Sunday's top prospect performers

August 23rd, 2021

Here's a look at Sunday’s top Minor League performers from each team's Top 30 Prospects list:

Tigers: Riley Greene, OF (MLB No. 7), Triple-A Toledo
It took Greene only six games before he blasted his first Triple-A home run as the Tigers’ No. 2 prospect drove in five of Toledo’s nine runs with a 3-for-5 performance. Greene got the scoring started with a two-run blast in the bottom of the first, and he tallied a two-run single in the second to help the Mud Hens jump in front 5-0. After falling behind 8-5 in the sixth, Greene’s final RBI helped put Toledo within a run, and the Hens walked it off after loading the bases in the ninth. On the season, Greene is slashing .297/.378/.523 with 17 dingers and 60 RBIs. Tigers prospect stats »

Nationals: Cade Cavalli, RHP (MLB No. 41), Double-A Harrisburg
Cavalli tossed five scoreless innings of one-hit ball in what turned out to be a tight extra-innings contest between Harrisburg and Akron. The Nationals’ No. 2 prospect struck out four and walked two while never letting a runner reach scoring position in the Senators’ 2-1 victory. It’s the 23 year-old’s third scoreless outing in his past five starts, lowering his Double-A ERA to 2.79 with 80 strikeouts in 58 innings. Nationals prospect stats »

Padres: Robert Hassell III (MLB No. 47), Low-A Lake Elsinore
The third-ranked Padres prospect homered, doubled and tallied a career-best five RBIs on the night. Hassell launched a three-run shot to center to pull the Storm to within 6-4 in the seventh inning, grounded into a go-ahead RBI fielder’s choice in the eighth, and laced an RBI double to the gap in left-center in the ninth. The 20-year-old has six dingers, 28 doubles and has driven in 58 runs over 88 games with Lake Elsinore this season. Padres prospect stats »

Pirates: Nick Gonzales, 2B (MLB No. 68), High-A Greensboro
Gonzales has been just about unstoppable lately. The Pirates’ No. 4 prospect tallied a four-hit game, his third of the year and second in his past 10 games, as he notched his 17th double of the season and reached the 10-homer mark with a solo shot in Greensboro’s seven-run fourth inning. He even added a stolen base, his fifth of the season. The No. 7 pick of the 2020 Draft is slashing a scorching .373/.434/.667 in August with four homers, eight doubles, eight multihit games and 12 RBIs. Pirates prospect stats »

Royals: Nick Pratto, 1B (MLB No. 71), Triple-A Omaha
Pratto launched his fourth homer in as many games as he finished a double shy of the cycle in a 3-for-4, four-RBI performance. The Royals’ No. 4 prospect continues to add to his career-high homer total as he now boasts 25 long balls, far surpassing the previous mark of 14 he set back in 2018. The 22-year-old is now riding a five-game hit streak with 11 RBIs after taking an 0-for in five straight games prior. In 29 games since getting the call to Triple-A, Pratto is batting .282 with two triples, nine doubles, 10 homers and 28 RBIs. Royals prospect stats »

Cardinals: Nick Plummer, OF (No. 10), Double-A Springfield
Alec Burleson, OF (No. 12), Triple-A Memphis
Juan Yepez, OF/1B (No. 27), Triple-A Memphis

Plummer mashed two long balls for his second multihomer game of the season as part of a 3-for-4 day at the plate, his fifth three-hit game of the year. The lefty also legged out his fourth triple of the season, drove in three runs and walked once. Rising from No. 28 to No. 10 on the Cardinals’ new Top 30 prospect list, Plummer is enjoying the best season of his career with a .283 average, .893 OPS, 13 home runs and 46 RBIs in 90 Double-A games.

A pair of prospects both had big days for the Redbirds as they plated 12 runs. In his first Minor League season, Burleson has jumped from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A in 90 games, and he blasted his first home run in Triple-A as part of a 6-RBI day. That’s a career-high for the 22-year-old, and it gives him 65 runs batted in on the season. Across three levels, he’s blasted 19 homers with a .283/.336/.479 slash line.

Not only did Yepez go 4-for-4 at the plate, but all four of his hits were doubles. Before Sunday, he hadn’t hit more than one double in a game all season. With 20 total two-baggers across two levels of play, 20% of his doubles for the year came in this one game. The 23-year-old also notched two RBIs and a run scored before Nolan Gorman took his place on the basepaths as a pinch runner in the sixth. In 69 Triple-A games this season, Yepez is batting .271 with 16 doubles, 16 homers and 40 RBIs. Cardinals prospect stats »

Marlins: Griffin Conine, OF (No. 22), Double-A Pensacola
Conine blasted home runs Nos. 33 and 34 to widen his lead atop the Minor League long ball leaderboard. It was Conine’s third multihomer game of the season, and he drove in four runs (three on the homers, one on a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded) in Pensacola’s 9-1 win. The two dingers also gave the 24-year-old a homer in three straight plate appearances dating back to Saturday’s game-tying solo shot in the bottom of the ninth. Nine of Conine’s 34 homers this year have come at the Double-A level. Marlins prospect stats »

Phillies: Luis Garcia, SS (No. 9), Low-A Clearwater
Garcia blasted two extra-base hits in the form of a home run -- his eighth of the year -- and a double on an eventful 5-for-6 day at the plate in Clearwater’s 22-5 thrashing of Bradenton. It’s the first five-hit effort of Garcia’s career and the first time all season he’s recorded more than three hits in a game. The 20-year-old added a walk, an RBI and three runs scored to his loaded day, bringing his average up from .210 to .223 in a single day. Phillies prospect stats »

Red Sox: Nick Decker, OF (No. 21), Low-A Salem
Decker notched his first multihomer game of the season and the second of his career on a three-RBI day at the dish. His first dinger, a solo shot in the second, put Salem ahead 2-0 before he launched a two-run blast in the seventh to stretch his team’s lead to three. In 46 Low-A games, the 21-year-old has hit five homers to go with a .262 average, .806 OPS and 25 RBIs. Red Sox prospect stats »

Rockies: Ezequiel Tovar, SS (No. 11), High-A Spokane
Tovar continued his breakout 2021 campaign with a career-high 5 RBIs in a 3-for-3 game that saw him launch his first High-A homer and a double in Spokane’s 8-6 win. The 20-year-old has recorded hits in 11 of the 13 games he’s played at Spokane, but is hitting .241 at the new level. On the year, Tovar has logged 24 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, 22 stolen bases and 62 RBIs across both Low-A and High-A. Coming into this season, Tovar’s previous career high for homers was two, so his added pop this season gives Colorado a nice young piece to plan for in its future lineups. Rockies prospect stats »

Yankees: Beck Way, RHP (No. 22), Low-A Tampa
Make that three scoreless outings in a row for Way (and his fourth in a row without letting up an earned run) as the 22-year-old struck out seven over 4 2/3 innings of hitless ball in Tampa’s 8-2 win. Way set the tone for the Tarpons as they carried a combined no-hitter into the eighth inning before a one-out single broke up the feat. Way retired the first eight batters in order, including striking out the side in the opening inning, and tossed 47 of his 74 pitches for strikes. The 2020 fourth-rounder lowered his ERA to 2.68 and is holding batters to a .144 average. Yankees prospect stats »