 1 on, but he’s found his pop again just in time for the postseason. Bolt made his MLB debut earlier this year, as well, appearing in four games for Oakland before returning to the Aviators. Friay's prospect stats »
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Thursday, Sept. 5: Deichmann homers twice for Midland
No. 17 prospect Greg Deichmann’s multihomer game proved the difference as Double-A Midland defeated Amarillo, 4-1, to improve to 2-0 in the best-of-five Texas League semifinals. The 24-year-old outfielder hit a solo shot in the second inning to pad the RockHounds’ early lead and then did the same thing again in the sixth via a two-run homer. Deichmann, the A’s second-round pick from the 2017 Draft, also collected two hits in the series opener after finishing the regular season on a four-game hitting streak, during which he homered in back-to-back games.
Half of Triple-A Las Vegas’ eight hits on Thursday were home runs, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Aviators from dropping Game 2 of the Pacific Coast League semifinals to Sacramento, 8-6. A’s No. 16 prospect Skye Bolt was among those to go deep, hitting a two-run shot as part of a 1-for-4 performance, and No. 21 prospect Jonah Heim was not among the four players to go deep in the game, but the 24-year-old catcher did go 2-for-4 with a double. A’s top prospect Jesus Luzardo (MLB No. 18) is slated to start Game 3 in the best-of-five series tomorrow. Thursday's prospect stats »
Wednesday, Sept. 4: Rivas homers in Aviators’ win
Alfonso Rivas went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run on Wednesday night for Las Vegas in Game 1 of their Pacific Coast League Semifinals against Sacramento. The Aviators put up five runs in the third inning and didn’t look back, winning 9-3. Rivas, the club’s No. 25 prospect, hit .292 with nine home runs and an .810 OPS over 122 games this year, most of which were spent with Class A Advanced Stockton before he was promoted to Triple-A for the final eight games of the regular season. He’ll need his line-drive power to develop into home runs more consistently in 2020 and beyond, but Rivas did total 26 doubles and four triples in 2019.
Monday, Sept. 2: Mateo goes deep for Aviators
Jorge Mateo was a catalyst from the leadoff spot for Triple-A Las Vegas, going 2-for-4 with a solo homer, a double and two runs scored in the Aviators’ 3-2 win over Tacoma. The A’s No. 4 prospect notched multiple hits in three of his final four games to close out the season. After a disastrous first season in Triple-A (.230/.280/.353 in 131 games), Mateo, whom Oakland acquired from the Yankees at the 2017 Trade Deadline in the Sonny Gray deal, rebounded this season to slash .289/.330/.504 over 119 games. He racked up 62 extra-base hits, including a career-high 19 home runs, and swiped 24 bags, and he finished the season with 95 runs and 78 RBIs, two more career highs. Monday's prospect stats »