Trevor Clifton was one of the hottest pitchers in the Minor Leagues as the regular season concluded and not much has changed in the postseason.
The Cubs' No. 8 prospect fired six scoreless frames as Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach blanked Lynchburg, 7-0, on Tuesday night, taking a 2-1 series lead in the Carolina League Finals.
Clifton, who posted a 2.72 ERA in 23 starts this season, didn't allow an earned run in four of his final five regular season starts.
"I threw a lot of fastballs early in the season to this team, and I mixed it up today, kept them off balance with the changeup and curveball, pitched backwards today and felt good about it. The results were good," Clifton told MiLB.com. "[Before] my last two starts, I began to watch video on the hitters and I focused on what they struggled with and executed my plans."
In the playoffs, the 21-year-old right-hander has made a pair of starts and given up one earned run in 12 innings.
The Pelicans provided Clifton with a one-run lead in the top of the first and that was all he needed. Clifton allowed three hits and didn't issue a walk. He also struck out five and threw 48 of his 78 pitches for strikes.
The rest of the best performances from top prospects Tuesday:
• No. 64 overall prospect Tyler O'Neill (Mariners' No. 2) was named Southern League MVP after hitting .293 with 102 RBIs in 130 games and has continued to come up clutch in the postseason. After hitting the go-ahead double in Game 1 of the Southern League Finals, O'Neill went 1-for-3 in Game 2 as Double-A Jackson took a commanding 2-0 series lead with its 2-0 win. O'Neill is 10-for-23 in the playoffs.
• No. 96 overall prospect Yadier Alvarez (Dodgers' No. 5) threw well, but did not earn a decision in Class A Great Lakes' series-clinching victory over West Michigan. Alvarez, who posted a 2.29 ERA in nine starts for the Loons this season, gave up two runs (both unearned) on three hits in five innings.
• Yairo Munoz (Athletics' No. 7) helped Double-A Midland grab an early lead with a two-run double in the top of the first. Midland went on to win Game 1 of the Texas League Finals over Northwest Arkansas, 5-3, and Munoz, who had 16 doubles and 39 RBIs in 102 games this season, finished 1-for-3.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Munoz doubles - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1164869183

• Touki Toussaint (Braves' No. 10) was dominant for Class A Rome as it evened up the South Atlantic Finals with Lakewood. The 20-year-old scattered four hits across eight innings, giving up one run and fanning six.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Toussaint finishes 8 - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1164869683

• Omar Estevez (Dodgers' No. 12) vaulted Class A Great Lakes into the Midwest League Finals with a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the 8th. Estevez was just 1-for-5 in the game, but that hit was a big one in the 5-2 win.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: MiLB Video - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1164076083

• Carlos Asuaje (Padres' No. 20) came through with a big hit in Triple-A El Paso's win in Game 1 of the Pacific Coast League Finals. The 24-year-old had a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the third and went 1-for-4 with three RBIs in El Paso's 7-5 win over Oklahoma City. Padres' No. 3 prospect Hunter Renfroe went 2-for-4 and scored a run.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: MiLB Video - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1164445583

• Rangers No. 12 prospect Jairo Beras continued his torrid postseason stretch for Class A Advanced High Desert. He went 3-for-4 with an RBI, which marks his fourth multi-hit effort in four postseason games.
• Billy McKinney (Yankees' No. 15) continues to hit in the playoffs. McKinney went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles in a loss for Double-A Trenton and is a scorching 8-for-16 with four multi-hit efforts in the postseason.
• Jake Cave (Yankees' No. 23) had 11 three-hit games in 116 regular season contests and has one in the postseason after going 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in Game 1 of the International League Finals.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: MiLB Video - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1163908683