Rays' Powell among 10 top prospect performers Thursday
Tampa Bay's No. 13 prospect homers and drives in four runs for Triple-A Durham
Boog Powell doesn't hit many home runs, but that's not to say he's without power.
The Rays No. 13 prospect enjoyed arguably the best offensive performance of his career Thursday, going 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and four RBIs in Triple-A Durham's loss to Charlotte. His three extra-base hits and nine total bases both were career-highs for the 22-year-old outfielder.
Powell's four-hit showing extended his hitting streak to nine games, during which he's batting .366 with seven extra-base hits and nine RBIs for the Bulls.
Acquired from the A's during the offseason, Powell has put together a well-rounded campaign this year between the Double-A Montgomery and Durham, batting a combined .298/.390/.392 with two home runs, nine triples, 16 doubles and 18 steals in 113 games. He's also scored 65 runs and posted an excellent 76/60 strikeout-to-walk ratio in that span.
A 20th-round Draft pick in 2012, Powell has batted .309/.403/.387 with 169 runs, 56 extra-base hits and 53 stolen bases in 290 career games over four seasons.
The rest of the 10 best performances from top Minor Leaguers
• Athletics No. 3 prospect Sean Manaea was nothing short of dominant Thursday for Double-A Midland, striking out a career-high 13 batters over six innings in a 4-1 win over San Antonio. He allowed just four hits and did not issue a walk in the outing, with 65 of his 95 pitches going for strikes. Acquired from the Royals in the Ben Zobrist deal at the Trade Deadline, Manaea has been excellent since arriving at Midland, posting a 6-0 record in seven starts -- four of which have been scoreless -- to go along with a 1.90 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 51/15 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 42 2/3 innings.
• Athletics No. 8 prospect Jacob Nottingham filled out the box score in Class A Advanced Stockton's win over Visalia, going 4-for-6 with a home run, three RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base. The 20-year-old catcher -- whom the A's acquired from Houston at the Trade Deadline in the Scott Kazmir deal -- now has 17 home runs this season, although he's hit just three in 39 games as a member of the Ports. However, that doesn't detract from Nottingham's breakthrough campaign during which he's batted .308 with 31 doubles and 80 RBIs in 114 games.
• Braves No. 7 prospect Lucas Sims matched the longest start of his career with seven innings of one-run ball for Double-A Mississippi. The 21-year-old right-hander allowed three hits and walk while striking out seven, throwing 65 of 101 pitches for strikes. After a rough first half of the season during which he spent time on the disabled list, Sims is 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 41 strikeouts over his last 36 innings (six starts) for the Braves.
• Diamondbacks No. 1 prospect (No. 10 overall) Dansby Swanson went 5-for-6 with a triple and three runs scored in Class A Short Season Hillsboro's 12-0 rout of Boise. The 2015 No. 1 overall Draft pick connected on his third triple of the season in the first inning and then singled in each of his next four at-bats for the Hops, but he struck out swinging in his final at-bat with two outs in the top of the ninth. Swanson, 21, has been every bit as advertised this summer in his professional debut, batting .320 with a .929 OPS, 11 extra-base hits, 17 runs scored and 11 RBIs in 19 games for Hillsboro.
• Diamondbacks No. 9 prospect Peter O'Brien fell a single short of the cycle for Triple-A Reno but finished 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs, improving his season totals to 26 and 101, respectively. The 25-year-old catcher-turned-outfielder has been hammering the ball of late, tallying five home runs and 12 RBIs in his last nine contests. O'Brien is batting .285 with an .885 OPS through 126 games this season, but he's also struck out 119 times compared to just 30 walks -- a trend that has followed him throughout his career.
• Mariners No. 16 prospect Austin Wilson had a perfect day at the plate Thursday, going 3-for-3 with a home run, double, two runs scored and a stolen base as Class A Advanced Bakersfield defeated Lancaster, 6-2. The 23-year-old outfielder broke out in a big way last season, posting an .893 OPS with 12 home runs, 17 doubles and 54 RBIs in 72 games for Class A Clinton, but has struggled to make consistent contact this year in the hitter-friendly California League, evidenced by his 112/31 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 108 games. The 6-foot-4, 249-pound outfielder is batting .242/.345/.378 with 10 home runs, 17 doubles and 48 RBIs.
• Orioles No. 5 prospect Christian Walker's pair of solo home runs accounted for Triple-A Norfolk's only runs in a loss to Gwinnett. The multi-homer performance upped the 24-year-old first baseman's season total to 18 and also extended his hitting streak to 13 games, during which he's batting .347 with four homers and 13 RBIs. The right-handed hitter has produced a solid .260/.325/.429 batting line this season to go along with 32 doubles and 74 RBIs in 134 games at Norfolk. Having appeared in seven games for the Orioles between the 2014-15 seasons, there's a good chance the South Carolina product will return to the Major Leagues later this month.
• Red Sox No. 15 prospect Wendell Rijo paced Class A Advanced Salem's offense Thursday by going 2-for-5 with a home run, double and career-high five RBIs. The 20-year-old second baseman has held his own this season as one of the younger everyday players in the Carolina League, batting .254/.318/.373 with five homers, 27 doubles and 13 stolen bases in 104 games. It's worth noting that Rijo has shown more consistency at the plate down the stretch, posting a .295 batting average with seven extra-base hits, 18 RBIs and an improved 20/10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his last 27 contests.
• Yankees No. 5 prospect James Kaprielian turned in the longest outing of his professional career Thursday, striking out a career-high six batters while allowing only two hits in 3 2/3 scoreless innings for Class A Short Season Staten Island. The 2015 first-rounder (No. 16 overall) has been sharp in his three New York-Penn League starts, registering a 2.00 ERA with 12 strikeouts in nine innings. The 21-year-old right-hander dominated this past spring as UCLA's ace, going 10-4 with a 2.02 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 114/33 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 106 2/3 innings (17 appearances/16 starts).