Tuesday's top prospect performers

April 24th, 2019

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

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: Alejandro Kirk, C (No. 27) -- 2-for-4, 2B, RBI (Class A Lansing)
Kirk boosted his average to .339 with his second multihit game in as many nights. The 20-year-old is making his full season debut this year after signing with the Blue Jays in 2016 and spending the past two seasons in Rookie ball. Kirk has hits in 13 of the 15 games he's played in and has reached base in all 15.
Blue Jays prospects stats »

Orioles: Zach Pop, RHP (No. 20) -- 2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (Double-A Bowie)
Pop lowered his ERA to 0.96 with his fifth (out of six) scoreless appearance of the year. The right-hander, acquired from the Dodgers as part of last season's Manny Machado trade, threw 18 of his 27 pitches for strikes in his longest outing of the season. The four hits were the most Pop has given up in an appearance this year, but he worked his way around the hits and put a pair of zeros on the board.
Orioles prospects stats »

Rays: Wander Franco, SS (No. 1, MLB No. 12) -- 3-for-3, 3 2B, 2 R, BB (Class A Bowling Green)
The 18-year-old shortstop has hit in nine straight games for the Hot Rods after collecting a season-high three hits (all doubles) as part of a perfect day at the plate. His overall batting line improved from .263/.343/.386 to .300/.389/.467 with the performance, and he’s now tallied eight extra-base hits (6 2B, 2 3B) in 16 games. Franco took home the Rookie-level Appalachian League MVP Award at age 17 last year, hitting .351/.418/.587 with 11 homers in 61 games, with a circuit-best 85 hits and 57 RBIs.
Rays prospects stats »

Red Sox: Triston Casas, 1B/3B (No. 2) -- 2-for-2, 2 2B, RBI (Class A Greenville)
Casas entered the day mired in a 2-for-18 skid, but it didn't take him long to get back on track. The 2018 first-round pick doubled in each of his first two at-bats before the game was suspended because of rain. Casas is off to a slow start, hitting just .180 in his professional debut but perhaps the pair of doubles are a sign of things to come.
Red Sox prospects stats »

Yankees: Clarke Schmidt, RHP (No. 5) -- 4.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (Class A Advanced Tampa)
Schmidt, a first-round pick from the 2017 Draft, didn't have his best stuff, but still put together an effective outing. The 23-year-old, making his full-season debut, has a 3.57 ERA through four starts.
Yankees prospects stats »

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Indians: Oscar Mercado, OF (No. 19) -- 4-for-5, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI (Triple-A Columbus)
Mercado continued his red-hot stretch with his first four-hit game of the season. The 24-year-old, who the Indians acquired via trade last July, extended his hitting streak to nine games with a solo homer in the first inning and then just kept on hitting. Mercado raised his average to .361 this season with hits in each of his final three at-bats, including a two-run double in the fourth inning.
Indians prospects stats »

Royals: Khalil Lee, OF (No. 2) -- 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI (Double-A Northwest Arkansas)
After going 0-for-4 on Monday, Lee bounced back with his first homer of the season on Tuesday. Lee, 20, put together his seventh multihit game of the year and also stole his seventh base. Lee finished the 2018 campaign at Double-A and hit .245 over 29 games. This year, he's hitting .306 through 18 games.
Royals prospects stats »

Tigers: Casey Mize, RHP (No. 1, MLB No. 16) -- 8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (Class A Advanced Lakeland); Matt Manning, RHP (No. 2, MLB No. 49) -- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K (Double-A Erie)
No pitcher has dominated to begin the season quite like Mize. In his latest stellar performance, the 2018 No. 1 overall pick retired the final 20 batters he faced en route to completing a career-high eight innings. He faced one over the minimum in the outing, recording four strikeouts and 13 groundouts while throwing 69 of his 82 pitches for strikes. As for his overall numbers, the 21-year-old right-hander has pitched to a 0.35 ERA, a 0.31 WHIP and a 25/1 K/BB rate over 26 innings (four starts) in the Florida State League. He’s held hitters to an .085 average. Manning was equally brilliant for Erie and retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced. The 21-year-old has given up one run or less in three of his four starts this season and has amassed 32 strikeouts in just 22 2/3 innings.
Tigers prospects stats »

Twins: Lewis Thorpe, LHP (No. 8) -- 8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 12 K (Triple-A Rochester)
Make that back-to-back starts with 12 strikeouts for Thorpe. The 23-year-old, who signed with the Twins back in 2012, has already amassed 45 strikeouts (30 innings pitched) this season and while he's struck out 24 over his past two starts, Tuesday's outing was much more efficient. Thorpe threw 71 of his 95 pitches for strikes in what was his first scoreless start of the season.
Twins prospects stats »

