Friday's top prospect performers
Here's a look at Friday's top Minor League performers from each team's Top 30 Prospects list:
Braves: Drew Waters, OF (MLB No. 25), Triple-A Gwinnett
Kyle Muller, LHP (No. 5), Triple-A Gwinnett
Joey Estes, RHP (No. 30), High-A Augusta
It was a pretty good day to be a Braves prospect. Starting with Waters: The Braves’ No. 2 prospect had another big performance at the plate. A day after he smacked a three-run homer, he went a perfect 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Over his past 10 games, Waters is slashing .350/.381/.675 with eight extra-base hits (including a triple) and eight RBIs. He’s also reached base in eight straight contests.
In his first start back in the Minors since being optioned, Muller put his swing-and-miss stuff on full display, fanning a season-high 11 batters across six innings of two-run ball. The 23-year-old worked around a bumpy fourth inning to twirl his second quality start in Triple-A this year, the last one coming on June 9, when he last pitched for Gwinnett before being called up to the Majors. The Braves’ top pitching prospect has a 4.23 ERA in the Minors this season with 52 strikeouts over 37 1/3 innings.
Building off his last strong performance, Estes pitched a career-high seven innings and struck out seven en route to earning his first win of the year. The 19-year-old worked around a pair of hits and a walk to keep Myrtle Beach off the board for his third scoreless start of the season. The 2019 Draft pick is having a strong sophomore season, pitching to a 2.33 ERA and holding hitters to an .180 batting average. Braves prospect stats »
Angels: Brandon Marsh, OF (MLB No. 38), Triple-A Salt Lake
In his first start back in Triple-A since landing on the injured list at the beginning of June, Marsh wasted no time picking up where he left off. The Angels’ top prospect smacked a solo shot in the bottom of the first and legged out a two-run triple in the sixth on a 2-for-5 night at the plate. Marsh scored three times and also drove in three of Salt Lake’s 10 runs. The former second-rounder has tallied five multihit efforts through 21 games this season, including three in his past five games. Angels prospect stats »
Phillies: Mick Abel, RHP (MLB No. 59), Low-A Clearwater
Johan Rojas, OF (No. 7), Low-A Clearwater
A pair of Phillies prospects showed out in Clearwater’s 4-3 loss to Bradenton. Abel was unhittable in his five innings of work, fanning eight and working around four walks in his fourth scoreless effort this season. The 2020 first-rounder (15th overall) threw 47 of his 77 pitches for strikes and tied his season high in strikeouts for the third time this year. Abel bounced back nicely from his last start where he was pulled after 2 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on four hits. His ERA sits at 4.23 for the season and he has amassed 58 strikeouts through 38 1/3 innings.
Hitting out of the three-hole in the Thrashers’ lineup, Rojas provided the thumb behind all three runs Clearwater scored, going 2-for-4 with a homer, a double and a walk. The dinger was Rojas’ fifth of the season, and his first since June 9. It’s been a slow start to the year for Rojas, who owns a .668 OPS on the season, but the outfielder has started to get it going in July, recording a hit in six of his nine games played and going 12-for-30 at the plate this month. Phillies prospect stats »
Orioles: Gunnar Henderson, SS (MLB No. 91), High-A Aberdeen
Henderson slugged two home runs, the first multihomer performance of his career, en route to a 3-for-5 night at the plate with three RBIs. After a rough start at High-A, the left-handed slugger is 8-for-17 (.471) with three home runs over his last four games, pushing his Aberdeen OPS from .328 to .761. Henderson has gone deep 11 times in 50 games this season between the IronBirds and Low-A Delmarva. Orioles prospects stats »
Athletics: Cody Thomas, OF (No. 22), Triple-A Las Vegas
