Baseball America Prospect Report — Aug. 31, 2020
Image credit: Jo Adell (John McCoy/Getty)
Baltimore Orioles
— Coming up through the minors, Ryan Mountcastle was known as a polished hitter. On Sunday, he showed there’s plenty of power in his bat, too. The Orioles’ No. 6 prospect slammed the first two home runs of his big league career. Both blasts came off of Blue Jays starter Tanner Roark. The home runs were part of a three-hit day, and each of his hits was tagged with an exit velocity of 100 mph or more. He is now 11 for his first 28 with four walks.
Boston Red Sox
— After the Red Sox dealt Mitch Moreland to the Padres, they called up No. 2 prospect Bobby Dalbec. Known for his power, Dalbec immediately showed off his signature skill. The home run, an opposite-field blast, left the bat at 101.6 mph and traveled an estimated 373 feet over the short right-field wall at Fenway Park.
Chicago White Sox
—Luis Robert, the No. 2 prospect in baseball, went 2-for-4 with his eighth home run on Friday in the team’s win over the Royals. Robert added two more hits and runs in the team’s loss to the Royals on Saturday and hit a walk-off three-run home run on Sunday to put the White Sox in first place in the AL Central. Robert now leads all rookies in home runs (nine) and RBIs (22) and sports a .291 average.
—No. 29 prospect Danny Mendick crushed a double at 107.5 mph off the bat on Friday. The second baseman continues to contribute, hitting .272 with eight extra-base hits and six RBIs in August.
—Nick Madrigal went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI on Saturday in his return from the injured list. The 23-year-old second baseman added three more hits and a stolen base on Sunday to raise his average to .400 in 25 at-bats.
—Dane Dunning dominated Royals hitters over five no-hit innings on Sunday, striking out seven and walking one. The big righthander averaged 91 mph on his sinking fastball, mixing in his above-average curveball and slider and his changeup to induce 13 swings and misses. Chicago’s No. 10 prospect has impressed in two starts in his return from a Tommy John surgery that cost him the entire 2019 season.
Cincinnati Reds
—No. 7 prospect Jose Garcia went 1-for-4 on Friday against the Cubs a day after making his debut and collecting a hit, scoring once and stealing a base in two at-bats. The shortstop, whose plus defense is his carrying tool, hit .280/.343/.436 with eight home runs, 55 RBIs and 15 stolen bases at high Class A in 2019.
Cleveland Indians
—Triston McKenzie pitched four innings on Friday in his second start, allowing two runs on three hits, walking three and striking out three in the team’s win over the Cardinals. The 23-year-old righthander struggled after striking out 10 in six innings in his first start on Aug. 22.
—No. 25 prospect Yu Chang drove in his first run of the season on Friday in the team’s win over the Cardinals. The 25-year-old third baseman/shortstop went 1-for-2 with an RBI groundout in the seventh inning.
Detroit Tigers
—No. 13 prospect Willi Castro collected two hits in three at-bats and scored twice on Saturday in the team’s win over the Twins. The 23-year-old third baseman/shortstop is off to a hot start this season, posting a .314 average with two home runs and five RBIs in 35 at-bats.
—No. 4 prospect Tarik Skubal picked up his first big league win on Saturday, striking out two and allowing two runs on three hits in five innings. The 23-year-old lefthander used his four-seamer 61% of the time, averaging 95.4 mph on the pitch while mixing in his above-average curveball, plus slider and above-average changeup for six swings and misses.
—Casey Mize struggled in his third career start, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks in three innings and striking out four in the team’s win over the Twins on Sunday. The 23-year-old righthander still showed electric stuff, generating seven swings and misses while relying on his plus four-seamer that averaged 93.8 mph, his above-average cutter, his plus-plus splitter and his plus slider.
Kansas City Royals
—No. 25 prospect Josh Staumont struck out two batters in a scoreless inning of work on Friday while averaging 97.8 mph on his electric fastball. The 26-year-old righthander, who also pitched a scoreless inning on Sunday, has struck out 28 of the 65 batters he’s faced this season.
—Ryan McBroom hit another pinch-hit home run on Saturday in the team’s win over the White Sox. The 28-year-old first baseman, who is hitting .327 with five home runs and nine RBIs in just 55 at-bats, crushed his homer at 104.1 mph off the bat.
—No. 10 prospect Kris Bubic had his best start to date on Sunday, striking out a career-high eight batters over 5.1 innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits and two walks. The 23-year-old lefthander has experienced some growing pains this season, but looked right at home against the White Sox, generating 17 swings and misses while utilizing his three-pitch mix—a fastball that averaged 90.9 mph, a plus changeup and an average curveball.
Los Angeles Angels
—Jo Adell broke out of a recent slump in a big way on Saturday, hitting his first two big league home runs and driving in three runs in the team’s win over the Mariners. The No. 3 prospect in baseball raised his average to .181 with four RBIs.
