Friday's top prospect performers

June 26th, 2021

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

Mariners: Jarred Kelenic, OF (MLB No. 4), Triple-A Tacoma
The Mariners top prospect has had back-to-back impressive showings for Tacoma. Kelenic went 4-for-6 with a double, a triple and three RBIs on Friday night. That offensive outburst followed up Kelenic’s two-homer, four-RBI night from Thursday. The 21-year-old has hit .276 since being sent back down to Tacoma and has driven in 17 runs in 15 games. Mariners prospect stats »

Blue Jays: Jordan Groshans, SS (MLB No. 33), Double-A New Hampshire
Groshans fell one home run shy of matching his season total after going deep twice against Bowie, one of which was a grand slam. The former 12th overall Draft pick finished his two-homer night going 2-for-4 with a walk and a season-high six RBIs for the Fisher Cats. He has driven in 16 runs in his past 10 games and has brought home a total of 22 on the season. Blue Jays prospect stats »

Rays: Xavier Edwards, SS (MLB No. 67), Double-A Montgomery
Edwards went 3-for-6 with a double and two RBIs in Montgomery’s 12-1 blowout in Game 1 of a doubleheader, good for his third-straight multihit game and seventh multihit effort through 13 games. Edwards started the season on the injured list with an oblique issue but has now recorded at least one hit in six of his past seven contests and boasts a .346 average since making his season debut on June 8. Rays prospect stats »

A's: Cody Thomas, OF (No. 22), Triple-A Las Vegas
Make that five homers in five games for Thomas. One of the better power hitters in the A’s organization, Thomas continued his hot streak with a solo homer and a triple on a 2-for-3 night at the plate with three RBIs. It’s his fourth multihit performance in his past five games, and the 6-foot-4 outfielder now boasts a .995 OPS on the season. He’s boosted his average from .200 at the end of May to .281 as of Friday. Athletics prospect stats »

Angels: Orlando Martinez, OF (No. 16), Double-A Rocket City
After batting .253 to start the season, Martinez has had a successful second month of baseball with the Trash Pandas and continued that by going 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI. He is hitting .338 through 71 at-bats in June. The four-hit night was the 13th multihit game of the season for Martinez and his second four-hit game of 2021. Angels prospect stats »

Astros: Joe Perez, 3B (No. 26), High-A Asheville
Perez went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, which included a double and a homer to power Asheville to a 6-3 win over Winston-Salem. The 21-year-old has driven in 19 runs and hit seven homers in the month of June. He has also posted a .338 average and a 1.068 OPS since getting assigned to Asheville on May 25. Friday night’s four RBIs marked his fifth multi-RBI performance in his past 11 games. Astros prospect stats »

D-backs: Slade Cecconi, RHP (No. 6), High-A Hillsboro
Just a day after his 22nd birthday, Cecconi threw six scoreless innings, gave up six hits and struck out four against Spokane. It was the second time in his seven starts in the Minors that Cecconi has thrown six innings this season. The 33rd overall pick from the 2020 draft has a 4.51 ERA in 29 1/3 innings. D-backs prospect stats »

Marlins: Kyle Nicolas, RHP (No. 16), High-A Beloit
Jake Eder, LHP (No. 23), Double-A Pensacola
Peyton Burdick, OF (No. 11), Double-A Pensacola

It was a banner night for the Marlins’ farm. Nicolas, the No. 61 overall pick in the 2020 Draft, put together a solid start, tossing 5 2/3 innings of three-hit, one-run ball with eight strikeouts, good for his longest outing of the season. In Double-A, Eder continued his dominant start to the season, striking out nine over six innings of four-hit, one-run ball. His 1.13 ERA and .148 BAA lead all pitchers in the South division. Burdick joined in on the fun with two home runs, his ninth and 10th of the year, to bring home three of Pensacola’s six runs. Marlins prospect stats »

Pirates: Omar Cruz, LHP (No. 22), Double-A Altoona
In his first start since being called up from High-A Greensboro, Cruz gave up one run in six innings while allowing five hits and walking none in Altoona’s 4-3 walk-off win over Harrisburg. The southpaw pitched five scoreless innings in his Double-A debut and has given up just two runs over 12 innings in his past two starts in the Minors. He went 3-0 in his three starts before the call up and held hitters to a .168 average in that span. Pirates prospect stats »

Rangers: Steele Walker, OF (No. 11), Double-A Frisco
A towering three-run homer to right center was the highlight of Walker’s two-hit, four-RBI night at the plate. The former second-round pick has ramped it up in June, recording at least one hit in 12 of his past 15 games with an .877 OPS and 17 RBIs on 17 hits. It’s just the second time in his career that he’s recorded four RBIs in a game, and Frisco needed all of them en route to a 6-5 victory. Rangers prospect stats »