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Around the Minors: The week of May 24

Sights and sounds from action across Minor League Baseball
May 31, 2021

May 30

May 30

Double trifectas
Earlier Sunday night, Bobby Witt Jr. hit three homers in the Double-A Central. His Northwest Arkansas teammate, Nick Pratto, had done the same nine days earlier. Luke Raley and Steven Souza Jr. topped that by both hitting the home run trifecta in the same game in the Triple-A West. Raley finished with nine RBIs and Souza with seven for Oklahoma City.

They're Naturals!
A home run parade started in the third inning for Royals' Double-A affiliate Northwest Arkansas. Bobby Witt Jr. went yard for the second consecutive game, then Nick Pratto did likewise. MJ Melendez made it three taters in a row, and after a flyout, Brhet Bewley capped the offensive swell with a solo shot. Witt then notched the first multihomer game of his career by homering again in the fourth and the trifecta with one final dinger off the Missions in the eighth.

Twice as grand
While homers fly out of Minor League Baseball ballparks, none have been belted quite the way Twins' High-A affiliate Cedar Rapids managed to do on Sunday. In the bottom of the third against Wisconsin, Wander Javier smacked his first homer with the bases loaded for the Kernels. Then in the eighth, teammate Michael Helman followed suit with a grand slam, his fourth long ball of the season.

Unhittable coast to coast
Perhaps topping the stellar starting pitching outings on Sunday were Low-A Fredericksburg's Mitchell Parker with six hitless innings, a whopping 12 strikeouts and one walk and Low-A Modesto's Damon Casetta-Stubbs with six no-hit innings, seven whiffs and three walks.

In the swing of things
The No. 2 overall prospect Adley Rutschman went yard in both ends of a doubleheader for Double-A Bowie. The No. 1 pick in the 2019 Draft went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the opener and 2-for-4 with four RBIs in the second game against Harrisburg.

Light tower power
Jo Adell , my goodness. The 22-year-old smacks one off the light tower in left for the Bees.

Working the runway
Well, maybe not quite yet, but the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs mascot is never shy about making a fashion statement.

May 29

Now that's a flex
After missing his club's last four games with a strained hamstring, Spencer Torkelson made an immediate impact in his return to High-A West Michigan's lineup. The top Tigers prospect clubbed a pair of three-run jacks, as part of a three-hit game, and finished with a career-best six RBIs.

Can't touch thisFreisis Adames was untouchable over the first five innings, and Taylor Floyd finished off the final two to complete High-A Wisconsin's no-hitter in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against Cedar Rapids.

Zero sum game
Ken Waldichuk continued his unblemished start to 2021, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning before departing after 4 1/3 one-hit frames during High-A Hudson Valley's 2-0 win over Jersey Shore. The 23-year-old struck out nine en route to extending his season-long scoreless streak to 18 1/3 innings through five starts. Waldichuk has a 38-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio and has punched out 55 percent of opposing batters while holding them to a .131 average.

Winky's winning ways
Josh Winckowski, who was traded from the Blue Jays to the Mets to the Red Sox in the offseason, improved to 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA at the Double-A level since coming into the Boston system. The 22-year-old righty struck out nine over seven shutout innings of one-hit ball in Portland's 4-3 win over Hartford on Saturday.

May 28

Power cycle
Addison Barger found the seats twice as part of a 5-for-5 game and stopped at first on what easily could have been extra bases in the eighth inning to complete hitting for the cycle.

Did you see that?!
Keider Montero, my goodness! The Tigers pitching prospect not only makes the diving play but also throws a dart to home from the ground to start the 1-2-3 double play for High-A West Michigan.

Staying the course
Padres catching prospect Webster Rivas spent the last 11 seasons in the Minor Leagues, and the 30-year-old will make his debut in The Show with San Diego on Friday night.

May 27

Getting into the groove
Top Giants prospect Marco Luciano has been picking up steam in the past week. With a homer and a double on a three-hit night for Low-A San Jose against Lake Elsinore, he posted his best day at the plate of the campaign.

Will strike you out at any speed
It didn't matter whether Jhoan Duran was throwing at 100 mph or 81, he was still fanning batters left and right for Triple-A St. Paul. The Twins' No. 5 prospect struck out eight over four frames, while giving up a hit and two walks. This season, Duran has whiffed 14 in seven innings.

Rehab seems to be going OK so far
In his fourth rehab appearance with Triple-A Gwinnett, Alex Jackson launched three long balls -- the final one a grand slam -- on a 4-for-4, seven-RBI night out of the No. 5 spot in the lineup. He also caught all nine innings.

One for the Winn column
Third-ranked Rangers prospect Cole Winn was downright unhittable for the Double-A RoughRiders. Against the RockHounds, the righty didn't allow a hit over six innings while striking out six and walking three to lower his ERA to 2.08.

That's using your headgear
Triple-A Salt Lake's José Suarez was paying close attention from the Bees' dugout against Round Rock. When Express shortstop Anderson Tejeda fouled a ball off the netting in the fourth, the quick-thinking southpaw grabbed it in his ballcap.

