Wednesday's top prospect performers

June 3rd, 2021

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

Rays: Wander Franco, SS (MLB No. 1), Triple-A Durham
Franco continued to swing a hot bat, hitting his fifth homer of the year as part of a 3-for-5, three-RBI night at the plate. Baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect is 7-for-10 over his past two games and has hits in eight of the past 10 games in which he’s played. Franco, who hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, is hitting .314 through 24 games. Rays prospects stats »

Orioles: Grayson Rodriguez, RHP (MLB No. 21), Double-A Bowie
Gunnar Henderson, SS (MLB No. 97), Low-A Delmarva
New team, new level but the same dominance for Rodriguez. Making his Double-A debut for Bowie on Wednesday, the 21-year-old allowed one run over five innings with eight strikeouts before being lifted after tossing 71 pitches, 47 for strikes. Rodriguez was clipped for a run on two hits in the opening frame, but he shut down Hartford in his final four innings, limiting the Yard Goats to a pair of hits and two walks. The right-hander registered six strikeouts in an eight-batter sequence spanning the second and fourth innings. Rodriguez posted a 1.54 ERA and a 40-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 23 1/3 innings with High-A Aberdeen prior to his promotion.

Henderson, who leads the Minors with 35 RBIs, added another to his tally with a solo homer for Delmarva on Wednesday night. The 19-year-old also singled twice to complete his sixth three-hit performance of the season. Henderson’s name is all over the Minor League leaderboard, where he’s tied for fourth in total bases (61) and tied for fifth in extra-base hits (15) and runs scored (24). The Alabama native is batting .337/.402/.685 with eight home runs in 89 at-bats. Orioles prospects stats »

Pirates: Oneil Cruz, SS (MLB No. 51), Double-A Altoona
Cruz extended his hitting streak to seven games with his fifth homer of the year for Altoona. The 6-foot-7 shortstop also drove in a season-high four runs, went 4-for-5 at the plate and stole three bases. Cruz, who is hitting .287 this season, got the scoring started with a two-run homer in the first and then added a trio of singles to finish up his performance. Pirates prospects stats »

Brewers: Garrett Mitchell, OF (MLB No. 52), High-A Wisconsin
David Hamilton, SS (No. 27), High-A Wisconsin
The duo of Mitchell and Hamilton drove the offense for Wisconsin on Wednesday night. Mitchell hit his first career home run, singled and drove in a career-high four runs while scoring twice. The 22-year-old has gone 6-for-14 (.429) with four walks in his first 18 plate appearances.

Hamilton chipped in offensively in a different way, reaching base four times and swiping six bases from the top of Wisconsin’s lineup. The 23-year-old singled twice and drove in a run while walking two times to increase his OBP this season to .353. Hamilton is tied for second in the Minors with 19 stolen bases. Brewers prospects stats »

Braves: Shea Langeliers, C (MLB No. 59), Double-A Mississippi
Trey Harris, OF (No. 14), Double-A Mississippi
Langeliers smacked three homers in one game for the first time in his career while equaling his personal best with four hits to lead Mississippi. The 23-year-old has gone deep four times in his last five games and has torched Pensacola pitching for five long balls in 25 at-bats this season. Thanks to a 12-for-24 stretch over his last nine games, Langeliers has increased his slash line to .284/.407/.642. He began the season 7-for-39 (.179) with two home runs and five RBIs.

While Langeliers deservedly received the bulk of the attention, he wasn’t the only prospect raking for Mississippi. Harris also put together an impressive line, finishing 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Harris drove in a pair via a double in the fifth and then added another run-scoring double in the following frame. Braves prospects stats »

Royals: Jackson Kowar, RHP (MLB No. 98), Triple-A Omaha
Tyler Gentry, OF (No. 22), High-A Quad Cities
The reigning Minor League Pitcher of the Month started off June much the same way he finished May. Kowar allowed one hit and struck out five in five scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 0.85, the third lowest mark in the Minors. The 24-year-old has gone 14 straight innings without allowing a run. On Wednesday, Kowar yielded two baserunners on a one-out double in the first and a one-out walk in the fourth. He struck out two of the last three hitters he faced and tossed 42 of 70 pitches for strikes.

Gentry doubled his home run total with two swings of the bat. The 22-year-old slugged his third and fourth long balls of the season and drove in a career-high six runs to power Quad Cities’ offense. Gentry turned around an early deficit with a three-run shot before adding to his club’s lead with a sacrifice fly. He poked his second homer, a two-run blast, to cap his best performance as a professional. Through 24 games, Gentry is batting .263/.371/.500 with 11 extra-base hits and 15 RBIs. Royals prospects stats »

Cubs: Ryan Jensen, RHP (No. 8), High-A South Bend
Jensen was unhittable for five innings and picked up his second win of the season in the process. The 23-year-old, a first-round pick from the 2019 Draft, threw 46 of his 73 pitches for strikes, issued just one walk and struck out seven. Jensen hit the first batter of the game, then proceeded to retire nine in a row. He got into a little trouble in the fourth as the first two batters reached (walk and another hit-by-pitch), but he avoided all threats and retired five in a row to finish his start. Cubs prospects stats »

Mariners: Levi Stoudt, RHP (No. 14), High-A Everett
Stoudt, a third-round pick from the 2019 Draft, racked up a career-high 10 strikeouts over five innings of one-run ball. The 23-year-old has whiffed 27 over 23 innings and pitched to a 3.52 ERA through five starts. Stoudt struck out the side in both the first and third innings and notched at least one strikeout in each frame he pitched. Mariners prospects stats »

Marlins: Victor Mesa Jr., OF (No. 11), Low-A Jupiter
Mesa matched his career high with four hits as part of a 4-for-5, two RBI afternoon for Jupiter. The 19-year-old outfielder got the scoring started with an RBI double in the first and later drove in another run with a base hit. Mesa is hitting .241 through 23 games this season after hitting .284 through 47 games in his 2019 professional debut. Marlins prospects stats »

Rangers: Cole Winn, RHP (No. 3), Double-A Frisco
Winn was lights out as he threw 56 of his 82 pitches for strikes and struck out seven over six scoreless innings. The 21-year-old surrendered just one hit and lowered his ERA to 1.63 through five starts. Winn has held opponents scoreless in three of those starts this season and allowed just one run in another. Rangers prospects stats »

Red Sox: Aldo Ramirez, RHP (No. 19), Low-A Salem
Ramirez allowed just two of 17 batters to reach safely -- on a wild-pitch strikeout to the first hitter he faced and a second-inning double -- while tossing a season-high five scoreless innings for Salem. The 20-year-old recorded three of his punchouts in the opening frame and tossed 58 pitches, 40 in his final four innings when he set down the last 12 batters of his outing. Through five starts, Ramirez has a 2.86 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 23 innings. Red Sox prospects stats »