Here's the latest Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week

August 22nd, 2022

With the 2022 MLB Draft now well in the rearview mirror, prospects selected this year are already making their presence known throughout the Minor Leagues.

The final edition of this year's Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week features three 2022 draftees who are in the early days of their professional careers and putting up impressive numbers right out of the gate. Toronto’s Cade Doughty has been hitting homers at a solid pace for Single-A Dunedin and launched a walk-off shot on Sunday. First-rounder Gavin Cross has been doing the same with Single-A Columbia in the Kansas City organization, and outfielder Jud Fabian is making the best of his second time being drafted in the last two years by breaking out quickly in the Baltimore system.

To be eligible for the Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week, Minor League players must be ranked among their club's Top 30 prospects on Pipeline's lists. (Those in the Majors do not qualify.)

This is the Prospect Team of the Week for Aug. 15-21:

Catcher: Harry Ford, Modesto Nuts (Single-A)
Mariners No. 1, MLB No. 68
.400/.613/.900, 6 G, 9-for-20, 2 HR, 4 2B, 5 RBI, 11 R, 7 BB, 7 K, 5 SB, 4 HBP

Catchers aren’t always often for their speed, to say the least, but that’s far from the case with Ford, who the Mariners nabbed with the 12th overall pick in 2021. The 19-year-old has been solid in his full-season debut, batting .272/.426/.435 in 87 games so far this year. Last week, his power came alive with six extra-base hits, including home runs in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday. The latter was his best game of the week, with Ford adding two doubles and a walk while scoring twice and driving in a run. As for his wheels, Ford swiped a base in each game from Tuesday-Thursday and finished his team’s series at Rancho Cucamonga with two steals on Sunday. Ford’s 60-grade run tool is the highest mark of any of his ratings, according to MLB Pipeline’s scouting report and by far the best in that category among the top 10 catching prospects in baseball.

1B: Hunter Goodman, Spokane Indians (High-A)
Rockies No. 23
.357/.357/1.000, 6 G, 10-for-28, 5 HR, 3 2B, 10 RBI, 8 R, 0 BB, 6 K

It was a power display for Goodman last week to earn his third Prospect Team of the Week selection of the 2022 season and first since being bumped from Single-A Fresno to Spokane in early July. The Memphis product homered in five straight games to close his team’s series against visiting Tri-City and tallied nine of his 10 RBIs for the week over that span. Goodman also racked up all 10 of his hits over those five games, going 10-for-23 during the period. Since reaching Spokane, the first baseman/catcher has posted a slash line of .308/.335/.575 with eight homers and 25 RBIs in 36 games played.

2B: Cade Doughty, Dunedin Blue Jays (Single-A)
Blue Jays No. 11
.304/.360/.913, 5 G, 7-for-23, 4 HR, 2 2B, 8 RBI, 8 R, 2 BB, 6 K

Like Goodman, Doughty has been on a power binge over the last week-plus. Unlike Goodman, Doughty’s have come in his first couple of weeks as a professional ballplayer. The 78th overall pick in last month’s Draft, the infielder has spent just 10 games with Dunedin so far but has made an impression quickly with a .341/.426/.805 line, five homers and 14 RBIs in the Florida State League. The LSU product has hits in all 10 games he’s played, and he finished the week on a high note, homering on Saturday and adding a pair of dingers on Sunday, including a walk-off solo shot in the bottom of the ninth. Doughty has scored at least one run in nine straight, already has four multihit and four multi-RBI games as a pro, and may see action at a higher level before the end of his debut campaign if his hot start continues.

3B: Matthew Lugo, Greenville Drive (High-A)
Red Sox No. 13
.381/.435/1.048, 5 G, 8-for-21, 4 HR, 2 2B, 10 RBI, 9 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 SB, 1 HBP

Lugo makes his third all-time appearance on the Prospect Team of the Week and second this season after a blistering period with Greenville. After starting the week by going just 1-for-8 with a double in his first two games, Lugo went off, going 7-for-10 with back-to-back two-homer, five-RBI games on Friday and Saturday. The third baseman added a double in the latter, going 4-for-5 with four runs scored. Lugo had just one prior multihomer game this season, when he hit a pair of long balls on June 14. Last week’s showing pushed his slash line for August to .303/.370/.636 with six homers and 20 RBIs in 16 games.

SS: Jose Rodriguez, Birmingham Barons (Double-A)
White Sox No. 7
.444/.524/.944, 5 G, 8-for-18, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 SB

Rodriguez rides a 10-game hitting streak into this week and had a five-game homer streak from Aug. 12-17. The shortstop drove in multiple runs in his first three games of the award period, knocking in three on Tuesday and Wednesday and another two on Thursday. He also walked in each of those games and rolled up five hits. After getting his first four starts of the week at shortstop, Rodriguez was Birmingham’s designated hitter on Saturday and went 2-for-2 with a solo homer and a pair of runs scored.

