Prospects of the Week: May 27 – June 2

Denyi Reyes, Portland Sea Dogs, at Hartford Yard Goats (May 30, 2019) - photo credit Bill Mercey, hartford.baseball on Instagram and BillMerceyPhotos.com

Each week during the Minor League Baseball season we pick the hitting and pitching prospects from each level (AAA, AA, A+, and A, with Short Season-A and Rookie league kicking off later this month) who, in our opinion, had the best week. We’re always on the lookout for candidates, so tweet us (@Prospects1500@berrys_baseball and @Scotty_Ballgame) when you see a great performance.

Jake Berry and Scott Greene award their Prospects of the Week hitters and pitchers for each level, while also presenting other names at each level that are just as deserving of POTW honors. Enjoy, and make sure you’re keeping an eye out for these prospects in your dynasty leagues.


Triple-A

Hitter: Jorge Mateo, UT (Oakland Athletics #6)
Las Vegas Aviators (.424/.441/.727, 14 H, 2 HR, 4 2B, SB)
Mateo kicks things off with this week’s POTW as the 23-year-old is riding a 10 game hit streak entering play on Monday. Five of his seven games last week saw him collect multiple hits including two three hit games. He did so while playing at both middle infield positions and Mateo may be putting himself in position for a call up sooner rather than later.

Honorable Mentions:
Bobby Bradley, 1B (Cleveland Indians #13)
Columbus Clippers (.310/.355/.759, 1 2B, 4 HR, 12 RBI)

Jose Rojas, UT (Los Angeles Angels #28)
Salt Lake Bees (.394/.429/.879, 4 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBI)

Pitcher: Adbert Alzolay, RHP (Chicago Cubs #2)
Iowa Cubs (12 IP,  17 K, 2 BB, 1 ER, 3 H)
Alzolay dazzled in both of his starts last week compiling seventeen strikeouts over twelve innings. The 24 year old went six innings in both outings allowing two hits in the first go and just one in the second. He tossed 79 pitches in both starts and the consistency Alzolay has found as of late could be a good sign for dynasty players with shares of the Cubs top pitching prospect.

Honorable Mentions:
Shao-Ching Chiang, RHP (Cleveland Indians, NR)
Columbus Clippers (6 IP, W, 0 ER, 10 K, 3 BB, 2 H)

Kyle Hart, RHP (Boston Red Sox, NR)
Pawtucket Red Sox (9 IP, W, 0 ER, 5 H, 8 K in Triple-A debut)


Double-A

Hitter: Forrest Wall, UT (Toronto Blue Jays #18)
New Hampshire Fisher Cats (.571/.636/1.000, 16 H, 2 HR, 6 2B, 4 SO, 4 BB)
It was quite a week for the Blue Jays number 18 prospect. 16 hits over seven games is already an impressive feat, but Wall was hitting the ball hard as half of his hits went for extra bases. The 1.636 OPS was good enough for second among all Double-A hitters.

Honorable Mentions:
Bobby Dalbec, 3B (Boston Red Sox #2)
Portland Sea Dogs (.333/.379/.815, 4 HR, 1 2B, 9 H)

Tate Matheny, OF (Boston Red Sox, NR)
Portland Sea Dogs (.423/.444/1.000, 4 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 11 H)

Jake Fraley, OF (Seattle Mariners #13)
Arkansas Travlers (.440/.481/.920, 3 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 2 SB)

Trent Grisham, OF (Milwaukee Brewers #17)
Biloxi Shuckers (.409/.517/1.136, 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 6 BB)

Pitcher: Alec Bettinger, RHP (Milwaukee Brewers, NR)
Biloxi Shuckers (12 IP, 2 W, 1 ER, 15 K, 3 BB, 6 H)
A pair of six inning, three hit outings earns Bettinger Double-A pitcher of the week. He earned the W in both games and managed to strike out 15 batters over the 12 innings while tossing strikes at a 62% rate. Of the Double-A pitchers with at least 15 K’s last week, he was the only one to walk less than seven batters.

Honorable Mentions:
Alex Faedo, RHP (Detroit Tigers #5)
Erie SeaWolves (6.1 IP, W, 0 ER, 12 K, 2 BB)

Jonathan Hernandez, RHP (Texas Rangers #9)
Frisco RoughRiders (7 IP, 0 ER, 10 K, 0 BB, 3 H)

Denyi Reyes, RHP and Tanner Houck, RHP (Boston Red Sox #6 & #16 respectively)
Portland Sea Dogs (Reyes – 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, and Houck – 6 IP, W, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K)

Jesse Scholtens, RHP (San Diego Padres, NR)
Amarillo Sod Poodles (7 IP, W, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K)


High-A

Hitter: Tyler Frost, OF (Chicago White Sox #21)
Winston-Salem Dash (.480/.500/1.040, 12 H, 3 HR, 1 3B, 3 2B)
Frost led all of High-A with 12 hits last week, seven of which went for extra base hits making him the easy choice for POTW. Frost was on fire early on as he homered in three straight games to start the week. Not only did he hit safely in each of his six contests, but five of those were multi-hit performances.

Honorable Mention:
Trevor Larnach, OF (Minnesota Twins #5)
Fort Myers Miracle (.500/.522/.900, 10 H, 2 HR, 2 2B, 2 SO)

Pitcher: Cody Bolton, RHP (Pittsburgh Pirates #22)
Bradenton Marauders (6 IP, W, 0 ER, 1 H, 10 K, 2 BB)
Bolton punched out nearly half of the batters he faced in his lone start of the week as 10 of the 21 opposing hitters were sat down on strikes. Bolton is having a career year and last week’s performance earned him his sixth quality start of the season.

Honorable Mention:
Brett Conine, RHP (Houston Astros NR)
Fayetteville Woodpeckers (6 IP, 0 ER, 12 K, 1 BB, 6 H)


Single-A

Hitter: Will Benson, OF (Cleveland Indians #14)
Lake County Captains (.409/.500/1.000, 4 HR, 4 SB, 1 2B, 5 SO, 5 BB)
This isn’t Benson’s first four homer week, but it is his first four homer, four stolen base week. Factor in the man matched his strikeout total in walks, and this was the ultimate offensive showcase. The Atlanta native is riding a four game hit streak entering play on Monday.

Honorable Mention:
Wander Franco, SS (Tampa Bay Rays #1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods (.474/.500/.947, 13 H, 1 HR, 2 SB)

Pitcher: Brett Daniels, RHP (Houston Astros NR)
Quad Cities River Bandits (7.1 IP, W, 12 K, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 BB)
You have to love those dominant relievers. While most big league relievers are failed starters and we don’t see a ton of exclusive relief arms in the low levels of the minors make an impact in The Show, we are here to admire the POTW based on their past week, not their projectability. Daniels is a great example. Two strong relief appearances included a whopping 12 punch outs over just 7.1 IP makes him our Single-A pitcher of the week.

Honorable Mention:
Alexis Diaz, RHP (Cincinnati Reds, NR)
Dayton Dragons (6 IP, 5 K, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 31% SwStr%)

 

If there’s any player we missed who you think should be honored or mentioned as a Prospect of the Week, please comment below or hit us up on Twitter to let us know. Until next week, thanks for reading and keep prospecting!

I reside in Carrollton, Georgia and love everything baseball. I graduated from the University of West Georgia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Management. I have a passion for the minor leagues and have high hopes of visiting as many minor league parks as I can. I enjoy the statistical side of the game, especially sabermetrics. I am also an avid baseball card collector and fantasy baseball player.




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