Tuesday's top prospect performers

June 26th, 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: No Blue Jays prospects had noteworthy performances in the Minor Leagues on Tuesday.

Orioles: Grayson Rodriguez, RHP (No. 1, MLB No. 53) -- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K (Class A Delmarva)
Rodriguez, whom the Orioles selected with the No. 11 overall pick in last year’s Draft, allowed a leadoff single, then proceeded to sit down 14 straight batters before departing the game after five scoreless innings. It was the second straight scoreless start from the 19-year-old right-hander, who struck out six while throwing 47 of 66 pitches for strikes. Rodriguez flashes front-of-the-rotation potential with his power arsenal and advanced feel for pitching, so it should not come as a surprise that he’s flat-out dominating hitters in the South Atlantic League this season. He owns a 2.21 ERA and 0.86 WHIP over 57 innings (11 starts), during which he’s held hitters to a .169 average while posting 78 strikeouts against 15 walks. Orioles prospects stats »

Rays: Wander Franco, SS (No. 1, MLB No. 1) -- 2-for-3, BB, SB (Class A Adv Charlotte)
Franco is just 18 years old, but that didn't stop the Rays from promoting him to the Class A Advanced Florida State League, where he is, by far, the youngest player in the circuit. And although it was just one game, baseball's No. 1 prospect certainly looked like he belonged as he came through with an RBI single in his first at-bat. Prior to his promotion, Franco had been tearing up the Midwest League and was hitting .318/.390/.506 through 62 games with Class A Bowling Green. The Rays signed Franco for $3.8 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2017 and the switch-hitter promptly impressed, winning the Rookie-level Appalachian League's MVP at age 17. Franco has the ability to impact the ball from both sides of the plate and has a tremendously high offensive ceiling. Rays prospects stats »

Red Sox: Triston Casas, 1B/3B (No. 1, MLB No. 96) -- 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI (Class A Greenville)
The South Atlantic League has been no issue for the Red Sox top prospect, who added his fourth homer in June on Tuesday. The 2018 first-rounder singled and homered to power an offensive outburst for the Drive, who routed the Intimidators, 12-3, in seven innings. Casas owns an .870 OPS in 2019, his first full pro season, with half of the 19-year-old's 66 hits going for extra bases. Red Sox prospects stats »

Yankees: Luis Gil, RHP (No. 13) -- 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 9 K (Class A Charleston)
Gil has rarely had a bad outing this year, posting a 2.06 ERA through 13 starts with the Riverdogs. The three runs the 21-year-old surrendered on Tuesday are tied for the second most he's allowed in an outing this season, but his nine strikeouts were just one short of his season high as he earned the win over Rome. Batters have been hard pressed vs. Gil, who has allowed a .195 BAA, though he's also issued 30 walks in 65 2/3 innings. Since allowing six earned runs on May 22, the right-hander has allowed just six earned runs over 28 2/3 innings. Yankees prospects stats »

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Indians: George Valera, OF (No. 5) -- 4-for-5, 2B, HR, 6 RBI (Class A Short Season Mahoning Valley)
Valera, 18, recorded all of his career-high six RBIs in his first three at-bats, as he plated a run with a double in the first inning, drove in a pair in the third via a single and then blasted his third homer of the season, a three-run shot, in the fifth. He added a single in the ninth for good measure to finish with four hits, which was also a career-high. Valera, who signed for $1.3 million out of the Dominican Republic in July 2017, logged just six games during his pro debut last summer before a broken hamate bone in his right hand ended the campaign. Fully healthy in 2019, the sweet-swinging outfielder is offering a taste of his high offensive ceiling in the New York-Penn League, where he's now hitting .333 (1.050 OPS) with six extra-base hits and 13 RBIs through 10 games. Indians prospects stats »

Royals: Austin Cox, LHP (No. 20) -- 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K (Class A Adv Wilmington)
Cox handled his promotion to Class A Advanced Wilmington extremely well. After throwing a career-high 119 pitches in his final start with Class A Lexington -- an eight-inning shutout performance -- the 22-year-old got 10 days off, then notched six strikeouts in an 89-pitch outing on Tuesday. A fifth-rounder from the 2018 Draft, Cox has limited the damage for much of the 2019 season. In fact, he hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in a start over his past nine turns. The lefty has cut his walk rate from 4.05 BB per 9 IP in his 2018 Rookie-league campaign to 2.57 BB per 9 IP this season. Royals prospects stats »

