Before Oakland optioned Jorge Mateo to Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday, the No. 72 overall prospect gave the big league club a couple swings to remember him by.Mateo belted two home runs and collected three RBIs as the Athletics topped the Royals, 9-8, in Surprise, Arizona. He also played error-free ball at
Before Oakland optioned Jorge Mateo to Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday, the No. 72 overall prospect gave the big league club a couple swings to remember him by.
Mateo belted two home runs and collected three RBIs as the Athletics topped the Royals, 9-8, in Surprise, Arizona. He also played error-free ball at shortstop. The 2-for-4 showing at the plate allowed him to finish with a .250 average and two stolen bases over five Cactus League games.
"It's pretty exciting stuff," Oakland manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com. "To have that kind of speed and that kind of power as well, there's some flash to his game, he's got good arm strength. All good stuff. We saw it in BP, but to see it in a game, it's impressive."
The No. 4 A's prospect left the yard on the second pitch of the game, then followed with a two-run dinger to left-center field in the fourth inning. Prior to the long balls, Mateo was 1-for-8 without an extra-base hit or an RBI after a lingering knee injury delayed his debut until March 6.
Sheldon Neuse, Oakland's No. 11 prospect, went 3-for-4 with three RBIs as he fell a triple shy of the cycle. That broke up a stretch in which Neuse was 1-for-17 with a home run. No. 66 overall prospect Franklin Barreto -- who homered Monday -- added two hits, two runs and a walk, and eighth-ranked A's prospect Sean Murphy went 2-for-4 with an RBI double.
No. 18 Royals prospect Ryan O'Hearn was 1-for-2 with his third double, an RBI and a run.
In other spring action:
Blue Jays 13, Braves 6 (Box)
No. 2 overall prospect Ronald Acuña Jr. cracked his second homer of the spring for Atlanta. The 20-year-old outfielder, who tore through three Minor League levels last season while posting a .325/.374/.522 line with 21 homers and 44 stolen bases, is batting .412 over 13 Grapefruit League games. Eleventh-ranked Toronto prospect Richard Ureña went 1-for-2 with a single and an RBI. Lefty reliever Tim Mayza, who made 40 appearances for Triple-A Buffalo last season, struck out the side in the eighth while allowing one hit.
Yankees 2, Tigers 2 (Box)
Top Yankees prospect Gleyber Torres went 1-for-2 with a walk before being reassigned to Triple-A. Torres, an infielder who entered camp with hopes of earning an Opening Day roster spot in the Bronx, is batting .160 with a .490 OPS this spring. Fourth-ranked New York prospect Miguel Andújar continued to cool off after a hot start to Spring Training -- the third baseman went 0-for-3 and saw his average slip to .257. Giovanny Gallegos, the Yanks' No. 22 prospect, permitted a run on two hits and struck out two in the ninth to allow Detroit to claw back into the game. No. 17 Tigers prospect Victor Reyes went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
Astros 6, Mets (ss) 1 (Box)
Two-time Minor League home run champ A.J. Reed went 1-for-3, raising his spring average to .324. No. 2 Houston prospect Kyle Tucker was 0-for-1. For the Mets, No. 10 prospect Luis Guillorme singled and drew a pair of walks but was caught stealing twice and also committed a throwing error. Tim Tebow struck out four times in four plate appearances, dropping his Grapefruit League average to .056. He was sent to Minor League camp following the game.
Phillies 6, Rays 3 (Box)
No. 16 Phillies prospect Tom Eshelman struck out four and allowed two hits and a walk over 4 2/3 innings of relief to help Philadelphia knock off Tampa Bay in Clearwater. Scott Kingery, Philly's No. 2 prospect, went 0-for-3 but plated a run with a groundout. The second baseman is hitting .346 this spring. Lucius Fox, the Rays' No. 7 prospect, went 1-for-2.
Orioles 7, Twins 5 (Box)
Top Orioles prospect Austin Hays singled and scored a run. Anthony Santander and Austin Wynns each hit a two-run homer for Baltimore. No. 26 Minnesota prospect Zack Granite walked and had an RBI single.
Cardinals 11, Marlins 4 (Box)
No. 12 Cardinals prospect Yairo Muñoz singled twice, walked twice and drove in two runs.
Padres 7, Cubs (ss) 5 (Box)
Franchy Cordero, San Diego's No. 10 prospect, tripled in a run in his only plate appearance and scored. No. 15 Chicago prospect David Bote was 1-for-2 with a double, a walk and a run.
Rockies 8, Mariners 7 (Box)
Rob Whalen continued his strong Cactus League performance, striking out nine while allowing one run on three hits and two walks over five innings. Through four appearances this spring (three starts), the Mariners' No. 21 prospect sports a 1.38 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 13 innings. Chuck Taylor (No. 30) stroked a two-run double while Daniel Vogelbach (No. 11) went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. No. 11 Rockies prospect Tom Murphy added an RBI double and scored.
