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.

The start of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League on Monday means that all Minor League circuits are now in action, and it’s safe to assume to that going forward, there will be plenty of young, up-and-coming prospects on MLB Pipeline’s PTOW.

However, it’s upper-level talent that once again dominates this week’s PTOW, as players from the Double-A and Triple-A levels occupy nine of the 11 spots on the squad.

It includes two pairs of teammates from Triple-A Sacramento and Salt Lake, as well as a pair of 21-year-old middle infielders in Top 100 prospects Carter Kieboom and Jazz Chisholm, both of whom are making their second PTOW appearances of 2019.

Here’s the complete Prospect Team of the Week for games of June 17-23.

C: Aramis Garcia, Sacramento River Cats (Triple-A)
(Giants’ No. 21 prospect)
6 G, .318/.318/.773, 5 R, 1 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 0 BB, 8 K

After a relatively pedestrian 1-for-5 start to his week, Garcia went deep in three straight games (Thurs. thought Sat.) for the River Cats and tallied a pair of multihit efforts along the way. The 26-year-old backstop is up to 11 homers in 43 games in the Minors this season, one year after he produced that same total in 90 games between Double-A and Triple-A. He also has gone deep twice in six games with the Giants in 2019, giving him six big league homers over 25 games in the past two years.

1B: Jared Walsh, Salt Lake Bees (Triple-A)
(Angels’ No. 18 prospect)
5 G, .450/.542/.900, 4 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HBP

Walsh tallied four multihit performances while hitting safely in all five games for the Bees last week, which he capped on Sunday with his 13th home run. The 25-year-old two-way player is hitting .316 through 49 games with Salt Lake and owns a 4.50 ERA in six appearances out of the team’s bullpen. After hitting .250 over 11 games and making a pair of appearances out of the Angels’ bullpen in his first big league stint, Walsh has raked at a .364/.481/.591 clip in 11 games since being optioned to Triple-A.

2B: Carter Kieboom, Fresno Grizzlies (Triple-A)
(Nationals’ No. 1 prospect/No. 21 overall)
4 G, .611/.696/1.056, 7 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP

After back-to-back two-hit games on Thursday and Friday, Kieboom tied a bow on his impressive week by going 7-for-9 with five runs and five RBIs over the weekend. The 21-year-old matched his season-high total in hits on Saturday, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and three runs, and followed it Sunday with a three-hit performance that included a grand slam, his 12th home run in 56 games with Fresno. Kieboom struggled earlier this season in his first taste of the big leagues, hitting .128 in 39 at-bats, but has been a consistent force for the Grizzlies, slashing .323/.438/.612 with 31 extra-base hits and 55 RBIs in 56 games.

3B: Sheldon Neuse, Las Vegas Aviators (Triple-A)
(Athletics’ No. 9 prospect)
6 G, .500/.567/.808, 6 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 8 K

Neuse’s nine-game hitting streak was snapped via an 0-fer performance on Sunday, though not before he could record two four-hit performances and a three-hit one last week in a three-game span for the Aviators. The 24-year-old has shown improvement with each month so far this season and has been particularly good in June, slashing a robust .425/.494/.699 with nine multihit efforts in 19 games.

SS: Jazz Chisholm, Jackson Generals (Double-A)
(D-backs No. 1 prospect/No. 59 overall)
4 G, .538/.611/1.000, 5 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K

Jazz’s first Double-A campaign began inauspiciously, as he batted just .151 in April and .180 in May, with 69 strikeouts in 45 games between the two months. But the 21-year-old seemingly has righted the ship in June, posting a vastly improved .271/.392/.508 line and only 20 strikeouts in 18 games. He recorded multiple hits in three of his four games last week and went deep on Friday and Sunday, bringing his season total to 15 home runs. He erupted to hit 25 homers across two levels during a breakout 2018 campaign that concluded with a standout turn in the Arizona Fall League.

