Wednesday's top prospect performers

June 20th, 2019

Here's a look at Wednesdays top Minor League performers from each team's Top 30 Prospects list:

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: Anthony Alford, OF (No. 9) -- 3-for-4, 2B (Triple-A Buffalo)
Don’t look now, but Alford appears to be heating up. The toolsy 24-year-old is loaded with potential, but hasn’t hit much since the Blue Jays selected him in the third round of the 2012 Draft. Alford is hitting .248 this season, but he’s been on fire lately and is hitting .409 through 12 games this month. What’s more, Alford is working on a nine-game hitting streak and six of those are multihit performances.
Blue Jays prospects stats »

Orioles: Ryan McKenna, OF (No. 7) -- 3-for-5, 2B (Double-A Bowie)
That’s back-to-back multihit games for McKenna, who matched his season high with three hits in Bowie’s win over Hartford. The 2015 fourth-round pick is hitting .277 this month and has brought his average up to .226 after hitting .209 through the first two months of the season. McKenna, 22, hit .239 over 60 games with Bowie last season, but did impress in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .344 and posted a 1.064 OPS.
Orioles prospects stats »

Rays: No Rays prospects had noteworthy performances in the Minors on Wednesday.

Red Sox: No Red Sox prospects had noteworthy performances in the Minor Leagues on Wednesday.

Yankees: Albert Abreu, RHP (No. 3) -- 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K (Double-A Trenton)
Abreu, whom the Yankees acquired in a 2016 trade with the Astros, has yielded one run or less in four straight starts and has pitched to a 3.64 ERA through 13 games. The 23-year-old has impressive stuff -- a fastball that can reach triple digits and a power breaking ball -- but he struggles with command at times and has walked 39 batters through 64 1/3 innings this season. Of course, with that power stuff, he’s also struck out 59.
Yankees prospects stats »

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Indians: Yu Chang, SS/3B (No. 11) 1-for-2, HR, RBI (Triple-A Columbus)
The Clippers and Red Wings only played 4 1/2 innings before the skies opened up and rain suspended the game, but Chang did manage to hit his second homer of the year before play was halted. Chang missed roughly six weeks with a finger sprain and just returned on Tuesday, but prior to the injury he was off to a slow start this season. Entering play Wednesday, the 23-year-old was hitting .161 through 16 games and is coming off a 2018 season in which he hit .256 over 157 games.
Indians prospects stats »

Royals: Emmanuel Rivera, 3B (No. 17) -- 4-for-5, HR, 5 RBI (Double-A Northwest Arkansas)
Rivera set a season high for hits and matched his season high for RBIs as he led Northwest Arkansas to a 10-5 win over Amarillo. The 22-year-old provided all of his contributions late in the game as he hit a three-run homer in the seventh and drove in two with a base hit in the eighth. The Royals drafted Rivera in the 19th round of the 2015 Draft, and he made a strong full-season debut in 2017. Rivera was limited a bit last season with a thumb injury, but did hit .274 through 106 games. The 2019 campaign is his first at the Double-A level, and he's hitting .273 through 67 games.
Royals prospects stats »

Tigers: Anthony Castro, RHP (No. 21) -- 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 11 K (Double-A Erie)
Castro set a season high with 11 strikeouts and has been lights out since allowing six runs in one inning on May 25. Castro has allowed one earned run or less in four of his past five outings and has pitched to a 2.00 ERA with 21 strikeouts over 18 innings this month. The 24-year-old, whom the Tigers signed in 2011, initially moved slowly through the system and didn't make his full-season debut until 2017. However, Castro has posted a sub-3.00 ERA in each of his two full seasons and has worked his way up to Double-A.
Tigers prospects stats »

Twins: Royce Lewis, SS (No. 1, No. 7 in MLB) -- 2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI in Game 1; 0-for-3 in Game 2 (Class A Advanced Fort Myers)
Lewis’ first two-homer game of the year and the third of his career was a big one as it included a walk-off blast for the Miracle. The 2017 No. 1 overall pick hit a solo blast to extend Fort Myers’ lead to 3-0, but after Charlotte tied the game in the sixth, Lewis came up clutch in the seventh. The 20-year-old hit .292 in his full-season debut last, but has slumped a bit and is hitting .224 in his current campaign.
Twins prospects stats »

