Baseball America Prospect Report — Aug. 11, 2020
Image credit: Kyle Lewis (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty)
To get the prospect report delivered to your inbox every morning, sign up for our newsletter!
Boston Red Sox
— 3B Jonathan Arauz, whom Boston selected from Houston in the 2019 Rule 5 Draft (and was originally signed by the Phillies before being traded in the deal that sent Ken Giles to the Astros) got his first big league hit as part of a two-hit night in Boston’s loss to Tampa Bay. He also carded his first extra-base hit (a double) and his first two big league RBIs.
Chicago White Sox
— RHP Codi Heuer, who ranks No. 25 among Chicago’s Top 30 Prospects, took over for starter Dallas Keuchel in the seventh inning. Heuer, the team’s 2018 sixth-rounder out of Wichita State, showed a fastball up to 99 mph and a short, mid-80s slider in his inning. He struck out Tigers catcher Austin Romine on an elevated fastball but got burned when JaCoby Jones‘ sinking liner to center field got under Adam Engel‘s glove for an inside the park home run.
— 2B Danny Mendick had a nice day in his team’s loss. The UMass-Lowell product collected three hits, including his first career triple.
Colorado Rockies
— RHP Joe Harvey, whom the Rockies acquired from the Yankees last July in exchange for lefty Alfredo Garcia, pitched a scoreless eighth inning and got a strikeout of Eduardo Escobar. Harvey sat between 95-96 mph with his fastball.
Detroit Tigers
— RHP Bryan Garcia, a Miami product whom the Tigers selected in the sixth round in 2016, worked around a single from Danny Mendick to throw a scoreless ninth inning in Detroit’s win over the White Sox. Garcia, who made his big league debut on Sept. 2, 2019, has appeared in seven games this season.
Los Angeles Angels
— No. 1 prospect OF Jo Adell, the No. 3 prospect in the game, recorded the first multi-hit game of his career. He went 2-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts (he now has whiffed 11 times in 19 at-bats) in Los Angeles’ Mike Trout-powered comeback win over the A’s.
Los Angeles Dodgers
— RHP Dustin May graduated from prospecthood on a strong note by allowing two runs over six innings against the red-hot Padres. His night ended on a slightly sour note when he gave up the go-ahead run on a single to Eric Hosmer, but overall he was excellent. May used his signature mix of two-seamers, cutters and sliders to induce weak contact and flummox most Padres hitters before yielding to Caleb Ferguson. The former No. 22 prospect in baseball has been an excellent addition to the Dodgers’ rotation after being forced into early duty on Opening Day because of an injury to ace lefty Clayton Kershaw.
Minnesota Twins
— RHP Randy Dobnak put together a solid start on Monday in Milwaukee. The Alderson Broaddus alumnus limited the Brewers to one run (earned) on four hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out three before yielding to Trevor May, who struck out three as well. With five more innings on Monday, Dobnak is just two innings away from graduating from prospect status. He has also earned three straight wins. Not bad for an undrafted free agent.
New York Mets
— C Ali Sanchez made his big league debut in the Mets’ blowout loss to the Nationals. Sanchez, 23, ranked as the team’s No. 27 prospect entering the season and peaked at No. 15 before the 2016 season. Sanchez signed for just shy of $700,000 in 2013 on the strength of his advanced catch-and-throw skills. Sanchez grounded into a double play in his only at-bat on Monday.
Oakland Athletics
— C Sean Murphy, Oakland’s No. 3 prospect, went 1-for-4 and scored a run in his team’s wild loss to the Angels on Monday night. The hit brings his average this season to .176.
San Diego Padres
— Utilityman Jake Cronenworth continued the white-hot start to his Padres tenure by going 1-for-4 in his team’s nail-biter win over the Dodgers. The former Rays farmhand, who was dealt with Tommy Pham to San Diego in exchange for OF Hunter Renfroe and SS prospect Xavier Edwards, is now hitting .344 and providing value all over the diamond by making athletic plays like this:
San Francisco Giants
— LHP Conner Menez relieved starter Logan Webb, who had been roughed up by a fearsome Astros lineup. Menez, the Giants’ No. 19 prospect, struck out a pair over 2.2 innings of one-run ball. He wriggled out of a small jam almost immediately upon entering when he induced a double play from Jose Altuve on his second pitch, a 90 mph fastball. The only blemish on his night came on a solo home run from Martin Maldonado.
