Baseball America Prospect Report — Aug. 3, 2020

Image credit: Luis Robert (Jonathan Daniel)

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Atlanta Braves

—Kyle Wright struggled in his second start of the season against the Mets on Sunday, pitching 3.1 innings and allowing at least two runners to reach base in each inning. The righthander, who sat 94-96 mph on his fastball, had trouble attacking lefthanded hitters, consistently throwing his fastball high and away against them. Though Wright was able to get himself out of jams with runners in scoring position in the first, second and third frames, the Braves No. 4 prospect was taken out in the fourth inning with one out after allowing two runners to reach base and running his pitch count to 75 pitches. Wright allowed nine baserunners on the day (five hits, four walks) while striking out five hitters. Through two starts, Wright has a WHIP of 2.67 and is failing to put hitters away, something that plagued him last year when he put up a 8.69 ERA and 1.88 WHIP in seven appearances (four starts).

Chicago White Sox

—Luis Robert looked comfortable hitting leadoff on Saturday, going 4-for-6, collecting two doubles and hitting a solo home run to right-center field in the team’s win over the Royals. Robert, who scored once and drove in two runs, added another hit Sunday to bring his average to .351 to go with two home runs and six RBIs.

 

—Nick Madrigal earned the first four hits of his big league career Sunday, going 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in one run. The White Sox No. 4 prospect was making his third start after being called up on July 31.

 

 

 Cleveland Indians

—Indians No. 18 prospect James Karinchak on Sunday made his fourth appearance of the season in the team’s loss to the Twins. The righthander struck out three batters in one scoreless inning while allowing two hits. Karinchak has not allowed a run in 5.1 innings this season while striking out eight. 

Houston Astros

—Astros No. 16 prospect Brandon Bielak on Friday made his second appearance of the season, pitching two scoreless innings, striking out two batters and walking three to earn the win against the Angels. Bielak sat 93-96 mph on his fastball, while mixing in his 90-92 mph cutter, slider and changeup. The righthander has pitched to a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 innings, striking out six batters and earning two wins. 

—Blake Taylor pitched 1.1 innings in the team’s win over the Angels Saturday, striking out two batters and allowing one hit while relying on his fastball that sat 92-94 mph and touched 96 mph. Taylor on Sunday earned his first win, striking out two batters and walking two in 1.1 innings. The lefthander has struck out nine batters in 7.1 innings. 

 

Kansas City Royals

—Lefthander Kris Bubic made his major league debut Friday, pitching four innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits, walking one batter and striking out three. The Royals No. 10 prospect allowed at least one baserunner in three of the four innings he pitched. In two of those innings he was able to get out of jams, but in the second inning he allowed a three-run home run. Bubic mostly sat 92-94 mph on his fastball while mixing in his breaking ball and changeup. He threw 76 pitches, 45 of which were strikes. The lefthander is facing a steep learning curve, having never pitched above high Class A before this year. In 2019 he pitched to a 11-5, 2.23 mark between both Class A levels. 

 —First baseman Ryan McBroom on Friday hit the first home run of his career, lacing a solo shot to center field. The rookie added another hit Saturday and ended the weekend with a .238 average in 20 at-bats.

 

 

Los Angeles Dodgers

—Tony Gonsolin made his first start Friday, pitching four shutout innings, allowing a hit, walking one and striking out one. The Dodgers No. 5 prospect sat 95-97 mph on his fastball while mixing in his plus-plus split-changeup, curveball and slider.

—Dodgers No. 14 prospect Edwin Rios on Saturday hit his second home run in the team’s win over the Diamondbacks. The corner infielder has had trouble finding a spot in a crowded Dodgers lineup, but is hitting .273 with two home runs and four RBIs in 11 at-bats. 

 

 Minnesota Twins

—Twins No. 15 prospect Randy Dobnak made his second start Friday, pitching five shutout innings, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out four to earn the win. Dobnak mostly relied on his fastball, which sat 90-92 mph and topped out at 94, but mixed in his above-average changeup and average curveball. Dobnak on July 25 pitched four one-run innings, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out three batters. In six career starts, he has allowed less than two earned runs five times. 

—Twins No. 12 prospect Devin Smeltzer picked up his first win Sunday, pitching 2.2 innings of one-run ball, allowing two hits, walking one and striking out two. 

New York Mets

—Mets No. 16 prospect Franklyn Kilome made his major league debut in the team’s loss to the Braves Saturday. The righthander pitched four innings, allowed two runs on two hits, walked none and struck out five batters.

—Mets No. 6 prospect Andres Gimenez collected two hits Friday in the team’s loss to the Braves. Gimenez also flashed his glove at the hot corner, making a leaping catch on a hard hit ball to save an extra-base hit. The shortstop/third baseman added a hit in a pinch-hit at-bat Sunday to raise his average to .357 in 14 at-bats.

 

—Mets No. 13 prospect David Peterson made his second career start Sunday in the team’s loss to the Braves, pitching six innings, allowing three runs on five hits, walking one and striking out eight. The lefthander’s fastball sat 91-94 and he got good movement on his low-80s slider while also using his changeup and showing improved command, something that has evaded him at times. The lefthander rolled through his first two innings, allowing just one runner to reach base before loading the bases and allowing two runs in the third inning and one in the fourth. Peterson settled down after that, retiring the last eight batters he faced, five via strikeout.

 

David Peterson, Painted 83mph Changeup. ???? <a href="https://t.co/lXFkTFDgLA">pic.twitter.com/lXFkTFDgLA</a></p>&mdash; Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a href="https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1290005283364732930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>” />

 

 

Pittsburgh Pirates

—Mitch Keller left his second start of the season with an injury after pitching just 2.2 innings in the team’s loss to the Cubs Saturday. The righthander, who allowed two runs on five hits while walking one and striking out one, gave up solo home runs to Ian Happ and Javy Baez and a single to Kyle Schwarber before motioning to the dugout to be taken out after throwing a curveball. 

San Francisco Giants

—Catcher Chadwick Tromp collected the first two hits of his career on Friday with a single and RBI double in the sixth inning. Tromp, who signed with the Giants in January, excelled in summer camp as a non-roster invitee and was promoted to the major leagues on July 28. After sitting out Saturday’s game, Tromp on Sunday went 1-for-4 with two RBIs and hit his first MLB home run, a long two-run shot to left-center field.

 

—Righthander Logan Webb made his second start on Friday, but was unable to get out of the fourth inning. The Giants No. 12 prospect allowed two runs (one earned) in 3.2 innings while striking out four batters and giving up four hits. Webb immediately faced turbulence out of the gate, allowing a home run on his first pitch. Webb has a solid arsenal, including a fastball that sat 93-95 mph and topped out at 96, slider, changeup and sinker, but struggled to land strikes, walking four batters and throwing 79 pitches.

Seattle Mariners

—Kyle Lewis went 4-11 on the weekend and collected hits in all three games against the A’s to extend his hit streak to 10 games. The Mariners No. 10 prospect went 2-for-4 Friday with an RBI and a run scored, went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk Saturday and hit his third home run Sunday. In addition to leading the major leagues in hits (17), Lewis ranks fifth in average (.425) and has added three home runs and nine RBIs. Lewis sat in the top spot of Baseball America’s Rookie of the Year Watch: Version 1 after his performance last week.

 

 

Texas Rangers

—Jonathan Hernandez on Sunday against the Giants picked up his second win, pitching two scoreless innings, walking one and striking out four.