Pipeline preview: Schultz looks to stay hot

August 7th, 2016

Here's a look at top prospects to watch in Sunday's Minor League action:
Mejia streak watch:Indians No. 4 prospect Francisco Mejia aims to extend his 47-game hit streak as Lynchburg plays Salem at 4:05 p.m. ET.
Hitter to watch: Zack Collins (White Sox No. 2), Winston-Salem vs. Frederick (5 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV)
Selected by the White Sox with the No. 10 overall pick in this year's Draft, Collins has made a smooth transition to the professional ranks, heading straight to Class A Advanced Winston-Salem after a brief stay in the Arizona League. In 15 games since joining the Dash, the No. 93 overall prospect is hitting .268 with three home runs and 11 RBIs.

Pitcher to watch: Jaime Schultz (Rays' No. 11), Durham vs. Gwinnett (5:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV)
Schultz enters the day having not allowed more than two earned runs in eight straight starts for Triple-A Durham, during which he's posted a 2.23 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings. While the 25-year-old righty still has big gains to make with his control, a notion evidenced by his 54 walks in 108 1/3 innings this season, he's pacing all International League hurlers with his 128 strikeouts and has held opposing hitters to a .228 average across 22 starts.

Duel of the day: (Astros' No. 3) vs. Daniel Gossett (A's No. 20), Corpus Christi at Midland (3 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV)
Martes dominated in his most recent start for Double-A Corpus Christi on Aug. 2 when he recorded a career-best 12 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. The double-digit strikeout performance gives the No. 38 overall prospect 41 punchouts in his last 31 1/3 frames and 101 in 95 innings for the season. Overall, Martes has pitched to a 3.69 ERA across 20 appearances (17 starts) in the Texas League.

In the midst of a breakout campaign, Gossett, 23, has registered a 2.62 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings (12 starts) since moving up to Double-A Midland. Before the promotion, the 2014 second-rounder went 4-1 with a 3.33 ERA and a 53-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio over nine starts in the hitter-friendly California League. On top of that, Gossett has limited opposing hitters to a .220 clip between the two stops while generating nearly twice as many ground-ball outs as flyouts.

Sunday's Top 100 prospect probables

No. 38 Martes vs. Gossett (A's No. 20), Corpus Christi at Midland (3 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV)
No. 46 (Nationals' No. 4) vs. Jordan Montgomery (Yankees' No. 20), Syracuse at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (1:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV)
More top prospect probables

Nate Smith (Angels' No. 5), Salt Lake at Reno (Triple-A)
(Mets' No. 19), Las Vegas at Albuquerque (Triple-A)
(Phillies' No. 24), Lehigh Valley vs. Rochester (Triple-A)
(Orioles' No. 26), Norfolk at Charlotte (Triple-A)
(Mariners' No. 28), Tacoma vs. Sacramento (Triple-A)
Spencer Adams (White Sox No. 3) vs. Andrew Moore (Mariners' No. 10), Birmingham at Jackson (Double-A)
(Phillies' No. 18), Reading vs. Altoona (Double-A)
Eric Skoglund (Royals' No. 24), Northwest Arkansas vs. Tulsa (Double-A)
(Giants' No. 25), Richmond at Bowie (Double-A)
Jack Flaherty (Cardinals' No. 3) vs. (Marlins' No. 19), Palm Beach at Jupiter (Class A Advanced)
Michael Kopech (Red Sox's No. 5), Salem vs. Lynchburg (Class A Advanced)
Spencer Turnbull (Tigers' No. 12), Lakeland vs. Clearwater (Class A Advanced)
Yeudy Garcia (Pirates' No. 13), Bradenton at St. Lucie (Class A Advanced)
Beau Burrows (Tigers' No. 2), West Michigan at Bowling Green (Class A)
Luiz Gohara (Mariners' No. 5), Clinton vs. Beloit (Class A)
Albert Abreu (Astros' No. 10), Quad Cities vs. Burlington (Class A)
(Braves' No. 10), Rome vs. Columbia (Class A)
Justin Maese (Blue Jays' No. 11), Lansing vs. Fort Wayne (Class A)
Nolan Watson (Royals' No. 12), Lexington vs. Hickory (Class A)
Imani Abdullah (Dodgers' No. 17) vs. Justin Steele (Cubs' No. 23), Great Lakes at South Bend (Class A)
Joan Baez (Nationals' No. 27), Hagerstown at Lakewood (Class A)
Dane Dunning (Nationals' No. 8), Auburn at Batavia (Class A Short Season)
Wei-Chieh Huang (D-backs' No. 18), Hillsboro at Everett (Class A Short Season)
Matt Krook (Giants' No. 20), Salem-Keizer vs. Spokane (Class A Short Season)
Alex Wells (Orioles' No. 29), Aberdeen at Connecticut (Class A Short Season)
Joey Wentz (Braves' No. 7), Danville at Elizabethton (Rookie)