Gallo, Garrett among top prospect performers Monday
Rangers' No. 1 hits go-ahead shot in third multi-homer game, Reds' No. 4 strikes out nine in scoreless start
No. 7 overall prospectJoey Gallo slugged his sixth and seventh home runs of the season on Monday, including a go-ahead blast in the top of the 12th inning to help push Triple-A Round Rock past Memphis, 6-5.
The Rangers' No. 1 prospect drove in three runs and scored three times, also walking twice, as part of a 2-for-4 performance at the plate. Gallo connected on a two-run shot to right-center field in his first at-bat against Memphis starter Jeremy Hefner, and then took reliever Heath Wyatt deep to right field to open the 12th inning.
MILB Video - Title: Gallo hits first homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=627194983
Gallo has 20 multi-homer games in his Minor League career and he's hit two long balls in three of his 17 games this season for Round Rock. The performance also pushed Gallo into three-way tie with Mike Zunino and Trey Mancini (Orioles' No. 5 prospect) for the Minor League lead.
Gallo struggled in his first taste of the Triple-A level in 2015, when he hit just .195 with 14 home runs and a 39.5 percent strikeout rate in 53 games at Round Rock. However, after his impressive showing this spring in big league camp, the 22-year-old third baseman has enjoyed a strong start this season in his return to Round Rock, where he's batting .283/.421/.717 with 16 RBIs and a 18/15 K/BB ratio through 17 games.
MILB Video - Title: Watch: Gallo belts second homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=627317883
The rest of the best performances from top prospects Monday
• No. 21 overall prospect Franklin Barreto (A's No. 1) hit his second home run of the season, while Matt Chapman's (A's No. 6) go-ahead solo blast in the top of the 14th inning, his fifth dinger of 2016, helped Double-A Midland sink Corpus Christi, 8-7. Third baseman Ryon Healy (A's No. 17) also had a big game at the plate, finishing 3-for-6 with a double and two RBIs.
• A pair of White Sox prospects paced Triple-A Charlotte in a 4-1 win against Toledo. Third baseman Matt Davidson No. 28 went 3-for-4 with three doubles and drove in three of Charlotte's runs, while shortstop Tim Anderson, baseball's No. 44 overall prospect, (White Sox No. 2) finished 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.
• No. 62 overall prospect Nick Williams (Phillies' No. 3) hit his first home run of the season for Triple-A Lehigh Valley in a loss to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 22-year-old outfielder, acquired last July from Texas in the Cole Hamels blockbuster, has at least one hit and an RBI in five straight games for IronPigs, with a .288/.318/.424 overall batting line through 16 games.
• No. 67 overall prospect Amir Garrett (Reds' No. 4) picked up his first win of 2016 with 6 2/3 scoreless innings for Double-A Pensacola in a win against Jackson. He allowed two hits and one walk and fanned a season-high nine hitters, with 64 of his 95 pitches going for strikes.
"I used to want to be a strikeout pitcher," Garrett told MiLB.com. "But now they just come. I try and work ahead, get the hitters to roll over or get themselves out instead of focusing on the strikeout. But it's one of those things, if they come, they come. I'm not thinking about them when I'm on the mound. I'm very comfortable with how things are going right now. I'm learning more about myself with every start."
Through his first four starts, Garrett, 23, has pitched to a 1.46 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 25/4 K/BB ratio over 24 2/3 frames. Outfielder Phil Ervin (No. 10) paced the Blue Wahoos' offense at the plate, going 2-for-3 with his first home run of the season, three runs scored, two RBIs and a stolen base.
• Cubs No. 20 prospect Dan Vogelbach went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run, his second of the season, as Triple-A Iowa rolled past Oklahoma City, 13-6. He also walked twice and scored three runs in the contest. Vogelbach has gotten off to a strong start in his first Triple-A stint, batting .352 with a .990 OPS and 14 RBIs through 16 games.
• Diamondbacks No. 9 prospect Peter O'Brien cracked a pair of solo home runs in Triple-A Reno's 7-4 loss to Fresno. After getting a taste of the big leagues in 2015, the 25-year-old slugger has opened the season with a .333 average to go along with six homers and 14 RBIs in 16 games.
• After giving up five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings in his last turn for Triple-A Columbus, Indians No. 7 prospect Mike Clevinger returned to form Monday with 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a win against Gwinnett. The 25-year-old righty permitted three hits and three walks while striking out six in his second scoreless start of 2016. Clevinger has logged a 3.20 ERA and 22/10 K/BB ratio in 19 2/3 innings, while opposing hitters are batting just .206 against him this year.
• Pirates No. 16 prospect Chad Kuhl was sharp once again for Triple-A Indianapolis, throwing five innings of one-run ball in a win against Durham. The 2013 ninth-rounder scattered four hits and struck out six, with 55 of his 84 pitches going for strikes. On the season, Kuhl, 23, owns a 1.84 ERA and 14/2 K/BB ratio in 14 2/3 innings, and he's won two of his three starts. Second baseman Max Moroff (No. 25) extended his hitting streak to six games with a 3-for-5 performance that included his second home run of the season.
• Tigers No. 10 prospect Steven Moya -- fresh off of a two-homer performance on Sunday -- accounted for Toledo's lone run in a loss to Charlotte, going 2-for-4 with his International League-leading fifth home run of the season.
• Twins No. 23 prospect Travis Harrison's walk-off two-bagger was one of three doubles he hit on the day as Double-A Chattanooga edged Birmingham, 7-6. The 23-year-old outfielder collected three hits for the second straight day, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk to go along with his trio of doubles.
"I feel like I can battle with anybody out there," Harrison told MiLB.com. "It's all about finding consistency. And on days that you may not be feeling it or maybe having a tough time picking up the ball well, you just need to focus and grind out at-bats."