Seattle Mariners
— A night after Justus Sheffield earned his first big league win, righthander and No. 9 prospect Justin Dunn did the same. The righthander, acquired from the Mets as part of the package in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz deal, allowed a pair of runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out two. The outing was also the longest of Dunn’s big league career. He then handed the ball to No. 30 prospect Anthony Misiewicz, who blanked the Rangers in the seventh inning while striking out a pair.
— 1B Evan White went 1-for-5 with a strikeout. The Mariners’ No. 4 prospect has had a bit of a rough start to his big league career, and is now hitting .113 and has struck out 28 times in 62 at-bats.
— OF Kyle Lewis continued his 2020 tour de force, going 3-for-5 with a three-run homer in the aforementioned Mariners win. Lewis is red-hot to start the season, slashing 373/.440/.567, and is our early favorite to win American League Rookie of the Year.
Tampa Bay Rays
— RHP Peter Fairbanks, the Rays’ No. 26 prospect, earned an efficient hold on Monday. Facing Boston slugger J.D. Martinez as the tying run, Fairbanks (whom the team acquired from Texas for Nick Solak) dialed his fastball up to 97 to coax a fielder’s choice and get his team out of a late jam. He finished the night with a pair of punchouts but gave up two earned runs as well, forcing manager Kevin Cash to cobble together the remainder of the game with Jose Alvarado and Andrew Kittredge.
Texas Rangers
— No. 28 prospect LHP Taylor Hearn debuted last April, but an elbow injury kept him out for the rest of the season. Now healthy, he got back on the mound on Monday in his team’s loss to Seattle. He allowed a pair of earned runs in his inning, while walking one and striking out one. Hearn walked Shed Long Jr. to load the bases to open his outing, but then quickly got himself out of trouble by inducing a double play from Mariners 1B Evan White.
Washington Nationals
— In his team’s 16-4 win over the Mets, Nationals 3B Carter Kieboom went 1-for-5 and scored a run. Kieboom, who ranks No. 17 on the Top 100 Prospects list, has performed respectably in limited action this season but has whiffed 14 times in 26 at-bats.
UP NEXT: A pair of prospect pitchers take the hill on Tuesday. Royals LHP Kris Bubic (No. 10 in their system at midseason) will face off against the Reds and RHP Luis Castillo, while Astros RHP Brandon Bielak gets the ball against San Francisco LHP Tyler Anderson.
HITTING
| TEAM | CLASS | PLAYER | AB | R | H | BI | AVG | NOTES |
| CWS | MAJ | Collins, Zack 1B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |
| CWS | MAJ | Mendick, Danny 2B-SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .278 | 3B (1) |
| CWS | MAJ | Robert, Luis PH-CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .294 | |
| LAA | MAJ | Adell, Jo RF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .267 | |
| LAD | MAJ | Rios, Edwin 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .211 | |
| NYM | MAJ | Gimenez, Andres 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .297 | |
| NYM | MAJ | Sanchez, Ali C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |
| OAK | MAJ | Murphy, Sean C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .176 | |
| SD | MAJ | Cronenworth, Jake 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .344 | |
| SEA | MAJ | Lewis, Kyle CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | .373 | HR (4), BB (8) |
| SEA | MAJ | White, Evan 1B | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .113 | |
| SF | MAJ | Dubon, Mauricio 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .216 | |
| TB | MAJ | Tsutsugo, Yoshitomo 3B | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .159 | |
| TEX | MAJ | Solak, Nick CF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .227 | SB (3) |
| TEX | MAJ | Tejeda, Anderson SS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 | |
| WAS | MAJ | Kieboom, Carter 3B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .286 |
PITCHING
| TEAM | CLASS | PLAYER | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | ERA | NOTES |
| CWS | MAJ | Heuer, Codi | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4.26 | |
| DET | MAJ | Garcia, Bryan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.68 | |
| LAD | MAJ | May, Dustin | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2.75 | L (1-1) |
| MIN | MAJ | Dobnak, Randy | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0.9 | W (3-1) |
| SEA | MAJ | Dunn, Justin | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4.85 | W (1-1) |
| SEA | MAJ | Misiewicz, Anthony | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5.68 | |
| SF | MAJ | Menez, Conner | 2.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2.38 | |
| SF | MAJ | Webb, Logan | 3.1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2.81 | L (1-1) |
| TB | MAJ | Fairbanks, Peter | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6.43 | |
| TEX | MAJ | Hearn, Taylor | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 18.00 |
Comments are closed.