Tigers: Jose Azocar, OF (No. 29) -- 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI (Double-A Erie)
After posting a two-hit day in the Seawolves' 10-5 win over Binghamton, Azocar has now recorded three multihit performance in his past four games. The Venezuelan native singled in Erie's three-run third inning, then knocked an RBI double in the four-run fourth, and he scored in each inning. It's a good sign for the center fielder, who has cooled off at the plate since opening the year with a .378/.397/.500 line over 20 games in April. Overall, though, he's held his own at Double-A this season, nearly matching his combined line from 2018 (.295/.339/.390 this year vs. .297/.320/.399 last year). Tigers prospects stats »

Twins: LaMonte Wade Jr., OF (No. 22) -- 3-for-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB (Triple-A Rochester)
With his RBI double in the fourth inning and solo home run in the sixth, Wade's bat proved the difference in Rochester's 10-9 win over Scranton on Tuesday. He reached base in all four trips to the plate, tallying a single and a walk in the contest to go along with his two extra-base hits. The 25-year-old has been hot lately, hitting .423 with twice as many walks (10) as strikeouts (five) over his last nine games -- a stretch during which he's improved his season average from .226 to .248. The 2015 ninth-rounder is faring better in his return to Triple-A this year (.248/.395/.368, 5 HR in 69 games) after posting a .229/.337/.336 line with four homers over 76 games last season in his first exposure at the level. Twins prospects stats »

White Sox: Steele Walker, OF (No. 10) -- 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI (Class A Adv Winston-Salem)
Walker didn't hit any homers over the first 20 games of the season with Class A Kannapolis, but once he was bumped up to Winston-Salem, the power started to come. The 22-year-old has homered five times in 41 games with the Dash, but three over those blasts have come over the past eight games. Overall Walker is hitting an even .300 on the year, but he seems to have found an offensive rhythm lately as he's hitting .318 in June, his best average of any month this season. White Sox prospects stats »

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

A’s: Jonah Heim, C (No. 29) -- 3-for-5, RBI (Triple-A Las Vegas)
Heim continues to rake for Las Vegas and is hitting .455 through 11 games. The 23-year-old, whom the A's acquired from the Rays in December 2017, hit .285 through 45 games with Double-A Midland to begin the season and has been red-hot since he was promoted to Vegas on June 9. While he has hit well recently, Heim is more of a defensive-minded catcher. A's prospects stats »

Angels: Jack Kruger, C (No. 21) -- 4-for-5, 2 R (Double-A Mobile)
It hasn't been the best season overall for Kruger, but it's been steadily getting better. With his four-hit night on Tuesday, his first since June 30 of last season, the catching prospect has put up multihit performances in four of his past five games. In fact, June as a whole has indicated an improved swing for the 24-year-old, as he's slashed .292/.306/.417 in 12 games after batting just .217 across April and May. Kruger also scored the game-winning run in the ninth after a bases-loaded walk. Angels prospects stats »

Astros: J.J. Matijevic, 1B/OF (No. 19) -- 1-for-4, HR (Class A Adv Fayetteville)
Matijevic has homered twice over the past three games, bringing his season total to four through 23 games. The 23-year-old, a 2017 Draft pick, got off to a slow start this season as he hit .240 through 19 games with Double-A Corpus Christi and was then suspended 50 games for a second failed test of a drug of abuse. Matiejevic has been back for four games and is 3-for-15 at the plate. Astros prospects stats »

Mariners: No Mariners prospects had noteworthy performances in the Minor Leagues on Tuesday.

Rangers: Cole Winn, RHP (No. 2, MLB No. 65) -- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (Class A Hickory)
Winn, a 2018 first-round Draft pick, put together the best start of his young career as he threw 37 of his 57 pitches for strikes over four scoreless frames. The 19-year-old didn't pitch after the Draft and is making his professional debut this season and has struggled thus far, posting a 7.59 ERA through 21 1/3 innings. While he's clearly taking some time to get used to the pro game, Winn does have two plus pitches -- a fastball and a curveball -- already in his arsenal. Rangers prospects stats »