Dictionary definition time
The mammoth homer by Double-A Mississippi's Shea Langeliers, the No. 59 prospect in baseball, was both grand and a slam.

This wasn't supposed to be a contact sport
Triple-A Louisville's Dwight Smith Jr tracks down a ball skied by Toledo's JaCoby Jones, but can't avoid colliding with teammate TJ Friedl. No problem for Smith, though, who hangs on for the out.

Tackling a tough assignment
Second-ranked Orioles prospect Grayson Rodriguez did not shy away from his start for High-A Aberdeen against the tough lineup from Brooklyn that includes three of the Mets' top four prospects -- Francisco Álvarez, Ronny Mauricio and Brett Baty. The right-hander allowed a run on two hits and a walk while striking out nine in five innings.

Some competition for First Pitch
Corpus Christi, Houston's Double-A affiliate, tries out "First Fetch" as an alternative to a person throwing out the first pitch. It looks like Hooks second baseman Michael Wielansky approves of the move.

May 26

Stolen bases ... not
High-A Eugene catcher Patrick Bailey literally didn't give Spokane much room to maneuver on the basepaths. The sixth-ranked Giants prospect threw out four Indians trying to nab an extra base against the Emeralds.

Good with numbers
The stats are starting to pile up for fifth-ranked Orioles prospect Gunnar Henderson. After matching his career high with five RBIs for the Shorebirds, the shortstop tops the Minors with 30 RBIs and leads the Low-A East circuit with six home runs.

Off on the left foot
It was a dominating start for Cristopher Sánchez. Philadelphia's No. 22 prospect twirled 5 1/3 hitless innings, striking out eight and walking one for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The IronPigs kept the no-hit bid going against Worcester until the ninth inning, when Michael Chavis singled with one out.

Two great plays in one
Playing on the second base side for the shift, Triple-A Indianapolis shortstop Kevin Kramer makes the stop and then converts the throw to get Omaha's Meibrys Viloria at first base.

Giving it everything he's got
Ninth-ranked White Sox prospect Gavin Sheets sacrifices his body to make a catch, flipping over the visitors' dugout railing but holding on to the ball for the Triple-A Knights.

Going to the dogs
Rochester, Washington's Triple-A affiliate, becomes non-partisan at Frontier Field for the night.

Cornering the market
In his third game of the season at third base, Yankees infield prospect Derek Dietrich reacts immediately to a sinking liner and relays just as quickly to first base to complete a double play for the Triple-A RailRiders.

May 25

Covering all the bases
Mets righty Jerad Eickhoff scattered four hits and a walk while posting six zeros for Triple-A Syracuse. Oh yeah, and he helped himself improve to 3-0 by also smacking a two-run homer in the third against Rochester.

Bending to his will
Second-ranked Cubs prospect Brennen Davis joined High-A South Bend on Saturday. He went yard the next game, and following a day off, launched his second long ball in as many contests over the home run porch at Four Winds Field.

Double-digit dealing
In his fourth pro start, Reid Detmers put the pieces together for the Double-A Trash Pandas. The left-hander, selected 10th overall by the Angels in last year's Draft, struck out a career-high 10 while allowing an unearned run on one hit and two walks over six frames against the visiting Barons.

The Wright idea
Braves right-hander Kyle Wright helps keep his runs column clean by coming off the hill to field a grounder in the fourth inning for Triple-A Gwinnett.

Speed, check. Glove, check.
After a stellar week at the plate (8-for-24 with nine RBIs and eight runs), second-ranked Tigers prospect Riley Greene showed his facility for playing defense too, racing back in straightaway center to make an over-the-shoulder catch for the Double-A SeaWolves.

Second time's the charm
In the second start of his pro career, Jared Shuster delivered 2 2/3 hitless innings for High-A Rome. The 25th overall pick in the 2020 Draft struck out three and walked one against Greenville.

May 24

Everybody into the pool
Athletics outfielder Skye Bolt made quite the splash in the fourth for the Triple-A Aviators, launching his third homer of the season into the pool beyond the fence in right-center field at Las Vegas Ballpark.

The farm in Adell
Jo Adell homered for Triple-A Salt Lake, because it's a day of the week with "day" in it. The Angels outfielder reached the double-digit dinger mark more quickly than any other player in the Minor Leagues this year.

The grand reopening
It's been a long, long time since Ty Kelly got a hit for Triple-A Tacoma. Since 2014, in fact. After retiring in 2019 and restarting his career with the Long Island Ducks this year, the infielder was picked up by the Mariners again two days ago. On Monday, he repaid the confidence with a grand slam.

The bright side
Top Padres prospect MacKenzie Gore posted his first scoreless outing of the season for Triple-A El Paso. The lefty struck out four while allowing a hit and a career-high five walks over three innings against Sugar Land.

Like father, like son
Dad Ivan Rodríguez picked up 13 Gold Gloves behind the dish with the Rangers and the Tigers. Son Dereck Rodríguez is a right-handed Rockies prospect showing off the family genes with a sure-handed snag for Triple-A Albuquerque.

The week that was
As temperatures started to heat up, so did Minor League hitters. The homers started flying faster and farther during the week of May 17. But defense also made its fair share of web gems. Check out all the action here.

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