Here are Monday's 10 best prospect performances

August 20th, 2019

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

T.J. Zeuch, RHP, Blue Jays No. 17
Zeuch turned in the performance of a lifetime Monday, throwing a no-hitter for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. Zeuch struck out just three batters, but forced plenty of weak contact, including 15 groundouts. The right-hander issued a walk in the third inning and then retired another 15 consecutive batters before hitting Zander Wiel with a pitch in the bottom of the eighth.

This was the first no-hitter for the Buffalo Bisons since Bartolo Colon pulled it off on June 20, 1997. Monday’s performance comes on the back of Zeuch throwing six shutout innings his last time out and lowers his ERA to 3.84. Behind the plate was Beau Taylor, who just joined the Blue Jays’ organization via waivers from the Athletics last week and was appearing in just his second game with the Bisons.

Zeuch’s defense was steady behind him all night long, but no play was bigger than Jonathan Davis’ in the bottom of the ninth. With Zeuch two outs away from making history, Ian Miller drove a low liner to centre field that had a real chance of dropping for the first hit of the game. Davis raced in and extended fully to make a diving catch and keep the no-hitter alive.

For the final out of the game, Zeuch did what he does best, forcing his 15th groundout of the day. This one was right back to Zeuch, who tossed over to first before being mobbed by his teammates. Blue Jays' prospects stats »

Adley Rutschman, C, Orioles No. 1
Rutschman did it all on Monday for the Class A Short-Season Aberdeen IronBirds, going a perfect 5-for-5 with a home run, triple and four RBIs. The only thing missing was a double, which would have given Rutschman the cycle, but the No. 1 pick from the 2019 MLB Draft single handedly broke the game open. Rutschman’s home run was his second of the season and his first with Aberdeen. Monday’s performance also extends the 21-year-old’s hitting streak to 10 games, where he’s produced a combined 17 hits and driven in 14 runs. Through 20 games with Aberdeen, Rutschman is now hitting .325 with an .894 OPS. Baseball’s No. 6 prospect has also posted a .413 on-base percentage at the level thanks to his 12 walks. Orioles' prospects stats »

Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals No. 1
Witt Jr. had the best game of his young career on Monday night in the Rookie-level Arizona league. The 19-year-old, the second overall pick from this year’s Draft, matched his career high for hits and set a career high with four RBIs, finishing 3-for-5 with a triple. Witt is hitting .264 through the first 32 games of his career, but has hit better lately with hits in nine of the 13 games he’s played in this month. Royals' prospects stats »

Gavin Lux, SS/2B, Dodgers No. 1
Lux has turned multihit games into an expected outcome this season, but he kept the ball rolling Monday with two singles, a walk and two RBIs. His Triple-A average still sits comfortably above .400 at .419 and his 1.269 OPS remains something that is typically reserved for video games. This performance comes after Lux went just 2-for-12 with six strikeouts over his last three games, which is as close as it gets to a cold spell for the Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect and the No. 10 overall prospect. Dodgers' prospect stats »

Luis Robert, OF, White Sox No. 1
Robert followed up his two-homer performance on Sunday with another long ball on Monday, his 28th of the season. This one came on a pitch in the lower, inside corner of the zone that Robert turned on to hit a mile high and a mile long. Major League Baseball’s No. 5 prospect is now hitting .305 with a 1.002 OPS in Triple-A after conquering the Double-A and Class A Advanced levels earlier this season. Down the stretch, Robert has some milestones in his sights as he sits just two home runs shy of 30 and four stolen bases shy of 40 on the season. White Sox prospect stats »

Jordyn Adams, OF, Angels No. 3
Adams did it all with a single, triple, home run and two walks for Class A Burlington on Monday. Adams now has hits in seven straight and has 15 hits over his past 10 games as he continues to heat up in August. He's also walked (7) more than he’s struck out (6) over that span, so the 19-year-old is seeing the ball well. Adams’ seventh home run is part of a power progression that has some real potential as he develops, and his speed should start to impact games more, too, as he gains experience. Adams has 15 stolen bases this season, and his 80-grade speed makes him one of the most gifted runners in the Minor Leagues. Angels' prospect stats »

Dylan Carlson, OF, Cardinals No. 2
Carlson went 3-for-4 with a walk on Monday for Triple-A Memphis, where he’s already made a great impression through his first five games. Carlson, who also ranks as the No. 50 overall prospect in baseball, is 10-for-21 (.476) since earning the promotion to Triple-A with four extra-base hits and three walks. Over Carlson’s 113 combined games this season, the 20-year-old is hitting .290 with 22 home runs and a .905 OPS. He’s also two stolen bases away from posting a 20-20 season. Cardinals' prospect stats »

Seth Beer, 1B/OF, D-backs No. 4
Beer is still settling in after coming over from Houston in the Zack Greinke deal at the Trade Deadline, but there’s no doubt that he can hit. The 22-year-old hit two doubles on Monday for Double-A Jackson and drove in a pair, which leaves him with a .245 average and .718 OPS since joining the D-backs’ organization. If you look at the full picture of his season, though, including time with Class A Advanced Fayetteville (Astros) and two Double-A clubs, Beer is hitting .301 with 25 home runs, 100 RBI and a .941 OPS. D-backs' prospect stats »

Joey Bart, C, Giants No. 1
Bart went deep for the second time in Double-A on Monday, giving him a total of 14 for the season. He hasn’t matched his numbers from Class A Advanced San Jose (.265/.315/.479) over 10 games at his new level, but that’s sure to come for the young catcher who projects to hit for both power and average. Bart finished the night 2-for-5, which was certainly a welcome results after he'd gone 0-for-11 over his past five games. Over 67 combined games in the Minor Leagues this season, the Georgia Tech product -- a 2018 first-round Draft pick -- is now hitting .257 with a .772 OPS. Giants' prospect stats »

Abraham Toro, 3B, Astros No. 6
Toro reached base three times on Monday for Triple-A Round Rock, which is almost to be expected at this point. Toro has 22 hits over his last 10 games alone, including eight games with two or more hits. The Triple-A level hasn’t slowed Toro down after he earned the promotion from Double-A and, between the two levels, he is now hitting .322 with 16 home runs, 79 RBIs and a .926 OPS. The switch-hitting third baseman has more pop from the left side of the dish, where he’s hit 13 of those 16 home runs in 2019. Toro is five doubles short of his career high of 35, set in 2018, and his next home run will set a new career high as well. Astros' prospect stats »