Here’s a look at Saturday’s top Minor League performers from each team’s Top 30 Prospects list:
Rays: Shane Baz, RHP (MLB No. 20), Triple-A Durham
Baz kept his phenomenal season rolling with 10 strikeouts over six innings, allowing one run on three hits in Game 2 of Durham’s doubleheader. The 2017 Draft first-rounder tied his career-high mark for strikeouts in a game and has reached 10 K’s three times this year. After posting a 2.48 ERA with 49 strikeouts in seven starts for Double-A Montgomery, Baz has turned it up a notch at Triple-A with a 1.76 ERA and 54 strikeouts across nine starts for Durham. In total, Baz owns a 2.06 ERA in 17 starts and 78 2/3 innings, with a K:BB ratio of 113:12 and a strikeout percentage of 37.9%. Rays prospect stats »
Orioles: Colton Cowser, OF (MLB No. 79), Low-A Delmarva
Cowser continues to rake since making his pro debut on Aug. 2. Not only did the fifth overall pick in the 2021 Draft notch his first four-hit game of the season, he also tallied a season-high four RBIs, scored two runs and stole a base. In 25 games so far, the Sam Houston product has shown off his 60-grade hit tool with a .400/.522/.544 slash line that includes more RBIs (24) and walks (21) than strikeouts (15) to go with two home runs and seven doubles. He’s also tallied 25 hits in 18 Low-A games. Orioles prospect stats »
Indians: Daniel Espino, RHP (MLB No. 95), High-A Lake County
Espino is known as a strikeout artist and registered double digit punchouts for the sixth time this season in his start on Saturday. The fireballer tossed a career-high 5 2/3 innings of one-hit ball with 10 Ks and surrendered only one run on a homer. It was Espino’s ninth start allowing one run or fewer on the year. The 20-year-old has tossed 85 innings combined over both levels of A-ball, registering 142 strikeouts for a 15.0 K/9 and a strikeout percentage of 40.2%. Indians prospect stats »
Brewers: Alex Binelas, 3B/1B (No. 17), Low-A Carolina
Binelas continued his impressive debut season with his first career multihomer game in a four-hit, four-RBI night for Carolina. The No. 86 pick in the 2021 Draft has been on fire since he was promoted to full season ball, posting a .352/.420/.670 slash line — that’s a 1.090 OPS — in 22 games with the Mudcats. Binelas has hit 10 doubles and six home runs in his first taste of Low-A, and with his advanced hitting ability, should be a fast riser through Milwaukee’s system. Brewers prospect stats »
Pirates: Endy Rodriguez, C/OF (No. 19), Low-A Bradenton
Rodriguez posted his sixth three-hit game of the season with a home run, a double and two RBIs to help Bradenton clinch a spot in the Low-A Southeast Finals. In his first full season, the switch-hitter has been a consistent contributor at the plate and has caught fire as the year has gone on. In August, Rodriguez put up a 1.110 OPS and has rolled that momentum into September with a 1.054 OPS in nine games. On the year, Rodriguez has blasted a career-best 14 homers with a .292/.384/.510 slash line. Pirates prospect stats »
Rangers: Ezequiel Duran, 2B/SS (No. 7), High-A Hickory
Duran smacked his 19th home run of the season on a 3-for-3, three-RBI night at the plate. The 22-year-old’s two-run dinger came on the first pitch of the game he saw, and he added an RBI double in the fourth to mark the fifth game this year in which he’s smacked at least two extra-base hits. Since being acquired at the Trade Deadline, Duran has smacked seven homers, seven doubles and driven in 31 runs in 35 games. Rangers prospect stats »
Rockies: Elehuris Montero, 3B (No. 4), Triple-A Albuquerque
Ryan Vilade, OF (No. 5), Triple-A Albuquerque
Montero matched a career high he set in 2017 with five RBIs in a three-hit game for Albuquerque in its 9-2 win over El Paso. The 23-year-old roped his second triple of the year to drive in two runs and drove in at least one run with each hit he had. Montero was a main piece of Colorado’s return in the Nolan Arenado trade and has impressed in his first year with the organization, with an .897 OPS over 101 games. Since he got the call to Triple-A on Sept. 2, Montero has slashed .351/.351/.649 for an even 1.000 OPS with six extra-base hits in nine games.
Teammate Vilade had a day of his own, smacking four hits (including a double) and scoring twice. It’s his second four-hit effort of the season and 33rd multihit performance in 103 games this season. Over his past 10 games, the 22-year-old is slashing .311/.319/.444 with a triple, four doubles, 14 hits and 20 total bases. Vilade has amassed 122 hits in Triple-A, good for a .292 average. Rockies prospect stats »
Yankees: Oswaldo Peraza, SS (No. 5), Double-A Somerset
Peraza went a combined 5-for-7 across two games of a doubleheader with a homer, double and three RBIs to boost his Double-A average up to .300 with an .821 OPS in 73 games. The 21-year-old has been scorching hot in September, posting a .444/.512/.639 slash line in a 10-game span with two homers, three steals, four walks and 10 RBIs. Peraza continues to add to his career-best home run total, swatting 15 dingers after never hitting more than four in a season since his debut in 2017.
Hayden Wesneski, RHP (No. 15), Double-A Somerset
On the heels of striking out a career-high 10 batters over six innings in his last start, Wesneski one-upped his game by striking out 14 in a seven-inning complete-game victory over Hartford in Game 2 of a doubleheader, including whiffs of 12 of the last 14 batters. The one and only blemish on his night came in the form of a solo homer in the second inning, but that would be the only hit he allowed in what was otherwise a perfect outing. The righty hurler tossed 59 of his 75 pitches for strikes and never once got to a three-ball count on a hitter. He’s now amassed 131 K’s in 112 1/3 innings across two levels. Yankees prospect stats »
Tigers: Kody Clemens, 2B/OF (No. 18), Triple-A Toledo
The 18th-ranked Tigers prospect posted his seventh three-hit game of the season, but his first with all extra-base knocks. The 25-year-old laced a trio of doubles and drove in a career-best six runs while scoring twice. Clemens is batting .266/.334/.513 with 37 extra-base hits, 58 runs scored and 54 RBIs over 81 games with the Mud Hens this season. Tigers prospect stats »