River Cats' Slater continues RBI surge
When a player drives in several runs, it's usually a given that his teammates also had good games.Austin Slater took advantage of that scenario for the second time in three nights on Saturday."It definitely makes your job easier when the guys in front of you are making lot of hard
When a player drives in several runs, it's usually a given that his teammates also had good games.
Austin Slater took advantage of that scenario for the second time in three nights on Saturday.
"It definitely makes your job easier when the guys in front of you are making lot of hard contact and getting on base," the Giants' No. 18 prospect said. "It makes the pitcher uncomfortable. You see that and you just want to feed off that energy and keep the line moving. That's the goal in playing team baseball."
Batting second behind Jae-Gyun Hwang, Slater collected four more RBIs as part of a 4-for-4 night in Triple-A Sacramento's 11-2 rout of Colorado Springs at Security Service Field. He reached base six times and fell a triple shy of the cycle.
Hwang was 3-for-6 with his first homer of the season and tied a season high with three RBIs.
"The game didn't get off to quite the start I was expecting," said Slater, who was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat. "So, for me, it was more of just staying locked in the whole game and I ended up doing some damage from the sixth inning on."
Gameday box score
The 24-year-old outfielder singled to right field in the third and walked in the fifth. He smacked a three-run homer to center in the sixth off reliever Andy Oliver to give the River Cats an 8-2 lead.
"There were runners on second and third for me with an open base facing a lefty," Slater said. "They had a righty warming up in the bullpen, so I was looking for something off-speed. He ended up throwing two sliders and I was able to put the barrel on the second one."
The 2014 eighth-round pick added an RBI double to center in the seventh and a single to right in the ninth for his first four-hit game of the season. He also raised his batting average with runners in scoring position to .438 (14-for-32).
"You've just got to pay attention to where the defense is playing and also how they've been pitching with runners in scoring position," Slater said. "A lot of times, pitchers get into a different sort of rhythm in the stretch, so it's about sticking to your approach and having a plan going into it on how he's going to try to attack you."
The Stanford product has eight RBIs in his last three games after driving in 11 runs in his first 27 contests. On Thursday, Slater plated four batting behind Orlando Calixte, who went 5-for-6 with two homers.
Slater offered praise for Hwang, a native of South Korea.
"He's been able to carry a great mindset through the ups and downs," Slater said. "I know Minor League baseball can kind of be a grind sometimes, but he brought great energy. He's been consistent the whole year. It's great to see him finally get the monkey off his back and get that first home run over here."
Saturday also marked the fourth time Slater has batted second, a spot that was being held by Giants No. 2 prospect Christian Arroyo prior to being called up to San Francisco on April 24. Since then, Slater and his teammates have made up for Arroyo's absence.

"I think that's very encouraging to see the Giants make a move like that," Slater said. "[Arroyo] was crushing it down here. You see that and it gives you a little extra motivation. You see they reward guys that are putting up numbers, and that's the kind of organization you want to be in. You also want to return the favor to them because they preach winning at every level and I think we are finally able to piece together all three parts of the game lately.
"Before Christian left, we'd get one or two every night, but not a complete game. But I think we are finally starting to piece all three together and we are having a lot of fun doing it."
Carlos Moncrief and Juan Ciriaco each had two hits and two RBIs for Sacramento.
Giants' eighth-ranked prospect Joan Gregorio (2-2) allowed two runs on four hits, struck out six and overcame five walks in six innings.
Michael Peng is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelXPeng.
Debating best Minor League home caps on 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
The Omaha Storm Chasers' 'Take Meow-t' cat night included a Litter Box Sundae
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.
Boston's Triple-A affiliate throws birthday bash for Roman Anthony
With all the hype that has surrounded Roman Anthony over the past two seasons, it’s easy to forget how young he really is. MLB's No. 1 prospect played 70 games at the highest level of the Minors before he could order a beer. But he can now. Roman Anthony turned
Friendly foes, 2024 first-rounders Moore and Caglianone trade first Triple-A homers
For years, Christian Moore and Jac Caglianone laced up their cleats against one another in the SEC. A rivalry that spanned Florida, Tennessee and other landmarks across the South moved to Salt Lake City this week as the Royals and Angels' top prospects got simultaneous Triple-A promotions. So it was
Phillies' Moore, Fausnaught join 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
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.
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
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: