Sunday's top prospect performers

July 16th, 2018

Here's MLB Pipeline's roundup of the top prospect performances in the Minor Leagues on Sunday.
Royce Lewis didn't have the same opportunity as some of his fellow 2017 first-rounders did to showcase his bright future in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Nationals Park on Sunday. But a lack of national stage didn't stop last year's No. 1 overall Draft pick from tying his career high with four hits in his second game with Class A Advanced Fort Myers.
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The Twins' No. 1 prospect (No. 11 overall) rebounded from an 0-for-3 showing on Saturday in his Florida State League debut to finish 4-for-5 with four singles and one run scored in Fort Myers' 5-4 loss against Lakeland.
Lewis opened the game with a leadoff single to center field for his first hit with the Miracle. He added two more knocks in his next two trips to the plate before grounding into a double play to end the seventh inning, as well as his perfect night at the plate. He picked up his fourth hit in the top of the ninth inning and later came around to score on 's two-run double.
Lewis batted .279 with four homers and 18 steals between the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and Class A Cedar Rapids last summer following his selection by the Twins with the No. 1 pick.
In his first full season, meanwhile, the 19-year-old shortstop has elevated his stock by hitting .320/.373/.485 with nine homers, 23 doubles and 53 RBIs in 77 games between Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers. He's also tallied 22 steals in 27 attempts and has demonstrated an advanced feel for the strike zone, registering strikeout and walk rates of 14.9 and 7.4 percent, respectively, over 336 plate appearances.
The rest of the best performances from top prospects Sunday
• No. 5 overall prospect (Nationals' No. 1) filled out the box score by recording his second multihit performance in three games while on a rehab assignment in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. The 21-year-old outfielder reached base four times, going 2-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and three runs scored. Robles also swiped a pair of bags in the contest, giving him four steals to go along with a .385 average in his first six games back from a three-month stint on the disabled list because of a hyperextended left elbow that he suffered on April 9.
• No. 13 overall prospect MacKenzie Gore (Padres' No. 2) set a career high with 10 strikeouts in five innings but ultimately took the loss as Class A Fort Wayne fell to Peoria, 2-1. He surrendered two earned runs on three hits and a season-high three walks while throwing 93 pitches (56 strikes). Gore has been sharp since his return from a second stint on the disabled list for a blister issue, as Sunday's outing gives the 19-year-old southpaw a 2.25 ERA and 35 strikeouts over his last 28 innings.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Gore strikes out 10th - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2274660483

• No. 63 overall prospect Beau Burrows (Tigers' No. 4) permitted one earned run on three hits in seven innings to earn the win in his longest start of the season for Double-A Erie. The 21-year-old right-hander racked up nine strikeouts, his second-highest total this season, and walked a pair while throwing 61 of 98 pitches for strikes. At the plate, meanwhile, Daz Cameron (Tigers' No. 10) paced the SeaWolves' offense with a 2-for-5, three-RBI performance that was highlighted by two-run homer in the first inning. It was the third straight two-hit game for the 21-year-old outfielder, who's slashed .311/.371/.566 with five homers and 22 RBIs in 25 games since receiving a promotion to Double-A.
Brewers No. 8 prospect Tristen Lutz hit a pair of doubles and plated three runs to help power Class A Wisconsin past South Bend, 11-7. He accounted for three of his team's 16 hits in the victory, going 3-for-6 in his fifth multihit performance in nine games. After posting a .182 average with a 32.8 percent strikeout rate across his first 28 games, Lutz, a 19-year-old outfielder, is now hitting .291 with 28 extra-base hits and a 24.3 percent whiff rate over his last 51 games. Altogether, Lutz has produced a .251/.322/.438 batting line with nine homers, 23 doubles and 42 RBIs in 79 games.
Cardinals No. 30 prospect Daniel Poncedeleon fired a one-hit shutout, the first of his career, in Triple-A Memphis' 8-0 win over Omaha. Facing three over the minimum over nine innings, the 26-year-old right-hander posted five strikeouts against two walks and threw 77 of his 110 pitches for strikes in the Redbirds' first nine-inning shutout in two years. Spending all of 2018 in the Pacific Coast League -- save a for a three-day stint with the Cardinals in June during which he failed to appear in a game -- Poncedeleon has pitched to 2.15 ERA with 103 strikeouts and 48 walks in 92 innings (18 games/17 starts). He's held opponents to a .198 average and just four home runs in the hitter-friendly league.

MILB Video - Title: Poncedeleon finishes one-hitter - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2274891483

Phillies No. 15 prospect hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat and later added a solo shot en route to his fourth multi-homer game of the season for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Cozens also tallied a double in the contest to finish 3-for-4 with three RBIs. After leading the Minors with 40 homers in 2016 and hitting 27 more last season, Cozens has produced 14 homers in 54 Triple-A games this season -- including seven in the last 10 games.

MILB Video - Title: Cozens goes yard - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2274831983

Red Sox No. 12 prospect Bobby Dalbec went deep for a seventh time in 10 games for Class A Advanced Salem as he extended his Carolina League-leading home run total to 23. The 23-year-old third baseman reached base in each of his four plate appearances, finishing 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored and two RBIs. Dalbec's now homered eight times in just 14 games in July after totaling 15 homers in 73 games across the season's first three months. He's hitting .265 overall, with a circuit-best 25 doubles, 78 RBIs and 176 total bases.
• Cubs first-rounder Nico Hoerner (No. 24 overall pick) connected on his first full-season home run, hitting a solo shot in the sixth inning of Class A South Bend's loss to Wisconsin. He finished 2-for-4 at the plate, also recording a double to go along with three RBIs in the loss. A 21-year-old shortstop whom the Cubs selected out of Stanford, Hoerner is batting a combined .327/.450/.571 with 10 runs, six stolen bases and six extra-base hits in the first 14 games of his professional career.

MILB Video - Title: Hoerner hits first MWL homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2274793583

• Giants first-rounder Joey Bart (No. 2 overall pick) slugged the seventh home run of his career and finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in Class A Short Season Salem-Keizer's loss against Everett. All seven of Bart's homers have come in the 10 games since his promotion to Salem-Keizer, a stretch during which the 21-year-old catcher is hitting .310 with a 1.213 OPS and 16 RBIs.
• Cardinals first-rounder Nolan Gorman (No. 19 overall pick) owns a share of the Rookie-level Appalachian League home run lead after connecting on his seventh home run in 21 games for Johnson City. The homer, a fifth-inning solo shot, marked Gorman's only hit in four at-bats. The 18-year-old slugger is hitting .309 with 10 extra-base hits, 16 RBIs and 26 runs scored as a pro.