Here are Friday's 10 best prospect performers

August 31st, 2019

Here are the 10 best performances by players on team Top 30 Prospects lists from across the Minor Leagues on Friday:

Jesus Luzardo, LHP, A's No. 1
Luzardo, MLB’s No. 19 overall prospect, had his best start of the season Friday. The lefty tossed six innings of one-run baseball, issuing no free passes while striking out 10 batters. The 10 K’s and six innings pitched were both season highs for the 21-year-old, who has battled injuries over the course of the season which have limited his time on the mound. Still, he’s pitched to a 3.19 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League since joining the Aviators, and he just needs to stay healthy to eventually earn the call to the Majors. A's prospect stats »

Jared Walsh, 1B/OF/LHP, Angels No. 22
Walsh hit a pair of homers Friday, including a solo shot as a part of a three-run ninth inning to tie the game. Walsh’s Triple-A Salt Lake Bees would lose in extras, but history was still made. With the pair of blasts, Walsh tied the Salt Lake franchise record for home runs in a season with 36, and did so in only 98 games -- and while serving as a two-way player. Angels prospect stats »

Evan White, 1B, Mariners No. 4
After having his four-game multihit streak snapped in his previous game, White started a new multihit streak on Friday by recording his third two-homer game of the season for Double-A Arkansas. The Mariners’ No. 4 prospect (MLB No. 71) connected on a three-run shot in the first inning and added a solo shot in the fifth as he extended his career-high total to 18 home runs in his first Double-A campaign. He finished the game 2-for-3 and also reached base once via a walk. The 23-year-old first baseman has shown more power this season without it detracting from his natural hitting ability and on-base skills, as Friday’s performance gives him a .292/.349/.492 line through 90 games. Mariners prospect stats »

Will Robertson, OF, Blue Jays No. 20
After collecting a career-high four hits including a home run on Thursday, Robertson was back at it again for Class A Short-Season Vancouver on Friday, going deep for a second straight game en route to a career-best four RBIs. The Blue Jays’ No. 20 prospect and Creighton product was 7-for-10 with seven RBIs between the two contests. Overall, Robertson, a 21-year-old outfielder, has produced a .265 average with five home runs and 32 RBIs in 59 games during his pro debut in the Northwest League after being taken in the fourth round of this year’s Draft Blue Jays prospect stats »

David Peterson, LHP, Mets No. 7
Peterson dominated for Double-A Binghamton in his best start of the 2019 season. The 23-year-old left-hander allowed an unearned run over 6 2/3 frames during which he scattered three hits and racked up 10 strikeouts, matching his career-high. He recorded seven groundouts and did not issue a walk in the outing, throwing 55 of 88 pitches for strikes. Peterson’s quality start -- his first since July 3 -- helped to lower his season ERA from 4.65 to 4.19, and double-digit strikeout performance gives the former first-round pick (2017) 122 whiffs in 116 innings. Mets prospect stats »

Robel Garcia, 3B/2B, Cubs No. 26
Garcia's incredible return to stateside pro baseball continued Friday, as the 26-year-old -- who spent five years playing in Italy before returning to the United States to join the Cubs -- hit a first-inning grand slam to give Triple-A Iowa all the offense they’d need to pick up a 5-1 victory over Memphis. The dinger is his fourth in a week and 27th in 97 Minor League games this season, to go along with the four he hit during his time with Chicago earlier this summer Cubs prospect stats »

Taylor Trammell, OF and Edward Olivares, OF, Padres Nos. 2 and 18
The Double-A Amarillo outfielders each hit a home run and combined for five hits, four runs and three RBIs in the Sod Poodles’ 15-6 win over Arkansas. Trammell, San Diego’s No. 2 prospect (MLB No. 28), reached base four times and scored two runs out of the leadoff spot, going 3-for-4 with a double to go along with his eighth-inning solo shot. Trammell, 21, has hit .213 with three homers in 29 games for Amarillo since being acquired from the Reds a little more than a month ago in a three-team trade with the Indians. Olivares (No. 18), meanwhile, is on the cusp of a 20-20 season after hitting a two-run homer as a part of a 2-for-5 game. He’s tallied 18 homers and 34 steals for the Sod Poodles this season -- while slashing .285/.352/.458 over 125 games -- and could conceivably get his first crack at the Majors at some point in September when rosters expand. Padres prospect stats »

Joe Ryan, RHP, Rays No. 16
Ryan has now recorded a double-digit strikeout start at three different levels this season after punching out 11 batters in just 4 2/3 innings for Double-A Montgomery on Friday. The Rays’ No. 16 prospect gave up a solo homer in the first inning but allowed just two hits before he departed with 91 pitches (59 strikes). With the 11-strikeout performance, Ryan, whom the Rays plucked out of Division II Cal State Stanislaus in the seventh round of the 2018 Draft, moved into first place on the Minor League strikeout leaderboard with 182. The 23-year-old right-hander has reached that total in just 123 2/3 frames (13.3 K/9), too, and he’s done so while compiling a 1.97 ERA and holding hitters to a sub-.175 clip. Rays prospect stats »

Packy Naughton, LHP, Reds No. 13
Naughton tossed 7 1/3 solid innings for Double-A Chattanooga, striking out seven batters while allowing one run on four hits and a walk. It was an impressive rebound start for the 23-year-old southpaw, as he had allowed three, five and six earned runs in his previous three outings. Naughton sparkled in July, pitching to a 2.14 ERA over 33 2/3 innings, but struggled in August until Friday’s gem. Reds prospect stats »