Friday's top prospect performers
Here's MLB Pipeline's roundup of the top prospect performances in the Minor Leagues on Friday.
With a callup to the Majors this September unlikely, Peter Alonso is making a statement as he puts the final touches on one of the better offensive campaigns by any Minor Leaguer this season.
The Mets' No. 2 prospect (No. 61 overall) hit a pair of home runs before finishing 4-for-5 with four RBIs and a season-high four runs scored in Triple-A Las Vegas' 11-2 win over Sacramento. The multi-homer performance was Alonso's third this season and second with Las Vegas.
Alonso put the 51s on the board with an RBI single in his first at-bat and then extended the lead in the following frame with a two-out solo shot to right-center field. He would add another single in his third trip to the plate before connecting on his second home run of the game, another solo shot, in the sixth. Batting for the last time in the eighth inning, Alonso struck out swinging on six pitches.
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Alonso is contending to finish the regular season as the Minor League leader in both home runs and RBIs. With three games remaining on Las Vegas' schedule, the 23-year-old first baseman ranks first in the Minors in RBIs, with 117, and second with 35 home runs. In the latter category he trails only Idandel Isabel, who's gone deep 36 times for Class A Advanced Daytona.
Overall, Alonso has hit .284/.396/.576 with 65 extra-base hits and 91 runs scored in 129 games between Las Vegas and Double-A Binghamton.
Other top prospect performances from Friday:
• No. 46 overall prospect Estevan Florial (Yankees' No. 2) scored three runs and matched his season high with four hits, going 4-for-7 with a double and a triple for Class A Advanced Tampa in a resumed game from Aug. 12. The 20-year-old outfielder has put together a solid season despite missing time following surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his hand. In 73 games with Tampa, Florial's hit .252/.353/.360 with 22 extra-base hits and 11 steals.
• No. 86 overall prospect Blake Rutherford (White Sox No. 7) hit his first home run since June 22 to help power Class A Advanced Winston-Salem past Down East, 7-4. He finished the game 3-for-5 with three RBIs and also scored two runs. Though he hasn't shown much over-the-fence pop this season, hitting just seven homers in 112 games in the Carolina League, Rutherford has totaled 25 doubles and nine triples while slashing .293/.343/.439 with 14 steals at age 21.
• Astros No. 7 prospect Seth Beer hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to cap a 3-for-6, three-RBI night at the plate in Class A Advanced Buies Creek's 14-1 rout of Carolina. The 2018 first-round pick has now gone deep 11 times in 64 games across three levels during his pro debut after hitting 22 bombs in 63 games as a Clemson junior this past spring.
• Marlins No. 3 prospectNick Neidert did it all as he pitched and powered Double-A Jacksonville past Mississippi, 5-1, in his final start of the year. On the mound, the 21-year-old righty gave up one earned run and scattered five singles in six innings, waking two and striking out three. At the plate, meanwhile, Neidert tied the game in the sixth inning with his first career home run, a leadoff shot, and later in the frame he added a single to finish 2-for-2. Acquired from Seattle during the offseason in the Dee Gordon trade, Neidert pitched to a 3.24 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP with 154 strikeouts and 31 walks over a Southern League-high 152 2/3 innings (26 starts) in 2018. He also paced the circuit with 12 wins and finished second in strikeouts.
• Orioles No. 3 prospect DL Hall tied a bow on his first full season by tossing five scoreless frames in a no-decision for Class A Delmarva. He allowed just two hits, walked a pair and struck out five before departing with 79 pitches (48 strikes). The 2017 first-rounder did not allow more than one earned run in any of his final 13 outings (12 starts) in the South Atlantic League while lowering his ERA from 4.22 to 2.10. The 20-year-old lefty ultimately compiled 100 strikeouts and 42 walks and held hitters to a .203 average in 94 1/3 innings (22 games/20 starts).
• Phillies No. 10 prospect Cole Irvin did not allow a run for the fourth time in six starts as he led Triple-A Lehigh Valley past Rochester, 3-1, and picked up his International League-leading 14th win. The 24-year-old lefty tossed six innings of three-hit ball in which he issued one walk, struck out five and threw 52 of his 82 pitches for strikes. The scoreless outing lowered Irvin's ERA to 2.57, pushing him ahead of teammate Enyel De Los Santos into first place on the IL leaderboard.
• A four-hit, four-RBI game from Pirates No. 7 prospect Kevin Kramer wasn't enough to keep Triple-A Indianapolis from falling to Louisville, 6-5. The 24-year-old second baseman matched his season high with four RBIs, as he plated three runs with a pair of doubles in his first two at-bats and later added a solo shot (as well as a single) to finish 4-for-5. He's hitting .425 with three homers and seven multihit performances in his last 10 games. For the season, Kramer has produced a .310/.364/.491 line with 15 home runs, 34 doubles and 13 steals in 127 games with Indianapolis.
• Royals No. 21 prospect Brewer Hicklen connected on his third home run in four games and drove in three as he extended his hitting streak to six games Class A Lexington. The 22-year-old outfielder's homer, a two-run shot in the third inning, was his 18th of the year -- 17 of which have come in South Atlantic League, where Hicklen has hit .313/.379/.563 over 80 games.
• Yankees No. 22 prospectErik Swanson allowed one earned run on three hits over 6 1/3 innings to earn the win in his final start of the season for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. One of those three hits was a leadoff home run in the seventh inning by Brandon Phillips, as Swanson otherwise permitted just a pair of singles and a walk while striking out eight. He ultimately posted a 2.66 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, with 139 strikeouts and 29 walks in 121 2/3 innings across three levels.