Tigers' Stewart, pair of Astros headline Prospect Team of the Week

MLBPipeline.com's Prospect Team of the Week honors the best performances from the previous seven days. Any player currently on an organization Top 30 Prospects list on our Prospect Watch is eligible, including big leaguers.
Christin Stewart set a Georgia high school record with 26 homers as a junior in 2011 and matched Micah Owings' state career mark with 69, the fourth-highest total ever for a prepster. On the 2014 U.S. collegiate national team that included the top two picks in the 2015 Draft (Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman), another first-rounder (D.J. Stewart) and a likely 2016 first-rounder (Zack Collins), Stewart led Team USA in most offensive categories, including all three slash stats at .383/.474/.605.
Since signing with the Tigers for $1,795,100 as the 34th overall choice last June, Stewart has continued to mash. He slammed 10 homers in his 71-game pro debut last summer and already has surpassed that total in little more than a month in high Class A this year. He went deep in four games last week and leads the Minors with 13 in 37 contests. The last Detroit farmhand to top the Minors in homers was Phil Hiatt with 42 at Triple-A Toledo in 1996.
Stewart is the standout performer on our latest Prospect Team of the Week, which covers games from May 9-15:
C: Tom Murphy, Rockies (No. 9 prospect)
5 G, .316/.350/.789, 4 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 5 SO
Expected to make Colorado's big league club out of Spring Training, Murphy instead returned to Triple-A Albuquerque and missed the first month with a strained left oblique. He translated his well-above-average raw power into game production in his first full week back in the lineup and could rejoin the Rockies in the near future with Nick Hundley sidelined with oblique issues of his own.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Murphy launches grand slam - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=694573583

1B: Rowdy Tellez, Blue Jays (No. 8 prospect)
7 G, .375/.444/.875, 4 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 4 SO
Tellez is having a rough introduction to Double-A New Hampshire, batting just .198/.336/.414 after posting an .801 OPS between two Class A stops last year. While he has struggled to climb above the Mendoza Line, he does rank second in the Eastern League with 25 walks, and he doubled his home run total with three in a span of four games last week.
2B: Carlos Asuaje, Padres (No. 15 prospect)
7 G, .444/.516/.741, 8 R, 5 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 4 SO
The least famous of the four prospects acquired from the Red Sox in the Craig Kimbrel trade last November, Asuaje nevertheless has been the most productive. He's batting .327/.371/.527 at Triple-A El Paso and could get summoned to San Diego soon by a club that has been ravaged by injuries at second base.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Asuaje belts homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=694577683

3B: J.D. Davis, Astros (No. 12 prospect)
6 G, .409/.409/.818, 5 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 5 SO
Davis thrived last year in the hitter's paradise that is high Class A Lancaster, batting .289/.370/.520 with 26 homers and 101 RBI in his first full pro season. He has found Double-A Corpus Christi far less hospitable, hitting just .172/.308/.219 without a homer and just five RBIs in April. Davis surpassed that production last week alone, and the good news is that he's controlling the strike zone better than ever.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Davis goes yard - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=699120383

SS: Tim Anderson, White Sox (No. 2 prospect)
8 G, .432/.462/.730, 12 R, 2 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 6 SO, 4 SB
Another player recovering from a slow start, Anderson began the season in a 9-for-53 (.170) slump, but he recorded five multihit games in the last seven days to boost his Triple-A numbers to .276/.300/.372. He led all Minor Leaguers last week in runs, hits and total bases (27) despite going 1-for-11 over the weekend.

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Anderson crushes homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=696775383

OF: Derek Fisher, Astros (No. 9 prospect)
6 G, .333/.417/.905, 4 R, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 8 SO, 1 SB
Heating up in May after a so-so April, Fisher tied Stewart and five other players for the Minor League lead with four homers last week. He's batting .248/.354/.504 overall, and he ranks first in the Double-A Texas League in walks (21) and third in homers (eight) and RBIs (23).

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Fisher hits walk-off homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=689510983

OF: Clint Frazier, Indians (No. 2 prospect)
7 G, .360/.529/.720, 11 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 9 BB, 4 SO, 3 SB
Scouts continue to debate whether Frazier or fellow outfield first-rounder Kyle Zimmer is Cleveland's top prospect, and they've led the Akron RubberDucks to the best record (26-10) in the Double-A Eastern League. Two years younger than Zimmer and one of the EL's youngest regulars at age 21, Frazier has continued his steady improvement by hitting .277/.367/.496, and he paces the league in runs (31) and doubles (13).

MILB Video - Title: Watch: Frazier launches homer - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=703384083

OF: Christin Stewart, Tigers (No. 4 prospect)
8 G, .348/.515/.957, 5 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 9 BB, 6 SO
Unquestionably the best position prospect in Detroit's system, Stewart is batting .258/.373/.606 and could finish his first full pro season at Double-A Erie. He tops the Florida State League in homers (13), RBI (29), extra-base hits (20), total bases (80) and slugging (.606).
LHP: Ian Clarkin, Yankees (No. 10 prospect)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 SO, .714 WHIP
A first-round choice three years ago, Clarkin missed the entire 2015 regular season with elbow issues, but he avoided surgery and returned in the Arizona Fall League. Last week's start was his best as a pro, as he struck out a career-high 10 and went seven innings for just the second time in his career. Clarkin has a 3-3 record with a 3.82 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings in high Class A this year.
RHP: Mitch Keller, Pirates (No. 14 prospect)
1-1, 1.38 ERA, 2 GS, 13 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB, 14 SO, .615 WHIP
Keller has allowed runs in just three of his seven starts this year and his ERA rose to a season-high 1.10 after he surrendered a pair of solo homers in seven innings on Sunday. He's 3-2 overall and leads the Minors in WHIP (.610) and the low Class A South Atlantic League in strikeouts (48 in 41 innings). Keller also ranks second in the Minors in K/BB ratio (48/3) and seventh in whiffs and opponent average (.156).