Rays' Ovalles mashes trifecta, drives in 10

The Tampa Bay Rays system is so good that even their unranked prospects are putting up absurd performances.

Alexander Ovalles -- playing in his first full season of pro ball -- crushed three home runs, notched five hits and drove in a career-best 10 runs to spark Low-A Charleston's 19-6 drubbing of Columbia at Segra Park on Saturday night.

The 20-year-old put a charge into a 1-1 offering from Adrian Alcantara in the second inning for a two-run jack to left-center that gave the RiverDogs the lead for good. The roundtripper was the first of the season for Ovalles, who doubled his total in the next inning when he took Alcantara deep again -- this one a three-run shot. The tater knocked the Fireflies starter out of the game.

In the ninth, the Dominican Republic native launched another three-run homer into the seats in right field as part of a six-run barrage by Charleston in the final frame. Saturday marked the first multi-dinger game of Ovalles' young career.

The lefty-swinging outfielder also legged out an infield single to second base in the seventh and drove in a pair of runs with a base knock into right in the eighth. Ovalles successfully swiped his first bag of the year on a double steal later in the frame.

Ovalles made his stateside pro debut in 2019 and played across two levels -- the Rookie level Arizona League and Class A Short Season Spokane -- where he posted a .293/.354/.488 slash line with four dingers, seven triples, 14 doubles, 18 walks, five stolen bases, 46 runs scored and 33 RBIs across 49 total games. His performance on Saturday raised his OPS to .794 and snapped a four game hitless skid. His 14 total bases also marked a career best.

Ovalles' performance appeared to be a catalyst for the RiverDogs as everyone Charleston's lineup recorded at least one hit, with six starters notching at least two. Every member of the lineup, but one, also scored at least once.