Prospects of the Week: June 27 – July 3

July 5, 2022 Jeremy Mahy General, MiLB, Prospects of the Week 0

Brayan Bello, Worcester Red Sox, July 1, 2022. Photo credit Worcester Red Sox, @WooSox on Twitter
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Each week during the Minor League Baseball season we pick the hitting and pitching prospects from each level (Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, Single-A, and Rookie League) who, in our opinion, had the best week. The team awards the 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. Feel free to reply in the comments with any player who deserves to be mentioned that may not have made our cut.

Any issues with this week’s POTW? Did we miss anyone deserving? Hit us up and set us straight! As always, tweet us @Prospects1500 when you see a great performance that warrants consideration for Prospect of the Week. Enjoy, and make sure you’re keeping an eye out for these prospects in your dynasty leagues.

Triple-A

HITTER: Estevan Florial, OF (Yankees #17)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (6 G, .550/.600/1.350/1.950, 11 H, 4 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 10 R, 4 BB, 3 SB)
The 24-year-old outfielder led all of MilB in OPS this week (1.950). He’s producing at AAA and doing what he can to work his way back to the Yankees lineup.

Honorable Mentions:
Eguy Rosario, IF (Padres #15)
El Paso Chihuahuas (6 G, .429/.571/1.143/1.714, 9 H, 3 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 10 R, 7 BB, 2 SB)
Nolan Jones, 3B/1B (Guardians #6)
Columbus Clippers (6 G, .400/.516/.760/1.276, 10 H, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 9 R, 6 BB, 3 SB)


Brian O’Keefe, C (Mariners NR)
Tacoma Rainiers (5 G, .381/.409/1.095/1.504, 8 H, 5 HR, 7 RBI, 6 R, BB)
Will Brennan, OF (Guardians #50)
Columbus Clippers (6 G, .464/.531/.643/1.174, 13 H, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 9 R, 4 BB, 4 SB)

PITCHER: Matt Krook, LHP (Yankees #47)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (1 GS, 7.2 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 10 K)
This makes three weeks in a row that Krook has made this list and he now fully has my attention. Last week he threw five perfect frames while striking out eight. This week he took a perfect game into the eighth inning before allowing a two out infield single. His only other mistake was a walk that followed the two out single resulting in his exit from the game after 93 pitches (63 strikes). That eighth inning single also brought an end to an impressive streak of 39 straight batters retired that spanned his past three appearances. At the end of the day, Krook is likely a bullpen arm. But with the way he has been pitching lately, the 27-year-old may get the chance to help the Yankees with their playoff push.

Honorable Mentions:
Hunter Brown, RHP (Astros #4)
Sugar Land Space Cowboys (1 GS, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K)
Marcelo Martinez, LHP (Royals NR)
Omaha Storm Chasers (1 GS, 5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K)
Brayan Bello, RHP (Red Sox #6)
Worcester Red Sox (1 GS, 5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K)
Bello’s mastery of Double-A and Triple-A has earned him the #MLBCallUp. He’s set to make his debut this Wednesday for the Red Sox at home vs. Tampa Bay.
Tommy Henry, LHP (Diamondbacks #14)
Reno Aces (1 GS, 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K)

Double-A

HITTER: Robbie Glendinning, 1B (Royals NR)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals (6 G, .407/.467/1.074/1.541, 11 H, 3 2B, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 9 R, 2 BB, SB)

Honorable Mentions:
Brayan Rocchio, SS (Guardians #4)
Akron Rubberducks (5 G, .417/.462/.958/1.420, 10 H, 4 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, SB)
Raudy Read, C/1B (White Sox NR)
Birmingham Barons (5 G, .500/.500/1.125/1.625, 12 H, 3 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 5 R)
Micah Pries, OF (Guardians NR)
Akron Rubberducks (5 G, .500/.615/1.050/1.665, 10 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 6 R, 6 BB, 3 SB)
Leandro Cedeno, 1B (Diamondbacks NR)
Amarillo Sod Poodles (6 G, .500/.621/.955/1.575, 11 H, 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 9 R, 7 BB)

PITCHER: Angel Zerpa, LHP (Royals #12)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals (1 GS, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K)

Honorable Mentions:
Franklyn Kilome, RHP (Nationals NR)
Harrisburg Senators (1 GS, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K)
Owen White, RHP (Rangers #34)
Frisco Roughriders (1 GS, 5.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K)
Garrett Davila, LHP (White Sox NR)
Birmingham Barons (1 GS, 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K)
Jaime Melendez, RHP (Astros #22)
Corpus Christi Hooks (1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 10 K)

High-A

HITTER: Ronny Simon, 2B (Rays #27)
Bowling Green Hot Rods (5 G, .458/.500/.917/1.417, 11 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 11 R, 2 BB, 3 SB)

Honorable Mentions:
Vaughn Grissom, SS (Braves #2)
Rome Braves (6 G, .455/.539/.818/1.357, 10 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 6 R, BB, SB)
Jonny DeLuca, OF (Dodgers NR)
Great Lakes Loons (6 G, .455/.556/.864/1.419, 10 H, 6 2B, HR, 9 RBI, 6 R, 4 BB, 2 SB)
Andy Thomas, C (Mariners NR)
Everett AquaSox (5 G, .444/.500/1.000/1.500, 8 H, 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB)
Darell Hernaiz, SS/2B (Orioles #20)
Aberdeen IronBirds (6 G, .409/.435/.727/1.162, 9 H, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 5 RBI, 3 R, BB, 3 SB)

PITCHER: Joe Boyle, RHP (Reds #22)
Dayton Dragons (1 GS, 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 K)
The domination continues! How about a Futures Game nod?

