Davis' power display leads top prospects

Astros No. 9 prospect went deep twice against the Twins

March 24th, 2018

Astros No. 9 prospect J.D. Davis continued his torrid Grapefruit League performance by belting two more homers in Friday's 2-2 tie with the Twins, upping his total this spring to five. The 24-year-old corner infielder is batting .365 (19-for-52) with a 1.104 OPS, making a push to earn an Opening Day roster spot with first baseman Yuli Gurriel sidelined to start the season.
"It's exactly the strength that he brings that he can leave the ballpark at any point, and he did it twice today on two different pitchers and two different areas and showed us exactly the reason why he's still in this mix to potentially break [camp] with us," manager AJ Hinch said.

Other top prospect performances on Friday:
• Juan Soto, the Nationals' No. 2 prospect and the No. 29 prospect overall, went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Washington's 6-3 victory over the Marlins. He's 3-for-8 (.375) in Grapefruit League play. In 32 games between the Rookie level Gulf Coast Nationals and Class A Hagerstown, he slashed .351/.415/.505 with three homers at age 18.

A's No. 2 prospect Jesus Luzardo -- the No. 60 prospect overall -- tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings in Oakland's 4-2 win over the Angels. The 20-year-old left-hander gave up one hit, walked one and struck out three.
His last pitch was a curveball that struck out Mike Trout, the second time Trout has struck out all spring.
"Honestly, that pitch I struck him out on was a curveball left up, so it was kind of surprising to me, but you can't complain," Luzardo said. "I mean, you strike out a guy like that, you can't help but smile."

Red Sox No. 5 prospect Sam Travis launched his sixth homer of the spring in Boston's 5-0 win over the Yankees. While manager Alex Cora said that Travis -- batting .262 (16-for-61) with those team-leading six homers -- will likely begin the season with Triple-A Pawtucket, the 24-year-old first baseman has certainly made his presence felt during Grapefruit League play.

Dodgers No. 6 prospect DJ Peters had a big day at the plate in Los Angeles' 10-0 win over the Royals, going 2-for-2 with a double and a homer. That upped the 22-year-old center fielder's spring average to .429 (9-for-21) with three homers.
At Class A-Advanced Rancho Cucamonga last season, Peters slashed .276/.372/.514 with 27 homers in 132 games.
Cardinals No. 6 prospect Dakota Hudson gave up one run on four hits, walking one and fanning four in St. Louis' 5-1 win over the Mets. The 23-year-old right-hander lowered his Grapefruit League ERA to 1.86 over 9 2/3 innings.
In 25 starts between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis, the 34th overall selection in the 2016 MLB Draft posted a 3.01 ERA last season.
Mariners No. 11 prospect Daniel Vogelbach connected for his sixth home run of Cactus League play in Seattle's 5-5 tie with the White Sox. He's hitting .388 with a 1.386 OPS this spring and has hit four homers in his last 15 at-bats. The 25-year-old first baseman continues to make a strong case to head north with the club when camp breaks next week.
"Another day, another home run," said manager Scott Servais. "Vogey is swinging the bat great. He's really had a nice spring. On that particular pitch, it's something we haven't seen him do much. He gets out and gets around on that ball and pulled it out of the yard."

• Rogelio Armenteros, Houston's No. 12 prospect, pitched three scoreless innings, walking one and striking out four in the Astros' 2-2 tie with the Twins. The 23-year-old right-hander has a 3.77 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings this spring.
Armenteros appeared in 24 games (20 starts) between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno in 2017, posting a 2.04 ERA and 10.6 K/9 innings.
Padres No. 17 prospect Hudson Potts hit a three-run, inside-the-park home run in the seventh inning of San Diego's 9-7 victory over the Rangers. The 19-year-old infielder drove a pitch off the center-field wall, and when the ball caromed away from Rangers center fielder Leody Taveras, Potts scored standing up.

Potts is 4-for-8 this spring with two homers. The 2016 first round draft pick slashed .253/.293/.438 with 20 home runs in 125 games for Class A Fort Wayne last season.