Thanks to a career-best performance by Brett Martin, the Class A Advanced High Desert Mavericks are one win away from becoming California League champions.
The Rangers' No. 9 prospect set a career high with 15 strikeouts as he fired seven no-hit frames to pace High Desert in a 1-0 shutout of Visalia on Friday in Game 2 of the best-of-five California League finals.
Martin, 21, struck out the side in the first inning and fanned at least two hitters in six of his seven innings of work. The 6-foot-4 lefty threw 67 of his 91 pitches for strikes in the outing, with a seventh-inning walk representing the only blemish in an otherwise sterling performance.
However, the Mavericks' attempt at a combined no-hitter came apart in the eighth inning when reliever Cameron Gamm surrendered a one-out single to Austin Byler.
After pitching to a 4.41 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings (17 starts) across three levels during the regular season, Martin owns a 2.19 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings in two postseason starts for High Desert.
The Mavericks will attempt to lock up a California League title at home on Saturday, with first pitch against Visalia slated for 6:35 p.m. PT.
The rest of the best performances from top prospects Friday
• No. 16 overall prospectClint Frazier (Yankees' No. 1) went 2-for-3 with an RBI to help Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre defeat Gwinnett, 3-0, and win its first Governors' Cup since 2008. It was the first multi-hit performance of the postseason for the 22-year-old outfielder, who was a combined 3-for-24 in his previous six contests.

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• Making his first postseason start, No. 47 overall prospect Alex Verdugo hit an RBI single to help Triple-A Oklahoma City edge El Paso, 4-2, in Game 3 of the Pacific Coast League finals. The Dodgers' No. 1 prospect was promoted from Double-A prior to the series.

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• No. 82 overall prospectJustus Sheffield (Yankees' No. 6) allowed one earned run in 4 1/3 innings, but it wasn't enough to keep Akron from winning the Eastern League with a 2-1 win over Trenton. The 20-year-old left-hander, acquired from Cleveland as part of the Andrew Miller blockbuster, scattered two hits and struck out five but also issued four walks and threw just 45 of his 83 pitches for strikes.

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• A's Nos. 6 and 7 prospects Richie Martin and Yairo Munoz both collected two hits as Double-A Midland beat Northwest Arkansas, 4-1, to win its third straight Texas League championship. The infield duo batted .333 and .387 for the RockHounds in the postseason, respectively.
• Braves No. 11 prospectMax Fried racked up a career-high 13 strikeouts over seven innings as Class A Rome won its first South Atlantic League title since 2003. The double-digit strikeout performance was the 22-year-old's fourth in as many starts, and he became the first Rome hurler to record 13 strikeouts since Chuck James in 2004. Fried allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks, throwing 67 of his 103 pitches for strikes, to finish the postseason with a 1.23 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings.
• Rangers No. 12 prospect Jairo Beras' RBI single accounted for Class A Advanced High Desert's only run in a 1-0 win over Visalia. The 21-year-old outfielder, who went 2-for-4 in the contest, owns a .480 average and has hit safely in all six playoff games for the Mavericks, including five multi-hit performances. Rangers No. 21 prospect Jose Trevino also went 2-for-4 at the plate and is hitting .370 in the postseason.
• D-backs No. 26 prospect Justin Donatella took the loss for Class A Visalia despite tossing six innings of one-run ball. The 2015 15th-rounder scattered seven hits, walked a pair and struck out three, with 58 of his 90 pitches going for strikes in the outing. He owns a 2.25 ERA this postseason.
• Angels No. 30 prospect Jose Suarez yielded one earned run in five innings as Rookie-level Orem completed its sweep of Billings to capture the Pioneer League crown. The 18-year-old southpaw yielded two hits and one walk with three strikeouts en route to throwing 41 of his 63 pitches for strikes. Though he failed to record a win in the postseason, Suarez still posted a solid 1.80 ERA between his two starts, allowing just five hits in 10 innings.

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