Baseball America Prospect Report — Aug. 7, 2020

Image credit: Nate Pearson (Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Chicago Cubs

—Cubs No. 2 prospect Nico Hoerner went 1-for-4 and drove in a run in the team’s loss to the Royals. Hoerner is hitting .235 with six RBIs and six runs in 11 games.

Houston Astros

—Brandon Bielak made his first career start, pitching five shutout innings, allowing two hits, walking three and striking out one in the team’s loss to the Diamondbacks. The Astros No. 16 prospect sat 92-94 mph on his fastball and mixed in his changeup, curveball and cutter to stifle Diamondbacks hitters. The righthander has also made two appearances out of the bullpen, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits, walking three and striking out six in 5.1 innings.

—Blake Taylor turned in his sixth consecutive scoreless appearance. The lefthander, who has struck out 10 batters in 8.2 innings, allowed three hits and a walk in 1.1 innings while striking out one.

Kansas City Royals

—Outfielder Nick Heath collected his first hit and RBI on a double to right field in the third inning of the team’s win over the Cubs. Heath is 1-for-5 with an RBI and two stolen bases after being recalled on July 28.

 

 

 

Miami Marlins

—Marlins No. 7 prospect Monte Harrison checked off two milestones, tallying his first hit on a single and stealing his first base one batter later. The outfielder is 1-for-10 in four games since his promotion on Aug. 4. Harrison hit .274/.357/.451 in 56 games at Triple-A in 2019 but missed time due to a wrist injury. Harrison also made a difficult running catch in center field to save an extra-base hit.

 

Oakland Athletics

—Athletics No. 3 prospect Sean Murphy drove in his second run of the season in the team’s win over the Rangers. The catcher is hitting .174 with a home run and two RBIs in 10 games.

Pittsburgh Pirates

—Pirates No. 21 prospect JT Brubaker made his first big league start, allowing three runs on four hits, walking two and striking out two in three innings. The righthander ran into trouble in the first inning, allowing a one-out single after recording the first out with just one pitch. After a pop out, Brubaker walked the following batter to put runners on first and third and then gave up a three-run homer to Miguel Sano. Brubaker subsequently allowed two runners to reach base in each of the next two innings, but stranded them to avoid further damage. The righthander, who has pitched five scoreless innings out of the bullpen in two appearances, relied on his 92-93 mph fastball that topped out at 96 and mixed in a mid-80s slider and changeup.

 

San Francisco Giants

—Mauricio Dubon hit his first big league home run in the team’s loss to the Rockies. Dubon, who went 2-for-4, hit a three-run shot to left-center field in the top of the seventh inning. The Giants No. 10 prospect, who started in center field, is hitting .276 with a home run, five runs and five RBIs in 29 at-bats.

 

—Chadwick Tromp extended his hit streak to four games with a single in the seventh inning. The catcher, who went 1-for-3 with a run scored, raised his average to .278 to go along with two home runs and five RBIs.

Toronto Blue Jays

—Blue Jays No. 1 prospect Nate Pearson made his second career start, pitching five innings, allowing three runs on two hits, walking three and striking out five. The righthander, who sat 94-97 mph and topped out at 99 on his plus-plus fastball while mixing in his plus slider and above-average changeup, on July 29 pitched five shutout innings, striking out five batters, allowing two hits and walking two.

Nate Pearson, Two Ks on 99mph ⛽️

And velo check. pic.twitter.com/BA6oACDKWy

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 6, 2020

 

 

—Jordan Romano pitched a scoreless inning in the team’s loss to the Braves, striking out one batter. The righthander has made six appearances, striking out eight batters in six scoreless innings, allowing no hits and walking two.

Texas Rangers

—Anderson Tejeda appeared in his first big league game, hitting a two-run home run and adding an RBI single. The Rangers No. 19 prospect went 2-for-4 with a stolen base, a run scored and three RBIs while starting at second base. Tejeda hit /234/.315/.386 with four home runs at high Class A in 2019, but played in only 43 games before a dislocated left shoulder sidelined him.

 

 

 

—Nick Solak, the Rangers No. 4 prospect, went 2-for-4 to deliver his second straight multi-hit game in the team’s loss to the A’s. The outfielder is hitting .229 with three RBIs and two runs scored in 35 at-bats.

HITTING

TEAM	CLASS	PLAYER	AB	R	H	BI	AVG	NOTES
BAL	MAJ	Hays, Austin CF	3	0	0	0	.146
CHC	MAJ	Hoerner, Nico 2B-SS	4	0	1	1	.235
CLE	MAJ	Chang, Yu PH-SS	0	0	0	0	.111	BB (2)
COL	MAJ	Hilliard, Sam PR-LF	1	0	0	0	.208
CWS	MAJ	Collins, Zack DH	3	0	0	0	.000	BB (2)
CWS	MAJ	Mendick, Danny 2B	3	0	1	0	.227
CWS	MAJ	Robert, Luis CF	4	0	0	0	.321
KC	MAJ	Heath, Nick CF	4	1	1	1	.200	2B (1), BB (1), SB (2)
MIA	MAJ	Harrison, Monte CF	4	0	1	0	.100	SB (1)
OAK	MAJ	Murphy, Sean C	3	0	1	1	.174
SEA	MAJ	White, Evan 1B	3	0	0	0	.118
SF	MAJ	Dubon, Mauricio CF	4	1	2	3	.276	HR (1)
TEX	MAJ	Solak, Nick CF	4	0	2	0	.229
TEX	MAJ	Tejeda, Anderson 2B	4	1	2	3	.500	HR (1), SB (1)
TOR	MAJ	McGuire, Reese C	3	0	0	0	.167

PITCHING

TEAM	CLASS	PLAYER	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	NOTES
HOU	MAJ	Bielak, Brandon	5	2	0	0	3	1	0.87
MIA	MAJ	Guzman, Jorge	1	2	2	2	1	0	18.00
PIT	MAJ	Brubaker, JT	3	4	3	3	2	2	3.38
SEA	MAJ	Gerber, Joey	1.1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
SF	MAJ	Menez, Conner	1.1	0	0	0	2	1	2.08
TOR	MAJ	Pearson, Nate	5	2	3	3	3	5	2.70