OF: Marcus Wilson, Salem Red Sox (Class A Adv)
(Red Sox’s No. 21 prospect)
4 G, .615/.688/1.615, 6 R, 1 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K

The Red Sox sent Wilson to Double-A Portland after they acquired him for Blake Swihart on April 19, but he hit just .161 in 19 games there and was demoted to Salem. Suffice it to say the 22-year-old is faring better in the Carolina League, where he has a .348 average and seven home runs in his first 28 games. Wilson collected multiple hits in all four games and rounded out his week by homering in three straight games, including a two-homer performance on Saturday night. He’s already matched his career-high total with 10 home runs this season.

OF: Brent Rooker, Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A)
(Twins’ No. 7 prospect)
7 G, .474/.630/1.263, 7 R, 3 2B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 6 BB, 5 K, 2 HBP

The right-handed power that made Rooker the No. 35 overall pick in the 2017 Draft was on full display as he went deep in three straight games to begin the week before adding another on Friday. Overall, he finished second among Top 30 prospects in homers, RBIs and total bases (24). Though the 24-year-old missed two weeks during the second half of May with a left wrist strain, he’s shown no ill effects from the injury in 24 games this month, hitting .394/.551/.704 with five homers, seven doubles and 25 RBIs.

OF: Brennon Lund, Salt Lake Bees (Triple-A)
(Angels’ No. 25 prospect)
6 G, .636/.680/1.136, 11 R, 5 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP

Lund, 24, hit safely in all six games for the Bees and finished the week with five straight multihit effots -- highlighted by a trio of three-hit games -- in which he had at least two runs and one RBI. He ultimately led all qualified Top 30 Prospects in average, runs, hits (14) and total bases (25). Behind a .369 average (1.094 OPS) in 17 games this month, the 2016 11th-rounder from Brigham Young has improved his season average by 50 points, boosting it from .193 to .243.

LHP: Joey Cantillo, Fort Wayne TinCaps (Class A Adv.)
(Padres’ No. 30 prospect)
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, 0.33 WHIP

Cantillo showed on Thursday exactly why he’s become yet another rising prospect to follow closely in a loaded Padres system. The 19-year-old southpaw set a career high with 10 strikeouts against Great Lakes, and he did so while completing six innings for the second time in his last three starts. It marked the eighth straight start in which he’s allowed one earned run or fewer while completing at least five innings. A 16th-round pick in 2017 out of the Hawaii prep ranks, Cantillo’s 0.87 WHIP and 1.96 ERA that would rank first and second, respectively, in the Midwest League if he had enough innings to qualify, and he’s also racked up 73 strikeouts while limiting opposing hitters to a paltry .161 average in 55 innings spanning 12 starts.

RHP: Deivi Garcia, Trenton Thunder (Double-A)
(Yankees’ No. 4 prospect)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 15 K, 0.33 WHIP

Garcia turned in one of the more dominant pitching performances of the 2019 Minor League season on Tuesday, as he punched out the first eight batters in a start against Richmond before finishing with a career-best 15 strikeouts. The 20-year-old threw 63 of 98 pitches for strikes, generating 24 whiffs, and maintained a no-hit bid for 5 2/3 frames. It marked the fourth double-digit strikeout performance in 12 starts this season for Garcia, who’s racked up an even 100 strikeouts through just 59 2/3 innings (15.1 K/9) between Trenton and Class A Advanced Tampa. To add further context to the 5-foot-9 righty’s incredible bat-missing ways, Garcia has fanned 40.3 percent of all batters he’s faced this season, all while pitching to a 3.02 ERA.

RP: Williams Jerez, Sacramento River Cats (Triple-A)
(Giants’ No. 29 prospect)
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 0.00 WHIP

Jerez struck out five of the six batters he faced last week while making a pair of flawless appearances out of Sacramento’s bullpen. The 27-year-old southpaw pushed his season strikeout total up to 38 in 34 2/3 innings in the process, and, overall, he’s posted a 0.92 WHIP while limiting hitters to a .183 average over 27 appearances in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Acquired from Boston for Chris Stratton in March, Jerez made his Giants debut back on May 7, tossing a scoreless inning in a win over the Rockies. It shouldn’t be long until he’s back in the big leagues.