Here’s a look at Saturday’s top Minor League performers from each team’s Top 30 Prospects list:
Marlins: JJ Bleday, OF (No. 13), Double-A Pensacola
Kameron Misner, OF (No. 13), High-A Beloit
Eury Perez, RHP (No. 22), Low-A Jupiter
Bleday smacked his ninth homer and 14th double of the season on a 2-for-2 day at the plate in Game 1 of a doubleheader. The 2019 fourth overall pick added a walk, his 44th this year, and he’s now reached base safely in nine of his past 10 games. He’s hitting .250 over that span with three homers, four RBIs and six walks.
Misner joined the scoring party a little late for Beloit, but nonetheless, the 23-year-old notched the first multihomer game of his career on a 2-for-4, two-RBI night. His first homer came in the fourth with the Snappers already leading 7-1. In his next at-bat, in the sixth, he drove the first pitch he saw over the fence to extend Beloit’s lead to 9-2. Misner now has eight home runs and 32 RBIs on the season.
Perez tossed his eighth start this season in which he allowed two or fewer hits as he struck out six and walked none over five scoreless innings. Through 13 starts, the 6-foot-8 Domincan Republic native has thrown seven scoreless outings and he’s tallied 66 strikeouts and only 17 walks through 48 innings in his first Minor League season. The 18-year-old lowered his ERA to 1.88. Marlins prospect stats »
Mets: Francisco Álvarez, C (MLB No. 33), High-A Brooklyn
Álvarez didn’t just hit two home runs in a game. He clobbered them. The Mets’ top prospect collected his first multihomer game of the season and the second of his career in emphatic fashion as he drove in all three runs for Brooklyn in its 4-3 loss. Álvarez has heated up in his past 10 games — he’s collected hits in nine of those 10 contests, has a 10-game on-base streak and is slashing .308/.357/.667 with four homers and 12 RBIs in that span. Mets prospect stats »
Indians: Bo Naylor, C (MLB No. 86), Double-A Akron
Bryan Lavastida, C (No. 24), Double-A Akron
A pair of catching prospects flexed some power in Akron’s victory over Erie. With Naylor behind the dish and Lavastida the designated hitter, the two combined for three home runs, five hits and 10 of Akron’s 11 runs. Naylor, Cleveland’s No. 3 prospect, connected for two of those long balls, the first multihomer game of his career. It was 2-1 Akron until the fifth inning rolled around and Naylor came up to bat with the bases loaded and two out. The 21-year-old launched a 3-2 pitch deep into the night for a grand slam. Erie fought back to make it a 6-4 game, but Naylor helped put the game out of reach with a two-run homer in the seventh to tie his career-high in RBIs and put the RubberDucks up 11-4.
The other half of the equation was Lavastida, who got things started for Akron in his Double-A debut with an RBI single in the top of the first to give his team an early 1-0 lead. His big moment, however, came in that seventh inning, when he crushed a three-run homer to extend Akron’s lead to five. The 22-year-old is having a fantastic season, slashing .312/.404/.488 with more RBIs (35) than strikeouts (32) and 26 walks in 49 games across two levels. Indians prospect stats »
Athletics: Colin Peluse, RHP (No. 26), High-A Lansing
Peluse earned his first scoreless outing since his season debut on May 8 as he struck out six over six four-hit innings. With Saturday’s performance, the 2019 Draft pick has gone six innings in four of his past six starts and is pitching to a 2.19 ERA since giving up five earned runs in 4 2/3 innings on June 12. Peluse has racked up 67 strikeouts across 63 2/3 innings in his sophomore Minor League season. Athletics prospect stats »
Braves: Trey Harris, OF (No. 12), Double-A Mississippi
Harris hit two homers in a game for the first time this season in Game 2 of a doubleheader, launching solo shots in both the third and seventh innings of Mississippi’s 8-2 win. It’s the second multihomer game of his career and the 25-year-old has tallied six homers through 67 games this year while batting .249 with 28 RBIs. Braves prospect stats »
Cubs: DJ Herz, LHP (No. 30), Low-A Myrtle Beach
