Around the Minors: The week of June 6-12
June 12
June 12
Building him Ford tough
Harry Ford had never recorded four hits in a professional game. He’d never driven in five runs. Despite 60-grade speed, he had never tripled.
The No. 3 Mariners prospect knocked all of those items off the list in one night -- even adding a second triple -- in a career game for Single-A Modesto. He also recorded a home run and a single to finish a double shy of the cycle as the Nuts toppled the Inland Empire 66ers, 17-9.
“It was really fun,” Ford, MLB's No. 82 overall prospect, said. “We just had a lot of momentum coming into today. It was really a battle all series and we brought it out.
“Coming into it I felt really good but everything just worked out well for me.” Full story »
A Storm's a brewin'
Two players, two trajectories, same goal.
Backed by a three-run homer and a season-high five RBIs from
Greinke, who struck out four and needed just 49 pitches (33 strikes) to navigate through 16 IronPigs, did not reach a three-ball count. The 38-year-old returned to the Royals after spending the previous decade with the Brewers, Dodgers, D-backs and Astros. Greinke, who debuted with Kansas City in 2004, last appeared in Omaha that same season prior to his big league debut.
After starting 2022 on a high note, Greinke struggled prior to his injury. The right-hander went 0-4 with a 5.05 ERA in 10 starts for the Royals.
Pratto, the second-ranked Royals prospect, went deep for the first time since June 1 and singled to improve his slash line to .222/.350/.454 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs in 50 games.
Whole lotta Quakin' going on
Nelson Quiroz enjoyed hitting his first homer in nearly three years so much he decided to do it again. And then again.
The Dodgers prospect went deep three times during his four-hit, six-RBI performance as Single-A Rancho Cucamonga rolled past Stockton, 15-3, at Banner Island Ballpark. Quiroz became the 14th Minor Leaguer to go deep three times in one game and the third in the past week.
The 20-year-old got the offensive onslaught going with a two-run jack to left-center-field in the second inning. It was his first home run since Aug. 13, 2019, when he connected on his only other career round-tripper in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League. Quiroz plated two more with a double to right in the third and put Rancho Cucamonga into double digits with a solo homer to center in the sixth.
The Mexico native completed his personal trifecta with a second two-run homer to left in the seventh to establish career highs with four hits and six RBIs. Full story »
NELSON QUIROZ WITH A FRANCHISE-RECORD TYING HOMER....HIS THIRD OF THE DAY!#milb #Dodgers
— Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (@RCQuakes) June 12, 2022
Doing some multitasking
For the first time in his career,
The fourth-ranked Marlins prospect went deep twice in Triple-A Jacksonville’s 7-3 win over Gwinnett, finishing the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk. Facing righty Huascar Ynoa, the lefty slugger led off the fourth inning with a solo blast to right. His second long ball, another solo jack on the first pitch he saw in the seventh, was nearly identical, landing in almost the same spot in right field.
With three homers in his last two games, the 24-year-old is one dinger shy of tying the career-high mark of 12 he set in 110 games last season. In his last 10 games, Bleday is batting .273/.429/.727 with four homers, eight RBIs and nine walks
Repeat customers
Mets fans who follow the Minors closely might be starting to wonder if their phones are hitting them with repeat notifications.
Alas, Francisco Álvarez and
Álvarez got the party started early with his blast in the first inning, a towering drive that stayed just inside the left field foul pole. It was his 13th home run of the year and ninth in his last 15 games. Over that timeframe, which began on May 26, no player in the Majors or Minors has more homers.
Meanwhile, Baty continues to rake since returning from an IL stint on June 3. His homer, an opposite-field fly, was his second since coming back, and along with his two walks on the afternoon raised his on-base percentage over that span to .459.
That's 'Entertainment!'
His hitting coach might have coined another. “Entertainment.”
Whatever you call him, the No. 7 Cubs prospect stood out in his latest game. Alcantara homered twice among his four hits, drove in eight runs, reached five times and piled up 12 total bases as Single-A Myrtle Beach routed Carolina, 15-6. The win made the Pelicans the first team in the Minors to 40 wins in 2022.
“He came up with that,” Myrtle Beach hitting coach Steven Pollokov said of Alcantara’s self-bestowed nickname. “He’s got those long legs, and he’s calm, and when he wants to attack, he attacks. He’s the Jaguar.” Full story »
June 11
It’s the best day ever!
Coming into Saturday night,
The Padres’ top prospect tallied the first five-hit game of his career, crushing a two-run homer and singling four times. For baseball’s No. 6 overall prospect, the night was poised to be special from the start. On the fifth pitch thrown in the bottom of the first, Abrams smacked his first base knock at 103.5 mph to help kickstart a six-run frame.
The Chihuahuas, donning SpongeBob SquarePants-themed jerseys, put up 10 runs in the first three innings and never looked back. Abrams singled again in the second before blasting a two-run homer. He singled twice more and collected an RBI before grounding out in his final at-bat. Full story »
Joining him in the El Paso lineup was an unlikely face -- Robinson Canó, playing in his first Minor League game, excluding rehab assignments, since 2005. The MLB legend hit fifth as the designated hitter and ripped an RBI single in his first plate appearance, his only hit in the contest. The Padres signed Canó on May 13, but after 12 games, they optioned him to Triple-A and the second baseman elected free agency. Canó then signed a Minor League deal with the club on June 10.
Getting rowdy in Texas
The night went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, and in the end Double-A Frisco walked away with a win and a monumental exhale. Through 7 1/2 innings the Rangers affiliate could do no wrong against Amarillo. The RoughRiders jumped out to a 13-0 lead and ultimately smacked seven home runs on the evening, including a pair from catcher
But the final two dingers -- Procyshen’s second and
With one of the wildest innings that you’re sure to see in the Minors this season, the SodPoodles plated 11 runs in the bottom of the eighth to make it -- excuse the cliché -- a brand new ballgame. Amarillo sent 15 batters to the plate in the frame and Frisco needed three pitchers to retire the side.
After the RoughRiders posted three runs in the top of the ninth, the SodPoodles couldn’t replicate the eighth inning magic in their last turn at the plate, scoring just one run to wrap up a 16-12 final score. A good ol’ fashioned Texas slugfest indeed.
AN 11 RUN INNING
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) June 12, 2022
Folks, we're within two. pic.twitter.com/byG9tynX4U
Kirilloff helps Saints soar
Since being sent down from Minnesota,
But the 2016 first-rounder wasn't done there. Following the solo shot to left, Kirilloff drilled one to right in the seventh. The game marked not only his second multihomer effort of the year, but of the week! Kirilloff now has eight Triple-A roundtrippers, while boasting a .350/.453/.607 slash line in 31 games across two Minor League stints.
Three to get ready? Nope. Three to go
Facing fellow organizational mates, Dominican Summer League Tigers 1 turned a triple play to end the game and top the DSL Tigers 2, by a score of 5-4. Heading into the home half of the seventh, Ricardo Hurtado was hit by a pitch, then was pinch-ran for by Randy Perea. Jesus Machado then singled and Justin Rodriguez was plunked to load the bases. In a jam, the road team brought in a new pitcher, Moises Rodriguez.
With help from the defense, the reliever quickly put the game to bed. Junior Quezada laced a line drive to third baseman Jensy De Leon, who caught the ball and stepped on third for the second out. De Leon fired the ball to first baseman Yoan Bravo, who stepped on the bag before Rodriguez could get back for the third out.
The web gem marked the second triple play of the Minor League season thus far. High-A Great Lakes turned one on June 3.
Walk-off triple play!
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 11, 2022
Third baseman Jensy De Leon and first baseman Yoan Bravo turn three for the Dominican Summer League #Tigers to end the game.
➡️ https://t.co/et94xEv3WL pic.twitter.com/G4SqAjVUSh
June 10
A rehabbing righty is coming along
Good news, Cardinals fans: Jack Flaherty is starting to look like his old self.
The rehabbing right-hander allowed a run on one hit and no walks while striking out six in his second rehab start, this time with Triple-A Memphis in its 4-0 loss to Durham. He fired 38 of his 59 pitches for strikes, generating 11 swings-and-misses. He worked through the first frame on 17 pitches, and after allowing a solo homer to lead off the second, he retired the final nine batters he faced -- striking out five of them.
Rehabbing a right shoulder injury that’s kept him from pitching since 2021, the Cards' ace fired three perfect innings with three K’s in his first rehab start with Double-A Springfield.
And it’s one… two… three home runs
Donning a Black Spinners jersey as part of MiLB’s The Nine initiative, Northcut knew it was going to be a good night from his very first at-bat, where he crushed an 0-2 pitch over the wall in right field for his second grand slam of the season in the bottom of the first.
