Wednesday's Top Prospect Performers: Abreu, Alford, Allard, McClanahan, and Richardson

Albert Abreu (Greeneville Astros 2015), Anthony Alford (Bluefield 2014), Kolby Allard (Danville 2016), Shane McClanahan (Princeton 2018), and Lyon Richardson (Greeneville 2018) make Wednesday's Top Prospect Performers list.

Yankees: Albert Abreu, RHP (No. 3) -5 IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 1 HBP, 8 K (Double-A Trenton)
Abreu was treated to an early lead, as Trenton pushed across five runs between the first two innings, but the 23-year-old righty also did his part by matching his season high in strikeouts while recording a solid start. He allowed just two hits, both singles, and the second of the two runs scored against him in the fourth inning occurred on an errant pickoff throw. Abreu continues to flash his potential in bursts, though his overall consistency -- from start to start and even pitch to pitch -- leaves much to be desired. He owns a 3.79 ERA this season in 59 1/3 innings, during which he's totaled 53 strikeouts against 37 walks.
Blue Jays: Anthony Alford, OF (No. 9) -2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, SB (Triple-A Buffalo)
Alford extended his hitting streak, which includes four multihit games, to six. The 24-year-old hit his fifth homer of the year, a three-run blast in the sixth inning, and matched his season-high with four RBIs. Alford is hitting .242 over 52 games with Buffalo and went 0-for-3 in his lone game with the Blue Jays this year.
Braves: Kolby Allard, LHP (No. 9) -7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K (Triple-A Gwinnett)
Allard lowered his ERA to 3.88 as he yielded just one run for the second time in as many starts. The 21-year-old, a 2015 first-round pick, threw 61 of his 94 pitches for strikes and struggled with his command a bit, but still limited the damage to just the one run. Allard made his Major League debut last summer, but struggled and gave up 12 runs over eight innings (three appearances).
Rays: Shane McClanahan, LHP (No. 11) -5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K (Class A Adv Charlotte)
McClanahan, 22, put on a show in his Class A Advanced Charlotte debut, establishing a career high with 10 strikeouts in a no-decision against Bradenton. He struck out the side in the second and fourth innings and recorded a strikeout in all but one frame. The 6-foot-1 southpaw has been a strikeout machine so far in his first full season, tallying at least six strikeouts in 10 of his 12 outings, including nine straight. Overall, McClanahan, whom the Rays took with the No. 31 overall pick in the 2018 Draft, has pitched to a 3.09 ERA across two levels, with 84 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings (13.0 K/9), though he's also issued 33 walks (5.1 BB/9) in that span.
Reds: Lyon Richardson, RHP (No. 10) -6 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K (Class A Dayton)
Richardson, 19, yielded a pair of unearned runs in the sixth inning but still completed one of his better outings of the season, matching his season-high totals in both strikeouts and innings pitched. The 2018 second-round pick out of the Florida prep ranks has pitched increasingly well over his last three starts, posting a 1.13 ERA over 16 innings to lower his season ERA from 5.19 to 4.10. More importantly, the 6-foot-2, 192-pounder has been healthy this season after a balky right elbow prompted the Reds to shut him down early last August.