Saturday's top Spring Training prospect performers

April 3rd, 2022

Here's a look at Saturday’s top performers at Spring Training from each team's Top 30 Prospects list.

Padres: C.J. Abrams, SS (MLB No. 9)
Abrams led off and manned second base for the Padres on Saturday, tallying a double, a single and a stolen base before being replaced in the sixth inning. The 21-year-old has impressed at the plate while pushing for a spot on the Padres’ Opening Day roster, mashing two homers with a .367/.387/.600 slash line and a .987 OPS in 14 games. Abrams’ 2021 season was cut short by a fractured left tibia and sprained MCL suffered last July, but the tools that made him the sixth-overall pick in 2019 have been on full display this spring. Despite only having 42 games of experience at Double-A, Padres fans may not have to wait long to see Abrams at Petco Park.

Pirates: Nick Gonzales, 2B (MLB No. 20)
Matt Fraizer, OF (No. 10)
Diego Castillo, INF (No. 21)

Gonzales recorded his first multihit game of the spring by going 2-for-3, driving in a run with an opposite-field double in the seventh inning. The 22-year-old has been impressive at the plate, going 5-for-11 with two doubles and three RBIs. Gonzales’ 2021 season was shortened by a fractured finger in May, but returned to rake his way to a .950 OPS with 18 home runs and 23 doubles in 80 games. He is expected to start the season at Double-A Altoona and could make his Pittsburgh debut later in the season.

Playing the entire game in center, Fraizer notched two singles to center and two RBIs, including one against veteran Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes. The 24-year-old has garnered just 10 at-bats this spring, collecting three hits, three walks and two RBIs. The outfielder is coming off a breakout 2021 that saw him hit .306/.388/.552 with 23 homers, 26 doubles, 56 walks, 68 RBIs and 15 stolen bases across High-A and Double-A

Castillo is ending his Spring Training on a tear at the plate. The 24-year-old hit a solo home run off of Nathan Eovaldi, giving him five home runs in his past five games and a .346/.393/.923 spring slash line. Castillo set career highs in home runs (19), doubles (24), RBIs (55), walks (44) and OPS (.842) last year and with his sustained success this spring, he could earn a spot on the Pirates’ roster.

Giants: Joey Bart, C (MLB No. 31)
Brett Auerbach, 2B/C (No. 28)

Bart is set to play a significant part in the Giants’ season and has garnered early National League Rookie of the Year buzz with a strong spring. The 25-year-old went 3-for-3 with a home run -- his third of the spring -- three RBIs and a double on Saturday, raising his Spring Training slash line to .412/.500/.941 in 20 plate appearances. In 67 games for Triple-A Sacramento last season, Bart hit .294 with 10 home runs and 15 doubles. He has appeared in the Majors in each of the last two seasons and should have every opportunity to cement himself as the Giants’ catcher of the present and future.

Auerbach launched his first homer of the spring, a seventh-inning solo shot off of Craig Kimbrel. Three of the 23-year-old’s four hits this spring have gone for extra bases, as he tripled in each of the Giants’ first two games. Auerbach was signed by the Giants after going undrafted in 2020 and impressed with his bat last year. In his debut season, he hit 17 homers, three triples and 19 doubles with a .907 OPS between Single-A and High-A, with 15 of the long balls coming after his promotion to Eugene in July.

Dodgers: Andy Pages, OF (MLB No. 68)
Pages doubled and singled in three at-bats, driving in a run and spending the entire game in left field. It has not been a standout Spring Training for the 21-year-old -- his two hits on Saturday were his first of the spring -- but his talent at the plate was evident throughout 2021. Pages hit 31 home runs with 88 RBIs and a .933 OPS for High-A Great Lakes, finishing as one of 15 players to hit more than 30 long balls. He is expected to start the season at Double-A Tulsa and is a power bat to keep tabs on this season.

Athletics: Kevin Smith, SS (No. 16)
Battling for a spot on the Opening Day roster, Smith continued to make his case with another strong performance after driving in five runs and homering on Friday. Coming into the game in the sixth, the 25-year-old smacked another long ball, this one a two-run laser to left-center off Rockies reliever Alex Colomé, his third homer this spring. He added an RBI single in the ninth, and he eventually came around to score Oakland’s ninth run of the game. A natural shortstop, Smith is a versatile fielder that has been logging time at third base for his best chance to crack the roster, since Elvis Andrus has a secure spot at short. He’s racked up 11 hits in 14 spring games, in addition to eight RBIs and 22 total bases.

Cubs: Owen Caissie, OF (No. 8)
The 19-year-old Caissie is one of many teenaged hitters the Cubs are keeping a close eye on, and he delivered in Saturday’s contest with two singles, one to right and one to center. Caissie has collected five hits in four spring games with Chicago, including two doubles. Acquired from the Padres as part of the Yu Darvish trade in December 2020, the outfielder hit .302 with a .923 OPS, 29 RBIs and 42 walks in his first taste of pro ball last season, though he struggled a bit upon promotion to Single-A.

Rays: Blake Hunt, C (No. 21)
Hunt hasn’t seen a whole lot of action this spring, but he made the most of his lone at-bat on Saturday with a triple to lead off the eighth inning against the Twins’ Griffin Jax. It’s the eighth triple that the 23-year-old has ever hit. Hunt is looking to bounce back from a tough 2021 that saw him hit .205/.288/.375 with nine homers and 104 strikeouts in 76 games across High-A and Double-A.

White Sox: Micker Adolfo, OF (No. 14)
Vying for a roster spot as Spring Training winds down, Adolfo put together a strong performance at the plate. After singling to right in the fifth, the 25-year-old stepped up with the bases loaded and crushed a 3-2 cutter from Mark Melancon to center to clear the bases with a standup double. The outfielder recorded two of the five highest exit velocities of the game, with the single traveling off the bat at 105.9 mph and the double at 105.4 mph. He added a walk to complete his day. Adolfo has collected hits in seven of his 11 spring games, with two homers, two doubles and nine RBIs as he continues to make his case for the Opening Day roster.