Falling behind in the count again in his second at-bat, Northcut slugged his second long ball of the day, a three-run jack to give him seven RBIs through two innings. Northcut added a single in the fourth and scored on a Joe Davis homer before stepping up to the plate in the sixth with two out and nobody on. This time ahead in the count 2-1, he cranked a homer to left-center to complete the feat. Northcut’s trifecta puts him one dinger behind the MiLB lead of 20 shared by Erie’s
A milestone introduction
Cardinals infield prospect Samil De La Rosa has only played three pro games stateside, but the 18-year-old already has a memorable performance to his name. De La Rosa cycled for the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Cardinals in a 5-2 loss to the FCL Astros Orange.
De La Rosa turned around the first pitch of the game that he saw and laced a double into left to lead off the second inning. In the fourth, the third baseman connected on the first pitch again and found the gap in left-center field. He motored around the bases for a triple. In the sixth, De La Rosa did not miss a 2-2 fastball down the middle and crushed it to left. Needing just a single to complete the feat, the Dominican Republic native turned on the jets again in the seventh – legging out an infield hit on a soft ground ball to first base.
De La Rosa entered the game with just one hit on the season. His four knocks set a career high for the second-year pro, who posted a .288/.396/.424 slash line with a homer, three triples, eight doubles and 21 RBIs over 37 games in the Dominican Summer League last season.
FCL Cardinals INF Samil De La Rosa hit for the cycle in today's game vs. Astros Orange!
— Cardinals Player Development (@CardsPlayerDev) June 10, 2022
The 18-year-old accomplished the feat in his first four at-bats (2B, 3B, HR, 1B) and is the first Cardinals minor leaguer to hit for the cycle since Randy Arozarena (AAA) on 7/26/19 at OKC. pic.twitter.com/59SLM30GmU
Welcome, Kjerstad!
For the first time since being taken with the second overall pick in the 2020 Draft,
The 23-year-old Orioles prospect has been sidelined since shortly after the Draft due to the lingering effects of myocarditis, a viral inflammation of the heart, as a result of catching COVID-19 in the summer of 2020. Kjerstad batted third as the designated hitter for Single-A Delmarva, and he chopped an RBI groundout in his very first professional plate appearance. He finished the game 1-for-4, lacing a single to left on a 3-1 count in the bottom of the sixth for his first career hit. Special debut aside, Fayetteville took the contest, 7-1.
The lefty slugger, ranked as Baltimore's No. 9 prospect, hit .343/.421/.590 with 37 homers and 129 RBIs in 150 games at the University of Arkansas.
June 9
Three in two
Seattle prospect Rizzo swatted three solo homers across both ends of a doubleheader to help lead Double-A Arkansas to a split with visiting Wichita.
Rizzo got the Travelers started in the bottom of the first inning of Thursday's opener when he swatted a one-out blast to right field to put Arkansas on the board, on the way to a 7-3 defeat.
In the nightcap, the third baseman was even better. Rizzo clobbered another first-inning dinger to start the Travs' scoring before adding another in the fourth, both to right field, to aid Arkansas' 3-1 win. The 24-year-old went a combined 3-for-7 over the twin bill and has four homers over his last four games and hits in five straight.
A 2016 second-round pick, Rizzo is back at Double-A this year after playing 105 games there in 2021, having batted .253/.330/.400 with 12 homers and 60 RBIs. Thursday's showing gave him nine homers in 50 games this year.
A debut with flare
After starting the season on the injured list with an oblique issue, baseball's No. 48 overall prospect
Priester dealt the first three innings of a no-hitter, striking out a batter and facing one over the minimum, as Single-A Bradenton took down Clearwater, 3-0.
On the IL since Spring Training, Priester is tuning up for what's expected to be his Double-A debut this season. The right-hander threw 37 pitches (20 strikes) for the Marauders, touching 96.6 mph with his four-seam fastball. After retiring the first four batters he faced, Priester hit a batter with one out in the second before rebounding to retire the next five in a row to finish his night.
Last season, Priester went 7-4 with a 3.04 ERA in 20 starts for High-A Greensboro during his first full-season campaign.
Stealing a victory
Walk-offs come in all shapes and sizes, but few are as heads-up as was Jared Oliva’s steal of home in Triple-A Indianapolis’ 6-5 win over Columbus.
After the Clippers tied the game in the top of the ninth, Oliva doubled and advanced to third on a groundout from Oneil Cruz to put the winning run 90 feet away in the bottom of the frame. The count was 2-2 to Canaan Smith-Njigba when Columbus pitcher Ben Krauth fired a pitch too high to make the count full. Catcher Bryan Lavastida checked back to Oliva, who was dancing off third, and lobbed the throw back to Krauth. That’s when Oliva took off. The outfielder put his head down and dashed for home plate, sliding around the tag after Krauth reached up and fired a throw back home. It was Oliva’s sixth steal of the season, and it helped give Indy its 28th win of the year.
