Saturday's best: Riley perfect at the plate for Fire Frogs

June 25th, 2017

Austin Riley's perfect day at the plate helped lead Class A Advanced Florida to a 4-3 win over Fort Myers on Saturday.
The Braves' No. 12 prospect put together his first two-homer game of the season -- and second of his career -- as he finished 3-for-3 with two homers and tied his season high with a trio of RBIs.
"I'm feeling good right now; I've been struggling a little bit," Riley told MiLB.com. "It's kind of like the struggling where you're hitting the ball right at people, so it's kind of frustrating not finding holes. I'm seeing the ball well, I think they're just starting to fall through."
Riley gave the Fire Frogs a two-run lead with a homer in the first inning and then homered again, his 11th of the season, in the third.
The 20-year-old drew a walk in the sixth and then finished his day with a double in the seventh.
"That was money. I feel like I haven't touched second in a while," Riley said. "Just getting that third hit, it just felt really good. I needed it, for sure." 
Other top prospect performances from Saturday's action:
No. 4 overall prospect J.P. Crawford (Phillies' No. 1) put together his second three-hit game of the season for Triple-A Lehigh Valley as he went 3-for-5 with two doubles in the IronPigs' 5-4 loss to Rochester.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Crawford notches second double - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1536719683

No. 7 overall prospect Ozzie Albies (Braves' No. 1) extended his hitting streak to six games with a 2-for-4 game for Triple-A Gwinnett. Albies hit his fifth homer in the contest and has hits in 10 of his past 11 games, including five multi-hit efforts.

MILB Video - Title: Albies reaches the seats - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1534728383

No. 29 overall prospect Kyle Tucker (Astros' No. 2) hit his fourth homer in six games for Double-A Corpus Christi. Tucker finished 3-for-5 and drove in three runs -- one via his homer and two courtesy of an 8th-inning single.

MILB Video - Title: Tucker goes deep - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1535848583

No. 39 overall prospect (Yankees' No. 4) extended his hitting streak to seven games for Class A Advanced Tampa. Mateo led off the game with a solo homer - his fourth of the season - and finished the day 2-for-4.
No. 49 overall prospect Triston McKenzie (Indians' No. 3) bounced back in a big way for Class A Advanced Lynchburg. After giving up seven runs in 1 2/3 innings in his last start, McKenzie gave up one run on eight hits over six innings. The 19-year-old didn't issue a walk and struck out nine.
No. 66 overall prospect Mike Soroka's (Braves' No. 4) scoreless streak came to a close, but the 19-year-old still spun a gem for Double-A Mississippi. Soroka gave up an earned run in the sixth, his first in over 30 frames, and left the game after giving up one run on nine hits in six innings.
No. 90 overall prospect Casey Gillaspie (Rays' No. 5) hit his seventh homer of the season as part of a 3-for-4 effort as Triple-A Durham routed Charlotte, 17-3. Gillaspie hit a two-run homer in the second, singled in the fourth and added a double in the fifth.

MILB Video - Title: Gillaspie kicks off the rout - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1536380883

• Rangers' No. 4 prospect hit his eighth homer of the season, a three-run blast in Triple-A Round Rock's loss to Iowa. Guzman, who finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs, has homered in two consecutive games and three times in his past five.

MILB Video - Title: Guzman belts three-run shot - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1536484283

• Twins' No. 9 prospect pitched his way out of trouble through seven innings, but it finally caught up to him in the eighth for Double-A Chattanooga. After pitching seven scoreless innings and giving up eight hits, a trio of hits resulted in two runs against Jorge in the eighth as he finished the game having given up two runs in eight innings. The 23-year-old was a tough luck loser, but the outing was a positive sign after he gave up five runs in his last start.
• Mets' No. 14 prospect Merandy Gonzalez spun a gem in his debut with Class A Advanced St. Lucie. The righty threw 54 of his 82 pitches for strikes while giving up one run over six innings. Gonzalez was promoted to St. Lucie after posting a 1.55 ERA through 11 starts with Class A Columbia.
• Nationals prospects Blake Perkins (No. 14) and Jakson Reetz (No. 18) helped lead Class A Hagerstown to a 9-5 win over Greensboro as the duo combined to go 4-for-6 with three RBIs. Reetz drove in two runs with a homer in the first, while Perkins added an RBI single in the third.
• Orioles' No. 17 prospect Cedric Mullins extended his hitting streak to nine and homered for the second time in as many contests for Double-A Bowie. Mullins boosted his average up to .321 with his second four-hit game of the season, finishing 4-for-5.

MILB Video - Title: Mullins hits lead-off shot - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1535153683

• Nationals' No. 19 prospect put together a season-best four RBIs with a 2-for-4 game for Double-A Harrisburg. Read helped the Senators get off to a fast start with a two-run double in the first and lifted his club to a 6-5 lead with a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the ninth.

MILB Video - Title: Read hits two-run blast - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1534842383

Indians' No. 22 prospect was stuck with a no-decision despite putting together one of his best starts this season for Triple-A Columbus. Merritt set a career high with 10 strikeouts as he gave up one run on three hits over eight innings.