OF: Gavin Cross, Columbia Fireflies (Single-A)
Royals No. 1, MLB No. 75
.318/.444/.909, 6 G, 7-for-22, 3 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 7 R, 4 BB, 6 K, 1 HBP

Since going to the Royals with the ninth pick in last month’s Draft, Cross has been stellar in 13 professional games. After going 5-for-10 with a homer and two doubles in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League, he got the call to Columbia where the Virginia Tech product has continued to impress. Cross doubled in Tuesday’s series opener against visiting Kannapolis before powering two homers and driving in four on a 3-for-5 night on Wednesday. “Up here [in Single-A], guys are landing [offspeed pitches] more,” he said after that performance. “You’ve just got to stick to your approach, and if a guy makes a good pitch, you’ve got to move on and go to the next one. Obviously everyone is talented, but so are we, so are the hitters.”

OF: Samuel Zavala, Lake Elsinore Storm (Single-A)
Padres No. 5
.400/.520/.900, 6 G, 8-for-20, 2 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B, 8 RBI, 7 R, 5 BB, 5 K, 1 SB

Though San Diego dealt away a wealth of prospects in exchange for Juan Soto, the Padres’ farm system still boasts impressive talent. Zavala is a good example and is handling Single-A ball at just 18 years old after beginning the season with the ACL Padres. There, Zavala batted .345/.412/.621 in 10 games to earn the promotion to the California League, where he’s hit .267/.389/.517 through his first 17 contests. The Venezuelan tallied a homer, triple, four RBIs and two walks on Tuesday to set the tone for his week, following with two more multihit games through the end of a six-game series at Stockton. He finished with a 3-for-5 showing on Sunday, including a homer and two doubles to go along with three RBIs.

OF: Jud Fabian, Delmarva Shorebirds (Single-A)
Orioles No. 25
.429/.539/.857, 5 G, 9-for-21, 1 HR, 6 2B, 4 RBI, 8 R, 5 BB, 2 K

A second-round pick of the Red Sox two years ago, Fabian returned to the University of Florida for a fourth collegiate season before going to the O’s with the 67th overall selection last month. The outfielder made his pro debut with four games in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League and batted .500/.647/.600 to conquer that level and earn a promotion to Single-A. In his first series for Delmarva, at Salem, Fabian hardly slowed down. After going 3-for-4 with his first full-season level homer and a double in his first Carolina League game on Tuesday, Fabian followed with another double on Wednesday and then went 4-for-5 with three doubles and three runs scored on Thursday. The former Gator’s command of the strike zone was notable, too, with Fabian earning five walks while only striking out twice.

LHP: Kyle Harrison, Richmond Flying Squirrels (Double-A)
Giants No. 2, MLB No. 22
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K, 0.33 WHIP

Harrison starred with High-A Eugene to begin the season, posting a 1.55 ERA and an eye-popping 59 strikeouts against 10 walks over just 29 innings to earn a late-May promotion to Richmond. With the Flying Squirrels, he’s been dominant since getting adjusted through June. Harrison posted a 1-0 record and 0.53 ERA in four starts in July, striking out 24 while walking 10 in 17 innings. August has been nearly as good. Last time out, the southpaw whiffed 10 without issuing a walk and blanked Binghamton on two hits over six innings. The start was Harrison’s fourth double-digit strikeout effort of the year and first with zero walks. Through 13 Double-A outings, the 21-year-old is now 4-2 with a 2.56 ERA and 94 K’s against 30 walks in 63 1/3 innings pitched.

RHP: Andrew Painter, Reading Fightin Phils (Double-A)
Phillies No. 1, MLB No. 25
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K 0.50 WHIP

Back for the second time in the last three weeks, Painter earns the nod this time for dominating in his first start in Double-A. The right-hander is now at his third level this season, having started the year with Single-A Clearwater, moved to High-A Jersey Shore in mid-June and now reached Double-A in August. Squaring off with visiting Portland, Painter was lights out in his first Reading outing. The 19-year-old scattered three singles through his six innings and only once saw a runner reach second base. In addition to his eight strikeouts, he induced weak contact with five outs in the air and two on the ground.

RP: Michael Grove, Oklahoma City Dodgers (Triple-A)
Dodgers No. 24
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K, 0.80 WHIP

A second-round selection in 2018, Grove missed his junior year at West Virginia due to Tommy John surgery and put up forgettable numbers in his first two pro seasons. This year, things are far different – enough that the right-hander made his big league debut with a spot start in May. Though Wednesday’s outing was just Grove’s second in relief this year, it was also his best appearance of the year. The 25-year-old set a new career high with 10 strikeouts and yielded four singles over five frames.