Hermosillo enjoys night of firsts with Bees
For six years in the Minors, Michael Hermosillo remained in search of his first cycle and grand slam. In his 378th professional game Tuesday night with Triple-A Salt Lake, he accomplished both -- and struggled to put the feeling into words afterward."It hasn't really set in yet. You know what
For six years in the Minors, Michael Hermosillo remained in search of his first cycle and grand slam. In his 378th professional game Tuesday night with Triple-A Salt Lake, he accomplished both -- and struggled to put the feeling into words afterward.
"It hasn't really set in yet. You know what I mean? Everyone kind of dreams about hitting for the cycle," the Angels No. 10 prospect said. "I didn't come in today thinking that was going to happen. I did feel good, but it's definitely an awesome feeling just sitting back and thinking about it now."
Hermosillo fueled his first professional cycle with the first grand slam of his six-year professional career as the Bees defeated the Grizzlies in a 13-9 slugfest at Smith's Ballpark. Hermosillo's extra-base hits plated six runs, matching a personal best he set on April 17.
"You just try and stay in the moment as best as possible," he said. "You know you're feeling good. You know you're seeing the ball well, but you just don't want to get away from what you're doing. You don't want to try and do too much, and I think I just did a decent job of that."
The four hits provided a 31-point bump in Hermosillo's average to .275 through 23 games in the Pacific Coast League. He debuted at the Minors' highest level with 30 games for the Bees in 2017, batting .287/.341/.487 with five homers, six doubles and 16 RBIs after beginning the year at Class A Advanced Inland Empire.
Selected by the Angels in the 2013 Draft, Hermosillo's output over the past two seasons might be more than what's expected from a 28th-round pick. He combined to bat .286 across four levels since 2016, also displaying a speed tool that's helped him race through the Minors. He's stolen 69 bases since 2015, including a career-high 35 last year.
The 28-year-old hadn't recorded a hit against Fresno starter Cy Sneed in six at-bats before Tuesday's game. After a strikeout in the first inning, Hermosillo bucked that trend with a third-inning infield single off the right-hander.
Staked to a 7-3 lead in the fifth, Sneed gave up a triple to Ryan Schimpf and an RBI base hit by David Fletcher. Hermosillo drove Fletcher in with a three-bagger to center field and Kaleb Cowart followed with a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to a run. Sneed backed himself into a corner in the following inning, issuing three walks to load the bases and bring Hermosillo to the plate with two outs.
He caught hold of an 1-0 fastball and deposited over the fence in center to give Salt Lake the lead for good.
Gameday box score
"[Sneed] had been working in with his fastball all night to me and he just came in with the first pitch. It was a ball, fastball," Hermosillo recalled. "I just told myself, 'If he doubles up right here and comes fastball-in again, just be ready for it and put a good swing on it.' Luckily, I got the barrel to it and got a little lift and was able to hit a home run."
Knowing he was a double away from the milestone, the Mesa, Arizona native wound up in an interesting spot with runners on first and second and two outs in the eighth against righty Jacob Dorris. Hermosillo slapped a ground ball through the left side on a hit-and-run play, plating Schimpf from second and pulling in for the two-bagger to complete the cycle.
"Everyone was just kind of moving on the play and it kind of just had the outfielder [Jon Kemmer] just a little off guard," he said. "I just took advantage of it and got to second to get that double."
The cycle marked the eighth in Salt Lake history and the latest since Cowart strung together six hits for the milestone last June 22.
"I think there's been a couple opportunities where [the cycle has] been close," Hermosillo said. "I needed that double or needed a triple, but I've never done it, so it was definitely an awesome accomplishment."
Angels No. 27 prospect Jake Jewell (1-1) earned the win after pitching 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, yielding two hits and two walks with one strikeout. The 23rd-ranked Fletcher led off the opening inning with a homer, finishing 2-for-2 with four RBIs and a pair of walks.
Astros No. 9 prospectJ.D. Davis clubbed a two-run shot in the ninth inning, capping a four-hit, four-RBI night in which he doubled twice and fell a triple shy of the cycle. The 25-year-old is hitting .391 in the PCL.
Gerard Gilberto is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @GerardGilberto4.
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