Here's MLB Pipeline's roundup of the top prospect performances in the Minor Leagues on Friday.
Tyler Ivey flirted with perfection and Seth Beer hit a key three-run home run as Class A Advanced Buies Creek defeated Winston-Salem, 6-5, to advance to the Carolina League finals.
Ivey, the No. 25-ranked prospect on Houston's Top 30 list, carried a perfect game into the sixth inning before finally allowing a two-out single. He went on to complete 7 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with one walk and six strikeouts. He threw 60 of 89 pitches for strikes and also induced eight ground-ball outs.
MILB Video - Title: Ivey picks up 6th K - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2474961683
The 22-year-old right-hander pitched to a 2.69 ERA, held hitters to a .196 average and racked up 82 strikeouts over 70 1/3 innings in Carolina League during the regular season.
Beer, the Astros' No. 7 prospect, put Buies Creek on the board with his opposite-field blast in the sixth inning and finished 1-for-4. He went 2-for-10 with four RBIs in the series.
Selected by Houston with the 28th overall pick in June, Beer crushed 12 home runs across three levels during his professional debut, slashing .304/.389/.496 with 42 RBIs in 67 games.
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The rest of the best performances from top prospects Friday
• No. 7 overall prospect Forrest Whitley (Astros' No. 1) returned from the disabled list to allow one hit and one earned run in 2 2/3 innings for Double-A Corpus Christi. He issued one walk and recorded six of his eight outs via the strikeout while throwing 48 pitches (30 strikes). The 20-year-old right-hander was scratched from his final regular-season start with lat discomfort and subsequently landed on the disabled list on Aug. 25 -- his second DL stint of 2018. After Whitley departed the game, the Hooks' offense clubbed four consecutive home runs in the fourth inning, a feat that hadn't been achieved in the Texas League since 1922.
• No. 26 overall prospect Keston Hiura (Brewers' No. 1) hit a pair of doubles for Double-A Biloxi, including one in the eighth inning that plated the game-winning run in the Shuckers' 3-2 win over Pensacola. With the victory, Biloxi took a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-5 Southern League semifinals. The 22-year-old second baseman has hit safely in five straight games dating back to the regular season, which he finished with a .293/.357/.464 line, 52 extra-base hits and 15 steals in 123 games across two levels.
MILB Video - Title: Hiura knocks go-ahead RBI-double - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2475034983
• No. 58 overall prospect Julio Pablo Martinez (Rangers' No. 3) hit a first-inning solo shot and scored a pair of runs as Class A Short Season Spokane edged Everett, 5-4, to advance to the Northwest League finals. Over 60 games with Spokane during the regular season, Martinez slashed .266/.378/.547 with 25 extra-base hits (9 HR) and 13 steals.
• Padres No. 10 prospect Cal Quantrill turned in one of his better starts of the season to help Triple-A El Paso stay alive in the best-of-5 Pacific Coast League semifinals. The 23-year-old right-hander tossed six innings of two-hit ball during which he issued one walk, struck out seven and threw 56 of 88 pitches for strikes.
MILB Video - Title: Quantrill fans Tucker - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2475604783
• Phillies No. 18 prospect Spencer Howard fired a postseason no-hitter as Class A Lakewood advanced to the South Atlantic League finals with a 1-0 victory over Kannapolis. He issued one walk, hit a batter and struck out nine over nine frames in the career-long outing. Of his 103 pitches, 73 were strikes, and he needed just 13 pitches to complete the final two frames. The performance was a continuation of a dominant second half in which the 22-year-old right-hander posted a 2.67 ERA over 12 starts.
MILB Video - Title: Howard tosses no-hitter - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2474889883
• Pirates No. 5 prospect Cole Tucker hit a game-tying grand slam in the fifth inning as Double-A Altoona rallied back from an early deficit to defeat Akron, 8-5, and claim its first win in the best-of-5 Eastern League semifinals. The 22-year-old shortstop has homered in back-to-back postseason contests on the heels of a regular season in which he went deep five times in 133 games for the Curve.
MILB Video - Title: Tucker hits grand slam - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2474728683
• Reds No. 5 prospect Tony Santillan was sharp for Double-A Pensacola but took a no-decision as the Blue Wahoos fell to Biloxi, 3-2, in game three of the Southern League semifinals. Working 6 1/3 innings, the 21-year-old right-hander allowed one earned run on two hits and one walk while striking out eight. Splitting the season between Pensacola and the Florida State League, Santillan posted a 3.08 ERA, fanned 134 and issued 38 walks over 149 innings (26 starts).
• Royals No. 8 prospect Daniel Lynch allowed three hits over four innings as Class A Lexington blanked Rome, 4-0, to secure a spot in the South Atlantic League finals. He struck out three and walked one in the postseason outing after finishing his professional debut with a 1.58 ERA and 61-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 51 1/3 innings (12 starts). Brewer Hicklen (No. 21) paced the Legends at the plate by hitting a double and a triple as part of a 2-for-4 performance. He scored two runs and also drove in two in the victory.
• Twins No. 29 prospect Jose Miranda's two-run home run in the sixth inning was the difference as Class A Advanced Fort Myers topped Daytona, 3-1, in the opener of the Florida State League finals. He also hit a double in the contest, finishing 2-for-4. Miranda's homer was his second in as many games after he connected on a decisive, two-run shot in Fort Myers' series-clinching win over Palm Beach in the FSL semifinals.