Prospects of the Week: June 17 – June 23

June 24, 2019 Jake Berry General, MiLB, Prospects of the Week 0

Dustin May, Tulsa Drillers, June 22, 2019 - photo credit Rusty Olson, @Rusty_Olson on Twitter
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Each week during the Minor League Baseball season we pick the hitting and pitching prospects from each level (AAA, AA, A+, A, A- (Short Season) and Rookie ball 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: Brent Rooker, OF (Minnesota Twins #6)
Rochester Red Wings (.474/.630/1.263, 9 H, 2 HR, 4 HR, 3 2B, 10 RBI, 5 SO, 6 BB)
It is not surprising to see Rooker on this list again as the 24-year-old is tearing up Triple-A pitching. The Mississippi State product posted a 1.893 OPS with seven extra base hits and six walks. He was riding a ten game hit streak up until Sunday’s game, but did manage two walks in that contest despite going hitless.

Honorable Mentions:
Michael Gettys, OF (San Diego Padres #42)
El Paso Chihuahuas (.310/.333/.828, 5 HR, 9 H, 14 RBI)


Andrew Stevenson, OF (Washington Nationals, No longer prospect eligible, but had to mention the stat line.)
Fresno Grizzlies (.621/.647/1.172, 18 H, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 3 SO, 5 BB)

Pitcher: Tyler Alexander, LHP (Detroit Tigers, NR)
Toledo Mud Hens (7 IP, W, 12 K, 2 BB, 0 ER, 2 H)
The lefty spun a fun, and apparently deceptive one, on Saturday against Rochester. He tallied a whopping 27 strikes looking en route to his 12 punchouts. So, we should take this outing with a grain of salt, because you know, MiLB umpires, but 12K’s and seven shutout innings don’t just happen by circumstance.

Honorable Mentions:
David McKay, RHP (Seattle Mariners #40)
Tacoma Rainiers (4 IP, 9 K, 1 BB, 0 ER, 3 H)

 

Double-A

Hitter: Darick Hall, 1B (Philadelphia Phillies #17)
Reading Fightin Phils (.391/.500/.739, 9 H, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 2 2B)
By no means was it a flashy performance this week from Hall, but it was a consistent one as he reached base in each game and hit safely in all but one. Hall, who is also listed as a pitcher on Baseball Reference despite not toeing the rubber since college in 2016, made the most of his opportunities with runners on base as the 23-year-old drove in 11 runs.

Honorable Mentions:
Gio Brusa, 1B (San Francisco Giants #45)
Richmond Flying Squirrels (6 G, .400/.520/1.000, 8 H, 3 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI)

Jazz Chisholm, SS (Arizona Diamondbacks #3)
Jackson Generals (4 G, .538/.611/1.000, 7 H, 2 HR, 4 SO, 4 BB)

Pitcher: Deivi Garcia, RHP (New York Yankees #11)
Trenton Thunder (6 IP, W, 0 ER, 15 K, 1 BB, 1 H)
For what it’s worth, I love Deivi Garcia so there may be some bias here… but not really. The guy flat out embarrassed an opposing Richmond squad when he punched out 15 Flying Squirrels over six innings of shutout, one hit, one walk ball. Garcia faced just 21 batters on the day and racked up the 15 K’s on just 98 pitches, 63 of which were strikes, and 24 of those were swing and miss.

Honorable Mention:
Dustin May, RHP (Los Angeles Dodgers #2)
Tulsa Drillers (2 GS, 14 IP, 19 K, 0 BB, 3 ER, 9 H)

 

High-A

Hitter: Sean Bouchard, 3B/OF (Colorado Rockies #46)
Lancaster JetHawks (.4 G, .750/.789/1.688, 12 H, 4 HR, 3 2B, 2.477 OPS led all of MiLB)
Look, small sample size aside, Bouchard had 12 hits in 16 at bats last week and on top of that, seven of them were for extra bases. Add in three walks to just 2 strikeouts, that’s good enough for POTW in my book.

Honorable Mentions:
Jhailyn Ortiz, OF (Philadelphia Phillies #6)
Clearwater Threshers (7 G, .333/.455/.889, 5 HR, 9 H, 11 RBI)

Marcus Wilson, OF (Boston Red Sox, NR – was Arizona’s #34 before trade to Boston)
Salem Red Sox (4 G, .615/.688/1.1615, 8 H, 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 2 SB, 2.303 OPS is second in all of MiLB, behind only Bouchard)

Devin Mann, 2B (Los Angeles Dodgers #40)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (4 G, .588/.650/1.353/2.003, 10 H, 4 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI)

Pitcher: Noah Zavolas, RHP (Milwaukee Brewers, NR)
Carolina Mudcats (9 IP, W, 0 ER, 2 H, 11 K, 0 BB)
It isn’t often we see a complete game shutout from a High-A pitcher, but that is exactly what we got from Zavolas in a 101 pitch effort. The 23-year-old faced just two over the minimum in his dominant outing.

