MLB Pipeline's Prospect Team of the Week

MLB Pipeline's Prospect Team of the Week honors the best performances in the Minors from the previous seven days. Any player on an organization Top 30 Prospects list on our Prospect Watch is eligible.

As the summer heats up, it feels like the balls are flying out of the park even more than usual. This week’s Prospect Team of The Week features three players who had three-homer games. It also includes two pairs of Triple-A teammates and a first baseman making his fourth appearance on the list, closing in on season-leader Yordan Alvarez of the Astros and his five Prospect Team of the Week nods.

Here is this week’s PTOW, based on games from July 22-28.

C: Sean Murphy, Las Vegas Aviators (Triple-A)
(A's No. 3 prospect/MLB No. 46 prospect)
5 G, .389/.500/1.222, 7 R, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 5 SO

Murphy clearly couldn’t wait to get back to Triple-A after being in the shelf with a torn meniscus. After a quick two-game rehab assignment (1-for-6), he homered in his first three games back with Las Vegas. He homered three times and drove in six runs on Friday and helped the Aviators set a Pacific Coast League record with 11 homers in one game.

1B: Jared Walsh, Salt Lake Bees (Triple-A)
(Angels' No. 24 prospect)
6 G, .481/.533/1.037, 10 R, 5 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 6 SO

This marks Walsh’s fourth appearance on PTOW and his third in the past six weeks. His week started with a three-homer game on Tuesday and he homered in his next two games after that. Walsh had three three-hit games for the week (he went 6-for-8 in a doubleheader Saturday), and he's now hitting .326/.432/.663 in Triple-A. He also pitched a scoreless inning in the second game of that doubleheader.

2B: Andy Young, Reno Aces (Triple-A)
(D-backs' No. 21 prospect)
5 G, .389/.455/.889, 6 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 7 SO

Young homered on Tuesday and Wednesday (the latter being a three-hit performance) to kick off the week, then capped things off with another dinger on Sunday. He’s now hit nine homers, eight of them in July, since getting bumped up to Triple-A Reno in mid-June (36 games).

3B: Edwin Rios, Oklahoma City Dodgers (Triple-A)
(Dodgers' No. 19 prospect)
6 G, .333/.414/.917, 8 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 8 SO

Rios now has a seven-game hitting streak going after hitting in all six games he played in this past week. He homered in four of those games and has shaken off a rough start to his season by hitting eight homers in June and eight more to date in July.

SS: Jorge Mateo, Las Vegas Aviators (Triple-A)
(A’s No. 4 prospect)
6 G, .429/.500/1.000, 12 R, 4 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 6 SO, 2 SB

Mateo hit two out in Las Vegas’ record-setting game on Friday, while also going deep on Thursday and Sunday. He now has 17 homers on the year and his two steals this past week gives him 20, moving him closer to his first 20-20 season.

OF: Randy Arozarena, Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A)
(Cardinals' No. 12 prospect)
6 G, .480/.536/.760, 7 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 5 SO, 2 SB

While Arozarena had four multihit games, Friday is the one that stood out. The outfielder hit for the cycle, driving in four and completing the feat with a triple in the fifth inning. He’s now hitting a combined .346/.433/.551 for the 2019 season.

OF: Eduarqui Fernandez, DSL Brewers (Rookie)
(Brewers' No. 26 prospect)
6 G, .438/.438/.938, 11 R, 1 2B, 5 HR, 8 RBI, 10 SO, 1 SB

Fernandez led all qualified prospects with 30 total bases this past week. He had a three-homer game on Tuesday, then followed that up by going deep on Wednesday and Friday. The week allowed the teenager to raise his average 40 points and his SLG 110 points.

OF: Lane Thomas, Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A)
(Cardinals' No. 9 prospect)
6 G, .318/.375/.909, 5 R, 1 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 7 SO

Thomas’ big game came on Saturday, when he homered three times, though he also had three hits (including a homer) and four RBIs on Friday. It’s been tough for Thomas to get in a groove as he rides the Memphis-St. Louis shuttle this year, but some extended time in Triple-A of late has led to a .347/.388/.667 July.

LHP: Brailyn Marquez, South Bend Cubs (Class A)
(Cubs' No. 4 prospect)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 14 SO, 0.17 WHIP

Marquez finished off his best month of the year (2.11 ERA, .215 BAA in July) with an absolute gem on Thursday. It was the first time Marquez had reached double-digits in strikeouts, and he threw 53 of his 71 pitches for strikes. He hit 101 mph on the radar gun multiple times in the start and then finished off his outing with a 100-mph fastball.

RHP: Trevor Stephan, Tampa Tarpons (Class A Adv)
(Yankees' No. 16 prospect)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO, 0.00 WHIP

While Stephan has had trouble finding consistency this season, he certainly was in a groove on Friday. The right-hander tossed a seven-inning no-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader in the Florida State League. Only one batter reached base, via an error.

RP: Cristian Javier, Corpus Christi Hooks (Double-A)
(Astros' No. 13 prospect)
0-0, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO, 0.50 WHIP

While Javier has spent most of the year as a starter, he’s certainly looked good as a multi-inning reliever when given the chance. His latest was this four-inning, no-hit performance on Thursday (his previous relief outing was three innings of one-hit ball on July 13.), bringing his combined BAA for the season down to a miniscule .134.