Prospect Roundup: Games of Aug. 10

Braves C Christian Bethancourt, Triple-A Gwinnett: 2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB -- With 222 career Major League plate appearances under his belt, Bethancourt isn't technically a prospect any more, but he deserves a mention here because of the way he's handled the move back to the International League. The 23-year-old backstop has a pair of hits in each of his last four games with the G-Braves and is now hitting .314 in 41 games since returning to Triple-A after hitting just .198 in 29 games with the big club. With a career .273/.304/.385 line in the Minors, Bethancourt isn't expected to tear the cover at the ball, but this is at least an ecouraging development. The Braves seem set with A.J. Pierzynski and Ryan Lavarnway -- both of whom have 114 OPS+ this season for Atlanta -- behind the plate for the remainder of this month before Bethancourt is likely to rejoin the club when rosters expand in September. 

Cubs OF Billy McKinney, Double-A Tennessee: 2-for-3, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, K -- In a continuation of the theme, McKinney also continued his multi-hit streak to three games with his performance Monday night. But the big story of the Cubs' No. 3 prospect's night was the home run -- McKinney's first with Double-A Tennessee since June 20 and third in 74 games with the Double-A club. Seeing that the 20-year-old has a .300/.372/.455 line between Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach and Tennessee this season, the Cubs shouldn't be too worried about the outfielder's power has yet to flourish in his first full season with the organization after being acquired in the Jeff Samardzija deal with the A's last July. Indeed, MLB.com wasn't too worried when it moved him up to No. 40 in its overal ranking of prospects after keeping him out of the top 100 to start the year, noting McKinney's smooth swing from the left side should do him wonders as he climbs the chain.

White Sox RHP Frankie Montas, Double-A Birmingham: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K -- MLB.com's No. 62 overall prospect garnered a lot of attention at this year's Futures Game for his fastball by hitting 98 mph or higher on nine of his 15 pitches in Cincinnati. That, along with his impressive first half with the Barons, earned him a brief one-game promotion to the Majors as the emergency arm for a July 17 doubleheader, although he did not officially make an appearance in either end of the twinbill. On Monday, the right-hander showed an ability to bounce back from what easily his worst outing of the season thus far -- an Aug. 5 start at Tennessee in which he gave up a season-high four earned runs on six hits and four walks while failing to strike out a batter in just 3 1/3 innings. The 22-year-old right-hander is 4-3 with a 2.59 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 87 strikeouts and 38 walks in 97 1/3 frames with Birmingham, and as a member of Chicago's 40-man roster, that combination of results and stuff should allow him to make that Major League debut in September. 

Rays SS Willy Adames, Class A Advanced Charlotte: 3-for-5, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB, K -- August hadn't been kind to the Rays' top prospect as he went 1-for-17 in his first five games this month. Consider that slump over with his big night Monday. The performance marked the first time Adames had collected multiple extra-base hits in a game since June 3 and bounced his Florida State League slash line back up to .264/.347/.392. His 24 doubles rank sixth in the circuit. Still only 19, Adames earns the requisite amount of points for holding his own in a circuit where the average player is roughly three-and-a-half years older, and that ability to perform against older competition is a big reason why he's jumped to No. 43 in MLB.com's rankings.

Red Sox OF Andrew Benintendi, Class A Short Season Lowell: 1-for-2, solo HR, 4 BB (1 IBB), SB -- The Red Sox's most recent first-rounder hit his fifth New York-Penn League homer in his first at-bat against Tri-City, and the ValleyCats decided that would be enough, putting Benintendi on base in four of his next five plate appearances including once on an intentional walk. Among the four walks, homer and stolen base, it was very much a prototypical Benintendi performance, given the way he's shown power, speed and knowledge of the strike zone since going pro in early July. The Arkansas product and Golden Spikes winner has a .263/.395/.485 line with five homers, one double, three triples and six steals in 29 games with the Spinners entering Tuesday (and he's already homered again in a matinee today).