June 8
Bingo! Rumble Ponies duo off on a full gallop
The pop just won't stop for these top Mets prospects.
Top prospect and MLB No. 7 Francisco Álvarez, along with No. 2 Mets and MLB No. 23 Brett Baty, both homered for Double-A Binghamton across a doubleheader against New Hampshire. Álvarez has been on fire recently, with homers in back-to-back games and five in his last 10. The 20-year-old catcher's dinger was the lone run scored for the Rumble Ponies in Game 1, a solo blast to left-center on the first pitch he saw for his 11th long ball of the season. He's raised his average to .277 and has hits in nine of his last 10 games.
Baty did damage in Game 2 of the twinbill, drilling a solo homer on the fifth pitch of the game for his fourth jack of the year. He added an RBI single in the win, giving him three mulithit efforts in his last six contests to go with a .260/.351/.420 slash line in 41 games.
A truly offensive game to witness
The 3,981 fans in attendance at Louisville Slugger Field had no idea what they were in for when they walked through the turnstiles. Triple-A Louisville and visiting Charlotte combined for an epic offensive performance, including a 10-run inning -- by the losing team, no less -- 35 hits and 19 runs.
Despite trailing, 12-2, after four innings. the Knights used a six-run ninth to force extras before scoring three times in the 10th rally past the Bats, 15-14. Perhaps most the most unique aspect of the slugfest was the actual lack of slugging.
The lead is OURS!!!! RBI single for Adam Haseley!
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) June 9, 2022
13-12 Knights in the 10th! pic.twitter.com/GrZCuRGJT7
Although the teams combined for 10 extra-base hits, only one left the yard. Romy Gonzalez began Charlotte's comeback in earnest with his third home run of the year. It seemed to matter little at the time, but the No. 7 White Sox prospect's solo jack kicked his club's offense into overdrive.
The well-balanced offensive production from both sides included 13 different players with RBIs.
Byrd Tenerowicz has arrived!#GoBatsGo🦇 | @ByrdHotTakes pic.twitter.com/GMXrpOogt5
— Louisville Bats (@LouisvilleBats) June 9, 2022
A dog with some serious bite
It was a night to remember for Eguy Rosario.
The sixth-ranked Padres prospect led the way in Triple-A El Paso's 14-7 win over Albuquerque with four hits, including a pair of home runs, a double and a career-high six RBIs.
With one out in the second inning, Rosario turned around on a slider at the letters and muscled it out to left field for his fourth home run of the season. He gave the Chihuahuas the lead with an RBI single to right in the third.
After driving in two with a double to deep center in the seventh, Rosario saved his best for last by capping off his night with a towering drive down the left-field line in the eighth.
Flying north for the summer
It’s the beginning of a new era behind the plate for the Toronto Blue Jays. Gabriel Moreno, the club’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 4 prospect in Major League Baseball, will join the club ahead of Friday’s series opener in Detroit, a source told MLB.com on Wednesday night.
The club is still evaluating whether it will add Moreno to the roster for Game 1, but the 22-year-old will be activated during the series in Detroit.
Moreno received the news following Wednesday’s doubleheader with Triple-A Buffalo.
After bursting onto the scene in full-season ball with Single-A Lansing in 2019, Moreno’s true breakout took place in 2021 with Double-A New Hampshire. Prior to a hand injury cutting that season short, Moreno hit .373 with eight home runs and a 1.092 OPS.
This year in Triple-A, Moreno was hitting .324 with a .784 OPS heading into play Wednesday, while showing marked improvement against the running game by throwing out 54% of runners attempting to steal. The Blue Jays have believed in Moreno’s bat stretching back to his teenage years, but his defense has made significant strides.
The Blue Jays are reportedly calling up MLB's No. 4 overall prospect Gabriel Moreno, according to @KeeganMatheson.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 9, 2022
More on the catcher: https://t.co/12rhWfIwOn pic.twitter.com/DaDO1sExPS
Look what the Tides brought in
Gunnar Henderson might be the youngest player at the Triple-A level, still just 20 years old. But you'd have no way of knowing as he left in his mark in the Tides' 8-3 victory over Nashville on the road.
At least, that's the sense the third-ranked Orioles prospect gave in his first at-bat for the Tides, homering on the second pitch he saw for his first hit, home run, RBI -- all the accolades. It was a loud way to continue what's already been a scorching climb of a 2022 season.
