Saturday's top prospect performers

July 15th, 2018

Here's MLB Pipeline's roundup of the top prospect performances in the Minor Leagues on Saturday.
Considering how well is swinging the bat, it might not be long until he gets another crack at the Major Leagues.
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The Rangers' No. 2 prospect (No. 45 overall) homered and finished with three RBIs on Saturday as he extended his hitting streak to 18 games in Triple-A Round Rock's 7-5 loss against Oklahoma City.
After reaching via a walk in his first trip to the plate, Calhoun put Round Rock on the board with a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. He added a run-scoring single in the following frame and another knock in the seventh to finish 3-for-4 at the plate in his second straight game with three RBIs.
Calhoun batted just .229 in April but he has shown improvement in each month since, hitting .303 in May, .306 in June and .477 so far in July. The 23-year-old's turnaround has culminated in earnest with his ongoing hit streak, during which Calhoun's produced a .425 average (31-for-73) with eight extra-base hits and 15 RBIs.
Overall, Calhoun is hitting .305/.352/.445 for the season, with eight home runs, 26 doubles and 41 RBIs in 89 games.

MILB Video - Title: Calhoun blasts 2-run homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2271299383

The rest of the best performances from top prospects Saturday
No. 10 overall prospect (White Sox No. 2) racked up a season-high 11 strikeouts and allowed one earned run over six innings for Triple-A Charlotte. The 22-year-old right-hander threw 70 of his 96 pitches for strikeouts in the outing, allowing four hits and walking one. It was the third double-digit strikeout performance this season by Kopech, who leads all International League hurlers with 122 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings (18 starts).

MILB Video - Title: Kopech fans 11th batter - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2270739783

• No. 37 overall prospect Estevan Florial (Yankees' No. 1) went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and a double out of the leadoff spot for the Yankees' Rookie-level Gulf Coast League affiliate. The 20-year-old outfielder has been red hot during his rehab assignment in the GCL, hitting .478 (11-for-23) with two homers and four steals across seven games.
• No. 81 overall prospect Blake Rutherford (White Sox No. 7) recorded his second two-triple game of his career in Class A Advanced Winston-Salem's loss against Buies Creek. The 21-year-old outfielder had a perfect night at the plate, going 3-for-3 with an RBI and also reaching once via a walk. He's slashing .305/.348/.468 with 30 extra-base hits and 10 steals through 75 games and sports a .412 average with six multihit performances in his past 10 games.

Braves No. 9 prospect Joey Wentz matched his season high with 6 2/3 innings as he recorded his fifth straight scoreless start for Class A Advanced Florida. He scattered five hits, issued one walk and struck out five, throwing strikes with 67 of his 99 pitches in the performance. The 20-year-old southpaw has not allowed a run in his last 29 innings, during which he's allowed just 17 hits while also compiling 21 strikeouts and three walks. What's more, Wentz has lowered his overall ERA from 3.77 to 1.95.
Marlins No. 7 prospect homered for a third straight game and went 3-for-5 with four RBIs as he led Double-A Jacksonville past Biloxi, 7-4. Diaz's two-run shot in the first inning was his fourth in his past five games and pushed his season total to 10 home runs. He's hit safely in all five games during that stretch while racking up 10 RBIs and improving his average 14 points, from .229 to .243.
Phillies No. 6 prospect JoJo Romero scattered six hits over seven innings in his first scoreless start of the season for Double-A Reading in an 8-3 win over Bowie. He posted two walks against four strikeouts and generated another nine outs on the ground before departing with 100 pitches (63 strikes). The 21-year-old lefty has not allowed more than two earned runs in six straights while recording a 1.62 ERA over 39 innings in that span. Overall, Romero's ERA now sits at a season-low 3.80.

Rays No. 7 prospect Wander Franco added to his quickly growing legend by hitting for the cycle as part of a 5-for-6, two-homer, six-RBI performance in Rookie-level Princeton's 13-1 rout of Pulaski. In accomplishing the feat, Franco also extended his hitting streak to 19 games -- the longest this season in the Appalachian League. Assigned directly to the Appalachian League for his professional debut, Franco quickly has emerged as arguably the circuit's top prospect by hitting .392 and collecting hits in 22 of 23 games to open his career.
Tigers No. 26 prospect Jacob Robson notched his first four-hit game at the Triple-A level as Toledo fell to Indianapolis, 5-4. The Mud Hens' leadoff man accounted for much of his team's offense by hitting two doubles and driving in a pair as part of a 4-for-5 performance. The 23-year-old outfielder is hitting a robust .451/.508/.745 with three homers and six doubles in 13 games with Toledo after he slashed .286/.382/.450 with seven homers in 67 games with Double-A Erie.
Twins No. 26 prospect Jose Miranda drove in five runs and collected a season-high four hits before finishing a triple short of the cycle in Class A Cedar Rapids' 11-3 win over Lake County. Miranda's home run, a fifth-inning grand slam, was his 10th of the season, and the 20-year-old second baseman also has 19 doubles to go along with a .263 average and 59 RBIs through 84 games.
White Sox No. 28 prospect Jimmy Lambert maintained a no-hit bid for six-plus innings before completing seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball in Double-A Birmingham's 3-0 win over Tennessee. The 23-year-old righty issued two walks and struck out 10, his highest total in four starts since his promotion from Class A Advanced Winston-Salem. Behind a 3.13 ERA and 28 strikeouts over 23 innings in that span, Lambert owns a 3.75 ERA with 108 strikeouts in 93 2/3 frames (17 starts) for the season.

MILB Video - Title: Lambert fans 10 - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2271231983

• Reds first-rounder Jonathan India (No. 5 overall pick) picked up his first career triple as part of his second three-hit performance in three games for Rookie-level Greeneville. The 21-year-old third baseman finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBIs, giving him seven RBIs across his past three contests.