White Sox: Seby Zavala, C (No. 21) -- 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI (Triple-A Charlotte)
Zavala hit his ninth homer of the year and continues to hit well in June, having recorded at least one hit in five of his past six games. The 25-year-old catcher, a 2015 12th-round Draft pick out of San Diego State, is hitting .246 this season and .294 this month. Zavala made his Major League debut earlier this season and was able to pick up his first career hit, going 1-for-9 over three games.
White Sox prospects stats »

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

A’s: Luis Barrera, OF (No. 13) -- 2-for-3 (Double-A Midland)
Barrera boosted his average to .319 with his fourth straight multihit performance. Perhaps even more impressive, Barrera has hits in 16 of the 18 games he’s played in this month and is hitting .418 over that stretch. The A’s signed Barrera in 2012 and while he had performed well previously, he really elevated his stock last season when he hit his way to Double-A and slashed .297/.361/.426 over 124 games.
A's prospects stats »

Angels: No Angels prospects had noteworthy performances in the Minor Leagues on Wednesday.

Astros: No Astros prospects had noteworthy performances in the Minor Leagues on Wednesday.

Mariners: Justin Dunn, RHP (No. 2, No. 68 in MLB) -- 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K (Double-A Arkansas)
Dunn retired seven of the first eight batters he faced and threw 58 of his 88 pitches for strikes as he picked up his first win since late May. The Mariners acquired Dunn, a 2016 first-round pick, from the Mets in December and he’s pitched to a 3.46 ERA through 13 starts. The 23-year-old has had struggles with his command early in his career, but his stuff -- including a mid-90s fastball and a pair of breaking balls -- has been solid. Kyle Lewis (Mariners’ No. 7) also had a solid game and went 3-for-3 with two walks.
Mariners prospects stats »

Rangers: No Rangers prospects had noteworthy performances in the Minor Leagues on Wednesday.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Trey Harris, OF (No. 28) -- 2-for-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI (Class A Advanced Florida)
Not a ton is expected of players picked in the 32nd round of the Draft, but that’s exactly where the Braves grabbed Harris in 2018 and he’s done nothing but rake since. Harris hit .302 through 52 games in his professional debut last season and is batting an insane .366 through 68 games this season. The 23-year-old began the season with Class A Rome and after hitting .366, he was bumped up to Florida, where he’s hit .364 and homered in back-to-back games.
Braves prospects stats »

Marlins: No Marlins Top 30 prospects were in action in the Minor Leagues on Wednesday.

Mets: Tony Dibrell, RHP (No. 17) -- 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K (Class A Advanced St. Lucie)
Dibrell was lit up for seven runs (six earned) over 3 2/3 innings in his last start, but rebounded with a quality start for the Mets. The 23-year-old left the game with a zero on the scoreboard and a runner on first, but that runner eventually came around to score. The Mets picked Dibrell in the fourth round of the 2017 Draft and he’s shown promise thus far. Dibrell racked up 147 strikeouts in 131 innings last season and utilizes a four-pitch (fastball, slider, curveball, changeup) mix.
Mets prospects stats »

Nationals: No Nationals prospects had noteworthy performances in the Minor Leagues on Wednesday.

Phillies: Jhailyn Ortiz, OF (No. 11) -- 2-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI (Class A Advanced Clearwater)
Ortiz is showing off the power that enticed the Phillies to sign him in 2015. While the 20-year-old has battled with inconsistency throughout his career, power has always been his calling card. Ortiz hit a career-high 13 homers in 2018 and is already up to 10 in 2019 after his first two-homer game of the season. Ortiz hit two-run homers in both the first and sixth innings and is hitting .220 on the season.
Phillies prospects stats »

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

Brewers: Eduarqui Fernandez, OF (No. 22) -- 1-for-4, HR, RBI (DSL Brewers)
Fernandez, whom the Brewers signed in 2018 out of the Dominican Republic, hit his second professional homer and is hitting .254 through the first 16 games of his career. The 17-year-old is an aggressive hitter that drives the ball to all fields and is a plus runner as well.
Brewers prospects stats »

Cardinals: No Cardinals prospects had noteworthy nights in the Minors on Wednesday.