Herz’s nine strikeouts tied his career high as he surrendered just one run on two hits across five innings. Herz last reached the nine-strikeout mark in a scoreless outing on June 3 against Columbia. The 20-year-old gave up a first-inning solo homer but nothing more and after surrendering that run, he struck out five of the next eight batters he faced. He erased a leadoff single in the fourth with a double play before capping off his outing on a three-pitch strikeout to end the fifth. The 2019 Draft pick has fanned 76 batters and given up only six homers through 48 innings (13 starts) this season. Cubs prospect stats »
Mariners: Cade Marlowe, OF (No. 27), High-A Everett
Everett needed every one of Marlowe’s four RBIs in its 5-4 win over Eugene. The 2019 Draft pick used the first multihomer game of his career to give the AquaSox its West division-best 50th victory of the year. He got the scoring started in the bottom of the third with a two-run blast., then with the score knotted at three in the fifth, Marlowe cracked another two-run shot. High-A has been an adjustment for Marlowe, who was promoted from Modesto after hitting .301, but he’s now reached base safely in four straight games and has 13 homers and 67 RBIs across two levels. Mariners prospect stats »
Pirates: Liover Peguero, SS (No. 4), High-A Greensboro
Dariel Lopez, INF (No. 29), Low-A Bradenton
Peguero scored four runs while driving in two in Greensboro’s win. The 20-year-old launched his ninth homer of the season, a two-run shot in the eighth that extended the Grasshoppers’ lead to 11-7, and finished a triple shy of the cycle in his 3-for-4 performance. Through 57 games, Peguero is batting .262 with 28 RBIs, 20 walks and 11 doubles.
Lopez notched his first four-hit game of the season, driving in two runs on a homer and a double to help power Bradenton to its 45th win of the season. The 19-year-old has tallied five multihit games in his past 10 contests, and he’s slashing .311/.354/.400 over that stretch with seven RBIs. Pirates prospect stats »
Rangers: Avery Weems, LHP (No. 28), High-A Hickory
Weems broke his streak of rough starts with a three-hit gem in Hickory’s 7-4 win. The 2019 sixth-rounder went a season-high 6 2/3 innings, striking out six, walking none and surrendering one unearned run on a two-out double following a hit-by-pitch and an error. It’s his first scoreless start since June 19, when he struck out seven over five perfect innings. The 24-year-old threw 54 of his 75 pitches for strikes and has amassed 73 strikeouts over 51 2/3 innings this season. Rangers prospect stats »
Red Sox: Andrew Politi, RHP (No. 26), Double-A Portland
Politi threw his first shutout of the season in Game 2 of a doubleheader, scattering three hits (all singles) and two walks across six innings while striking out a career-high eight batters. It was a pitchers’ duel at Hadlock Field where the only run scored came via a wild pitch and it was Politi who emerged victorious. After walking the leadoff man in the fifth, he struck out the next three batters he faced and struck out three in the sixth around a one-out single. Red Sox prospect stats »
Rockies: Noah Davis, RHP (No. 25), High-A Spokane
In his organizational debut, Davis gave Rockies fans a glimpse of what he has to offer. The righty shut down Vancouver over a season-high 6 1/3 scoreless innings, surrendering three hits, walking two and striking out five. Davis had to deal with a runner on base in every inning except the sixth, but he was aided by his catcher on two occasions to thwart steal attempts and was able to prevent any runner from reaching scoring position. Coming to the Rockies from the Reds in the Mychal Givens trade, Davis has a 3.28 ERA this season with 82 strikeouts in 71 1/3 innings, and he’s held opposing batters below the Mendoza line. Rockies prospect stats »
Tigers: Ryan Kreidler, SS (No. 21), Double-A Erie
Kreidler tallied three hits, scored two runs and drove in one to collect his fifth multihit effort in his past 10 games. The 6-foot-4 UCLA product smacked his 13th homer of the season and added a double to his day. Over his past 10 games he’s slashing .333/.396/.714 with four home runs and 12 RBIs. Tigers prospect stats »