Baseball America Prospect Report — Aug. 19, 2020
Image credit: Tony Gonsolin (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Detroit Tigers
—Tarik Skubal made his first big league start and immediately received a rough welcome, allowing a solo home run to Tim Anderson to start the game followed by back-to-back singles. The Tigers’ No. 4 prospect rebounded to induce a double play and got out of the inning two batters later. The 23-year-old lefthander was not so lucky in the second inning, however, allowing three consecutive hits and four overall that resulted in three more runs scoring. The 2018 ninth-round pick from Seattle pitched just two innings on the night and took the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out one. Skubal raised his stock dramatically in 2019, striking out 82 batters in 42.1 innings at Double-A and going 6-8, 2.42 with 179 strikeouts and 37 walks in 122.2 innings between Double-A and high Class A.
Los Angeles Angels
—Jo Adell, the No. 3 prospect in baseball, went 1-for-3 in the team’s loss to the Giants. The 21-year-old outfielder is hitting .200 with two runs scored in 35 at-bats.
Los Angeles Dodgers
—No. 5 prospect Tony Gonsolin extended his scoreless inning streak to start the season to 14.2 innings with a six-inning start in the team’s win over the Mariners. The 26-year-old righthander, who allowed two hits and struck out three, has struck out 12 batters, allowed six hits and walked just two.
Miami Marlins
—Righthander Humberto Mejia, making his second big league start—both of which have come against the Mets—did not fare as well this time around. Mejia, who had not pitched above high Class A before this year—allowed three earned runs in four innings. He struck out one, walked two and allowed home runs to Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Davis.
Milwaukee Brewers
—Righthander Devin Williams struck out the side in his lone inning of relief in the Brewers 4-3 loss to the Twins in 12 innings. Milwaukee’s No. 17 prospect has 20 strikeouts in 9.2 innings this year with only one run allowed.
Minnesota Twins
—Righthander Jorge Alcala, the Twins No. 18 prospect, pitched two scoreless innings in extras to record his first career win. He allowed one hit, walked one and struck out one in the Twins’ 4-3 victory over the Brewers in 12 innings.
New York Yankees
—Freshly recalled from the alternate site, No. 30 prospect righthander Nick Nelson spun three one-hit innings in relief of Masahiro Tanaka. This was a much-needed rebound after his last outing, on Aug. 5, when he allowed seven earned runs in 1.2 innings.
Oakland Athletics
—No. 3 prospect Sean Murphy went 1-for-2 and drove in his team’s only run in a blowout loss to the Diamondbacks. The catcher collected a double in the second inning to score a run, raising his average to .234 with four RBIs.
Philadelphia Phillies
—Third baseman Alec Bohm, the Phillies’ No. 2 prospect, continued the quick start to his big league career by going 2-for-3. He’s been on base in each of his five games and has five hits in his last seven at-bats. He also showed off some nifty glovework at third base.
Pittsburgh Pirates
—No. 21 prospect JT Brubaker made his second career start, pitching three innings of three-run ball, allowing three hits and three walks and striking out one. The 26-year-old righthander allowed just one hit and walk through the first two innings but put four straight hitters on base to start the third. He allowed a double, back-to-back walks, a single and a sacrifice fly. Brubaker has pitched 11 innings in four appearances, allowing six runs on 11 hits, walking six and striking out 10.
San Diego Padres
Lefthander Adrian Morejon, the Padres No. 7 prospect, cruised through three innings in his first start of the season. He allowed just one batter to reach base, via a walk, and struck out four while attacking hitters with a 94-98 mph fastball and curveball, changeup and distinct knuckle-changeup.
—No. 2 prospect Luis Patino struggled with command issues in an inning of work, but managed to get out of a bases-loaded jam with a fly out to end the inning after walking three batters. The No. 20 prospect in baseball has made consecutive scoreless appearances, striking out three batters in three innings, walking four and allowing two hits, but his lack of command dates back to the early portion of summer camp.
—No. 16 prospect Jake Cronenworth collected his 10th extra-base hit in the team’s win over the Rangers, going 2-for-3 with a run scored to raise his average to .321. Cronenworth, who started at second base, has six doubles, two triples and two home runs to go with six RBIs. The 26-year-old also flashed his glove with a diving stop to his left and a throw from his knees to prevent an infield single.
Seattle Mariners
—No. 10 prospect Kyle Lewis went 1-for-3, stole a base and robbed a home run in the team’s loss to the Dodgers. The 25-year-old center fielder singled in the fourth inning and stole second base one batter later, but saved his most impressive feat for the bottom half of the inning, when he sprinted back and leapt in the air to make the catch right before colliding with the wall.
St. Louis Cardinals
—No. 1 prospect Dylan Carlson went 1-for-4 with a single in the team’s loss to the Cubs. The outfielder, who is the No. 10 prospect in baseball, is 3-for-21 since his promotion on Aug. 15.