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Logan Brown, C (No. 30) -- 2-for-4, 2B, R (Class A Adv Florida)
Known as a defense-first catcher, Brown has been showing a solid hit tool this season. After being named a South Atlantic League All-Star, he earned a promotion to Class A Advanced Florida, where he's reached safely in his first five games, including his two-hit day on Tuesday. The 22-year-old has recorded a hit in 14 of 17 June games, including back-to-back three-hit games for Rome. But the power still has yet to show, as his double on Tuesday was just his fourth extra-base hit in June, and he hasn't hit a homer since his season debut. Braves prospects stats »

Marlins: Braxton Garrett, LHP (No. 7) -- 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K (Class A Adv Jupiter)
Garrett’s comeback came full circle on Tuesday as the 21-year-old southpaw turned in his best pro outing, firing seven hitless frames with 11 strikeouts (both career-high marks) in Jupiter’s win over Bradenton. He retired the first 10 batters of the game and ultimately faced two over the minimum before departing the game with 88 pitches (58 strikes). He struck out the side in the second inning and tallied multiple strikeouts in four different frames. Selected by Miami with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2016 Draft, Garrett made just four starts the following year before undergoing Tommy John surgery that kept him out of action until this season. He’s pitched very well in his return to the mound in 2019, posting a 2.86 ERA with 82 strikeouts over 63 innings (12 starts) in the Florida State League in a campaign that’s reminded the baseball community of why he was such a highly touted high school prospect three years ago. Marlins prospects stats »

Mets: Francisco Alvarez, C (No. 12) -- 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 2B, RBI, BB; Adrian Hernandez, OF (No. 14) -- 2-for-5, 2 R, HR, SB (Gulf Coast League Mets)
The Mets landed two of the better international prospects on the market last year when they signed Alvarez for $2.7 million (third-highest bonus in the class) and Hernandez for $1.5 million at the outset of the signing period on July 2. Both were deemed by the organization to be advanced enough to make the jump stateside this season, and neither disappointed Tuesday in their Gulf Coast League debuts, where they combined to go 4-for-9 with three extra-base hits and four runs scored. Mets prospects stats »

Phillies: Connor Seabold, RHP (No. 28) -- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (GCL Phillies)
Seabold missed much of the first two months of the season while recovering from an oblique strain, but the 23-year-old righty showed no ill effects from the injury as he struck out five of the six batters he faced in his season debut. A third-round pick in the 2017 Draft out of Cal State Fullerton, Seabold reached Double-A last year in his first full season after receiving an aggressive Opening Day assignment to Class A Advanced Clearwater. Between the two levels, he posted a 4.28 ERA with 132 strikeouts and 33 walks in 130 1/3 innings (23 starts). Phillies prospects stats »

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

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

Brewers: Keston Hiura, 2B (No. 1, MLB No. 12) -- 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI (Triple-A San Antonio)
That's three home runs in the last four games for Hiura after he connected on a solo shot in the seventh inning as part of his second three-hit performance in three days. He's absolutely raked -- even more than usual -- since being optioned to Triple-A by the Brewers on June 3, hitting .329/.418/.684 with eight homers and 20 RBIs in 19 games. The 22-year-old has produced a robust .332/.412/.692 line with 19 homers in 56 Triple-A games this season, and he more than held his own during his first big league stint with Milwaukee by hitting .281/.333/.531 with five homers in 17 games. Brewers prospects stats »

Cubs: Cole Roederer, OF (No. 5) -- 5-for-5, HR, 3B, 2B, 4 RBI, 3 R (Class A South Bend)
Roederer hit a triple off of the left-field wall in the ninth inning (on an 0-2 pitch) to complete the first cycle in South Bend history and tie a bow on a career night at the plate. After hitting an RBI double in the first inning, the 19-year-old outfielder singled in his next trip to the plate and then doubled again in the fifth inning before connecting on a two-run homer in the seventh. He established career highs in both hits and RBIs and finished the game with 12 total bases. Signed to an above-slot bonus of $1.2 million by the Cubs after they took him with the No. 77 pick in last year's Draft, Roederer is hitting .247 with three homers and 21 extra-base hits through 48 games in his first full season. The young outfielder stands out most for his offensive upside, but has the potential to develop at least average tools across the board. Cubs prospects stats »

