Prospect Roundup: Games of April 19

Phillies 3B Maikel Franco, Triple-A Lehigh Valley: 2-for-5, 2 2B, RBI, R, K -- Franco appeared to figure out International League pitching about halfway through 2014. Whatever adjustments Franco made have continued working in 2015, since he's hitting .386 with a 1.119 OPS through 10 games. He has as many doubles as strikeouts (eight) in that time.

Pirates OF Willy Garcia, Double-A Altoona: 3-for-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, K -- Pittsburgh returned Garcia to Double-A hoping he could improve his plate approach in a second stint with the Curve. Garcia is only 22, so he has time to figure things out, but he's not off to the strongest start this year with a 13-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in nine games -- and the one walk was an intentional one.

Nationals RHP Austin Voth, Double-A Harrisburg: 6 IP, 5 H, ER, 5 K -- The 2013 fifth-rounder dominated the lower levels last year, posting a 2.45 ERA at Class A and a 1.43 ERA at Class A Advanced. He got roughed up in six Eastern League starts, though, going 1-3 with a 6.52 ERA to end the season. He's back in Double-A to start 2015 and has pitched much better, posting a 2.50 ERA in three starts with 16 strikeouts and two walks over 18 innings. The 22-year-old has three average pitches and profiles as a solid back-of-the-rotation starter who can log a lot of effective innings.

Royals OF Bubba Starling, Class A Advanced Wilmington: 3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, SB -- Take away the five-strikeout game Starling had on April 11, and you could believe the 2011 first-rounder (fifth overall) may have put something together at the plate. He's hitting .361 with two homers and a 1.036 OPS in nine games, but he also has 15 strikeouts in 36 at-bats. After striking out at least once in his first seven contests, he's gone consecutive games without a strikeout now. Starling is so good defensively in center that he won't have to hit a ton to warrant a Major League roster spot. 

Tigers RHP Kevin Ziomek, Class A Advanced Lakeland: 6 1/3 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 8 K -- Ziomek is doing three things every pitching coach would love to see - getting strikeouts, avoiding walks and inducing ground balls. He has 19 strikeouts and just two walks over 16 1/3 innings this year and also has a 2.33 groundout-to-flyout ratio. His ERA is a pedestrian 4.41 through three starts, but the underlying numbers are much stronger for the Vanderbilt product.

Mets OF MIchael Conforto, Class A Advanced St. Lucie: 3-for-5, HR, RBI, R, BB -- Conforto is a leader in the clubhouse thus far for Prospect Roundup MVP honors in 2015. He's been a regular on these pages thanks to four homers in 11 games in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League. He has homers in consecutive games now along with a .366 average and more walks than strikeouts in his full-season debut. Expect a midseason bump to Double-A for the 2014 first-rounder (10th overall).

Angels LHP Sean Newcomb, Class A Burlington: 6 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 5 K -- The University of Hartford product has more upside but less polish than you might expect from a college left-hander, but he's been outstanding in the Midwest League so far. In three starts, he has a 1.69 ERA with 20 strikeouts and five walks over 16 innings. He's keeping the ball on the ground and throwing tons of strikes in his return to the Class A Level.

Twins RHP Felix Jorge, Class A Cedar Rapids: 5 IP, 5 H, ER, 2 BB, 9 K -- The 21-year-old made 12 appearances with the Kernels in 2014 and posted a lousy 23-to-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Through 12 innings this year, that ratio is a robust 19-to-4, which has Jorge's ERA sitting at 0.75 through two starts. Jorge's command problems last year were largely about approach -- he'd become tentative about pitching in the zone after a few well-hit balls. The Twins seem to have made some progress with him on that. The Dominican fell off MLB.com's Top 30 Twins prospects list after last year, but should rocket back up the list by midseason if he keeps pitching like this.