Here's the latest Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week

August 29th, 2022

While our recent re-ranks of all clubs' Top 30 prospects have garnered a lot of attention among the fans, it may have also caught the eyes of a few prospects themselves.

While there was a lot of excitement about new names and fresh talent sprouting up across the entire Minor League landscape, there was also some unfavorable shifting that occurred to accommodate that. Some familiar names that have spent considerable time atop their club's prospect list suddenly saw a drop in their rankings this time around. Houston's Korey Lee, who finished last season as the team's top talent and then found himself at No. 2 for most of this season, saw a slide to No. 7 this time around. Colorado's Michael Toglia opened the year as the Rockies' sixth-ranked prospect before seeing a considerable dip to No. 14 in the latest rankings. And while we see that first break out of the dog days of summer, it's as if these prospects wanted to remind everyone, "Hey, we're still here." Lee turned in arguably the best week of his four-year pro career, kicking it off with an historic effort, and Toglia added a milestone exclamation point to his elite performance.

To be eligible for the Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week, Minor League players must be ranked among their club's Top 30 prospects on Pipeline's lists. (Those in the Majors do not qualify.)

This is the Prospect Team of the Week for Aug. 22-28:

Catcher: Korey Lee, Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Triple-A)
Astros No. 7
.480/.552/1.160, 6 G, 12-for-25, 5 HR, 2 2B, 11 RBI, 9 R, 4 BB, 8 K, 2 SB

It's been an up-and-down season for Lee, who has seemed to turn the corner this month. After getting called up to The Show on July 1 to make his big league debut, the 24-year-old struggled to stick in the Majors after posting a .160 average over 25 games with the Astros. But, his return to the Minors appeared to spark something because the 2019 first-round Draft selection has regained his vintage form -- posting a .273/.371/.649 slash line with nine dingers, a pair of doubles and 11 walks, 24 RBIs and 21 runs scored in 20 August games. Of course, a lot of that happened this past week when the Cal product absolutely mauled the ball, no matter who was on the mound. And as a bonus, Lee may have added a tick to his 40-grade run tool after going 2-for-2 on stolen base attempts.

1B: Michael Toglia, Albuquerque Isotopes (Triple-A)
Rockies No. 14
.353/.500/1.118, 5 G, 6-for-17, 4 HR, 1 2B, 7 RBI, 5 R, 5 BB, 5 K

This is the first time on Prospect Team of the Week this season for Toglia, whose last selection for the honor occurred back in Week 1 of last year. So yeah, there might have been a chip on the shoulder of the 2019 first-round Draft pick of late. One thing is for certain, the Rockies and their fans would love to see more of how the 24-year-old has played in August: batting .333/.413/.758 with seven dingers, seven doubles, nine walks, 17 RBIs and 11 runs scored over 23 games this month. Toglia's three-homer performance on Saturday was also the first of his career while reaching the 30-homer plateau for the first time as well. He admitted after the effort that he recently made an approach shift and that it didn't click until a few weeks ago. The number certainly support that claim as he will be a player to keep an eye on down the stretch.

2B: Connor Norby, Bowie Baysox (Double-A)
Orioles No. 12
.375/.357/.792, 6 G, 9-for-24, 3 HR, 1 2B, 9 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 2 SB

This is the first time on the Team of the Week for Norby, who may quickly become a household name if he keeps up his recent play. The 22-year-old hit safely in five of his six games played last week while notching multihit efforts four times. Norby also flashed the raw power that made him an enticing second-round Draft selection for the Orioles last year. The East Carolina product mashed his third multihomer game of the season on Thursday and collected four extra-base knocks while driving in nine runs. Norby opened the season at High-A Aberdeen before being promoted to the Baysox on June 28. Over 48 Eastern League games, he is batting .290/.372/.544 with 24 extra-base hits, 23 walks, 44 runs scored, 33 RBIs and eight stolen bases in nine attempts.

3B: Willy Vasquez, Charleston RiverDogs (Single-A)
Rays No. 10
.438/.500/.813, 4 G, 7-for-16, 1 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 SB

This marks the second appearance on the Prospect Team of the Week for Vasquez, who last appeared during Week 13. The 20-year-old only appeared in four games last week, but boy did he make them count. Vasquez extended his hitting streak to 12 games while filling up the stat sheet with seven knocks, three going for extra bases, five RBIs, five runs and his 23rd stolen base of the year. There seems to be no adjustment period for the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native in his first full-season of pro ball, as he has shown steady improvement all year and sports a .347/.419/.587 slash line with three homers, three triples, three doubles, 18 RBIs, 18 runs, nine walks and is 6-for-8 in stolen base attempts in August.

SS: Masyn Winn, Springfield Cardinals (Double-A)
Cardinals No. 2, MLB No. 54
.350/.480/.750, 6 G, 7-for-20, 1 HR, 1 3B, 3 2B, 6 RBI, 7 R, 5 BB, 7 K, 1 SB

Winn has been a steady climber through the Cardinals organization since being selected in the second round of the 2020 Draft, so it may come as a bit of a surprise that this is the 20-year-old's first-ever appearance on the Team of the Week. What isn't a surprise is the numbers that the Kingwood, Texas native posted last week. Winn notched three multihit games while recording five extra-base hits and continued to be a nuisance on the basepaths, swiping his ninth bag of the month and 22nd with Double-A Springfield. In 42 total attempts this season, Winn has only been caught stealing five times.

