Prospects deliver some of the top exit velos
Jazz Chisholm is certainly making his case to be the Marlins' starting second baseman.
MLB Pipeline's No. 66 prospect didn't start Sunday, but made his presence felt late by going 2-for-2 with his third dinger of the spring -- a two-run shot in the sixth inning -- to help lift Miami over Houston, 4-2, at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Fla.
The fourth-ranked Marlins prospect entered the game as a defensive replacement at second in the sixth. With one on and one out, Chisholm turned around a 94.6 mph fastball from Enoli Paredes and launched it 415 feet to right field at 109.8 mph.
Two innings later, Chisholm legged out an infield single to third. The 23-year-old raised his batting average to .250 with his second multi-hit effort of the spring over 14 Grapefruit League games.
The native of Nassau, Bahamas made his debut in The Show last season with Miami and went yard in his first big-league at-bat. He appeared in 21 games for the Marlins in 2020 and collected nine hits -- four for extra bases -- five walks, eight runs, six RBIs and a pair of stolen bases.
The Tigers' 24th-ranked prospect Akil Baddoo and Blue Jays No. 30 prospect Kevin Smith also flashed over-100-mph exit velocities on home runs in their respective games.
The lefty-swinging Baddoo, who has put on a power show of late for Detroit, did likewise in the Tigers' 5-3 win over the Phillies. The 22-year-old swatted his fourth tater in the past six games, connecting on a 93.5 mph fastball and hammering it to right for a two-run blast. The ball traveled 361 feet at 104 mph.
The Georgia native is batting .357/.500/.857 with six extra-base hits, 11 runs and nine RBIs over 15 games this spring.
Smith clubbed his first dinger of the spring in the eighth inning of Toronto's 8-3 loss to the Yankees. In his only at-bat, the 2017 fourth-rounder unloaded on an 89.1-mph fastball that caught too much of the plate. The blast soared over the wall in left-center at 103.3 mph and traveled 397 feet.
The home run marked Smith's first RBI of the spring. In 11 Grapefruit League games this year, the 24-year-old has gone 3-for-13 with three extra-base knocks and a pair of runs scored. Smith went yard 19 times in 116 games for Double-A New Hampshire in 2019.
More prospect news from Sunday's Spring Training action:
Jarred Kelenic, OF, SEA (MLB No. 4)
The top Mariners prospect crushed his second home run of the spring, a solo shot in the second. Kelenic sent a 3-1 fastball from Freddy Peralta over the wall in right. The 21-year-old is batting .357/.438/.857 over 14 Cactus League at-bats. Kelenic clubbed 23 taters across three levels of the Minors in 2019. More »
Julio Rodriguez, OF, SEA (MLB No. 5)
Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B, PIT (MLB No. 9)
The top Pirates prospect continued to swing a hot bat with his fifth multi-hit performance of the spring. In the fourth, Hayes stroked a two-RBI single the other way, and he led off the seventh with a triple to right. The 24-year-old is batting .441/.486/.824 with nine extra-base hits, eight RBIs and eight runs in 11 Grapefruit League games. Hayes posted a .376 average with five homers, two triples, seven doubles, 17 runs scored and 11 RBIs in 24 games with the Pirates last season. Gameday »
Matt Manning, RHP, DET (MLB No. 25)
The fifth-ranked Tigers prospect whiffed a pair over two frames in his first start of the spring. The right-hander struggled with command as he yielded a pair of runs on three hits and two walks. Manning had allowed one run over his previous six Grapefruit League frames entering the afternoon. Gameday »
Garrett Crochet, LHP, CWS (MLB No. 56)
Crochet twirled his fifth scoreless frame in six one-inning appearances this spring. The southpaw struck out the first two batters of the eighth against the D-backs, gave up a single to Jose Herrera and then induced a groundout to cap his afternoon. The fourth-ranked White Sox prospect improved his ERA to 1.50 and has held opponents to a .176 average this spring. Gameday »
Keibert Ruiz, C, LAD (MLB No. 57)
The top Dodgers prospect is still batting 1.000 in limited Cactus League action this spring. In his first appearance in a week, Ruiz started behind the plate and went 2-for-2 with three RBIs. He plated a run with a line-drive single to left in the second and grounded another single to center for two more runs in the fourth. Ruiz, who exited in the seventh during a defensive substitution, has gone 4-for-4 over the course of three games. Gameday »
Ryan Mountcastle, OF/1B, BAL (MLB No. 77)
Mountcastle extended his hitting streak to three games in his second straight multi-hit effort, and third in five contests. The fifth-ranked Orioles prospect went yard for the second straight game -- a solo shot to left in the fifth. He also laced an RBI double into center in the third. The 24-year-old is 5-for-11 with two homers, a double, five RBIs and four runs over his last three Grapefruit League games. Gameday »
Trevor Larnach, OF, MIN (MLB No. 80)
The 2018 first-rounder out of Oregon State connected on his first dinger of the spring in the eighth. Larnach turned around a 2-2 offering from Eric Hanhold, depositing it beyond the wall in right-center for a two-run shot. Over four appearances this spring, the third-ranked Twins prospect is 2-for-8. His other knock also went for extra bases. Gameday »
Trevor Rogers, LHP, MIA
The southpaw did it all for the Marlins on Sunday. Rogers whiffed the side in the first on 14 pitches -- 13 for strikes. Over five frames against the Astros, Rogers allowed a pair of runs on two hits and a walk while punching out six as his fastball flashed 97 mph. At the plate, the 2017 first-rounder led off the third with a double to right that came off the bat at 102 mph. In 13 1/3 frames this spring, Rogers has fanned 19 while walking four. Gameday »
William Contreras, C, ATL
Contreras capped Atlanta's 11-1 victory with his first homer of the spring in the top of the ninth. The backstop, who entered as a pinch-hitter for Travis d’Arnaud in the seventh and flew out to right that inning, cranked his blast to right-center off Hunter Strickland. Atlanta’s No. 7 prospect is batting .250/.471/.500 in nine Grapefruit League games this year. Gameday »
Jeremy Peña, SS, HOU
The fourth-ranked Astros prospect has been heating up for Houston. After going hitless in his first eight games of the spring (12 plate appearances), Peña has knocks in three of his last four games, including a homer in two of his last three. Sunday included his second blast, a two-run shot to left off Peña’s bat at 104.5 mph. Peña has collected three hits in his last six at-bats to boost his spring slash line to 200/.500/.700. Gameday »