Friday's top prospect performers
Here's a look at Friday's top Minor League performers from each team's Top 30 Prospects list:
Tigers: Spencer Torkelson, 3B (MLB No. 3), High-A West Michigan
Torkelson’s torrid June continued with another three-hit performance, his second in as many nights. The No. 1 pick from the 2020 Draft hit his first homer of the season as part of a 3-for-3 night at the plate and is a perfect 6-for-6 over his past two games. Torkelson hit .235 in May to begin his professional career, but he has absolutely dominated the month of June. Through 10 games, the Tigers’ top prospect is hitting .455 with two homers and seven RBIs. He’s also showing a strong approach at the plate, having drawn nine walks compared to striking out just six times. Tigers prospects stats »
Marlins: Max Meyer, RHP (MLB No. 27), Double-A Pensacola
Meyer’s numbers don’t jump off the page as he only notched two strikeouts, however, the 2020 first-round pick (third overall) did manage to string together five scoreless innings. Meyer issued four walks and gave up two hits, but was able to work himself out of trouble and lower his ERA to 1.59 through the first seven starts of his professional career. The 22-year-old has help opponents scoreless in five of seven starts this season and yielded just one earned run or fewer in six of those outings. Marlins prospects stats »
Cardinals: Nolan Gorman, 3B (MLB No. 31), Double-A Springfield
After a tepid first month of the season, Gorman has dialed it up to start June. The powerful lefty mashed two homers in Springfield’s 7-5 loss, finishing with a final line of 2-for-4 with two runs, three RBIs and a strikeout. In 10 games this month, Gorman is slashing .395/.447/.698 for a 1.144 OPS and has knocked four dingers with nine RBIs. His multihomer effort was the 21-year-old’s first of the season, and the sixth of his career, his first since August 9, 2019. Cardinals prospects stats »
Dodgers: Keibert Ruiz, C (MLB No. 44), Triple-A Oklahoma City
Ruiz flipped a switch in June and has been on a tear in the seven games he’s played this month. On Friday, the slugging catcher went 2-for-5 with two dingers, two runs, three RBIs and a strikeout. His two long balls came in the second and sixth innings, a solo and a two-run shot that were his fifth and sixth homers of the year. In June, Ruiz is slashing .318/.444/.727. His performance in the 9-1 win versus El Paso brought his Triple-A batting average to .300, and his season OPS to 1.049. Dodgers prospects stats »
Reds: Hunter Greene, RHP (MLB No. 57), Double-A Chattanooga
Graham Ashcraft, RHP (No. 18), High-A Dayton
The radar gun is always worth watching when Greene takes the mound and Friday’s start was no different. The hard-throwing right-hander hit triple digits on several occasions as he carved his way through the Pensacola lineup for nine strikeouts over six innings. Greene, who notched at least one strikeout in every frame and struck out the side in the fifth, has posted a 1.98 ERA through seven starts this season. Greene has also struck out 60 over 41 innings and yielded one run or fewer in four of his seven starts.
Ashcraft put together what was arguably his best start of the season as he fired 56 of his 82 pitches for strikes over six scoreless innings. He also struck out 10, a season high. The right-hander got roughed up for five runs and didn’t escape the second inning. However, he’s been absolutely dominant since, giving up just one unearned run and striking out 23 over 18 innings. Reds prospects stats »
Blue Jays: Gabriel Moreno, C (No. 7), Double-A New Hampshire
Moreno led the charge in New Hampshire’s extra-inning offensive onslaught which resulted in a 14-6 win over Portland that included eight runs in the top of the 10th. Hitting out of the cleanup spot, Moreno went 4-for-5 with a homer, two doubles, three runs, three RBIs and a walk. All of the 21-year-olds' RBIs came in the ninth and 10th innings. Moreno swatted his fifth homer in the ninth to cut New Hampshire’s deficit to one run, and smacked a two-run double in the 10th to put them up by four. On the year, Moreno is slashing .398/.453/.667 with an OPS of 1.119. Blue Jays prospects stats »
Indians: Tanner Burns, RHP (No. 15), High-A Lake County
Make that back-to-back scoreless starts for Burns, who struck out six and yielded just one hit over five innings. The 36th overall pick from the 2020 Draft has struck out 12 over 11 scoreless innings so far this month, lowering his ERA to 2.51 through the first six starts of his professional career. Burns, who threw 45 of his 74 pitches for strikes, found himself in a couple of jams early, but he was able to work his way out of trouble. Once Burns settled down, he cruised through the final few frames, retiring eight in a row to finish his outing. Indians prospects stats »
Mariners: Noelvi Marte, SS (No. 6), Low-A Modesto
Marte extended his hitting streak to five games and hit his eighth homer of the year as part of a 2-for-3 night at the plate. Marte got the scoring started with a run-scoring triple in the first and then highlighted his night with a three-run homer in the seventh. The 19-year-old is hitting .315 this season and has hits in eight of the 10 games he's played in this month. Mariners prospects stats »
Mets: Junior Santos, RHP (No. 11), Low-A St. Lucie
Santos was stuck with a no-decision, but that hardly takes away from his strong performance on the mound. The 19-year-old right-hander put together his second scoreless start of the season as he threw 48 of his 85 pitches for strikes and carved his way through five innings. Santos, who struck out four, has now surrendered just one earned run over two June starts (nine innings). Mets prospects stats »
Nationals: Joan Adon, RHP (No. 16), High-A Wilmington
Adon picked up his second win with his first scoreless start of the season. The 22-year-old struck out eight, a season high, and gave up three hits as he worked his way through six quality innings. Adon has struggled a bit to begin the 2021 campaign, but Friday’s start was certainly a step in the right direction. Nationals prospects stats »
Rangers: Tekoah Roby, RHP (No. 24), Low-A Down East
Roby continued his fast start and picked up his second win of the year. The 19-year-old has pitched to a 2.45 ERA and held his opponents to one run or fewer in five of his six starts, including Saturday night’s gem. Roby gave up just three hits and racked up eight strikeouts as he twirled five scoreless innings. The right-hander threw 49 of his 73 pitches for strikes and has now fanned 35 over 23 innings this season. Rangers prospects stats »
Red Sox: Chris Murphy, LHP (No. 17), High-A Greenville
Murphy twirled his second scoreless start of the season as he struck out three over five innings. The 23-year-old, a sixth-round pick from the 2019 Draft, threw 57 of his 78 pitches for strikes, walked one and gave up three hits. Murphy has pitched to a 3.82 ERA through seven starts this season, his first at the High-A level. Red Sox prospects stats »
Yankees: Ken Waldichuk, LHP (No. 27), High-A Hudson Valley
Waldichuk is the owner of one of the most impressive streaks in baseball right now, and he continued it with his dominant start on Friday. The 6-foot-4 lefty has not allowed a run in 30 2/3 innings this season, a streak that spans seven starts. In Hudson Valley’s 8-0 victory, Waldichuk tossed six scoreless innings and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against a talented Brooklyn lineup. The 2019 fifth-rounder struck out 10 batters for the third time this season, and is up to 55 strikeouts with a K/9 ratio of 16.1, a WHIP of 0.82 and of course a spotless 0.00 ERA. Yankees prospects stats »