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.
Dominican shortstop Noelvi Marte was one of the top prospects in the 2018 international class, and the Mariners believed enough in his combination of power and speed to hand him a $1.55 million bonus. If his performance this summer is any indication, that's a wise investment.
Marte is batting .309/.371/.511 with nine homers and 17 steals in 65 games in the Dominican Summer League, leading the Rookie circuit in total bases (134) and RBI (54) while also ranking second in extra-base hits (31) and fourth in hits (81) and doubles (18). He has been especially hot of late.
Marte rode four multihit games from Aug. 12-18 to the first Prospect Team of the Week mention of his career. He collected nine hits and nine RBI from Aug. 19-25 to earn his second straight PTOW selection, making him the 10th player this year to make the squad in back-to-back weeks.
Outfielder Yordan Alvarez (Astros), left-hander Seth Corry (Giants), outfielder Jake Fraley (Mariners), outfielder Sam Hilliard (Rockies), right-hander James Karinchak (Indians), catcher Cal Raleigh (Mariners), third baseman/outfielder Austin Riley (Braves), third baseman Edwin Rios (Dodgers) and outfielder Kyle Tucker (Astros) also have earned PTOW accolades in consecutive weeks. Alvarez, Karinchak and Riley each had streaks of three weeks.
Here's our complete PTOW for games of Aug. 19-25:
C: Austin Allen, El Paso Chihuahuas (Triple-A)
(Padres' No. 11 prospect)
.474/.474/1.158, 5 G, 19 AB, 4 R, 9 H, 4 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 4 SO
Allen not only has hit safely in 11 straight Minor League games but he also has at least one extra-base knock in each contest, including seven in five games as he led all Top 30 Prospects in slugging last week. Even better, the Padres called him up for the third time this year on Saturday. A two-time PTOW honoree in 2019, he's batting .330/.379/.663 with 21 homers in 67 Triple-A games.
1B: Roberto Ramos, Albuquerque Isotopes (Triple-A)
(Rockies' No. 28 prospect)
.370/.438/.815, 7 G, 27 AB, 7 R, 10 H, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 3 BB, 7 SO
Ramos homered in four different games last week and now has 60 over the last two seasons, the fourth-highest total in the Minors. He's hitting .313/.403/.585 with 28 homers in 119 Triple-A games and ranks among the Pacific Coast League leaders in RBI (100, sixth), slugging (seventh) and OPS (.988, eighth).
2B: Robel Garcia, Iowa Cubs (Triple-A)
(Cubs' No. 26 prospect)
.318/.375/.727, 7 G, 22 AB, 4 R, 7 H, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1 BB, 8 SO
Released in 2014 by the Indians, Garcia spent three years playing in Italy before signing with the Cubs last October. He improbably has slammed 29 homers this season, including four with Chicago, and went deep three times and had a pair of three-RBI games last week in Triple-A. He's hitting .277/.363/.572 with 25 homers in 92 games between Double-A and Triple-A.
3B: Miguel Vargas, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Class A Advanced)
(Dodgers' No. 17 prospect)
.556/.571/.926, 6 G, 27 AB, 3 R, 15 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 1 BB, 4 SO
Vargas gets overshadowed but has some of the best bat-to-ball skills in a deep Dodgers system, and he put them on display last week by leading all Top 30 Prospects with 15 hits and five doubles while collecting five multihit games in six tries. He's batting a combined .314/.386/.451 with seven homers and 12 steals in 118 games between two Class A stops at age 19.
SS: Noelvi Marte, DSL Mariners (Rookie)
(Mariners' No. 13 prospect)
.500/.550/.944, 5 G, 18 AB, 6 R, 9 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SO
After slumping through a .216/.291/.343 July, Marte has rebounded to hit .423/.477/.744 with five homers and as many steals in 20 games in August. He homered last Wednesday and Friday, then capped his week with a pair of doubles on Saturday.
OF: Dylan Carlson, Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A)
(Cardinals' No. 2 prospect/MLB No. 50)
.481/.533/.741, 7 G, 27 AB, 8 R, 13 H, 1 2B, 2 HR, 5 RB, 3 BB, 6 SO
Promoted to Triple-A on Aug. 15, Carlson has hit safely in all 10 of his starts at that level and he began last week with four straight multihit games, going 11-for-17 with a pair of homers to make his second PTOW of 2019. He's hitting .297/.378/.542 with 24 homers and 18 steals in 119 games between Double-A and Triple-A.
OF: Brewer Hicklen, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Class A Advanced)
(Royals' No. 15 prospect)
.440/.483/1.080, 7 G, 25 AB, 10 R, 11 H, 1 2B, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1 SB
Hicklen homered twice in the opener of a Wednesday doubleheader and three times on Thursday, part of a week in which he led all Top 30 Prospects in runs, homers and total bases (27). He's having a strong season in Class A Advanced, batting .268/.371/.438 in 120 games while topping the Carolina League in steals (38) and ranking third in OPS (.809) and runs (69), fourth in homers (14) and fifth in on-base percentage (.371), slugging (.438) and walks (54).
OF: Tyrone Taylor, San Antonio Missions (Triple-A)
(Brewers' No. 27 prospect)
.560/.621/1.040, 7 G, 25 AB, 5 H, 14 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SO, 1 SB
Taylor has boosted his batting average by 40 points and his OPS by 113 this month, and he's enjoying a 12-game hitting streak that includes six multihit games in the last seven days. He paced all Top 30 Prospects in OPS (1.841) and RBIs last week and he's now hitting .275/.338/.475 with 13 homers in 85 Triple-A games.
LHP: Robinson Ortiz, Great Lakes Loons (low Class A)
(Dodgers' No. 26 prospect)
2-0, 0.64 ERA, 2 G, 14 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 13 SO, 0.64 WHIP
Ortiz has struggled in low Class A at age 19 but is finishing strong, turning in his best back-to-back outings of 2019 last Monday (seven shutout innings of relief) and Saturday (seven one-run innings as a starter). He won consecutive games for the first time in his career to improve to 3-5 with a 4.82 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 80 1/3 innings.
RHP: Jhoan Duran, Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Double-A)
(Twins' No. 9 prospect)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO, 0.38 WHIP
Duran logged a 7.13 ERA in his first five Double-A starts before recording the longest outing of his career, striking out 11 and permitting just four baserunners in eight scoreless innings on Friday. He's 5-12 with a 3.85 ERA and 130 whiffs in 110 innings between Class A Advanced and Double-A.
RP: James Bourque, Fresno Grizzlies (Triple-A)
(Nationals' No. 23 prospect)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 G ,1 SV, 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 0.25 WHIP
Bourque had a 6.56 ERA in Triple-A before reeling off three scoreless outings last week, fanning seven of the 13 batters he faced. He owns a 4.35 ERA with nine saves and 79 strikeouts in 60 innings between Double-A and Triple-A.