Cardinals: Junior Fernandez, RHP (No. 20) -- 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (Triple-A Memphis)
Making his Triple-A debut, Fernandez worked his longest relief appearance of this season, striking out five over 3 1/3 scoreless frames in the Redbirds' loss against Nashville. The 22-year-old righty was promoted to the Minors' highest level after he had saved nine games in 10 chances while pitching to a 1.55 ERA with 53 strikeouts and a .181 opponents' average in 40 2/3 innings (27 games) between Class A Advanced Palm Beach and Double-A Springfield. He's worked more than one inning in half of his 28 appearances this season and could soon find himself working multiple frames out of the Cardinals' big league bullpen. Cardinals prospects stats »

Pirates: Mason Martin, 1B (No. 28) -- 2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, SB (Class A Greensboro)
Martin went deep for the third time in his last 10 games as he pushed his South Atlantic League-leading total to 19 homers through 71 games. He also leads the circuit in RBIs (67) and total bases (145) in what continues to be a bounce-back campaign for the 20-year-old after he produced a .200/.302/.333 line with four homers in 45 games last season in his first taste of full-season ball before receiving a demotion to the Rookie-level Appalachian League. Pirates prospects stats »

Reds: Jose Garcia, SS (No. 8) -- 1-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB (Class A Adv Daytona)
Garcia doesn't hit for much power, but the 21-year-old got into one on Tuesday night, when he connected on a three-home run to help power the Tortugas past Tampa. It was his fourth deep fly this season and first since May 20. While he's known more for his plus defense, the Cuban shortstop is putting together a respectable season at the plate, hitting .249/.315/.404 with 21 extra-base hits in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League. Reds prospects stats »

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

D-backs: Taylor Widener, RHP (No. 3) -- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K (Triple-A Reno)
Widener fired his best start of 2019, working six innings of three-hit ball en route to his first scoreless performance in 16 starts for Reno. As you might have already inferred from the previous sentence, the 24-year-old right-hander has had a tough go of it so far in the Pacific Coast League, where he owns an 8.14 ERA through 73 innings. He's continued to miss his share of bats, racking up 79 strikeouts (9.7 K/9), but it's been offset by the 97 hits (12.0 H/9) and 14 home runs (1.7 HR/9) he's allowed in that span. D-backs prospects stats »

Dodgers: Jeren Kendall, OF (No. 15) -- 2-for-3, 3B, HR, 3 RBI (Class A Adv Rancho Cucamonga)
Kendall, 23, put Rancho Cucamonga on the board with a three-run homer in the second inning, but it turned out to be all the offense the Quakes would muster as they fell to Lake Elsinore, 4-3, in 12 innings. The 2017 first-round pick out of Vanderbilt is back in the California League for a second straight season after he batted just .215/.300/.356 over 114 games in 2018, albeit while tallying 12 homers and 37 steals. He hasn't fared much better this year, hitting .213 with six homers over his first 38 contests. Dodgers prospects stats »

Giants: Heliot Ramos, OF (No. 2) -- 3-for-4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI (Triple-A Sacramento)
The 2017 first-round pick entered the day mired in a 2-for-24 slump with nine strikeouts before erupting for three hits, including his ninth homer of the season, to finish a triple short of the cycle. Ramos' season was interrupted by a knee injury, which sidelined him from late April into May, but it hasn't stopped him from putting together a solid offensive campaign in the California League, where he's produced a .282 average with 20 extra-base hits and 23 RBIs in 43 games. Giants prospects stats »

Padres: Luis Campusano, C (No. 14) -- 2-for-5, HR (Class A Adv Lake Elsinore)
The 20-year-old backstop hammered his eighth home run of the season as part of his sixth multihit performance in his last 10 games as he helped lead the Storm past Rancho Cucamonga in extra innings. Behind a .425 average during that stretch, the former second-round pick (2017) out of the Georgia prep ranks has improved his season average from .306 to a California League-best .327 through 61 games. Padres prospects stats »

Rockies: Brian Mundell, 1B (No. 29) -- 3-for-4, 3 R, 2 2B, RBI (Triple-A Albuquerque)
Mundell continued his strong offensive season with a three-hit performance that boosted his average to .362 through 56 games. The 25-year-old, a seventh-round pick from the 2015 Draft, got off to a fast start this season as he hit .388 in April and he just kept on hitting. Mundell has always had an advanced approach at the plate, but it is important to note that he's playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Mundell is a career .298 hitter and coming off a 2018 campaign during which he hit .263 over 128 games. Rockies prospects stats »