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.

This week’s Prospect Team of the Week features a pair of hitters and one pitcher making the squad for the second time this season. There’s also a newcomer at left-handed pitcher who got his organization on the board for the first time this season.

The Astros continue to have a strong PTOW presence. With two players on this week’s squad, including one of the aforementioned repeat performers, the organization now leads the way with nine prospects to make a Prospect Team of the Week in 2019.

Here is this week’s PTOW, based on games from May 20-May 26.

C: Willie MacIver, Asheville Tourists (Class A)
(Rockies' No. 27 prospect)
6 G, .375/.423/.917, 7 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 7 SO, 1 SB

The Rockies’ ninth-round pick in the 2018 Draft kicked off his week with a two-homer game on Monday. He added a homer and three RBIs on Wednesday and four two-hit games for the week to raise his average nearly 20 points. He also stole a base on Thursday, making him 7-for-8 in steals in his first full season.

1B: Will Craig, Indianapolis Indians (Triple-A)
(Pirates' No. 14 prospect)
6 G, .458/.519/.958, R, 3 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 7 SO

This is Craig’s second appearance on PTOW this season and fourth in his career (He was the 1B twice in 2018). This past week, Craig had a pair of three-hit games and two two-hit performances, picking up RBIs in five of his six games. His homers on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday brought his season total to 14, which ties him for third in the International League.

2B: Domingo Leyba, Reno Aces (Triple-A)
(D-backs' No. 24 prospect)
6 G, .520/.571/1.200, 10 R, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SO

Leyba hit in all six games he played this week and really started the week on fire, going 7-for-10 over his first two games, homering in the first then going 4-for-5 with 5 RBIs on Tuesday. The 23-year-old is now hitting .316/.371/.554 for the year with seven homers and 31 RBIs.

3B: Abraham Toro, Corpus Christi Hooks (Double-A)
(Astros' No. 21 prospect)
7 G, .536/.606/.893, 7 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 5 BB, 4 SO

Toro had five multi-hit games, highlighted by a 4-for-5 game on Tuesday and a three-hit, four-RBI performance on Saturday. He’s had a torrid May (.402/.529/.646) to bring his season line up to .337/.434/.564 and now leads the Texas League in average, on-base percentage and OPS (.998).

SS: Gavin Lux, Tulsa Drillers (Double-A)
(Dodgers' No. 2 prospect/MLB No. 43 prospect)
6 G, .400/.429/.840, 7 R, 2 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 6 SO

Lux homered in three straight games (Tuesday-Thursday) and went off in the last two games of that run, going 8-for-10. That brings him up to .317/.373/.579 for the year and places him second in the Texas League in SLG and third in OPS (.952).

OF: Kyle Tucker, Round Rock Express (Triple-A)
(Astros' No. 2 prospect/MLB No. 13 prospect)
7 G, .370/.485/.963, 10 R, 1 2B, 5 HR, 8 RBI, 5 BB, 3 SO

Tucker makes his second PTOW this season, and this month. He homered in four straight games, Thursday through Sunday, and his 16 homers for the year place him in a tie for third. After a rough April, the outfielder has come all the way back by hitting .353/.455/.847 in May with 11 homers.

OF: Josh Stowers, Charleston RiverDogs (Class A)
(Yankees' No. 25 prospect)
6 G, .385/.429/.923, 6 R, 1 3B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 1 BB, 10 SO, 1 SB

Stowers’ power showed up in a big way this past week as he homered on Tuesday, twice on Wednesday and then once more on Thursday, accounting for four of the five homers he’s hit this year. He raised his SLG nearly 100 points, from .378 to .471 as a result.

OF: Jake Fraley, Arkansas Travelers (Double-A)
(Mariners' No. 14 prospect)
7 G, .480/.536/.800, 3 R, 5 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SO, 2 SB

Fraley becomes the third Mariners outfield prospect to make the PTOW, joining Travs teammate Dom Thompson-Williams and Class A standout Jarred Kelenic. Fraley had five multi-hit games this week to raise his average 27 points for the year. His .324 average is now third-best in the Texas League and his 12 steals tie him for sixth.

LHP: Daniel Lynch, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Class A Adv)
(Royals' No. 4 prospect)
2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 13 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 SO, 0.85 WHIP

It’s now been three straight starts, spanning 20 innings, of shutout ball for Lynch in his first full season. This week, he went six scoreless on Monday and then tossed seven clean frames, striking out seven, on Saturday. After a couple of bumps in April (4.70 ERA, .333 BAA), he’s adjusted and responded with 1.74 ERA and .211 BAA in May.

RHP: Casey Mize, Erie SeaWolves (Double-A)
(Tigers' No. 1 prospect/MLB No. 6 prospect)
2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 14 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 12 SO, 0.71 WHIP

After his worst start of the year (4 ER, 5 IP) in May 15, Mize got back to doing Mize-like things in the Eastern League with six shutout innings on Monday and then eight more on Sunday. That brought his Eastern League ERA down to 1.40 and his numbers for the season defy explanation: 6-0, 0.97 ERA, 64 2/3 IP, 29 H, 8 BB, 60 K, .135 BAA.

RP: Demarcus Evans, Down East Wood Ducks (Class A Adv)
(Rangers' No. 24 prospect)
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 SO, 1.00 WHIP

Evans pitched a perfect inning, striking out the side, on Monday, then struck out five over two innings of hitless relief (though he walked three) on Friday. He hasn’t allowed a run of any kind since April 17, spanning 11 outings and has a 0.87 ERA, a .136 BAA and 16.5 K/9 rate for the year.