Los Angeles Dodgers
—No. 2 prospect Dustin May turned in his third six-inning start of the season on Friday, allowing two runs on five hits, walking two and striking out three. The 22-year-old righthander averaged 98 mph on his plus-plus sinker and topped out at 100 mph. He mixed in his plus cutter, curveball and changeup to get nine swings and misses. May leads all rookies in ERA (2.83) and innings pitched (35) and is second in WHIP (1.17).
—No. 13 prospect Mitchell White made his major league debut on Friday, striking out one in an inning of work. The 2016 second-rounder from Santa Clara utilized his four-seamer that averaged 93.7 mph, mixing in his plus curveball and plus slider.
—No. 1 prospect Gavin Lux went 2-for-4 with a double in the team’s win over the Rangers on Sunday. The second baseman, who was recalled for the second time this season on Aug. 29, has two hits in 11 at-bats.
Miami Marlins
— No. 1 prospect Sixto Sanchez turned in another electric start, dominating the first-place Rays for seven innings on Friday night. The righthander, whom the Marlins acquired from Philadelphia as part of the package for all-star catcher J.T. Realmuto, whiffed 10 in the game and topped 100 mph with his fastball three times. He got 18 swings and misses over the course of his outing, including the finishing pitches on nine of his punchouts. Half of those swings and misses were on his changeup.
Milwaukee Brewers
—Drew Rasmussen made his third multi-inning appearance on Friday, striking out two batters and walking one in two innings. The 25-year-old righthander averaged 97.7 mph on his fastball and got four swings and misses on the pitch.
New York Mets
— On Friday, catcher Ali Sanchez collected his first big league hit when he grounded an elevated fastball from Yankees righty Jonathan Loaisiga up the middle.
New York Yankees
—Righthander Deivi Garcia, the Yankees’ No. 3 prospect, made his big league debut on Sunday in the second game of a doubleheader with the Mets and gave a team with a depleted, taxed bullpen exactly what it needed. Garcia allowed just one run, unearned, while striking out six against no walks. Three of his strikeouts were swinging, giving him a total of seven swings and misses on the day. He also broke off a curveball with a spin rate of 2,966 rpms.
—Outfielder Estevan Florial, the team’s No. 15 prospect who has missed much of the last two seasons with hand/wrist injuries, made his big league debut on Saturday and collected his first hit, a single to center field. Florial has long been lauded for his interesting mix of tools, but his struggles to stay healthy meant he had yet to play a regular-season game above high Class A (he got into a playoff series in Double-A in 2017).
San Diego Padres
—After going hitless on Friday, Jake Cronenworth went 4-for-8 with a home run and four RBIs over the next two games to help his team earn a series win against the Rockies. Cronenworth leads all rookies in average (.361) and OPS (1.035) to go with four home runs and 17 RBIs.
Seattle Mariners
—No. 10 prospect Kyle Lewis crushed his eighth home run of the season on Sunday in the team’s win over the Angels. The center fielder boasts a .339 average to go with 21 RBIs and a .973 OPS.
St. Louis Cardinals
—After going hitless in five at-bats on Friday and Saturday, Dylan Carlson contributed a two-run single to help his team to victory over the Indians on Sunday. The No. 10 prospect in baseball is hitting .188 with a home run and five RBIs in 64 at-bats.
Tampa Bay Rays
—Lefthander Josh Fleming on Saturday made his second big league start and pitched the first 5.1 innings of a shutout against the Marlins. He struck out six and walked nobody and now is 2-0, 1.74 through his first two starts. All six of his strikeouts were swinging, part of his eight swings and misses on the day.
Texas Rangers
—No. 3 prospect Leody Taveras collected a hit, scored his first career run and stole his first base in three at-bats on Friday in the team’s win over the Dodgers. One day later, the 21-year-old center fielder accomplished another milestone with his first home run, a solo shot in the third inning. He finished a strong series with a 2-for-4 effort on Sunday to raise his average to .300 in 20 at-bats.
—No. 4 prospect Nick Solak went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a double on Friday. The second baseman/outfielder is hitting .267 with seven doubles and 13 RBIs.
—Jonathan Hernandez continued his run as one of the best setup men in baseball, picking up his fourth win on Friday in a scoreless inning of work. The 24-year-old righthander is 4-0, 1.96 with 23 strikeouts and five walks in 18.1 innings.
Washington Nationals
—No. 24 prospect Ben Braymer made his big league debut on Friday in his team’s win over the Red Sox. Braymer, the Nats’ 18th-rounder in 2016 out of Auburn, struck out 334 in 338.2 minor league innings before this season, and added his first big league punchout when he got Christian Vazquez to wave at a curveball in the ninth inning.
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