Cubs: Reivaj Garcia, 2B (No. 21) 2-for-3, RBI (Class A Short Season Eugene)
Garcia played a huge role in the Emeralds’ 2-1 win over Vancouver as he drove in a run with a base hit in the second and then scored a run in the fifth. The 17-year-old, who signed with the Cubs out of Mexico in 2017, was the youngest position player to appear in the U.S. Minors last season and more than held his own. Garcia hit .302 over 40 games in the Rookie-level AZL. This year, Garcia went 0-for-12 over the first four games before Wednesday’s two-hit effort.
Cubs prospects stats »

Pirates: Calvin Mitchell, OF (No. 6) -- 2-for-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI (Class A Advanced Bradenton)
Mitchell’s three-run blast in the fifth inning ultimately wasn’t enough as Bradenton fell, 12-7, to Clearwater. The homer, however, was Mitchell’s ninth of the season and another sign that he’s starting to tap more into his raw power. Mitchell has now homered three times over his past five games and is very likely to eclipse last year’s mark of 10 homers (119 games).
Pirates prospects stats »

Reds: Andy Sugilio, OF (No. 21) 2-for-4, 2B, RBI (Class A Advanced Daytona)
A day after his nine-game hitting streak came to a close, Sugilio got back in the hit column with a multihit performance, something that has become a bit of a habit for the 22-year-old. Sugilio has two or more hits in seven of his past eight games and is hitting .301 through his first 60 games with Daytona. Signed out of the Dominican in 2013, Sugilio has surprising power and has hit .286 as a professional.
Reds prospects stats »

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

D-backs: Emilio Vargas, RHP (No. 15) -- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (AZL D-backs)
Vargas, who has been out since May 10, went to the Rookie-level Arizona League for a rehab assignment and cruised through three innings of work. The 22-year-old, whom the D-backs signed in 2013, is coming off a strong 2018 campaign, during which he posted a 2.88 ERA and struck out 170 batters in 143 2/3 innings. However, prior to his injury, Vargas wasn’t faring nearly as well in 2019 as his ERA sat at 5.50 through seven starts (34 1/3 innings)
D-backs prospects stats »

Giants: Marco Luciano, SS (No. 3) -- 3-for-5, HR, 2 RBI (AZL Giants)
Luciano, 17, was considered by some scouts to be the best all-around hitter in the 2018 international class. While it’ll obviously take some time to find out if they were right, we’re getting our first glimpse early as Luciano debuts in the Arizona League. The shortstop got off to a slow start and went 0-for-8 over the first two games, but quickly got himself into the hit column with the first homer and three-hit night of his career.
Giants prospects stats »

Dodgers: DJ Peters, OF (No. 10) -- 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI (Double-A Tulsa)
Peters has now homered in back-to-back games and has gone deep three times over the past six games, bringing his season total to 11. Power is nothing new for the 23-year-old, a 2016 fourth-round Draft pick, who hit 27 homers in 2017 and 29 in 2018. However, Peters also struck out 189 times in 2018 and then 192 times a season ago. He has already fanned 90 times in 64 games this season and is hitting .242 in his second Double-A season.
Dodgers prospects stats »

Padres: Owen Miller, SS (No. 23) -- 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI (Double-A Amarillo)
Miller turned in his fifth three-hit game of the year, including a two-run double in the seventh, but the Sod Poodles fell to the Naturals. The 22-year-old, a third-round pick from the 2018 Draft, hit .336 in his professional debut and has continued to rake in his first full-season. Miller, who has a knack for hitting line drives, is hitting .322 through 68 games this season.
Padres prospects stats »

Rockies: Colton Welker, 3B (No. 2, No. 58 in MLB) -- 2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI (Double-A Hartford)
Welker hit his eighth homer of the season and his fifth of the month in his first multihit game since June 7. The 21-year-old, hitting .280 through 65 games this season, is competing at the Double-A level for the first time and certainly seems to be handling the transition well. Welker, a 2016 Draft pick (fourth round) has done nothing but hit since becoming a member of the Rockies’ organization. Welker is a career .325 hitter and has hit over .330 in each of the past two seasons.
Rockies prospects stats »