No pitcher has been more dominant than Class A Columbia's Merandy Gonzalez to begin the season. That trend continued on Friday night, as the Mets' No. 14 prospect extended his scoreless innings streak to 20 2/3 by tossing seven frames in a win against Lexington.
Gonzalez allowed just three singles and struck out a season-high seven batters en route to his third win in as many starts for the Fireflies. He retired nine consecutive batters at one point before setting down the final seven he faced to finish with 88 pitches (64 strikes).
Signed in 2013, Gonzalez spent his first two seasons in the Dominican Summer League before making his U.S. debut in '15. He advanced to the New York Penn-League last year and finished among the top 10 in the circuit in both ERA (2.87) and strikeouts (71).
That success certainly has followed Gonzalez, 21, into his full-season debut in the South Atlantic League, where he's compiled 18 strikeouts against just one walk across his first three turns, all the while holding opposing hitters to a .143 average.
The rest of the best performances from top prospects Friday
• No. 16 overall prospectLewis Brinson (Brewers' No. 1) collected multiple hits in both games of a doubleheader for Triple-A Colorado Springs to extend his season-opening hitting streak to nine games. The 22-year-old outfielder went 2-for-4 with a double in the opener before connecting on his third homer as part of a 3-for-4 performance in the nightcap.
• No. 25 overall prospect Ian Happ (Cubs' No. 2) hit his seventh home run, a sixth-inning solo shot, in a 1-for-4 performance for Triple-A Iowa. He'd gone 0-for-12 with five strikeouts at the plate in his past three contests.

MILB Video - Title: Happ mashes solo homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1310321083

• No. 51 overall prospect Leody Taveras (Rangers' No. 1) connected on his third home run, a two-run shot in the third inning, in Class A Hickory's rout of Kannapolis. The 18-year-old center fielder finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs to improve his average to .227.
• Angels No. 1 prospect Jahmai Jones hit a solo shot and picked up his fourth stolen base in Class A Burlington's win over Beloit. The 2015 second-rounder scored two runs and finished 2-for-5 after batting just .103 (3-for-29) in his previous eight games.
• Tigers No. 3 prospect Beau Burrows matched his career high with eight strikeouts in seven scoreless innings to pace Class A Advanced Lakeland in a shutout of Tampa. The 20-year-old righty, Detroit's first-round Draft pick in 2015, scattered four hits and walked one. He's now 2-0 with a 0.81 ERA in four starts, with 21 strikeouts and eight walks in 22 1/3 innings. "I had a feel of the fastball early on and I was using it up in the zone," Burrows said to MiLB.com. "They were swinging at it so it was very successful tonight. The slider was also on and I got a lot of ground-ball outs and early contact."
• Orioles No. 4 prospect Ryan Mountcastle went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs and a double while driving in all three of his team's runs in Class A Advanced Frederick's loss to Salem in game one of a doubleheader. The 20-year-old is hitting .333 with four homers in 15 games.
• One day after recording his first four-hit game of the season, Padres No. 7 prospect Luis Urias did it again, going 4-for-5 with five runs scored out of the leadoff spot to help power Double-A San Antonio past Midland, 16-13. He also drove in a pair of runs thanks to three extra-base hits, including two triples. By going 8-for-10 in his past two games, the 19-year-old Urias -- who started at shortstop for the 12th time in 14 games on Friday -- boosted his average from .261 to .357. "Well, he's just steady and extremely talented," San Antonio's hitting coach Lance Burkhart said to MiLB.com. "He's got excellent hand-eye coordination.

MILB Video - Title: Urias' second triple - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1310792283

• In the same game that saw Mountcastle homer twice, Red Sox No. 8 prospect Josh Ockimey drove in six runs thanks to a pair of homers in a 3-for-4 performance in Game 1 of a doubleheader with Class A Advanced Salem. The lefty-swinging first baseman has gotten off to a hot start, hitting .404 with three home runs through 14 games, and he leads the Carolina League in both OPS (1.169) and RBIs (17). "My timing and rhythm is on right now," Ockimey told MiLB.com. "I'm feeling pretty good at the moment." Michael Chavis (No. 10) homered in Game 2 for the Red Sox, his fifth in six games.
• Braves No. 10 prospectLuiz Gohara, 20, fired seven scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 1.29 and record his second win for Class A Advanced Florida. The 6-foot-3 southpaw gave up four hits, walked one and struck out seven while throwing 58 of his 84 pitches for strikes. He's issued just four walks in 21 innings spanning his four starts.
• Phillies No. 16 prospect Adonis Medina was lights-out for Class A Lakewood as he punched out 10 hitters over seven scoreless innings in a no-decision. He permitted five hits and one walk in the outing, also generating seven ground-ball outs. The 20-year-old righty has yet to record a win but owns a 1.06 ERA in three starts (17 IP).