OF: James Outman, Oklahoma City Dodgers (Triple-A)
Dodgers No. 13
.571/.565/1.381, 6 G, 12-for-21, 2 HR, 3 3B, 5 2B, 14 RBI, 6 R, 1 BB, 5 K

It's a long awaited return to the Player of the Week for Outman, whose previous -- and only -- appearance came during Week 14 of last season. The 25-year-old, who was called up to the Dodgers on July 30 and did not disappoint through his first four Major League games -- going 6-for-13 with a homer in his first at-bat, two doubles, a pair of walks, six runs scored and three RBIs -- rejoined OKC on Aug. 5 and continued to rake at the plate. Outman stole the show across the Minors on Friday night when he capped off a cycle with a walk-off dinger. Yes, it was a walk-off cycle! After that game he said, "I had chills running around the bases." It was the first cycle and walk-off homer in Outman's career, and while his return to L.A. is mostly likely in the not-so-distant future, the Sacramento State product will continue to have the attention of the organization down the stretch in the PCL.

OF: Joey Wiemer, Nashville Sounds (Triple-A)
Brewers No. 3, MLB No. 89
.478/.500/1.174, 6 G, 11-for-23, 4 HR, 4 2B, 11 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 SB

Wiemer opened his second pro season at Double-A and after producing impressive numbers was promoted to the Minors' highest level on Aug. 2. Since then, his numbers have been on the rise as he continues to mash in the International League over 22 games this month. The 2020 fourth-round Draft selection is sporting a .284/.314/.580 slash line with five taters, nine doubles, four walks, 19 RBIs and 12 runs scored with the Sounds. The 23-year-old hit safely in all six of his games last week, posting four multihit efforts while recording the second multihomer game of his season.

OF: T.J. White, Fredericksburg Nationals (Single-A)
Nationals No. 20
.733/.722/1.333, 4 G, 11-for-15, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 0 K, 3 SB

Another player on this week's list who only played in four games but made the most of it. White is making his full-season debut this year after being a fifth-round selection out of Dorman High School in South Carolina last year. The 19-year-old posted video game-like numbers in Fredericksburg, starting the week with three consecutive three-hit games before posting a fourth multihit effort with a home run. White collected 20 total bases over this stretch while raising his batting average 26 points to .262. Overall in August, the 19-year-old is batting .328/.386/.525 with three homers, three doubles, five walks, 16 RBIs and 10 runs.

LHP: Kyle Muller, Gwinnett Stripers (Triple-A)
Braves No. 2
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K, 0.90 WHIP

The deal to acquire first baseman Matt Olson sent a haul of top prospects to Oakland during the offseason, but Muller is proving that there is still plenty of talent in Atlanta's system. The southpaw, who made his debut in The Show last season and appeared in nine games (eighth starts) for the Braves, was called up again this year for a pair of spot starts in which he threw to mixed results. Still, since returning to Gwinnett on Aug. 13 the 24-year-old posted a pair of quality starts, with his latest being a gem. Muller shut down Lehigh Valley over 6 2/3 scoreless frames on Thursday. He scattered four hits and a pair of walks while fanning nine. The performance lowered his ERA to 2.98 with a 1.09 WHIP and 135 strikeouts over 111 2/3 innings pitched for the Stripers this season.

RHP: Louie Varland, Saint Paul Saints (Triple-A)
Twins No. 10
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, 0.67 WHIP

Varland posted his second scoreless outing in three starts since being promoted to Triple-A Saint Paul on Aug. 8. The right-hander kept Iowa's potent offense at bay while working around three hits and a walk and whiffing nine over six frames. The 24-year-old posted 5 1/3 scoreless frames in his Saints debut and overall is sporting a 1.06 ERA, a 0.82 WHIP and a .175 average against in three starts at the Minors' highest level, with 24 strikeouts over 17 innings. Varland is proving to be a diamond in the rough after being selected in the 15th round of the 2019 Draft.

RP: Moises Lugo, San Antonio Missions (Double-A)
Padres No. 30
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 0.80 WHIP

Though San Diego dealt away a wealth of prospects in exchange for Juan Soto, the Padres’ farm system still boasts impressive talent. Lugo is a good example of what's in store for the Padres as they continue to try to find reliable help out of the bullpen as former All-Star Josh Hader's struggles continue since being acquired from the Brewers at the Trade Deadline. The right-hander extended his scoreless streak to four straight outings following a pair of shutout appearances last week. Lugo tossed three scoreless frames on Tuesday before putting up another goose egg across a pair of frames on Saturday. The 23-year-old has only allowed one earned run over his six appearances in August and is sporting a 0.63 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP and a .180 average against with 18 punchouts over 14 1/3 frames this month.