Franklin Barreto's 2017 campaign ended on a bittersweet note. He made the Majors, but he was 6-for-29 (.207) without a home run in his final stint.But spring truly has been a fresh start for the Athletics No. 3 prospect, who slugged his third jack Monday in a 6-5 loss to
Franklin Barreto's 2017 campaign ended on a bittersweet note. He made the Majors, but he was 6-for-29 (.207) without a home run in his final stint.
But spring truly has been a fresh start for the Athletics No. 3 prospect, who slugged his third jack Monday in a 6-5 loss to the Giants in Cactus League action.
Barreto entered the game as a defensive replacement for second baseball Jed Lowrie in the top of the sixth inning and quickly made his presence known, snagging a line drive off the bat of Steven Duggar. In the home half of the frame, MLB.com's No. 66 overall prospect drilled a two-run shot to bring the A's within a run of their Northern California foes.
Although Barreto struck out in his only other at-bat, he boosted his average to .300 after going 1-for-6 over his past two games. The 22-year-old is slugging .767 with seven RBIs and six extra-base hits in 12 spring contests as he competes for a job in Oakland's middle infield.
Last year, Barreto hit .281/.326/.428 in 68 games with Triple-A Nashville before getting his first call to "The Show" on June 24. In two big league stints, the Venezuela native hit .197 with two home runs and six RBIs in 71 at-bats over 25 games.
Duggar, the Giants No. 3 prospect, collected his fourth spring long ball, a two-run shot in the fifth. Joan Gregorio (No. 18) pitched a perfect eighth.
In other spring action:
Angels 4, Reds 3 (Box)
No. 1 overall prospect Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-4 with a strikeout, two groundouts and a flyout. As Los Angeles' designated hitter, the two-way player is 2-for-18 (.111) in six spring games. For the Reds, Nick Senzel -- No. 7 overall -- reached on a forceout and was caught stealing in the first, but knocked an RBI single two frames later. Alex Blandino (Cincinnati's No. 19 prospect) collected an RBI single in the seventh to cut the deficit to one.
Rockies 4, D-backs 2 (Box)
Colorado got some help from its top two prospects with Ryan McMahon lacing a two-run double in the fourth and Brendan Rodgers singling and coming around to score in the sixth. Tom Murphy (No. 11) knocked an RBI single while Garrett Hampson (No. 7) went 1-for-1 after replacing Rodgers at second.
Orioles 8, Pirates 5 (Box)
Top Baltimore prospect Austin Hays went 0-for-4, but drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Pittsburgh's No. 8 prospect Colin Moran continued his hot spring, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI to raise his average to .379. Moran was part of the package the Pirates received from the Astros in return for starter Gerrit Cole a few months ago.
Nationals 5, Tigers 4 (Box)
Second-ranked Washington prospect Juan Soto singled, walked and drove in a pair of runs. Detroit got a ninth-inning solo shot from No. 11 prospect Mike Gerber, but fell short in Lakeland.
Phillies 3, Braves 0 (Box)
No. 37 overall prospect J.P. Crawford dropped a double down the left-field line to end Atlanta's no-hit bid in the eighth and he scored on a three-run dinger by Mitch Walding.
Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 4 (Box)
Toronto No. 3 prospect Anthony Alford singled and threw out a runner at third base. The 23-year-old outfielder is batting .323/.313/.645 in 13 spring games.
Royals 4, Padres 0 (Box)
Kansas City's No. 9 prospect Scott Blewett allowed one hit in the eighth and 24th-ranked prospect Heath Fillmyer walked one and struck out one to close out the game.
Brewers 7, Dodgers 6 (Box)
Coming off a 2-for-2 day in which he delivered a go-ahead RBI, No. 56 overall prospect Keston Hiura belted his first Cactus League homer for Milwaukee. Alex Verdugo, the No. 33 overall prospect, went 1-for-2 for Los Angeles and No. 25 Dodgers prospect Kyle Farmer singled, drove in a run and scored another.
Indians 4, Rangers 2 (Box)
No. 53 overall prospect Willie Calhoun went 1-for-4 for Texas. He's batting .243 over 13 spring games.
Twins 2, Yankees 1 (Box)
Getting the start at second base for the seventh time in nine games this spring, No. 80 overall prospect Nick Gordon continued his hot start with two more singles. Minnesota's No. 4 prospect is hitting .500/.529/.688 through 16 at-bats. Tyler Austin lofted a solo homer in the fourth for the Yankees, the third of the spring for New York's No. 26 prospect.
Rangers 5, Royals 1 (Box)
Texas' No. 6 prospect Yohander Méndez didn't allow a hit and notched a strikeout in two perfect innings. Kansas City's No. 12 prospect Miguel Almonte tossed two shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out two. Fellow righty Andres Machado, the No. 25 Royals prospect, allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth.
White Sox 4, Mariners 2 (Box)
No. 5 White Sox prospect Dylan Cease turned in his longest outing in his third appearance of the spring. Cease allowed one hit and one walk while fanning four over three scoreless innings. While posting zeros over 6 1/3 frames this month, Cease has yielded just three hits and three walks while striking out nine. Ian Clarkin (No. 17) gave up a hit and a walk and struck out two over two scoreless innings for his first save of the spring.