White Sox: Luis Alexander Basabe, OF (No. 7) -- 2-for-5, 3B (Class A Kannapolis)
Basabe, who broke the hamate bone in his left hand during Spring Training, went 0-for-5 in his season debut on Monday, but bounced back with a pair of hits on Tuesday. The 22-year-old, who signed with the White Sox in 2012, hit .258 and set career highs in homers (15) and RBIs (56) in 119 games last season.
White Sox prospects stats »

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

A’s: Nick Allen, SS (No. 15) -- 2-for-4 (Class A Advanced Stockton)
After a slow start to the year, Allen appears to be heating up. The 20-year-old, a third-round pick from the 2017 Draft, has hits in three straight games and multiple hits in three of his past four contests. Allen hit .239 over 121 games with Class A Beloit last season.
A's prospects stats »

Angels: Jeremy Beasley, RHP (No. 25) -- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K (Double-A Mobile)
After giving up seven earned runs in 6 2/3 innings in his first two starts of the year, Beasley has bounced back with a pair of scoreless starts (nine innings). Beasley has nine strikeouts compared to four walks in that span. The 23-year-old, who threw 45 of his 74 pitches for strikes, picked up his first win on Tuesday. Beasley reached Double-A late in the 2018 season and posted a 2.44 ERA over 10 appearances (seven starts).
Angels prospects stats »

Astros: Abraham Toro, 3B (No. 23) -- 3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI (Double-A Corpus Christi)
A day after his 12-game hitting streak came to a close, Toro bounced back with a big three-hit performance, his first of the season. Toro hit his third homer of the year and brought his RBI total up to 16 through 17 games. Toro hit .247 in 133 games last season, then went out and impressed in the Arizona Fall League where he ranked third in on-base percentage (.463), slugging (.561) and OPS (1.023).
Astros prospects stats »

Mariners: Jarred Kelenic, OF (No. 2, MLB No. 53) -- 2-for-4, 2B (Class A West Virginia)
Kelenic extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his sixth multihit game of the season. Kelenic, acquired over the offseason via a trade with the Mets, struggled over the first week of the season, but once he got rolling, he's been hard to stop. The outfielder has also seen nine of his 24 hits go for extra-bases.
Mariners prospects stats »

Rangers: Sam Huff, C/1B (No. 21) 2-for-5, HR, RBI (Class A Hickory)
Huff has been on a bit of a power surge lately and already has seven homers through 17 games after hitting a career best 18 in 118 games a season ago. Huff, hitting .317 this season, has homered in three of the past four games.
Rangers prospects stats »

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Kyle Wright, RHP (No. 2, MLB No. 29) -- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K (Triple-A Gwinnett)
Wright threw 52 of his 91 pitches for strikes and picked up his first win of the season. The right-hander, who has also appeared in three Major League games this season, gave up five runs in four innings in his first Triple-A start, but clearly fared much better this time around. Wright, a 2017 first-round pick, will likely spend plenty of time with both Gwinnett and Atlanta this season.
Braves prospects stats »

Marlins: Trevor Rogers, LHP (No. 15) -- 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (Class A Advanced Jupiter)
After giving up five runs over his first two starts, Rogers has put together a pair of strong seven-inning starts, surrendering just the one unearned run. The lefty has given up 15 hits over his past 14 innings, but has been able to keep the opponents off the scoreboard, largely because he hasn't issued any walks.
Marlins prospects stats »

Mets: Patrick Mazeika, C (No. 27) -- 3-for-6, 2 2B, 2 RBI (Double-A Binghamton)
Mazeika, an eighth-round pick from the 2015 Draft, turned in his first three-hit game of the year after posting seven such performances a season ago. Mazeika is hitting just .205 through 11 games this season after hitting .231 over 87 games with Binghamton in 2018.
Mets prospects stats »

Phillies: Spencer Howard, RHP (No. 5) -- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K (Class A Advanced Clearwater)

After giving up a lead-off double, Howard retired nine of the next 10 batters he faced, six via strikeout, as he set the tone for a dominant out. The 2017 second-round pick threw 58 of his 84 pitches for strikes as he set a career high with 11 strikeouts. Howard, pitching at the Class A Advanced level for the first time, has pitched to a 2.25 ERA with 30 strikeouts and four walks over 20 innings.
Phillies prospects stats »

