Means leads Prospect Team of the Week
Orioles' No. 29 prospect throws no-hitter, strikes out nine
MLBPipeline.com's Prospect Team of the Week honors the best performances from the previous seven days. Any player currently on an organization Top 30 Prospects list on our Prospect Watch is eligible, including big leaguers.
Left-hander John Means barely snuck onto MLBPipeline.com's Orioles Top 30 Prospects list, checking in at No. 29. While he may not have the highest profile in Baltimore's system, he's raising it after his performance in July.
Means allowed just six earned runs in six starts last month, saving his best outing for last. He tossed low Class A Delmarva's first no-hitter in 17 years on Friday, striking out nine in seven innings to beat Charleston, 4-0, in the first game of a doubleheader. Just three RiverDogs runners reached base, one each on a walk, a hit batter and an error.
Means' gem earned him Prospect Team of the Week recognition for the second time in three weeks. Here are the rest of the top performers for the week of July 27 - Aug. 2:
C: Andrew Knapp, Phillies (No. 17 prospect)
7 G, .444/.500/.778, 5 R, 6 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 6 SO
The first college catcher selected in the 2013 Draft (second round), he got displaced as Philadephia's top catching prospect when Jorge Alfaro arrived from the Rangers via the Cole Hamels trade. Knapp, who's batting a combined .292/.368/.431 with four homers in 91 games between high Class A and Double-A this season, still might beat Alfaro to Citizens Bank Park.
1B: Bobby Bradley, Indians (No. 7 prospect)
6 G, .381/.500/1.048, 9 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 6 BB, 9 SO
A year after winning the Rookie-level Arizona League Triple Crown in his pro debut, he leads the low Class A Midwest League with 18 homers and a .486 slugging percentage. Bradley has a sweet left-handed swing that should translate into hitting for average as well, though he'll have to cut down on his strikeouts (113 in 79 games). He's batting .253/.343/.486 overall.
2B: Jose Peraza, Dodgers (No. 4 prospect)
6 G, .435/.435/.739, 6 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SO, 2 SB
Part of a 13-player deal with the Braves and Marlins last week, he went 5-for-10 with a homer in his first three games in his new organization. The speedy Peraza, who could take over at second base in Los Angeles if Howie Kendrick departs as a free agent this offeseason, is hitting .299/.322/.389 with 27 steals in 99 Triple-A games.
3B: Austin Riley, Braves (No. 18 prospect)
7 G, .393/.433/.857, 7 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 1 BB, 7 SO
Though scouts liked him more as a pitcher coming into the 2015 season, he was more impressive as a hitter as a Mississippi high school senior and signed for $1.6 million as the 41st overall pick in June. Though Riley was promoted to the Rookie-level Appalachian League on Friday, he's still tied for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League lead with seven homers and is batting .267/.343/.517 between the two stops.
SS: JaCoby Jones, Tigers (No. 13 prospect)
6 G, .409/.440/.818, 7 R, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SO, 2 SB
The Pirates promoted Jones to Double-A last Monday, then traded him to the Tigers for Joakim Soria on Thursday. Jones homered three times in three games with his new organization, and he is now hitting .253/.313/.396 with 10 homers and 14 steals in 99 games between high Class A and Double-A this year.
OF: Lewis Brinson, Rangers (No. 4 prospect)
6 G, .458/.440/1.083, 4 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 5 SO
He becomes just the fourth prospect to earn PTOW recognition in consecutive weeks, joining Cubs catcher Kyle Schwarber, Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes and Astros second baseman Tony Kemp. Brinson ranked second in the high Class A California League in all three slash stats at .337/.416/.628, and he also had 13 homers and 13 steals in 64 games there before getting promoted to Double-A on Friday.
OF: Max Kepler, Twins (No. 7 prospect)
6 G, .292/.357/.792, 5 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 6 SO
Signed out of Germany for a then-European-record $800,000 bonus in 2009, he's still just 22 and is beginning to deliver on the offensive promise that Minnesota saw in him. Kepler tops the Double-A Southern League in hitting (.328), ranks second in on-base percentage (.408) and slugging (.543) and has 41 extra-base hits (including six homers) in 80 games.
OF: Tyler O'Neill, Mariners (No. 7 prospect)
7 G, .379/.387/1.000, 8 R, 3 2B, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 1 BB, 8 SO, 2 SB
He went deep in five of his seven games last week and eight times in his past 11 contests to take over the Cal League lead with 24. O'Neill is still raw at the plate, as his .258/.297/.554 line and 100/15 K/BB ratio would attest, but his power is for real.
LHP: John Means, Orioles (No. 29 prospect)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 1 CG, 1 ShO, 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0.143 WHIP
An 11th-round pick out of West Virginia in 2014, Means is a finesse left-hander who relies heavily on his changeup and control. In 20 starts this year, he has gone 8-7 with a 3.48 ERA, has a 78/22 K/BB ratio in 103 1/3 innings and a .290 opponent average.
RHP: Luis Severino, Yankees (No. 1 prospect)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 SO, 0.167 WHIP
His 1.91 ERA and 0.929 WHIP easily would lead the Triple-A International League if he had enough innings to qualify, but New York's top prospect probably won't get the chance to accumulate them. The Yankees announced that they'll call up Severino to start against the Red Sox on Wednesday. He has nothing left to prove in the Minors after going 9-2 with a 2.45 ERA in 19 starts between Double-A and Triple-A at age 21, including a 98/27 K/BB ratio in 99 1/3 innings.