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Prospect Roundup: Games of April 30

Lopez tosses best Knights outing; Hooks' Stubbs homers twice
Reynaldo Lopez is tied for fourth in the International League with 28 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings. (David Monseur/MiLB.com)
May 1, 2017

White Sox RHP Reynaldo López, Triple-A Charlotte: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 84 pitches, 54 strikes -- MLB.com's No. 40 overall prospect closed out April with his best start as a member of the White Sox organization in a 3-1 win at Columbus.

White Sox RHP Reynaldo López, Triple-A Charlotte: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 84 pitches, 54 strikes -- MLB.com's No. 40 overall prospect closed out April with his best start as a member of the White Sox organization in a 3-1 win at Columbus. The 23-year-old allowed fewer than two earned runs for the first time with Charlotte, but Sunday's outing also represented his third straight quality start. Since opening with a 6.48 ERA in his first two appearances for the Knights, Lopez has brought that number down to 4.10 to go with 28 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings. His control has been an issue at times with 4.8 BB/9 in April, but his season-low one free pass Sunday is an encouraging sign. Acquired from the Nationals in the Adam Eaton deal, Lopez could very well be a successful Major League reliever right now, but the rebuilding White Sox are going to give him a long leash to stick as a starter, and he's making strides in that department.

Astros C Garrett Stubbs, Double-A Corpus Christi: 2-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, K -- Sunday brought the second two-homer game of Stubbs' career in Corpus Christi's 7-1 win over Frisco. The Astros' No. 11 prospect missed two weeks in the middle of the month with a hamstring injury but has been no worse for wear since returning April 23. He has hits in five straight games, going 10-for-20 with three homers and two doubles in that span. The 23-year-old backstop has put up a .341/.413/.634 line in 11 games on the season and owns a .329/.404/.547 line with seven homers over 42 career games at Double-A, dating back to last season. Stubbs has the defensive gifts to climb the ladder -- he's thrown out 51.8 percent of attempted basestealers in his Minor League career -- and if he can continue to build a good offensive profile with even a little pop, he'll have even more fuel in his third pro season.

Mets SS/2B Luis Guillorme, Double-A Binghamton: 4-for-5, RBI, R, BB -- Guillorme's defensive ability is what will get him to the Majors some day. (This is the guy who saved a dugout full of Mets by catching a flying bat barehanded while barely blinking an eye.) Indeed, it's what has placed him at No. 16 in MLB.com's ranking of Mets prospects. But the 22-year-old can string together hits from time to time. He showed that April 12 when he went 5-for-5 with a double, and he showed that ability again Sunday with four singles, including a walk-off winner. Guillorme finished April with a .342/.419/.408 line over 20 games. As that slugging percentage shows, there's not much power, and the fact that only five of his 21 hits have gone for extra bases (and all five have been doubles) strengthens the claim. But if Guillorme can maintain something around his .289 career average at the upper levels, that will be a good bonus to his valuable glove, whether he sticks at short or second.

Dodgers RHP Joshua Sborz, Double-A Tulsa: 5 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB (1 IBB), 0 K, 69 pitches, 38 strikes -- The Dodgers' No. 16 prospect didn't make his season debut until April 17 after being held back in extended spring training and struggled out of the gate with 12 earned runs on 12 hits in 7 1/3 innings over his first two starts. The 23-year-old kept the scoreboard clean Sunday for the first time in 2017, but the lack of strikeouts and the three non-intentional walks in 5 1/3 innings kept the outing from being a superb one. The 74th overall pick in 2015, Sborz helped his stock by winning the California League Pitcher of the Year award last season with a 2.66 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 108 1/3 innings in the hitter-friendly circuit. He'll need to start missing bats in a similar manner, however, if he's going to hold off the thoughts that his high-effort delivery isn't better suited for the bullpen.
White Sox RHP Alec Hansen, Class A Kannapolis: 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 88 pitches, 58 strikes
Phillies RHP Sixto Sanchez, Class A Lakewood: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 58 pitches, 41 strikes 
Fans at Lakewood's FirstEnergy Park were treated to a high-profile pitchers' duel Sunday when the No. 9 White Sox prospect squared off against the No. 7 Phillies prospect. Both are capable of throwing gas with fastballs graded 65 or better on the 20-80 scale by MLB.com, but the similarities end there. Hansen measures 6-foot-7; Sanchez stands 6-foot-even. Hansen has an above-average slider and curve to go with his fastball but can struggle with control. Sanchez has shown impressive control (two walks in 19 1/3 innings) but hasn't received the same high grades for his fastball-curve-changeup mix. Hansen is 22, a former college pitcher and a 2016 second-round pick who could move quickly if more outings like Sunday's come quickly in the South Atlantic League. Sanchez is still 18 and looking at spending his entire first full season in the circuit as the Phillies monitor his innings. Seeing two highly regarded prospects share a mound can be a rare occurrence, but that's about all Hansen and Sanchez share when it comes to prospect profile.

Sam Dykstra is a reporter for MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @SamDykstraMiLB.