Gillaspie among top prospect performers Sunday

March 12th, 2017

A pair of slugging Rays prospects had big games at the plate during Grapefruit League action on Sunday, showing prodigious pop during a day that featured a barrage of home runs from several top prospects around baseball.
, the Rays' No. 5 prospect, hit two homers -- one from each side of the plate -- and drove in three runs for Tampa Bay in an 8-2 win over the Blue Jays at Charlotte Sports Park. Gillaspie, younger brother of Giants third baseman , hit .284/.388/.479 with 18 home runs in 132 games between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham last season.
(Rays' No. 4 prospect, No. 76 overall) went 2-for-3 with his own homer in the game. Bauers, acquired in the trade that sent to San Diego prior to the 2015 season, hit .274/.370/.420 with 14 home runs in 135 games for Double-A Montgomery in 2016.

More notable performances from top prospects on Sunday:
• Francisco Mejia (Indians' No. 2, No. 40 overall) turned in another great performance, following up a Saturday contest in which he hit a grand slam with another homer for the Indians on Sunday in an 11-3 win over the Padres. Mejia was 2-for-2, going yard off of San Diego's in the eighth inning. He's now batting .438 this spring.

(Phillies' No. 3, No. 72 overall) continued to shine on the world stage for Colombia during the World Baseball Classic, hitting a game-tying homer against the Dominican Republic in the eighth inning on Sunday. Though Colombia would come up short against the defending Classic champs, losing 10-3 in 11 innings, the 23-year-old catcher also threw out trying to steal second base.

(Cardinals' No. 11) came through with a big three-run homer for St. Louis on Sunday against the Marlins, extending the Cardinals' lead to 8-3 with his second long ball of the spring. DeJong is batting .281 with an .855 OPS during Grapefruit League play. He hit .260/.324/.460 with 22 home runs in 132 games for Double-A Springfield in 2016.

• Sal Romano (Reds' No. 9) racked up the strikeouts in relief, fanning seven batters across 3 2/3 innings. The right-hander allowed one run on two hits and one walk, picking up his first win of the spring.
In Cincinnati's other game of the day, (Reds' No. 17) had a good start that went awry. The 23-year-old cruised through the first three innings, even adding a two-RBI double himself, before he loaded the bases and was forced from the game due to an apparent injury with no outs in the fourth inning. 
• Drew Robinson (Rangers' No. 23) continued to impress with another homer on Sunday against the White Sox, giving him three during Spring Training. He's batting .296 with a 1.145 OPS in Cactus League play. The 24-year-old right fielder hit .257/.350/.480 with 20 home runs in 125 games for Triple-A Round Rock in 2016.