Vogelbach caps torrid spring with Mariners

Dan Vogelbach's camp numbers may have jump-started his career.
The Mariners No. 11 prospect capped his dominant spring campaign with a three-run homer in a 5-3 win over the Rockies on Tuesday, just two days after Seattle announced he made the Opening Day roster.

"Vogel-bomb ended his spring the right way," manager Scott Servais told MLB.com. "Danny had an awesome spring, so it was nice to see him complete it that way. You figured he was going to hit the ball hard somewhere. I'm really happy for him. Hopefully it continues. He'll get a few starts early in the season and hopefully he stays hot."
Vogelbach bookended his game with a single to right field in the first and a go-ahead jack to center in the eighth, going 2-for-4 with two runs.
With his latest blast, the 25-year-old topped all Major Leaguers this spring in all three slash line categories, hitting .407/529/.926 while belting seven roundtrippers to tie Ian Happ, Frank Schwindel and Yonder Alonso for the lead. Vogelbach also collected 15 RBIs, 13 walks and 13 runs in 22 games. Although he often served as a designated hitter, in the 14 games he played at first, the Florida native did not make an error.
"The defense has been much better. The at-bats, the approach at the plate. He's a different guy," Servais told MLB.com. "The guy our scouts saw when we acquired him is starting to come out. It's good for him and it's good for us."
Vogelbach was drafted by the Cubs in the second round of the 2011 Draft and played in their system for five-and-a-half seasons until he was traded to the Mariners on July 20, 2016. Across the two systems, the left-handed hitter sports a .287/.390/.476 slash line with 100 homers and 438 RBIs in 669 career Minor League games.
Over the past two seasons, Vogelbach earned multiple callups to Seattle, going 7-for-40 (.175) with one extra-base hit, two RBIs and four walks in 24 games.
In other spring action:
Blue Jays 1, Cardinals 0 (Box)
Playing at Montreal's Olympic Stadium -- where his father was a beloved member of the Expos for eight seasons -- No. 3 overall prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slugged a walk-off home run for Toronto. Wearing his father's No. 27, Guerrero tossed his helmet into the air as he neared home plate and jumped into a mob of teammates. The crowd gave him an extended ovation and a curtain call.
"These two days have been amazing for me," Guerrero told MLB.com. "It's like a dream come true. But of course having that at-bat and having that chance to do that and help the team win is something that I'm always going to remember."

Second-ranked St. Louis prospect Jack Flaherty (0-2) struck out four over 2 2/3 innings of relief, but the one hit the No. 38 overall prospect allowed was the dinger.
Marlins 22, University of Miami 2 (Box)
If Lewis Brinson didn't declare for the Draft out of high school, he would've attended the University of Florida and played against his hometown Hurricanes multiple times a year. He got a taste of that in Tuesday's exhibition game. MLB.com's No. 27 overall prospect belted his first spring homer, walked and scored twice. Marlins No. 9 prospect Brian Anderson went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, two runs and an RBI. Starter Dillon Peters (No. 15) yielded two runs on two hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings for the win.
Astros 8, Brewers 1 (Box)
Ninth-ranked Houston prospect J.D. Davis went 2-for-5 with three strikeouts to finish the Cactus League with a .385/.405/.662 line. Kyle Tucker, the team's top position prospect, wrapped the spring at .409/.438/.818 after going 0-for-3. Rogelio Armenteros (No. 12) closed out the win with four strikeouts over two perfect frames. For the Brewers, reliever Taylor Williams struck out a pair in a scoreless ninth.
Tigers 2, Rays 1 (Box)
Detroit's No. 10 prospect Christian Stewart drove in ninth-ranked Daz Cameron in the top of the seventh to tie the game, 1-1. Victor Alcántara (No. 25 ) didn't allow a hit in a scoreless inning of relief to bring his spring ERA down to 3.38 in eight appearances. For Tampa Bay, No. 25 prospect Ryan Boldt singled and walked.
Phillies 5, Pirates 5 (Box)
Philadelphia's No. 20 prospect Jose Gomez drove in the second run on a fielder's choice and scored the team's fourth run to tie the game in the fifth. Jorge Alfaro (No. 7) got the start behind the plate and finished 1-for-2 with a run scored before departing in the sixth. For Pittsburgh, eighth-ranked prospect Colin Moran went 2-for-3 with an RBI double. Moran finished his spring with a .362 average in 18 games.
Indians 3, D-backs 3 (Box)
Arizona's No. 8 prospect Drew Ellis belted an RBI double and scored a run to help the D-backs rally to the tie.
Twins 3, Nationals 1 (Box)
Mitch Garver, Minnesota's No. 19 prospect, stroked a go-ahead two-run single in the ninth. Nick Gordon (No. 4) and Zack Granite (No. 27) both singled.
Braves 5, Braves Futures Stars 4 (Box)
Minor Leaguers nearly pulled off an upset at SunTrust Park in Atlanta as Cristian Pache -- the organization's No. 9 prospect -- homered twice off Sean Newcomb and drove in three runs. No. 2 overall prospect Ronald Acuña Jr. went 1-for-3 and Braves eighth-ranked prospect Austin Riley and Dustin Peterson (No. 16) both doubled. Kyle Wright (No. 2), Ian Anderson (No. 5), Touki Toussaint (No. 11) and Bryse Wilson (No. 13) each turned in a scoreless inning of relief.