Honorable Mention:
Tommy Romero, RHP (Tampa Bay Rays, #43)
Charlotte Stone Crabs (2 G, 1 GS, 11.2 IP, 2 W, 0 ER, 13 K, 4 BB, 5 H)

 

Single-A

Hitter: Matt Whatley, C (Texas Rangers, NR)
Hickory Crawdads (.625/.813/1.125, 1 HR, 5 H, 3 SB, 7 BB, 0 SO)
Let’s make it three weeks in a row for the Single-A POTW to earn the honors in an unconventional way. Then again, would it be considered unconventional after three weeks in a row…? Deep. Anyway, Whatley only managed five hits last week, but he walked seven times in just four games to zero strikeouts and he threw in three stolen bags. The dinger doesn’t hurt either. His OPS for the week was 1.938!

Pitcher: Well, let’s just call them Tri-Pitching Prospects of the Week, because we will just be splitting hairs between these three stat lines. Man, the best stuff happens in low level minor league ball.
Scott Sunitsch, LHP (Milwaukee Brewers )
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (6 IP, 11 K, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 H)

Joey Cantillo, LHP (San Diego Padres)
Fort Wayne TinCaps (6 IP, 10 K, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 H)

Alex Royalty, RHP (Cleveland Indians )
Lake County Captains (6.2 IP, 10 K, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 H)

 

Short Season-A

Hitter: Fernando Kelli, OF (Chicago Cubs #49)
Eugene Emeralds (.417/.440/.833, 10 H, 1 HR, 2 3B, 2 2B, 3 SB)
Former Cubs correspondent Dan Hogan wrote about Kelli back in February 2018, dubbing him The Quickest Cubs’ Minor Leaguer. In addition to his 3 swipes this week the 20-year-old Eugene outfielder tallied 10 hits and has a .980 OPS through his first 10 games of the season.

Honorable Mention:
Obie Ricumstrict, OF (Texas Rangers, NR)
Spokane Indians (.333/.400/.630, 9 H, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 9 RBI, 2 SB)

Sean Roby, 3B (San Francisco Giants, NR)
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (10 H, 1 3B, 2 2B)

Pitcher: Ethan Hankins, RHP (Cleveland Indians #4)
Mahoning Valley Scrappers (2 GS, 8.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 12 K)
You can’t say much more than Wow! Hankins’ first two appearances of 2019 saw him go a combined 8.2 innings of hitless ball. His stint in Low-A Mahoning Valley may be a short one.

Honorable Mention:
Taylor Lehman, LHP (Philadelphia Philles, NR)
Williamsport Crosscutters (2 GS, 8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 10 K)
Lehman is an interesting 23-year-old in Low-A. Drafted in the 34th round back in 2014, but decided to attend Penn State. He wasn’t selected in the 2018 draft but did sign a free agent contract with the Phillies last year and saw his first pro action in Gulf Coast League rookie ball.

 

Rookie

Hitter: CJ Abrams, SS (San Diego Padres, NR – for now)
AZL Padres 1 (5 G, .522/.542/.7873, 12 H, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, SB)
The 6th overall pick in the recent MLB Draft came out of the gates on fire this past week, hitting safely in all 5 games. Abrams was 4-4 with a HR in his pro debut Tuesday.

Honorable Mentions:
Flemin Bautista, 2B (Chicago Cubs, NR)
DSL Cubs2 (5 G, .444/.545/1.111, 8 H, 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI)

Clay Dungan, SS (Kansas City Royals, NR, 2019 9th round pick)
Idaho Falls Chukars (5 G, .545/.600/.864, 12 H, 10 R, 5 2B, 3B, 5 RBI)

Pitcher: Junior Mieses, RHP (Arizona Diamondbacks, NR)
AZL Dbacks (1 GS, 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, 69% SwStr%)

Honorable Mention:
Nash Walters, RHP (Milwaukee Brewers, NR)
Rocky Mountain Vibes (2 GS, 9 IP, 2 H, 6 BB, 10 K)

 

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!

Jake Berry

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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