Honorable Mentions:
Kyle Hurt, RHP (Dodgers NR)
Great Lakes Loons (1 GS, 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K)
Griff McGarry, RHP (Phillies #30)
Jersey Shore BlueClaws (1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 11 K)
Nick Zwack, LHP (Mets NR)
Brooklyn Cyclones (1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K)

Single-A

HITTER: Hunter Goodman, C/1B (Rockies #23)
Fresno Grizzlies (6 G, .417/.548/1.000/1.548, 10 H, 2 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 7 R, 5 BB)

Honorable Mentions:
Marcelo Mayer, SS (Red Sox #2)
Salem Red Sox (5 G, .435/.500/.913/1.413, 10 H, 5 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, SB)


Enrique Valdez, SS (Royals NR)
Columbia Fireflies (5 G, .524/.546/.810/1.355, 11 H, 3 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, BB, 2 SB)
James Wood, OF (Padres #5)
Lake Elsinore Storm (6 G, .385/.407/.769/1.177, 10 H, 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 8 R, SB)
Juan Guerrero, SS (Rockies #20)
Fresno Grizzlies (5 G, .500/.577/.864/1.441, 11 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 10 R, 3 BB, SB)
Zach Kokoska, OF (Rockies NR)
Fresno Grizzlies (5 G, .440/.482/.920/1.402, 11 H, 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 8 R, 2 BB)

PITCHER: Garrett Hawkins, RHP (Padres #46)
Lake Elsinore Storm (1 GS, 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K)
Lake Elsinore’s game last Friday against Inland Empire was a rather historic performance and Hawkins played the central role. He threw 7 perfect innings before handing the ball to Alan Mundo to complete the first no-hitter in the Storm’s history. Hawkins was a strong candidate to be the Padres representative on our Early Season Prospect Breakout article. If you look at the surface stats (13 GS, 60.1 IP, 4-4, 4.77 ERA), he does not jump off the page at you, but digging deeper into his numbers shows a different story. A 1.18 WHIP, 34% K rate, and 5.6% BB rate are all excellent. He has the stuff to back up his numbers as he throws a very good fastball and changeup, an average slider, and he is displaying good command. I would want to see him continue these ratios against a higher level of hitting to be fully on board, but he is someone to keep an eye on.

Honorable Mentions:
Joseph Hernandez, RHP (Mariners NR)
Modesto Nuts (1 GS, 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 12 K)
Julian Aguiar, RHP (Reds NR)
Daytona Tortugas (1 GS, 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K)
McCade Brown, RHP (Rockies #39)
Fresno Grizzlies (1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K)
Tyler Schlaffer, RHP (Cubs #43)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans (1 GS, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K)
Luinder Avila, RHP (Royals NR)
Columbia Fireflies (1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K)

Rookie Leagues

HITTER: Keiner Delgado, IF (Yankees NR)
DSL NYY Yankees (5 G, .500/.577/.1.056/.1.633, 9 H, 4 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 9 R, 6 BB, 3 SB)
Delgado is a 18-year-old switch hitting middle infielder from Venezuela. He is listed at 5’8″/145 lbs. His season numbers so far are pretty impressive (66 AB, .318/.515/.591/1.106, 21 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 21 R, 25 BB, 13 K, 13 SB). He is hitting for decent pop for a guy his size, is obviously a threat on the bases, and walking twice what he strikes out. That will get my attention.

Honorable Mentions:
Jhonny Severino, SS/3B (Brewers NR)
DSL Brewers (3 G, .733, .733, 1.133, 1.867, 11 H, 4 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, SB)
Diowill Burgos, OF (Marlins #48)
FCL Marlins (4 G, .357/.400/.857/1.257, 5 H, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 4 RBI, R, BB)
Leonardo Balcazar, IF (Reds #43)
ACL Reds (4 G, .500/.571/1.250/1.821, 6 H, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, SB)
Kelvin Diaz, IF (Red Sox NR)
DSL BOS Blue (5 G, .348/.400/.783/1.183, 8 H, 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 2 SB)
Elisandro Alcantara, OF (Rockies NR)
DSL Rockies (4 G, .400/.526/1.067/1.593, 6 H, 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 7 R, 4 BB)

PITCHER: Luis De La Rosa, RHP (Red Sox #59)
FCL Red Sox (2 GS, 8.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 15 K)
De La Rosa was one of the three “players to be named later” that Boston acquired from the Royals in the three-team Andrew Benintendi trade. Selected by the Royals as a shortstop, the then 16-year-old converted to the mound during the 2019 season. He has started well this season in the Florida Complex League (14.1 IP, 5 H, 20 K, 1.26 ERA, 0.98 WHIP) and it will be interesting to see if the organization challenges him in A ball this year. As an 18-year-old new to pitching, he has got a long way to go in his development as a pitcher. When Chief Baseball officer Chain Bloom has described him as having “surprising pitchability, with an advanced changeup for his age” and uses terms “loose, projectable, and very athletic.” to describe a relatively unheard-of 18-year-old it at least should pique your interest in the young man.

Honorable Mentions:
Cesar Lares, LHP (Twins NR)
DSL Twins (1 GS, 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 10 K)
Wilkerman Munoz, RHP (Rangers NR)
DSL TEX Blue (1 GS, 5 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K)
Tomas Cleto, RHP (Twins NR)
FCL Twins (1 G, 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, SV)
Willian Suarez, RHP (Giants NR)
ACL Giants Black (1 G, 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K)

Jeremy Mahy

Jeremy covers the St Louis organization and contributes on Prospects of the Week for Prospects1500. Born and raised in the Midwest, he is a lifelong fan of the Birds on the Bat. You can follow him on Twitter @JMahyfam for more baseball content.

"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too." -Yogi Berra

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