MLB Pipeline's Prospect Team of the Week

June 10th, 2019

MLB Pipeline's Prospect Team of the Week honors the best performances from the previous seven days. Any Minor Leaguer currently on an organization Top 30 Prospects list on our Prospect Watch is eligible.

A 2016 supplemental second-round pick as a Puerto Rican high schooler, catcher Mario Feliciano didn't do much offensively in his first three pro seasons and missed most of last year with a shoulder injury that required arthroscopic surgery. He has bounced back this spring, showing the hitting ability and power that led the Brewers to invest an $800,000 bonus in him.

Feliciano was on fire last week, homering twice on Monday and going deep in each of his next three games as well. His five homers last week eclipsed his previous season high and tied for the lead among all of MLB Pipeline's organization Top 30 Prospects. He batted .429/.500/1.286 with eight runs and 11 RBIs in six games, topping all Top 30 players in slugging and OPS (1.786) as well.

Feliciano is one of three Brewers farmhands on our Prospect Team of the Week, joining second baseman Keston Hiura and third baseman Jake Gatewood. Here's the complete squad, based on games from June 3-9:

C: Mario Feliciano, Carolina Mudcats (Class A Advanced)
(Brewers' No. 14 prospect)
.429/.500/1.286, 6 G, 21 AB, 8 R, 9 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SO

Feliciano's big week boosted his season line to .281/.333/.539 with 14 homers in 58 games. He leads the Carolina League in home runs (14), extra-base hits (27), total bases (117) and RBI (47).

1B: Dustin Peterson, Toledo Mud Hens (Triple-A)
(Tigers' No. 28 prospect)
.419/.424/.968, 8 G, 31 AB, 9 R, 13 H, 2 2B, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 1 BB, 7 SO

Peterson tied Feliciano and Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker (see below) for the lead among Top 30 Prospects with five homers last week -- he went deep in four straight games -- and also ranked first with 13 hits and 13 RBIs. After spending the first month in Detroit, he's batting .294/.319/.485 with seven homers in 36 Triple-A games.

2B: Keston Hiura, San Antonio Missions (Triple-A)
(Brewers' No. 1 prospect/MLB No. 12)
.381/.435/.762, 5 G, 21 AB, 7 R, 8 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 6 SO

Though Hiura slugged five homers in 17 games and posted an .865 OPS in his first taste of the big leagues, he got caught in a roster crunch and sent back to Triple-A last Monday. He responded by hitting safely in all five games he appeared in for San Antonio and earning his second PTOW mention of 2019. He's mashing at a .340/.412/.707 clip with 13 homers in 42 Triple-A contests.

3B: Jake Gatewood, Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A)
(Brewers' No. 28 prospect)
.304/.407/.609, 6 G, 23 AB, 5 R, 7 H, 1 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 10 SO

Gatewood missed the first month of this season while completing his recovery from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee, then went 7-for-69 (.101) with a 37 percent strikeout rate in his first 19 games back. He snapped out of that funk last week, recording his first multi-hit game of the year with three hits on Thursday and improving his season line to .152/.233/.337 with five homers in 25 contests.

SS: Edmundo Sosa, Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A)
(Cardinals' No. 10 prospect)
.435/.480/.957, 5 G, 23 AB, 8 R, 10 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1 CS

After beginning his week with an 0-for-4 performance on Tuesday, Sosa ripped off four straight multi-hit games and finished just a single shy of the cycle on both Thursday and Friday. He's batting .275/.307/.466 with six homers in 52 games.

OF: Khalil Lee, Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Double-A)
(Royals' No. 3 prospect)
.381/.536/.810, 7 G, 21 AB, 9 R, 8 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 6 BB, 7 SO, 4 SB, 1 CS

The top-rated position prospect in the Royals system -- at least until No. 2 overall pick Bobby Witt Jr. signs -- Lee has shaken off a so-so April and May to heat up in June. He showed off his power, speed and on-base skills last week with four extra-base hits, six walks and four steals. He's hitting .263/.365/.394 with four homers in 57 games, ranking second in the Texas League in runs (40) and steals (26 in 29 attempts) and fifth in walks (31).

OF: Kyle Tucker, Round Rock Express (Triple-A)
(Astros' No. 2 prospect/MLB No. 10)
.367/.412/.933, 6 G, 30 AB, 10 R, 11 H, 2 2B, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 3 BB, 9 SO, 2 SB

One of the best offensive prospects in baseball, Tucker looks like his normal self after batting an uncharacteristic .165/.211/.388 April. He had a pair of two-homer games last week as well as a three-hit contest, and he's now batting .269/.343/.621 with 21 homers and 14 steals in 58 games. On pace for his third consecutive 20-20 season, he collected his third Prospect Team of the Week accolade of the season, increasing the Astros' overall lead in such honors in 2019 (11, four ahead of the Brewers, Indians and Tigers) and since we started the PTOW in 2015 (70, 18 more than the second-place Rockies).

OF: Marcus Wilson, Salem Red Sox (Class A Advanced)
(Red Sox's No. 21 prospect)
.444/.524/.944, 6 G, 18 AB, 5 R, 8 H, 3 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 5 SO, 1 SB

Acquired from the Diamondbacks in a trade for Blake Swihart in April, Wilson scuffled in Double-A after changing organizations but is back on track following a mid-May assignment to Class A Advanced. He hit safely in five of six games last week with an extra-base hit in four of them, and he's now batting .238/.346/.419 with six homers in 50 contests between the two levels.

LHP: Tarik Skubal, Lakeland Flying Tigers (Class A Advanced)
(Tigers' No. 17 prospect)
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO, 0.67 WHIP

Skubal spun his second straight scoreless outing on Friday, putting up six innings of two-hit ball with eight strikeouts. He has gone 3-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 12 starts, ranking among the Florida State League leaders in strikeouts (72, third), WHIP (1.01, fourth) and opponent average (.205, fifth). He has made the PTOW twice, as has Tigers right-hander Casey Mize, giving Detroit the organization lead for 2019 pitching accolades with four.

RHP: Rico Garcia, Hartford Yard Goats (Double-A)
(Rockies' No. 21 prospect)
2-0, 0.75 ERA, 2 GS, 12 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 15 SO, 0.50 WHIP

One of just four Top 30 Prospects to record two quality starts last week, Garcia struck out 11 in six no-hit innings on Tuesday and followed up by allowing one run in six frames on Sunday to earn his fourth straight win. He's making a run at the Eastern League pitching triple crown, ranking first in victories (eight), second in strikeouts (85 in 67 innings) and fourth in ERA (1.88).

RP: Enoli Paredes, Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Class A Advanced)/Corpus Christi Hooks (Double-A)
(Astros' No. 26 prospect)
0-0, 1.13 ERA, 2 G, 8 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO, 0.38 WHIP

Paredes bid goodbye to high Class A with six strikeouts in four one-run innings on Monday, then dazzled in his Double-A debut with five whiffs in four perfect frames on Sunday. His combined season line between the two levels: 3-1 with a 1.48 ERA, 64 strikeouts and a .130 opponent average in 48 innings.