Monday's best: Hilliard homers twice to join 20/20 club

September 5th, 2017

It came down to the final game, but Sam Hilliard ultimately put the finishing touches on a 20/20 season as he powered Class A Advanced Lancaster to an 11-4 win over Inland Empire.
Hilliard, the Rockies' No. 19 prospect, entered the season finale with 37 stolen bases but needed another homer to join the 20/20 club.
The 23-year-old got the home rub out of the way in the second inning as he put the JetHawks on the board with a solo blast. Hilliard went yard again in the third inning, marking his second two-homer game of the season.
Hilliard finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs and closed the season on a seven-game hitting streak. He posted multi-hit efforts in seven of his final nine games and finished the season batting .300.
Lancaster begins its playoff run on Wednesday against Rancho Cucamonga.
Other top prospect performances from Monday's action:
No. 7 overall prospect Ronald Acuna's (Braves' No. 1) stellar campaign came to a fitting end with a 2-for-4, three-RBI performance with Triple-A Gwinnett. Acuna, who finished 2-for-4, got off to a fast start as he led off with a ground-rule double and hit a three-run homer, his 21st, in the second. After beginning the season with Class A Advanced Florida, Acuna played across three levels this season and finished with a slash line of .325/.374/.522 as well as career-highs in home runs (21) and RBIs (82).

MILB Video - Title: Acuna blasts three-run homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1812735583

No. 22 overall prospect Brendan McKay (Rays' No. 3) picked up his first professional win as he spun five innings of one-run ball for Class A Short Season Hudson Valley. McKay fired 56 of his 86 pitches for strikes, gave up four hits, walked two and struck out three.
Giants No. 2 prospect Chris Shaw hit a pair of homers, finishing the season with 24, in Triple-A Sacramento's win over El Paso. Shaw hit a solo homer in the fourth and then came up clutch with a game-tying, two-run homer in the ninth.

MILB Video - Title: Shaw's game-tying homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1812727383

Athletics No. 4 prospect belted a pair of home runs in Double-A Midland's win over Frisco. Mateo, who was dealt from the Yankees to the A's at the Trade Deadline, went deep in the third and eighth innings and finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs. (No. 14) also had a good game, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs.

MILB Video - Title: Mateo hits second homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1812722683

Indians No. 9 prospect Will Benson provided the bulk of the offense in Class A Short Season Mahoning Valley's 6-2 win over Batavia. Benson, who has 10 homers this year, matches his season highs with two home runs and four RBIs.
Phillies No. 9 prospect Adonis Medina finished his season on a high note as he needed to 57 pitches (44 strikes) to carve his way through six scoreless frames for Class A Lakewood. Medina, 20, faced the minimum and retired the final 10 batters he faced. When it was over, he had struck out seven and surrendered just one hit, finishing his season with a 3.01 ERA through 22 starts.
Braves No. 11 prospect Austin Riley concluded his season swinging a hot bat for Double-A Mississippi. The 20-year-old posted multi-hit efforts in each of his final three contests after going 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs in the finale. Riley, who drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the first and added a two-run double in the second, hit 8-for-11 (.727) over his final three games.
Dodgers No. 15 prospect Dustin May was nearly unhittable for Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga. May fired 45 of his 59 pitches for strikes and yielded just one hit over five scoreless frames. The 19-year-old righty issued just one walk and struck out eight, including the final four batters he faced.
Yankees No. 15 prospect concluded his season with his first two-homer game of the season. Austin hit solo homers in both the seven and ninth innings, but Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre fell to Lehigh Valley, 4-3.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Austin launches a pair of homers - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1812755483

D-backs No. 19 prospect collected a trio of extra-base hits in his fourth straight multi-hit effort for Double-A Jackson. Reyes, who finished 3-for-4 and a single shy of the cycle, hit his fourth homer of the season in the fourth inning and finished his first Double-A season with a .292 batting average in 126 games. Reyes' late surge helped his average as he boosted the mark to .292 from .276 over the final five games.

MILB Video - Title: Reyes rips homer to right - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1812731283

Brewers No. 21 prospect Cody Ponce held his opponent scoreless for the second time in three starts with Double-A Biloxi. Ponce, who was bumped up to Biloxi on Aug. 22, has a 1.53 ERA through three starts after throwing six scoreless frames. The right-hander yielded three hits, walked one and fanned three.
Braves No. 22 prospect Bryse Wilson finished his season with three hitless frames for Class A Rome. The 19-year-old struck out six in the outing and finished his first full season with a 2.50 ERA across 26 starts (137 innings).
Reds No. 28 prospect Michael Beltre will enter the Midwest League playoffs with a bit of momentum for Class A Dayton. Beltre, who hit just .238 this season, collected a season-high four hits in the last game of the regular season and has posted multi-hit efforts in each of his past three contests, going 9-for-11 (.818) over the final three games of the season.