Tampa Bay Rays
—Righthander Peter Fairbanks tossed a scoreless sixth inning in relief of starter Blake Snell, including back-to-back strikeouts of Aaron Hicks and Gleyber Torres. With the outing, Fairbanks has graduated from prospect consideration.
Toronto Blue Jays
—Top prospect Nate Pearson was roughed up once again, this time by the Orioles. In particular, Anthony Santander reached Pearson for two home runs and Chance Sisco added a dinger of his own. Beyond the longballs, Pearson struggled once more with control and command. He walked three more hitters over four innings (with three strikeouts) while allowing five earned runs. In 12.1 innings this season, Pearson has walked nine hitters.
—Righthander Shun Yamaguchi restored some order after Pearson left the game. Toronto’s No. 16 prospect allowed one earned run over 1.2 innings while striking out a pair. He’s sporting a 7.50 ERA in the brief season.
Washington Nationals
—Lefthander Seth Romero and righthander Dakota Bacus combined to pitch a scoreless sixth inning against Atlanta. Romero, the team’s No. 13 prospect, rebounded from an uneven debut (and was the beneficiary of a poor bunt from Dansby Swanson) to get the first two outs. He then handed the ball to Bacus, who coaxed an inning-ending grounder from Travis d’Arnaud.
—No. 2 prospect Luis Garcia continued the quick start to his big league career by collecting three more hits. In doing so, he proved that sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. He also scored a run and drew a walk in the Nats’ win over Atlanta.
HITTERS
| TEAM | CLASS | PLAYER | AB | R | H | BI | AVG | NOTES |
| ARI | MAJ | Varsho, Daulton LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .150 | |
| CHC | MAJ | Hoerner, Nico 2B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .196 | |
| COL | MAJ | Hilliard, Sam CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .171 | BB (5) |
| CWS | MAJ | Gonzalez, Luis CF | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| CWS | MAJ | Mendick, Danny 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .263 | |
| CWS | MAJ | Robert, Luis CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .275 | |
| DET | MAJ | Castro, Willi PR-DH | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .222 | |
| DET | MAJ | Paredes, Isaac 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | BB (1) |
| HOU | MAJ | Stubbs, Garrett PH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | |
| HOU | MAJ | Toro, Abraham DH | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .118 | |
| LAA | MAJ | Adell, Jo RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .200 | BB (2), CS (1) |
| MIA | MAJ | Harrison, Monte CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | |
| NYM | MAJ | Gimenez, Andres 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .254 | |
| OAK | MAJ | Allen, Austin C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .179 | |
| OAK | MAJ | Murphy, Sean C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .234 | 2B (2) |
| PHI | MAJ | Bohm, Alec 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .353 | 2 BB (3) |
| SD | MAJ | Cronenworth, Jake 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .321 | 2B (6), BB (6) |
| SEA | MAJ | Lewis, Kyle CF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .344 | BB (13), SB (2) |
| SEA | MAJ | White, Evan 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .134 | |
| SF | MAJ | Dubon, Mauricio CF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .267 | |
| STL | MAJ | Carlson, Dylan LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .143 | |
| STL | MAJ | Knizner, Andrew PH-C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .182 | |
| TB | MAJ | Tsutsugo, Yoshitomo 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .169 | |
| TEX | MAJ | Solak, Nick LF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .296 | 3 BB (11) |
| TOR | MAJ | Alford, Anthony CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .182 | |
| TOR | MAJ | Espinal, Santiago SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .200 | |
| WAS | MAJ | Garcia, Luis 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .353 | BB (1) |
PITCHERS
| TEAM | CLASS | PLAYER | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | ERA | NOTES |
| ARI | MAJ | Widener, Taylor | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3.65 | |
| CLE | MAJ | Karinchak, James | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.71 | |
| CWS | MAJ | Heuer, Codi | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | |
| DET | MAJ | Skubal, Tarik | 2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 18.00 | L (0-1) |
| HOU | MAJ | Paredes, Enoli | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.70 | |
| LAD | MAJ | Gonsolin, Tony | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00 | |
| MIA | MAJ | Mejia, Humberto | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5.68 | L (0-1) |
| MIL | MAJ | Williams, Devin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.93 | |
| MIN | MAJ | Alcala, Jorge | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.64 | W (1-0) |
| NYY | MAJ | Nelson, Nick | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7.04 | |
| PIT | MAJ | Brubaker, JT | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4.91 | |
| SD | MAJ | Guerra, Javy | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14.73 | |
| SD | MAJ | Morejon, Adrian | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.00 | |
| SD | MAJ | Patino, Luis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6.75 | |
| STL | MAJ | Elledge, Seth | 0.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6.00 | |
| TB | MAJ | Fairbanks, Peter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.09 | |
| TEX | MAJ | Hearn, Taylor | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.00 | |
| TEX | MAJ | Hernandez, Jonathan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.98 | |
| TOR | MAJ | Pearson, Nate | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6.61 | |
| TOR | MAJ | Yamaguchi, Shun | 1.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7.11 | |
| WAS | MAJ | Romero, Seth | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15.43 |
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