Buehler's scoreless outing leads top prospects

March 17th, 2018

looks like another star in the making for the Dodgers, and he continued to shine in his latest Spring Training outing.
Los Angeles' top prospect entering the 2018 season, and the No. 12 overall prospect in baseball, Buehler started against the D-backs on Friday and tossed two scoreless innings. He did not allow a hit and struck out a pair of Arizona hitters, and Alex Avila, both looking.
Buehler has yet to allow a run this spring in his pair of outings, totaling four innings of work. He has allowed just one hit so far and has racked up seven strikeouts. He was optioned to the Minors earlier this week, but he's expected to make an impact with the big league club this season.

The 23-year-old right-hander showed some of the powerful stuff that's helped make him a top prospect. His fastball sat mostly in the upper 90s, with most of his four-seamers coming in at 97-98 mph. He topped out at 99.1 mph, according to Statcast™.
Other top prospect performances from Friday's action:
• No. 37 overall prospect J.P. Crawford (Phillies' No. 3) had a big day at the plate. The 23-year-old shortstop -- who projects as Philadelphia's starter in the Majors -- went 3-for-5 out of the leadoff spot, hit his first home run of the spring and scored three runs in the Phillies' split-squad game against the Tigers. Crawford is now batting .303 in Spring Training.

• No. 82 overall prospect (Reds' No. 4) continued to rake, going 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs in Cincinnati's game against the Brewers. The 24-year-old outfielder is having a monster Spring Training -- he's now hitting .406 with a 1.115 OPS -- and should be part of a four-man outfield rotation for the Reds this season.
• No. 92 overall prospect (White Sox No. 6) had maybe his best outing of the spring. The 23-year-old right-hander tossed a pair of scoreless innings in relief against the crosstown rival Cubs, pitching the seventh and eighth. That effort included retiring Cubs regulars and Albert Almora Jr. in the seventh.

Cardinals No. 5 prospect turned in a pair of impressive web gems against the Nationals. Bader made not one but two diving catches in center, racing in to rob in the first inning and Matt Adams in the fourth on a similar play.

Orioles No. 8 prospect doesn't need to start to make a big impact on the game. The 23-year-old outfielder pinch-hit against the Mets in a tie game in the ninth inning and delivered a go-ahead two-run homer off a 96-mph fastball from flamethrowing New York right-hander . It was the fourth home run of the spring for Santander, and the 2016 Rule 5 Draft pick is now hitting .340 with a .985 OPS.

Mariners No. 11 prospect keeps crushing the ball. The big 25-year-old first baseman went 2-for-4 and launched his third homer of Spring Training off the Rangers' Matt Moore, driving in three runs in Seattle's 9-7 win. Vogelbach is now hitting .405 with a monster 1.343 OPS this spring.
Rockies No. 12 prospect continued his strong spring with a big game against the Angels, driving a three-run homer in the eighth inning of Colorado's blowout win. That big fly brings the 24-year-old outfielder's Spring Training batting average to .417 and his OPS to 1.209.

Royals No. 18 prospect is mashing this spring. He hit his fourth home run, a two-run shot against the Padres. The 24-year-old first baseman is hitting .407 with a 1.504 OPS in Spring Training, with the four long balls and 10 RBIs.
Blue Jays No. 28 prospect Jonathan Davis showed he can get it done on both sides of the ball. The 25-year-outfielder launched an opposite-field home run in the eighth inning of Toronto's win over the Phillies, and he wasn't done there. Davis ended the game with a rocket of a throw from right field to double off Philadelphia's Danny Ortiz from second base.

• Davis was also robbed in the game, though, courtesy of Phillies No. 17 prospect . The 24-year-old was making just his second start at shortstop since 2014, but he came up with two excellent defensive plays. The first was a lunging stop on Davis' scorcher up the middle with runners on second and third and a drawn-in infield in the sixth inning. In the eighth, he scooped up a broken-bat flare and fired a strong throw on the run to get the out.