Through two starts this spring, Michael Kopech's ERA remains the same.The top White Sox pitching prospect allowed an unearned run on two hits and a walk while striking out three over 2 1/3 innings on Saturday, maintaining a perfect ERA in a 9-5 win over the Kansas City Royals at
Through two starts this spring, Michael Kopech's ERA remains the same.
The top White Sox pitching prospect allowed an unearned run on two hits and a walk while striking out three over 2 1/3 innings on Saturday, maintaining a perfect ERA in a 9-5 win over the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium.
Kopech retired the first four batters before surrendering a triple to Ryan Goins in the second. The Royals scored their lone run off the right-hander when Alcides Escobar reached second on a one-out error by second baseman Jose Rondon in the third. Kopech was yanked, and Tyler Collins drove in Escobar with a single off reliever TJ House.
Through two Cactus League starts, Kopech has yet to yield an earned run and has struck out six while issuing one walk. MLB.com's No. 10 overall prospect went 9-8 with a 2.88 ERA and 172 strikeouts over 134 1/3 innings last season between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte. This is his second stint in big league camp with the White Sox.
No. 14 White Sox prospect Luis Alexander Basabe ripped a solo homer and scored twice, 18th-ranked Ryan Cordell went 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored.
Mariners 4, Angels 2 (Box)
Ninth-ranked Angels prospect Matt Thaiss went 2-for-2 off the bench and clubbed his second Cactus League homer in the fourth inning. Mariners No. 5 prospect Braden Bishop singled and scored a run in his lone plate appearance after coming on as a defensive replacement.
Cubs 7, Reds 4 (Box)
Reds No. 14 prospect Aristides Aquino blasted a two-run shot, his second spring homer. Top prospect Nick Senzel struck out in each of his two at-bats, while No. 7 Shed Long doubled for Cincinnati.
Padres 10, A's 4 (Box)
Padres No. 16 prospect Josh Naylor launched his first Cactus League homer, a solo shot. Third-ranked Luis Urías delivered an RBI double in his lone plate appearance, raising his average to .538 (7-for-13) through nine games this spring.
Brewers 6, Rockies 5 (Box)
Brewers No. 6 prospect Brett Phillips delivered an RBI double, his second hit in 16 Cactus League at-bats. No. 22 prospect Troy Stokes Jr. tripled and scored a run for Milwaukee, while second-ranked Rockies prospect Ryan McMahon homered for the first time this spring. MLB.com's 41st-ranked prospect is 9-for-20 (.450) with four RBIs in the Cactus League.
Giants (ss) 9, Rangers 4 (Box)
Giants No. 2 prospect Chris Shaw was 2-for-2 with a solo homer and two RBIs. Steven Duggar, ranked one spot behind Shaw, contributed a pair of singles.
Dodgers 14, D-backs 5 (Box)
Kyle Farmer, Los Angeles' 25th-ranked prospect, homered and singled to raise his average to .636. Dodgers No. 3 prospect Keibert Ruiz singled twice and drove in a run, while No. 23 Matt Beaty was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Yankees 5, Red Sox 3 (Box)
Miguel Andújar, MLB.com's No. 65 overall prospect, was not supposed to be the Yankees hopeful nobody can stop talking about this spring. After a little more than a week of Grapefruit League action, the third baseman leads his team with a .421 batting average and a 1.188 slugging percentage.
A day after turning 23, Andujar extended his hitting streak to six games with an RBI single in the Yankees 5-3 win over the Red Sox in Fort Myers, Florida. Yankees top prospectGleyber Torres doubled and scored a run.
Andujar, ranked fourth in the system, entered the day tied for the spring lead in homers and pulled a line drive to left field off right-hander Teddy Stankiewicz in the eighth inning to improve to 8-for-19. If he continues to rake, he'll complicate the infield picture in the Bronx heading into the season.
Torres is 2-for-16 in seven games.
Chance Adams made his first career Grapefruit League start and turned in two scoreless innings for the Yankees. The No. 75 overall prospect allowed a hit and a walk, facing one batter over the minimum. Justus Sheffield, New York's top pitching prospect, gave up a run on two hits and a walk while fanning one in two innings out of the bullpen. No. 17 Yankees prospect Cody Carroll (2-0) held the Red Sox to a walk in a scoreless seventh to get the win.
Fifth-ranked Red Sox prospectSam Travis singled in his lone plate appearance.
Nationals 8, Astros 1 (Box)
Sixth overall prospect Victor Robles took away extra bases with a diving catch in center field and Nationals No. 10 prospect Kelvin Gutierrez socked a two-run double, walked and scored in a romp over the reigning World Series champs. José Marmolejos (No. 22) chipped in an RBI single and a run scored, while Astros No. 2 prospect Kyle Tucker maintained a .333 spring average by going 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Orioles 4, Phillies (ss) 2 (Box)
Eighth-ranked Baltimore prospect Anthony Santander cracked a two-run homer and third-ranked Chance Sisco doubled home No. 7 Cedric Mullins, who worked a walk. Thomas Eshelman (0-1), the Phillies' No. 16 prospect, allowed a run on two hits and a walk over 1 1/3 innings to take the loss, but he struck out two. Cole Irvin, Enyel De Los Santos and JoJo Romero combined for 3 1/3 scoreless frames out of the Philadelphia bullpen.
Marlins 1, Mets 0 (Box)
Top Marlins prospect Lewis Brinson belted a ground-rule double -- his fourth Grapefruit League two-bagger and third in as many games -- and No. 17 Braxton Lee scored the game's only run. Magneuris Sierra also logged a hit for Miami. Infielders Gavin Cecchini (No. 18 in the New York system) and David Thompson (No. 22) totaled two hits and a walk. Ninth-ranked Chris Flexen worked around two hits and struck out one in two innings of scoreless relief for New York.
Rays 7, Tigers 4 (Box)
Rays No. 2 prospect Willy Adames stayed hot with an RBI single and is batting .429 in six Grapefruit League games. Sixth-ranked Christian Arroyo and No. 10 Justin Williams both doubled and drove in a run, with Williams also scoring. No. 16 prospect Anthony Banda shrugged off a walk and registered a strikeout in a scoreless frame for Tampa Bay.
Pirates 4, Phillies (ss) 3 (Box)
Kevin Newman doubled in a run and scored for the Pirates. The shortstop and seventh-ranked prospect is 3-for-9 with a walk and four runs scored this spring. No. 25 prospect Kyle Crick gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless frame for the Bucs. Twelfth-ranked Phillies prospect Ranger Suárez had a strikeout in a 1-2-3 sixth.
Blue Jays 13, Twins 8 (Box)
No. 10 Toronto prospect Sean Reid-Foley worked around a hit in a scoreless ninth inning. Twins No. 26 prospect Zack Granite was 1-for-4.
Braves 9, Cardinals 2 (Box)
Cardinals No. 26 prospect Tommy Edman put together a 2-for-2 day, picking up a pair of singles for his first two hits of the spring.
