Friday's top prospect performers

August 21st, 2021

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

Pirates: O’Neil Cruz, SS (MLB No. 57), Double-A Altoona
Jack Suwinski, OF (No. 30), Double-A Altoona

Cruz served as the DH for Altoona and smacked two doubles with three RBIs in a 3-for-5 night en route to an 11-3 win. It was his fourth game this year with three or more knocks. The 6-foot-7 shortstop made his return to the lineup Friday after missing over six weeks with a right forearm strain. Cruz has consistently shown his offensive prowess this season with a .298/..356/.551 slash line, a .906 OPS, 12 doubles, nine homers, 10 stolen bases and 32 RBIs.

Suwinski cranked two solo homers for Altoona in a 2-for-4 performance, raising his season total to 18. It was the 23-year-old’s second multihomer game of the season and his second inning shot was his first homer since Suwinski debuted in Altoona on July 28. The Chicago native was acquired by Pittsburgh in the Adam Frazier trade, and has struggled to get it going since changing organizations. In the Padres system, Suwinski had a .949 OPS, compared to his .762 OPS with Pittsburgh. For the season, the outfielder owns a .906 OPS and has swiped 11 bags. Pirates prospect stats »

Dodgers: Hyun-il Choi, RHP (No. 26), High-A Great Lakes
Choi worked around four hits and two walks to spin five scoreless innings, marking his first scoreless outing since July 4. The 21-year-old tossed 42 of his 73 pitches for strikes as he fanned two batters in his seventh start of the year in which he’s gone at least five innings. Since getting the call to High-A on Aug. 3, Choi has pitched to a 1.93 ERA with an 18-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in four starts. Dodgers prospect stats »

Giants: Patrick Bailey, C (No. 8), Low-A San Jose
Bailey tallied three hits, two of which were homers, on a 3-for-5, three-RBI performance at the plate in San Jose’s 8-4 win. It’s the first multihomer game of Bailey’s career and his first game with a dinger since July 17. The 22-year-old has notched three three-hit games this season, batting .215 with five homers and 24 RBIs in 58 games across three levels in his first Minor League season. Giants prospect stats »

Marlins: Connor Scott, OF (No. 24), High-A Beloit
Scott notched his first career multihomer game as he drove in half of Beloit’s runs in its 8-2 win. The 21-year-old got his night started with a solo homer in the bottom of the first before belting a three-run dinger in the fourth to extend his team’s lead to five. Scott’s two homers give him a career-high eight on the year, surpassing his previous best of five, set in 2019. The Tampa, Fla., native is batting .256 with a .739 OPS in 74 games this season. Marlins prospect stats »

Nationals: Andry Lara, RHP (No. 6) FCL Nationals
Lara tossed his second scoreless effort of the year for the FCL Nationals in a five-inning, one-hit outing with two strikeouts and two walks. It was the 18-year-old’s lowest strikeout total to date, but an effective start either way. Lara excelled at keeping the ball on the ground with eight groundouts to two flyouts. The 6-foot-4 right-hander carries a 4.93 ERA over 34 2/3 innings, a number inflated by two rough outings: an eight-run start on July 31 and a five-run start on July 15. Take out those two starts, and Lara has allowed six runs over 27 innings, an even 2.00 ERA. Nationals prospect stats »

Rangers: Sam Huff, C/1B (No. 5), Double-A Frisco
A.J. Alexy, RHP (No. 22), Triple-A Round Rock

Huff didn’t just hit two home runs -- he hit two absolute moonshots. The 23-year-old sent the first dinger 446 feet at a screaming 108 mph off the bat, and if that wasn’t impressive enough, he sent the second one 475 feet to left -- that’s a combined 921 feet. It’s the slugger’s first multihomer effort since 2018, and it brings him to 10 home runs in 37 games across two levels this year.

Alexy twirled his second scoreless start in a row with a five-inning, three-hit effort. The 23-year-old fanned three and issued just one walk as he needed 78 pitches (53 strikes) to complete his outing. Alexy only allowed one runner to second base on a wild pitch after a single, but he otherwise faced no threats in a strong performance. In three Triple-A starts, Alexy has a 1.84 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings. Rangers prospect stats »

Twins: Joe Ryan, RHP (No. 6), Triple-A St. Paul
Fresh off winning a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and being dealt for Nelson Cruz while in Japan, Ryan shoved in his Twins organizational debut. The 25-year-old allowed one run and one hit in four innings with nine strikeouts, fanning the first six batters of the game. His only blemish came on a fourth-inning solo homer. Ryan has tallied high strikeout and low walk totals across his three-year pro career with 318 strikeouts and 52 walks in 221 innings, a K/9 of 13.0. In 2021, Ryan has amassed 84 strikeouts and 11 walks in 61 innings with a 3.54 ERA. Twins prospect stats »

Yankees: Randy Vasquez, RHP (No. 20) High-A Hudson Valley
Vasquez kept his phenomenal season rolling with six scoreless innings and eight strikeouts for Hudson Valley on Friday night. The right-hander allowed eight hits, one walk and tossed 64 of his 86 pitches for strikes. The 22-year-old was dominant for Low-A Tampa to start the year and has continued to shove since his callup to High-A on July 20. In six starts for the Renegades, Vasquez has a 1.75 ERA with 53 strikeouts to eight walks over 36 innings and has allowed one run over 24 2/3 innings in August. Yankees prospect stats »