MLB Pipeline's Prospect Team of the Week

MLB Pipeline's Prospect Team of the Week honors the best performances from the previous seven days. Any Minor Leaguer currently on an organization Top 30 Prospects list on our Prospect Watch is eligible.
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Red Sox No. 12 prospect Bobby Dalbec's raw power drew him some comparisons to the Cubs' Kris Bryant while he was at Arizona, but an inconsistent junior season with the bat helped him drop to the fourth round of the 2016 Draft. Boston looked like it might have a steal when Dalbec logged a 1.101 OPS in his pro debut, but then a hamate injury marred his '17 season and he didn't cross the Mendoza Line for good until May 20 this spring.
Dalbec has hit for power all year, however, and he exploded last week. In seven games for Class A Advanced Salem, he batted .481/.484/1.185 with four home runs, and he led all Minor Leaguers in slugging percentage, extra-base hits (10), total bases (32) and RBIs (14). The 23-year-old went deep in three straight games from Thursday through Saturday, then he finished a single shy of the cycle on Saturday.
Dalbec is the standout performer on our Prospect Team of the Week, based on performances from July 2-8. Here is the complete squad:
2018 Prospect Teams of the Week
C: Will Smith, Tulsa Drillers (Double-A)
(Dodgers' No. 9 prospect)
.563/.600/1.313, 5 G, 16 AB, 5 R, 9 H, 3 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 SB
Tulsa easily has the best backstop tandem in the Minors in Keibert Ruiz and Smith, with the latter's athleticism allowing him to shuffle between catcher and third base so both prospects can get regular at-bats. Smith joins Francisco Mejía (Indians) as the only two catchers to earn PTOW honors twice this season after a week in which he drove in two runs in each of his five games and had multihit efforts in each of his last four. He's batting .287/.384/.580 with 14 homers in 52 games after hitting a combined .238/.357/393 in his first two pro seasons.
1B: Chad Spanberger, Asheville Tourists (Class A)
(Rockies' No. 24 prospect)
.542/.538/1.083, 6 G, 24 AB, 8 R, 13 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 3 K, 2 SB
Spanberger also makes the PTOW for the second time this year, joining Will Craig (Pirates) as the only first basemen to do so. He homered in three straight games to begin last week and leads the South Atlantic League in slugging (.604), OPS (.962), extra-base hits (42), total bases (183) and RBIs (69), while also ranking third in batting average (.317) and home runs (21).

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Spanberger knocks three-run shot - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2230595883

2B: Cavan Biggio, New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Double-A)
(Blue Jays' No. 19 prospect)
.286/.500/.762, 7 G, 21 AB, 8 R, 6 H, 1 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 9 BB, 9 K, 2 SB
It's not easy to make the PTOW with a sub-.300 batting average, though Biggio managed to do so because he posted a 1.262 OPS for the week. Biggio blasted three homers and drew nine walks, reaching base at least twice in six of his seven games. The son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio paces the Eastern League in homers (19), RBIs (67) and walks (64), and he is hitting .269/.402/.549 in 83 games.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Biggio's 19th home run - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2245949583

3B: Bobby Dalbec. Salem Red Sox (Class A Advanced)
(Red Sox's No. 12 prospect)
.481/.484/1.185, 7 G, 27 AB, 8 R, 13 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K
Dalbec tops the Carolina League in doubles (25), homers (19), extra-base hits (45), total bases (154) and RBIs (70). He leads all Red Sox farmhands in those categories as well, and he is batting .249/.362/.548 in 81 games.
SS: Jordy Barley, Arizona League Padres 2 (Rookie)
(Padres' No. 30 prospect)
.421/.478/.947, 5 G, 19 AB, 8 R, 8 H, 4 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K, 3 SB
Known more for his glove than his bat, Barley went just 6-for-45 (.133) in his first 11 games as he repeated the Arizona League this summer. He matched that hit total in his first two games last week, recorded a four-hit contest (three for extra bases) on Wednesday and boosted his season line to .219/.329/.500 with three homers, five steals and an AZL-best 19 runs in 16 games.
OF: Gilberto Celestino, Tri-City Valley Cats (Class A Short Season)
(Astros' No. 22 prospect)
.393/.433/.786, 7 G, 28 AB, 6 R, 11 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 5 SB
Celestino has drawn Albert Almora Jr. comparisons since the Astros signed him for $2.5 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, and like Almora, he's enjoying his best offensive season. Still just 19, Celestino homered three times last week after going deep just six times in his first 134 pro games. He finished the week with four straight mulithit efforts and is batting .338/.402/.519 with three homers and 12 steals in 21 New York-Penn League games.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Celestino smashes a solo shot - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2237314283

OF: Josh Lowe, Charlotte Stone Crabs (Class A Advanced)
(Rays' No. 10 prospect)
.409/.536/.682, 6 G, 22 AB, 5 R, 9 H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 6 BB, 4 K, 2 SB
After beginning the season 9-for-23, Lowe batted .198 over his next 57 games, a tailspin that extended until the end of June. The No. 13 overall pick in the 2016 Draft has hit safely in his past nine games, however, including all six last week when he reached base 15 times. He pulled his season line up to .246/.316/.384 with five homers and 13 steals in 71 games.
OF: Troy Stokes, Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A)
(Brewers' No. 20 prospect)
.381/.480/.762, 6 G, 21 AB, 3 R, 8 H, 1 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 6 K, 1 SB
One of 10 Minor Leaguers with 20 homers and 20 steals in 2017, Stokes is on pace to join that club again, and has reached base safely in each of his past 18 starts. He did a little of everything in six games last week, posting four extra-base hits, getting on base a dozen times and stealing a base. He's hitting .252/.358/.461 with 12 homers and 13 steals in 85 games.
LHP: Matt Hall, Erie SeaWolves (Double-A)
(Tigers' No. 23 prospect)
2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 12 1/3 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 18 K, 0.65 WHIP
Hall led NCAA Division I with 171 strikeouts and 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings as a junior for Missouri State in 2015, when the Tigers drafted him in the sixth round, and he displayed consistent success as a starter while advancing to Double-A by the end of '17. Detroit decided to move him to the bullpen to begin '18, and while he had a 2.52 ERA in that role, he has yet to allow a run in four starts and 21 1/3 innings since returning to the rotation in late June.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Hall's 10th strikeout - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2245747083

RHP: Ian Anderson, Florida Fire Frogs (Class A Advanced)
(Braves' No. 4 prospect/MLB No. 43)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 11 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 18 K, 0.55 WHIP
The lone Top 100 Prospect on this week's PTOW, Anderson spun consecutive scoreless starts for the second time in 2018 and struck out a career-high 11 in six innings last Monday. He's excelling as a 20-year-old in Class A Advanced, posting a 2.96 ERA while leading the Florida State League in strikeouts (94) and strikeout rate (11.1 per nine innings). Anderson had three times as many whiffs as hits allowed in a pair of wins last week and now sports a 5-2 record with a 1.58 ERA, 76 strikeouts and a .165 opponent average in 57 innings.
RP: Trevor Lane, Tampa Tarpons (Class A Advanced)
(Yankees' No. 25 prospect)
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 0.75 WHIP
Lane's ERA jumped from 1.35 on May 15 to 5.75 by June 29, but he righted himself last week by striking out eight of the 15 batters he faced. Including three rocky appearances in Double-A, he has an overall 5.18 ERA with a 56/14 K/BB ratio in 40 innings.