Prospect Roundup: Games of Aug. 23

Yankees C Gary Sanchez, Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre: 4-for-4, 2 2B, 2 R -- The Yankees' No. 7 prospect matched a career high for hits during his best performance yet in a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre uniform. After a pretty hot start to his Triple-A career, Sanchez had cooled to the tune of going 4-for-32 (.125) with 10 strikeouts and no walks in his previous seven games before breaking out in Sunday's 4-2 win over Rochester. He improved his line to .295/.353/.492 to go with five homers, nine doubles and 25 RBIs through his 32 games in Triple-A, and that's a level of production that must thrill the Yankees. After some middling performances in three straight seasons at Double-A Trenton, Sanchez's stock has dropped from the days when he was considered New York's top prospect, but still only 22, time is still very much on his side. The Dominican Republic native is on the Yankees' 40-man roster, so he could very well be positioning himself to provide some help off the bench come September.

Dodgers SS Corey Seager, Triple-A Oklahoma City: 2-for-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, K -- Batting out of the second spot in the lineup for the first time with Oklahoma City, Seager crushed a grand slam the opposite way to left off right-hander Nelson Gonzalez in the eighth inning of the Dodgers' 9-2 win at Albuquerque. It was the second career grand slam for the 21-year-old shortstop and his 16th homer of the season between OKC and Double-A Tulsa. The shot was a no-doubter, landing deep into the left-field picnic area of Isotopes Park. Given that it came at the home of the Dodgers' former Triple-A affiliate, it's an interesting thought experiment to ponder how many homers Seager would have this season had Los Angeles not changed affiliates last offseason. Albuquerque's home park has been much more friendly to the long ball than Oklahoma City's Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, both this season and historically. For what it's worth, Seager's slugging percentage in 44 home games is .402 compared to .469 on the road.

Tigers OF Wynton Bernard, Double-A Erie: 5-for-5, 3 R, CS -- Bernard continues to be one of the best feel-good stories in the Minors. Cut after two years of banging around the Padres system, the 2012 35th-round pick signed with the Tigers before last season and captured Midwest League MVP honors after hitting .323 with 45 steals for Class A West Michigan. Detroit pushed him up two levels to Double-A Erie for his age-24 season, and he's held his own in the Eastern League. Sunday's five hits (all of which were singles) set a career high and improved his Erie line to .293/.337/.389. With 38 steals, there's still plenty of speed to Bernard's game, which helps him in center field, but without much power, he'll need to continue to hit for a relatively high average if he hopes to crack a Major League roster within the next couple seasons. Though it should be said again, even that seemed like a lost dream when he left the Padres in January 2014.

Angels RHP Chris Ellis, Double-A Arkansas: W, 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K -- Sean Newcomb gets a lot of the publicity as the Angels' 2014 Draft pick climbing the chain, but Ellis deserves plenty of attention as well and received some by climbing from No. 10 in the preseason prospect rankings to his current status at No. 2 in the Angels' system. The third-rounder out of the University of Mississippi bounced back from allowing eight runs (three earned) on eight hits (two homers) in four innings last time out at Corpus Christi to produce the above line in a 7-1 win at San Antonio. His six punchouts were his most since July 4 and give him 126 in 131 2/3 innings this season, second behind Newcomb's 152 for the organization lead. With a 3.52 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 5.2 BB/9 at Double-A, there is plenty for Ellis to work on entering his second offseason, but the 22-year-old right-hander has established a nice baseline from which to move forward.

D-backs SS Dansby Swanson, Class A Short Season Hillsboro: 2-for-4, 2 2B, R -- Make that three straight two-hit games and a five-game hitting streak for the 2015 top overall pick. After suffering a concussion when he was hit by a pitch during a simulated game in July, it took Swanson some time to find his form with the Hops, going 3-for-21 in his first five games. In his five-game hitting streak, he's 8-for-20 (.400) with a homer and four doubles and now has a .268/.326/.537 line in his first 10 professional contests. If that slugging percentage sticks out, it's because it should. Eight of Swanson's 11 hits thus far have gone for extra bases. Power isn't expected to be a big part of Swanson's game -- MLB.com gave him a 45 grade in that department -- but after slugging .623 in his final season at Vanderbilt, it'll be interesting to see just how high he can carry similar numbers up the chain in the D-backs system.