Nationals: Jackson Tetreault, RHP (No. 26) 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K (Class A Advanced Potomac)
Tetreault has given up one run or less and thrown five or more innings in each of his four starts this season. The right-hander, who the Nationals grabbed in the seventh-round of the 2017 Draft, has pitched to a 1.23 ERA so far this season. The three strikeouts were his fewest in a start this year, while the two hits allowed matched his fewest from his last trip to the mound.
Nationals prospects stats »

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

Brewers: Aaron Ashby, LHP (No. 9) -- 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 K (Class A Wisconsin)
Things seemed to click for Ashby in his third start of the season, as he fired five no-hit frames with 10 strikeouts to pace the Timber Rattlers in a combined one-hit shutout of Cedar Rapids. The 20-year-old lefty -- Milwaukee’s fourth-round pick in last year’s Draft -- has racked up double-digit strikeouts in three of his nine starts for Wisconsin, including a 12-strikeout performance in his penultimate start in 2018.
Brewers prospects stats »

Cardinals: Connor Jones, RHP (No. 16) 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K (Double-A Springfield)
Jones fired 27 of his 42 pitches for strikes as he cruised through two innings of relief. The 24-year-old began his career as a starter, but showed upside pitching out of the bullpen during the Arizona Fall League and has begun the 2019 campaign pitching in relief as well. Jones has made seven appearances thus far, given up four runs (10 1/3 innings), walked 11 and struck out 12.
Cardinals prospects stats »

Cubs: Jhonny Pereda, C (No. 29) 2-for-5, 2 RBI (Double-A Tennessee)
Pereda is off to a slow start in his first stint at the Double-A level, hitting .213 through 15 games. However, he appears to be figuring things out lately as he’s strung together a four-game hitting streak. The 23-year-old has boosted his batting average more than 60 points over that stretch and collected five RBIs in the process.
Cubs prospects stats »

Pirates: Luis Escobar, RHP (No. 10) 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K (Class A Advanced Bradenton)
Escobar extended his season-opening scoreless streak to 8 1/3 innings with another strong performance out of the bullpen. Escobar, 22, threw 21 of his 39 pitches for strikes and has racked up 12 strikeouts this season while issuing just four walks.
Pirates prospects stats »

Reds: Nick Senzel, 3B/2B/OF (No. 1, MLB No. 5) 1-for-5 (Triple-A Louisville)
Senzel’s stats in Tuesday’s game probably weren’t all that important as the Reds and their fans simply wanted to see him healthy and back on the field. Senzel singled in his first at-bat, but went hitless, including three strikeouts, in his next four plate appearances. Senzel hit .310 in 44 games last year and is expected to contribute in Cincinnati at some point this season.
Reds prospects stats »

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

D-backs: Daulton Varsho, C (No. 4) 3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI (Double-A Jackson)
After going hitless for four games (14 at-bats), Varsho had apparently had enough. The 22-year-old broke out of his funk with his best game of the season and hit his third homer of the year in the process. Varsho hit .294 over 83 games a season ago and is in Double-A for the first time.
D-backs prospects stats »

Dodgers: Gerardo Carrillo, RHP (No. 18) 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K (Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga)
Carrillo, who signed with the Dodgers in 2016, spun his best start of the year. The 20-year-old split the 2018 season between Rookie ball and Class A Great Lake and posted a 1.50 ERA over 60 total innings. Carrillo has a 4.11 ERA through 15 1/3 innings this season.
Dodgers prospects stats »

Giants: Logan Webb, RHP (No. 5) 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (Double-A Richmond)
Webb followed up his worst start of the season with one of his best. After being charged with four runs in six innings in his last turn, Webb set a season high with nine strikeouts. The 2014 fourth-round pick threw 57 of his 81 pitches for strikes and is off to a strong start, having pitched to a 2.14 ERA through 21 innings.
Giants prospects stats »

Padres: MacKenzie Gore, LHP (No. 2, MLB No. 14) 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K (Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore)
When six innings of one-run ball raises your ERA, you know you’ve been throwing the ball well. That’s exactly the situation Gore, whose ERA is now 1.23, found himself in after Tuesday’s start with the Storm. The 20-year-old has been lights out all season, having amassed 27 strikeouts compared to just three walks.
Padres prospects stats »

Rockies: Ryan Rolison, LHP (No. 5) 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K (Class A Advanced Lancaster)
It’s hard to imagine Rolison’s Lancaster debut going much better than it did. After starting the season with a trio of solid starts for Class A Asheville (2-1 with a 0.61 ERA), Rolison was promoted to Lancaster where he continued to dominate. The 22nd-overall pick from last year’s Draft threw 59 of his 79 pitches for strikes and retired 11 in a row at one point.
Rockies prospects stats »