Another day, another multihit effort for Thomas, who tallied two homers and a triple, scored three runs, drove in four and walked once in an all-around effort at the plate. Thomas has been locked in recently, recording five multihit games in a row, the longest such streak since his debut season in 2016. Thomas’ 16 homers and 44 RBIs move him into a tie for third and fifth place in the West, respectively, and the former 2016 Draft pick is batting .299 on the season with 33 extra-base hits through 46 games. A’s prospect stats »
Cardinals: Masyn Winn, SS (No. 5), Low-A Palm Beach
On top of going a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate in Game 2 of a doubleheader, Winn did so in emphatic fashion by smacking three doubles. It was the second time this season that Winn recorded multiple extra-base hits in a game, and the four-hit performance boosted his batting average by 15 points, to .282. The 2020 second-rounder (54th overall) is riding a seven-game hitting streak dating back to June 30, and he’s slashing .375/.468/.575 in his past 10 contests. Cardinals prospect stats »
Dodgers: Jacob Amaya, SS (No. 10), Double-A Tulsa
Tulsa got production from all around its lineup in a 16-9 loss, led by Amaya out of the nine-hole. The shortstop went 3-for-4 with a homer and two doubles, driving in two runs and scoring three. It was Amaya’s first game with multiple extra-base hits on the season. The 2017 Draft pick has struggled offensively, but reached a new career-high with his eighth dinger on Friday night. On the season, Amaya owns a .647 OPS and has driven in 24 runs in 55 games. Dodgers prospect stats »
Giants: Caleb Kilian, RHP (No. 30), Double-A Richmond
Kilian was just about untouchable in his second seven-inning, complete-game shutout of the season, allowing three hits and walking one while striking out four. It was the fewest batters Kilian has fanned through 12 starts across two different levels this year, but it allowed him to throw an efficient 78 pitches (49 strikes). The former 2019 Draft pick has pitched to a 2.09 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP in eight Double-A starts. Giants prospect stats »
Red Sox: Nick Decker, OF (No. 23), Low-A Salem
Salem did all of its damage in the first two innings of a 9-3 win over Delmarva, and four of those nine runs came off the bat of Decker. The lefty finished 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and an RBI double in Game 1 of Salem’s doubleheader. The 2018 second-rounder returned to Salem on Wednesday after a rehab assignment with the FCL Red Sox, and carries a slash line of .245/.393/.490 with an .883 OPS through 61 Low-A plate appearances this season. Red Sox prospect stats »
Twins: Yunior Severino, 2B (No. 28), Low-A Fort Myers
In a game filled with offense, Severino led the way for Fort Myers in a 13-5 win over St. Lucie. The switch-hitter drove in five runs on a three-run homer in the second and a two-run double in the sixth, finishing 2-for-5 and scoring two runs. Severino has been crushing the ball in July, tallying three doubles and three dingers with 12 RBIs in nine games played, slashing .265/.316/.618 in that span. On the season, the second baseman has tallied 48 RBIs in 51 games with 14 doubles and five long balls. Twins prospect stats »
Yankees: Alexander Vargas, SS (No. 13), FCL Yankees
Josh Breaux, C (No. 19), High-A Hudson Valley
Vargas notched the first four-hit performance of his career in a 4-for-4 day at the dish, roping a double, driving in a run and scoring three in the Florida Complex League. The shortstop’s best tool is his 65-grade speed, which he used to swipe a bag, but he was also caught stealing in the game. The wheels, combined with a 55-grade hit tool, allowed the 19-year-old to leg out 10 doubles and seven triples in his pro ball debut in 2019, also adding 15 steals in 48 games. Vargas has played seven FCL games this year and is slashing .304/.385/.348 with a .732 OPS.
Breaux slugged a first-inning homer from the three-spot in the Hudson Valley lineup, the first of two runs he drove in en route to a 3-for-4 day at the plate. The 61st overall pick in the 2018 Draft, Breaux is four homers shy of his career high of 13 he set in 2019 -- he has nine through 49 games this season. Friday’s multihit effort was also his fourth in the past 10 games and his 12th of the season. Yankees prospect stats »