Costello powers Miracle to FSL title
On the last day of the regular season, Class A Advanced Fort Myers needed a win and a loss by Charlotte to secure a spot in the postseason. The squad edged Clearwater, 2-1, and after the Fire Frogs rallied past the Stone Crabs, 5-2, the Miracle were headed to the
On the last day of the regular season, Class A Advanced Fort Myers needed a win and a loss by Charlotte to secure a spot in the postseason. The squad edged Clearwater, 2-1, and after the Fire Frogs rallied past the Stone Crabs, 5-2, the Miracle were headed to the playoffs.
Six games later -- behind a go-ahead three-run roundtripper from Ryan Costello -- Fort Myers wrapped up its second Florida State League title in five years with an 8-5 victory over Daytona in Game 4 of the circuit's Championship Series on Monday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
Gameday box score
"It feels great, man," said Costello, who was acquired from the Mariners in a trade on July 30 and assigned to the Miracle on Aug. 1. A lot of hard work went into this. I've only been here for a month, but from what I understood, the first half was a struggle. So having the chance to come out here and make a difference has been great. But we came out on that last day knowing we had to win the game just to put ourselves in a position to have a chance. We knew if Charlotte won, it was over. But it's baseball, so you never know what's going to happen. We got the 'W,' and then sure enough, Florida pulled out a win and we were pumped."
After sweeping the best-of-3 semifinals round against Palm Beach, Fort Myers took a 2-0 series lead -- outscoring the Tortugas, 15-3, through the first two games of the Finals. Daytona avoided a sweep with a 6-2 victory in Game 3 on Sunday.
The Miracle collected nine hits in the final game and committed a pair of errors that led to three runs for the Tortugas in the second inning.
• Complete postseason coverage »
Costello's blast capped Fort Myers' five-run frame in the third. The 22-year-old turned on an inside fastball from No. 18 Reds prospectScott Moss (0-1) and deposited it over the wall in right field. The dinger scored 18th-ranked Twins prospectTravis Blankenhorn and No. 29 Jose Miranda -- who each collected an RBI base knock in the frame.
"He was a lefty, and he had a running two-seam fastball that he was trying to bust me in with and I kept biting," said Costello, whose long ball was his first career postseason extra-base hit. "So once I fell behind, 1-2, I was just trying to stay short and battle and put together a good AB. And sure enough, I put a good swing on a ball and it left the yard."
Right-hander Edwar Colina (1-0) yielded three unearned runs on a pair of hits with four walks and six punchouts for the Miracle. Righty Hector Lujan worked around a one-out single by Cincinnati's 23rd-ranked prospect Alfredo Rodriguez in the ninth by getting No. 11 Stuart Fairchild to ground into a series-ending 4-4-3 double play.
"It was out of our control," Costello said. "We really didn't know we were going to be in the playoffs until the very last moment, so that we were here, it just made us feel like we had to make something happen."
Top-ranked Twins prospect Royce Lewis went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. MLB.com's No. 10 overall prospect finished the Finals 5-for-17 with three homers, five RBIs and five runs. He collected at least one hit in every game.
Minnesota's No. 2 prospect Alex Kirilloff was 1-for-5 with a double and a run scored. The 30th-ranked prospect in baseball went 4-for-18 with two doubles and scored four times in the Championship Series.
Ibandel Isabel, who finished the regular season tied with Triple-A Las Vegas' Peter Alonso for the Minor League lead in homers with 36, smacked a two-run dinger for Daytona in the eighth.
Rob Terranova is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobTnova24.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between