Prospect Roundup: Games of Aug. 15

Reds LHP Amir Garrett, Triple-A Louisville: 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K -- Pirates No. 14 prospect Alen Hanson may have stolen the show with a walk-off grand slam for Indianapolis, but let's give Garrett gets his due. The Reds' No. 2 prospect tossed his first scoreless start since June 27 while cracking triple digits in pitches for the first time with the Bats (109, including 71 strikes). Though he did not factor into the decision, the 24-year-old lowered his Triple-A ERA to 3.24 through nine appearances (50 innings) to go with a 1.08 WHIP and 37 strikeouts. Among the Reds' big three pitching prospects at the beginning of the season, Garrett is the only one to not yet get a look at the Majors as both Cody Reed and Robert Stephenson are back with Louisville after stops at the game's highest level. Garrett has been on Cincinnati's 40-man roster since September 2014, so it wouldn't take much for the rebuilding Reds to let him get his feet wet when rosters expand next month, but it's also possible they'd rather let him ride his International League momentum into the offseason with an eye on competing for a rotation spot in the spring.

D-backs 3B/SS Dawel Lugo, Double-A Mobile: 3-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R -- Make that three straight multi-hit games for Lugo, who continues to heat up after an early July promotion to the Southern League. Lugo produced just a .695 OPS in his first 16 games for the BayBears but owns a .348/.362/.543 line with two homers and three doubles in 13 games this month. All of this comes after he broke out at Class A Advanced Visalia with a .314/.348/.514 line and 13 homers in 79 games for the Rawhide to open the season. Acquired from the Blue Jays in the Cliff Pennington deal in 2015, the 21-year-old infielder had never hit more than seven homers in a Minor League season but has more than doubled that in 2016. He's already climbed from No. 17 to No. 12 in the D-backs' prospect rankings this year, according to MLB.com, and could move even higher if he continues this surge.

Cardinals RHP Junior Fernandez, Class A Advanced Palm Beach: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K -- The Cardinals' No. 8 prospect came out of the bullpen following appearances by Lance Lynn and Daniel Bard to throw what was easily his best outing since getting promoted to Palm Beach in early July. Fernandez had an 11.78 ERA with a .400 opponent batting average and 2.62 WHIP through his first six appearances in the Florida State League but saw those numbers drop to 8.88, .348 and 2.09, respectively, following Monday's outing. The 19-year-old has a high ceiling, thanks to his 70-grade fastball, but hasn't missed as many bats as you'd expect given his stuff with 78 strikeouts in 103 2/3 innings between Palm Beach and Class A Peoria. He won't turn 20 until March, though, and he'll have a full offseason to prepare for another go at the FSL come the spring.

Blue Jays RHP Jon Harris, Class A Advanced Dunedin: 7 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K -- The Blue Jays' No. 6 prospect matched the longest outing of his career Monday with 7 2/3 strong innings, continuing a recent trend of longevity for the 22-year-old. Harris has lasted seven frames or more in five of his last eight starts, dating back to his time with Class A Lansing. Monday's start helped drop his FSL ERA down to 2.96 through five starts and saw him improve his season stats to 10-3 with a 2.41 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 89 strikeouts in 112 innings between Dunedin and Lansing. The Jays put their 2015 first-rounder in a position to succeed by sending him to the two lowest full-season levels, but bigger tests await at the upper levels in 2017.

White Sox 1B Corey Zangari, Rookie-level Great Falls: 2-for-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, K -- The No. 26 White Sox prospect's best offensive tool is easily his power, and he showed that off with his first two-homer game of the season and second of his young career. A sixth-round pick in 2015, Zangari started this season at Class A Kannapolis but struggled to make consistent contact with a .166 average and 42.7 percent strikeout rate, causing him to be sent down to the Pioneer League in June. His numbers have rebounded with a .278/.354/.450 line and six homers in 45 games with the Voyagers, but he's still got plenty of swing-and-miss to his game with a 31.6 percent strikeout rate at the lower level. The White Sox can take their time with the 19-year-old and allow the rest of his offensive game to catch up to his power, but the Oklahoma native doesn't look like as much like a sixth-round steal as he did at the start of 2016.