Chapman, Mateo among top prospect performers

March 8th, 2017

Over the past two days has driven in six runs and is a homer short of the cycle. Oakland's No. 4 prospect (No. 100 overall), bookended an 11-run inning Tuesday with an RBI single and three-run triple. A day later, he followed that up with a two-run double in Oakland's win over Italy.
Chapman got off to a slow start in spring, mustering just one hit through his first five games (12 at-bats), but has found his offensive rhythm over the past two days, going 3-for-4.
The 23-year-old is still prone to strikeouts, but is coming off a season in which he set career-highs in hits (122), doubles (27), triples (five), homers (36) and RBIs (96). If the past two days are any indication, Chapman could be in for another big season and some time in Oakland.
More notable performances from top prospects:
(No. 18 overall, Brewers' No. 1) ended an 0-for-11 skid with a solo blast off White Sox No. 5 prospect in the third inning of Wednesday's game. The homer was the first of the Cactus League for Brinson, who hit 15 in 104 games across three levels a season ago and finished the afternoon 1-for-3.

• Josh Bell (No. 27 overall, Pirates' No. 3) notched his first two hits of Spring Training in a 2-for-3 afternoon. Bell, who missed the first few weeks of spring while rehabbing after knee surgery, went 0-for-2 in his return to game action Monday before going 2-for-3 with a double on Wednesday.
(Mariners' No. 2, No. 36 overall) has hit a total of 56 home runs over the past two seasons and is now taking that power to the international stage. O'Neill blasted a two-run homer, his first of the spring, in the first inning of Canada's exhibition game against the Yankees. O'Neill finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
(No. 47 overall, Yankees' No. 5) has flown a bit under the radar as a result of ' emergence lately, but is still an elite prospect. Mateo has gotten off to a slow start in Spring Training this year, but showed a vast skillset against Canada, going 2-for-2 with a double, stolen base and run scored.
• Fulmer, the No. 71 overall prospect, threw 16 of his 20 pitches for strikes in three solid innings. Fulmer, in his longest outing of spring so far, gave up a solo homer to Brinson, but limited the damage to just the one run. The right-hander struck out two and gave up two hits.
(Braves' No. 6, No. 80 overall) bounced back from a rough Spring Training debut to deliver two scoreless frames against the Phillies. The 23-year-old lefty, who posted a 3.86 ERA across 27 Double-A starts last year, struck out four and gave up just one hit.
"That was really impressive," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "That was fun to watch. I haven't seen him a lot, but they didn't swing at him very good. That was different. They swung at 93 or 94 like it was 98 or 99. There must be some deception there."
• Pitching for Puerto Rico, Brewers' No. 13 prospect put together his first scoreless outing of Spring Training in an exhibition against the Giants. Lopez struggled in 2016, going 3-11 with a 5.78 ERA, but if Wednesday is a sign of things to come, the Brewers and Lopez have to be pleased. The right-hander struck out one and walked one in two innings.
Cardinals' No. 5 prospect extended his Spring Training hitting streak to a modest three games with his second multi-hit effort of the spring. Bader, a 23-year-old outfielder, went 2-for-4 with a homer, his first of Spring Training, and two RBIs in St. Louis' win over Washington.

, the Pirates' 25th-ranked prospect, continues to baffle opposing hitters. The 25-year-old right-hander has yet to allow a run in Spring Training and that trend continued Wednesday against the Dominican Republic, his fifth overall appearance. Santana struck out two of the four batters he faced in 1 1/3 perfect innings.