Most impressive about the feat may have been the context. Henderson rocketed the ball to right-center off Ethan Small, who's already debuted in the Majors this season, is a top Brewers prospect, is a former first-round pick and a left-hander. That last truism, with Henderson's splits against lefties perhaps the only blemish on his 2022 campaign, may be the most crucial.
Henderson's blast was an emphatic moment in what could be a watershed game for the Orioles' organization.
June 7
Flying Tourist
The duo of Chayce McDermott and Colin Barber paid off handsomely in High-A Asheville's 6-3 win over host Greenville.
McDermott, the No. 12 Astros prospect, tossed 5 2/3 hitless innings before surrendering a solo homer, the only hit and run he allowed over six frames. The 23-year-old struck out a career-high 10 to improve to 5-1 with a 3.97 ERA in 11 starts for the Tourists. McDermott has held opponents to a .173 average and will carry a 1.07 WHIP and a 70-to-21 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 47 2/3 innings into his next outing.
Barber, Houston's fifth-ranked prospect, went deep for the third consecutive game, giving him four in that span and five this month. The 21-year-old is in the midst of an All-Star-worthy campaign, slashing .336/.444/.547 with 13 extra-base hits, seven home runs and 23 RBIs in 38 games.
Turning the Pages on a slow start
April showers bring May flowers, yet the month was anything but rosy for Andy Pages. However, the change of months has flipped a switch for baseball's No. 62 overall prospect.
Pages slugged a pair of solo homers and a triple to back a stellar performance from No. 18 Dodgers prospect Gavin Stone in Double-A Tulsa's 5-2 win against visiting Northwest Arkansas. Stone set a career high with 13 strikeouts over six scoreless frames.
Pages has gone deep three times in four games this month after leaving the yard three times in May, when he batted .212 with a .733 OPS.
On De La Cruz control
Any time Elly De La Cruz is penciled into the lineup lately, he's a highlight waiting to happen. The second-ranked Reds prospect finished a double shy of the cycle -- with a career-high five RBIs -- as he powered High-A Dayton's 14-8 victory over Great Lakes.
De La Cruz crushed his 11th dinger of the year to left-center in the opening frame before clearing the bases with his fifth triple for the Dragons in the fifth. The 20-year-old legged out an infield single to third in the seventh and stepped to the plate again later in the frame and drove in a run with an RBI groundout to the shortstop.
MLB.com's No. 69 overall prospect is sporting a .301/.342/.602 slash line with 26 extra-base hits and 37 RBIs over 44 games this season.
Still, Waters runs deep
Atlanta's No. 2 prospect belted an opposite-field home run and finished 4-for-5 to help lead Triple-A Gwinnett to a 7-0 win at Jacksonville. His offensive output backed seven hitless innings by 24-year-old right-hander
Waters kicked off his night with singles in each of his first three at-bats, lining one to right field in the first inning before reaching on an RBI infield single to second in the second and on a bouncer to left in the fifth.
Then came the outfielder's big blast. In the top of the sixth, with his team already leading 6-0, Waters clubbed an offering from Jacksonville reliever Huascar Brazoban and deposited it beyond the wall in left-center for his third homer of the season.
He's Baaaaaaz!
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays are ready to see top prospect
The Rays optioned left-hander Ryan Yarbrough to Triple-A Durham prior to the series opener against the Cardinals at Tropicana Field. Manager Kevin Cash confirmed that Baz will fill Yarbrough’s spot in the rotation, with the 22-year-old right-hander set for his season debut this weekend against the Twins at Target Field.
Baz has been sidelined since Spring Training after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, but he looked ready to go during his Minor League rehab assignment. Baz allowed only two runs on eight hits and four walks while striking out 20 over 13 innings, and he built up his endurance over four Triple-A starts, giving him a standard Spring Training-style buildup. Full story »
"It seems like he’s backed up each outing to translate into helping us win games. Excited to have him here” -- Kevin Cash#Rays No. 1 prospect Shane Baz is set to return to the Majors this weekend: https://t.co/CzMQpRx9XF pic.twitter.com/1MRPw44OrF
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 7, 2022
Last week in the Minor Leagues
June got off to its trademark start with Mariners righty Juan Mercedes giving the High-A AquaSox their first no-hitter in 30 years of existence. In the Midwest League, the High-A Loons also made history with the Minors' first triple play of 2022. A pair of players hit for the cycle on the same night -- Twins prospect Alerick Soularie and the Reds' Chris Okey. Soularie's fellow Twins talent Spencer Steer notched a three-homer game. On the pitcher's mound, Rays prospect Shane Baz rolled up 10 strikeouts in his latest step toward a big league return. Look back on the week that was in Minor League Baseball.