Refsnyder, Thompson among top prospect performers Sunday

Yankees' No. 9 prospect belts first two homers of season, Phillies' No. 2 allows two hits in seven scoreless innings

May 16th, 2016

Rob Refsnyder was homerless through his first 32 games this season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The Yankees' No. 9 prospect put an emphatic end to that streak in Sunday afternoon's game at Indianapolis. Refsnyder smacked his first two home runs, solo shots in the sixth and eighth innings, helping lift his club to a 7-1 victory.

MILB Video - Title: Refsnyder's first homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=700883683

It was the third multi-homer game in Refsnyder's Minor League career. The 25-year-old second baseman hit .302/.348/.512 with two homers during a 16-game debut with the Yankees last season and seems to be bouncing back from a slow start in 2016. Refsnyder has hit safely in 17 of his past 18 games for the RailRiders and has lifted his average more than 100 points since April 26 (.190).

MILB Video - Title: Refsnyder rips his second homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=700891583

The rest of the best performances from top prospects Sunday
No. 24 overall prospect Clint Frazier continued his productive season during Double-A Akron's 5-1 victory at Harrisburg. Frazier (Indians No. 2) singled, smacked his fifth homer (a solo shot) and drew a walk. The fifth overall pick of the 2013 Draft is batting .277/.367/.496 in 34 games for Akron, with 19 extra-base hits, 20 walks and 18 RBIs.
• It was a great day for the starting battery of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Right-hander Jake Thompson, the No. 51 overall prospect, put together the best start of his Triple-A career, tossing seven scoreless innings in a 5-0 win at Toledo. Thompson, the Phillies' No. 2 prospect who came over in last summer's Cole Hamels trade, allowed only two hits and two walks while striking out four and lowering his ERA to 3.32. He now has given up exactly two hits in seven innings in two of his past three outings. Meanwhile, catcher Andrew Knapp (Phillies No. 9) launched his fifth home run of the season to stake Thompson to a 2-0 lead before he took the mound in the bottom of the first.

MILB Video - Title: Thompson fans Machado - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=701095883

Baseball's No. 88 prospect Hunter Renfroe went 3-for-5 with a home run, as Triple-A El Paso squeaked by New Orleans, 7-6. Renfroe (Padres No. 3) opened the scoring by mashing a three-run shot in the first inning and later added a pair of singles. The 2013 first-round pick lifted his average to .300 and has six homers and 23 RBIs this season.
Braves No. 19 prospect Ricardo Sanchez rebounded from a rough outing to give Class A Rome a solid performance in its game at Hickory. The 19-year-old lefty had allowed seven runs over five innings his last time out, but on Sunday he held the Crawdads to one unearned run on three hits over five innings, walking two and striking out a season-high six. The Braves ultimately won, 9-2, in 19 innings.
• While he fell a home run short of a cycle, Giants No. 4 prospect Lucius Fox enjoyed a big game for Class A Augusta in an 11-10 loss to Greenville. The 18-year-old shortstop, batting leadoff, went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, a walk and an RBI. Fox, in his first pro season, is now batting .240 with five extra-base hits in 26 games for Augusta.
• In his second game back from a stint with the big league club, Giants No. 18 prospectJarrett Parker went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo homers in Triple-A Sacramento's 4-2 win at Memphis. The right fielder also went deep on Saturday and has 12 homers in 29 Triple-A games this season, including 10 in his last 10 contests with the River Cats.

MILB Video - Title: Parker hits his second homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=701225083

Phillies No. 8 prospect Franklyn Kilome threw 5 2/3 strong innings, and teammate Jose Pujols (Phillies No. 25) hit a go-ahead solo home run in the sixth inning, as Class-A Lakewood beat West Virginia, 2-1. Kilome, a 6-foot-6 right-hander, allowed one run on four hits, with one walk and a season-high seven strikeouts. He has allowed three runs over 15 innings in three starts since posting a 15.83 ERA in his first three outings of the season. Pujols broke a 1-1 tie with his eighth homer of the season, and the 20-year-old outfielder is slugging .515 with 27 RBIs.

MILB Video - Title: Pujols helps power Lakewood - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=701179183

• First baseman Sam Travis and second baseman Marco Hernandez, the Red Sox's Nos. 7 and 13 prospects, formed a potent combination in Triple-A Pawtucket's 12-7 win over Gwinnett. Hernandez, batting second, went 3-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and three runs scored. Travis, batting third, went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs, a pair of walks, three runs scored and five RBIs. Travis now has gone deep three times in his past two games and is hitting .290/.349/.457 for the season, while Hernandez's line sits at .333/.386/.441.

MILB Video - Title: Travis smashes a home run - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=700610483

• It's been a strong season so far for Twins No. 6 prospect Stephen Gonsalves, and that didn't change in the left-hander's start for Class A Advanced Fort Myers against St. Lucie. Gonsalves improved to 5-1 and sports a 1.27 ERA after holding the Mets to one run on four hits over 5 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out three. The 21-year-old has made seven starts for Fort Myers and allowed no more than one run and four hits in each of his past six.