Reyes, Kaminsky among top performers in Minors Thursday

The Palm Beach Cardinals -- St. Louis' Class A Advanced affiliate -- won both games of its doubleheader against Brevard County on Thursday, thanks to a couple of strong performances from top pitching prospects.

Cardinals No. 3 prospect Alex Reyes picked up his first win in nine tries, dominating the Manatees with a three-hit, eight-strikeout performance in five shutout innings. Despite a 2-4 record, baseball's No. 90 overall prospect has a 1.98 ERA and has only given up two earned runs in his past three outings. In addition, Reyes is seventh among Minor League pitchers with 77 strikeouts.

In the second contest, No. 4 prospect Rob Kaminsky was nearly as impressive, giving up three hits and one run while striking out five in six innings of work. While he received a no-decision, the southpaw cut his season ERA down to 2.55.

More standout performances from Top 100 prospects on Thursday

• Twins No. 1 prospect (No. 1 overall) Byron Buxton and No. 2 prospect (No. 10 overall) Miguel Sano both made an impact in Double-A Chattanooga's 5-1 loss to Birmingham. Buxton collected his 12th triple of the season -- and his 25th overall extra-base hit -- while Sano swatted his 11th homer of the year.

• Indians No. 1 prospect (No. 8 overall) Francisco Lindor scored the winning run in the 10th inning of Triple-A Columbus' 2-1 win over Syracuse. No. 13 prospect Jesus Aguilar brought him home on a walk-off single in a 2-for-4 night. Lindor went 1-for-4 and has hit in eight straight games, with five of those being multi-hit efforts.

• Rockies No. 1 prospect (No. 13 overall) Jon Gray continues to provide solid starts for Triple A Albuquerque. The 6-foot-4 right-hander surrendered four hits and two runs in eight innings of work. Thursday marked the fifth straight start in which he's pitched at least six innings and allowed three runs or less. He stands at 3-5 with a 4.76 ERA on the year.

• Rangers No. 3 prospect (No. 47 overall) Nomar Mazara hit a two-run homer and collected three RBIs for Double-A Frisco, while teammate and No. 7 prospect Nick Williams went 4-for-5 with a solo home run and two RBIs in an 8-4 win over San Antonio. Mazara has homered in two straight games and has six dingers this season.

• Angels No. 2 prospect (No. 58 overall) Sean Newcomb went six innings for Class A Advanced Inland Empire, giving up four hits and just one run -- a solo shot by Kane County's Stryker Trahan, who's now homered in three straight games. Newcomb also struck out seven and stands at 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA in six starts for the 66ers.

• Astros No. 6 prospect (No. 98 overall) Brett Phillips had a great night at the dish for Class A Advanced Lancaster, going 4-for-5 with two runs, a double, a triple and two RBIs. The center fielder is 13-for-25 with two homers and 12 RBIs over his past five games.

Other notable performances from around the Minor Leagues

• Angels No. 9 prospect Chris Ellis made his Double-A Arkansas debut a dandy. The 6-foot-4 right-hander gave up three hits while striking out four in six shutout innings for the Travelers. He was promoted this week after going 4-5 with a 3.88 ERA in 11 starts for Class A Advanced Inland Empire.

• Brewers No. 7 prospect Devin Williams picked up his second win in a row for Class A Wisconsin. The 20-year-old right-hander gave up two hits and one run while striking out four in six innings of work and has surrendered just three earned runs over his past three starts (16 2/3 total innings). Williams stands at 2-3 with a 3.95 ERA.

• D-backs No. 16 prospect Stryker Trahan keeps knocking balls out of the park. Thursday marked his third straight game with a homer and he has four in his past three contests. Before the game, he received a promotion from Class A Kane County to Class A Advanced Visalia and has a total of 12 homers and 39 RBIs this year.

• Dodgers prospect Leonardo Crawford put together 6 2/3 no-hit innings for Los Angeles' Dominican Summer League affiliate. Relievers Wally Vrolijk and Johan Diaz also shut down batters over the final 2 1/3 innings to complete the team no-no. Crawford, who notched nine strikeouts and one walk, was starting just his third Minor League game after signing as an International Free Agent last year.

• Giants No. 6 prospect Christian Arroyo and No. 27 prospect Austin Slater combined to lead Class A Advanced San Jose to a 12-10 win over High Desert. Arroyo went 4-for-6 with three runs and an RBI, while Slater went 3-for-5 with two runs and hit a two-run homer in the second inning. The blast was his third of the season.

• Indians No. 27 prospect Nellie Rodriguez is still raking for Class A Advanced Lynchburg. The first baseman went 2-for-5 with a double, homer and three RBIs. The contest marked his fifth multi-hit game in the past week and Rodriguez has 48 RBIs along with nine dingers this season.

• Mets No. 28 prospect Luis Cessa was sharp for Double-A Binghamton, scattering three hits in six shutout innings. The right-hander is now 5-4 with a 2.51 ERA and sports a 44-to-12 K/BB line.

• Nationals No. 16 prospect Drew Vettleson hit his first home run of the season for Double-A Harrisburg, launching a three-run shot as the Senators defeated New Britain, 6-2. Vettleson also doubled his season RBI total and now has six RBIs with a .150/.190/.250 line in 17 games.

• Padres No. 20 prospect Franmil Reyes went 3-for-4 with a double, homer and three RBIs for Class A Fort Wayne. He's hit in four straight games, improving his line from .233/.286/.361 to .246/.297/.395 with four dingers and 23 RBIs.

• Phillies No. 4 prospect Zach Eflin sat out most of Double-A Reading's 18-inning win over Altoona, but he got the Fightin Phils off to a solid start by tossing five shutout innings. The right-hander scattered four hits and struck out six on the night, cutting his ERA from 3.38 to 3.12 in the process.

• Rays No. 5 prospect Casey Gillaspie hit his second homer in four games for Class A Bowling Green. The designated hitter finished 2-for-4 with a two-run shot and three RBIs, bringing his season totals to 13 and 40, respectively.

• A trio of Reds prospects led Class A Advanced Daytona to a 6-5 win in the team's first game of a doubleheader Thursday. No. 5 prospect Amir Garrett set the tone with five one-hit shutout innings. No. 16 prospect Taylor Sparks added a solo homer, while No. 26 prospect Sebastian Elizalde had a 2-for-4 day that included a two-run homer and three RBIs.

• Tigers No. 10 prospect Dixon Machado homered for the second straight night. The Triple-A Toledo shortstop went 1-for-4 with a two-run shot and has hit in seven straight contests. He only had one homer and 19 RBIs before Wednesday and has since bumped those numbers to three and 26, respectively.

• White Sox No. 9 prospect Matt Davidson slugged a two-run homer for Triple-A Charlotte, his 10th of the season and first since May 28. The third baseman has hit in three straight games after a five-game hitless streak.

• Yankees No. 11 prospect Miguel Andujar hit his first home run since May 14, a two-run shot that couldn't quite get Class A Advanced Tampa over the hump in a 4-3 loss. The 20-year-old Dominican prospect now has five homers on the season.