Baseball America Prospect Report — Aug. 13, 2020

Image credit: (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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Baltimore Orioles

— RHP Travis Lakins fanned all three hitters he faced in a scoreless sixth inning in the Orioles’ win over the Phillies. Fellow righty reliever Cole Sulser closed out the win with two strikeouts in the ninth inning to record his fourth save of the year.

Boston Red Sox

— 3B Jonathan Arauz, in as a replacement for Rafael Devers, went 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI in Boston’s loss to Tampa Bay.

Chicago Cubs

— Converted infielder and current RHP Rowan Wick recorded his first hold of the season while striking out three in 1.1 innings before handing off to Jeremy Jeffress for the ninth. Wick has five strikeouts on the season and has recorded two saves. 

Chicago White Sox

— OF Luis Robert, the No. 2 prospect in the game, hit the go-ahead bases-clearing double in his team’s 9-7 win over the Tigers on Wednesday. Robert’s nine RBIs this season are second-most among MLB rookies, behind only Seattle’s dynamic OF Kyle Lewis. Robert’s 115 mph exit velocity single earlier this year stands as the third hardest hit ball this season, behind only Giancarlo Stanton and Pete Alonso.

Cincinnati Reds

— OF Shogo Akiyama went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks in the leadoff spot in the Reds’ loss. Through his first 45 at-bats, Akiyama has posted a .680 OPS.

Cleveland Indians

— RHP James Karinchak continued his excellent relief work with four punchouts in 1.1 innings of one-run ball. In all, Karinchak, Cleveland’s No. 18 prospect, has fanned 17 across 8.2 innings this season. The earned run he permitted on Wednesday was his first of the season.

Colorado Rockies

— OF Sam Hilliard, in for Chris Owings, went 1-for-3 with a run and a walk. With Triple-A Albuquerque in 2019, Hilliard, now 26, hit 35 home runs and stole 22 bags. 

Detroit Tigers

— Righthanded reliever Bryan Garcia tossed a scoreless seventh inning, his second scoreless frame against the White Sox in three days. 

Houston Astros 

— LHP Blake Taylor rebounded from his worst outing of the season with a scoreless ninth inning in a 5-1 win over the Giants. Taylor allowed two runs in 1/3 of an inning Tuesday, the first runs he’s allowed all season, but manager Dusty Baker sent him back out a day later and he worked a 1-2-3 inning.

Kansas City Royals

— RHP Josh Staumont continued his stellar relief work with three strikeouts in a scoreless eighth inning. Known for his high-octane fastball, Staumont dazzled with his curveball on Wednesday.

Los Angeles Angels

— OF Jo Adell, the game’s No. 3 prospect, went hitless in three at-bats. 

Los Angeles Dodgers

— RHP Tony Gonsolin pitched 4.2 scoreless innings with three hits allowed, one walk and a career-high eight strikeouts in the Dodgers’ 6-0 win over the Padres. Gonsolin now has a 2.40 ERA to start his major league career, largely on the strength of his devastating split-changeup.

— 3B/1B Edwin Rios drew the start at first base and went 2-for-3 with an RBI single that snapped a scoreless tie in the fifth. The slugging corner infielder has gotten increased playing time in recent days and is now batting .273 with a 1.061 OPS to open the season.

— RHP Brusdar Graterol pitched a scoreless eighth inning to earn his third hold of the year. He entered to face Fernando Tatis Jr. as the tying run at the plate and induced a weak comebacker on a 99.7 mph sinker to start a 1-4-3 double play, stifling the Padres’ comeback hopes.

Miami Marlins

— 2B Eddy Alvarez, who famously won an Olympic silver medal for speedskating and made his big league debut this season, went 1-for-4 with three runs and a walk in Miami’s wild win over the Blue Jays.

Minnesota Twins

— LHP Lewis Thorpe, the system’s No. 17 prospect, righted the ship after back-to-back rough outings by striking out a pair over two scoreless frames to close out his team’s win over Milwaukee on Wednesday. 

New York Mets 

— 2B Andres Gimenez has continued his excellent start to his rookie season with a 1-for-5 night with an RBI in the Mets’ win over the Nationals. The 21-year-old is hitting .283 thus far as part of a dynamic combination up the middle with Amed Rosario.

Oakland Athletics

— C Sean Murphy, the team’s No. 3 prospect, went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run scored. It was Murphy’s second straight game with a hit. 

Philadelphia Phillies

— RHP Ramon Rosso, who gained enough velocity on his fastball to earn a spot in the big leagues and a ranking as the organization’s No. 18 prospect, walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning in the Phillies’ loss to Baltimore.

San Diego Padres

— INF Jake Cronenworth drew the start at first base with Eric Hosmer getting a day off. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

— OF Edward Olivares entered as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the ninth inning but struck out swinging against Kenley Jansen. 

San Francisco Giants

— LHP Sam Selman pitched a scoreless sixth inning in a 5-1 loss to the Astros. It was his fifth scoreless outing in six relief appearances this season

— 2B/SS Mauricio Dubon went 0-for-3 from the No. 9 spot in the order, extending a 1-for-16 slump that goes back to Aug. 6.

Seattle Mariners 

— OF Kyle Lewis went 0-for-4 in a loss to Texas but lifted a sacrifice fly for his 14th RBI of the season, most among all MLB rookies.

Tampa Bay Rays

— OF Yoshi Tsutsugo slammed his second home run of the year as part of Tampa Bay’s battering of Boston starter Zack Godley en route to their Wednesday win.

— RHP Peter Fairbanks, acquired from the Rangers for Nick Solak, struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning.

Toronto Blue Jays

— RHP Nate Pearson turned in the worst start of his young career. The game’s No. 6 prospect was plastered for seven runs (four earned) in 2.1 innings. His command was shaky throughout the course of his outing, which showed up in his four walks. Oddly, despite coming up in the Toronto system, Wednesday marked just the second time Pearson made a start at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field, where the Blue Jays are playing their home games this season.

— RHP Jordan Romano continued his stellar relief work amid a wild game which featured 25 runs. Pitching on the second of back-to-back nights, Romano punched out two in a scoreless inning and now has struck out 11 over eight hitless innings this season.

— RHP Shun Yamaguchi restored order after Pearson and Jacob Waguespack combined to allow 11 runs in 4.2 innings. Yamaguchi fanned four in 2.1 innings.

Texas Rangers

— RHP Jonathan Hernandez picked up the win with a scoreless eighth inning in the Rangers’ 9-7 comeback victory over Seattle. Hernandez is 3-0, 1.64 on the year and has become Texas’ go-to option in the seventh and eighth innings.

UP NEXT: On Thursday, the Mets will hand the ball to LHP David Peterson, the team’s No. 13 prospect. … The Red Sox will hand the ball to 27-year-old LHP Kyle Hart, who was the team’s 19th-round pick out of Indiana in 2016. 

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