Prospect Hot Sheet — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

This installment of the Prospect Hot Sheet considers what minor league players did from July 8-13. Number in parentheses indicates players’ ages.

Remember, this simply recognizes what the hottest prospects in the minors did in the past week—it’s not a re-ranking of the Baseball America Top 100 Prospects.

1. Fernando Tatis, SS, Padres (18)
Low Class A Fort Wayne (Midwest)

Few things are more exciting than when a young, talented player suddenly catches up to and quickly passes the level he’s at. Tatis was holding his own in the Midwest League in a month ago, but now he’s putting on a pretty good impression of Bo Bichette. Tatis is hitting .405/.542/1.000 this month with four home runs and four triples. Tatis has arguably the highest ceiling of any hitter in a deep Padres system, and is showing increasing promise of eventually reaching it.

AVG	OBP	SLG	XBH	BB	SB
.300	.500	1.000	6	8	5

2. Michel Baez, RHP, Padres (21)
Low Class A Fort Wayne (Midwest)

Speaking of Padres and Fort Wayne, it can be argued that Tatis is the second-hottest TinCap right now. Baez showed up from the AZL Padres and immediately became one of the most talented pitchers in the league. Baez is not only dominating, he’s doing it while sitting 95-97 mph and touching 99. Hitters beware.

ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
0.00	6	1	0	1	7

3. Bryse Wilson, RHP, Braves (19)
Low Class A Rome (South Atlantic)

Wilson may not be as famous as his fellow Rome rotation mates, but the 2016 fourth-round pick has plus stuff and on the right night can be dominant. His complete-game shutout this week is only the sixth in the Sally League this season.

ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
0.00	9	5	0	0	7

4. Lucas Giolito, RHP, White Sox (22)
Triple-A Charlotte (International)

Giolito’s season has been a fascinating combination of ups and downs with more plot twists than anything Shonda Rhimes has created. He’s thrown a no-hitter and this week he spun a seven-inning scoreless two hitter. But in his two previous starts he gave up six home runs, continuing his problems with giving up hard contact.

ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
0.00	7	2	0	2	10

5. Ronald Acuna, OF, Braves (19)
Double-A Mississippi (Southern)/Triple-A Gwinnett (International)

Acuna’s had quite the week. He began the week by going 4-for-5 against Jacksonville, went to the Futures Game and recorded a higher exit velocity on a ball he hit than any Braves big leaguer has all season (and also recorded the three hardest throws from the outfield). Upon returning, Acuna was promoted to Triple-A, where he went 3-for-5 with a home run in his Gwinnett debut.

AVG	OBP	SLG	XBH	BB	SB
.500	.560	1.000	5	3	1

6. Chris Flexen, RHP, Mets (23)
Double-A Binghamton (Eastern)

Since Flexen was promoted to Double-A, all he’s done is allow one run or less in four of his first six starts while posting a 43-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. On the big league side, this season has been a disaster for the Mets. On the minor league side, it’s been relatively promising.

ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
1.13	8	1	1	1	9

7. Drew Waters, OF, Braves (18)
Rookie-level GCL Braves (Gulf Coast)

The Gulf Coast League traditionally is a brutal test for first-year draftees, as the combination of increased competition and oppressive humidity slows bats and lowers batting averages. Waters has had no such issues. After going 0-for-3 in his debut, the Braves’ second-round pick this year has hits in 10 of his last 11 games.

AVG	OBP	SLG	XBH	BB	SB
.643	.737	1.000	3	4	1

8. Royce Lewis, SS, Twins (18)
Rookie-level GCL Twins (Gulf Coast)

The No. 1 overall pick has his seven multi-hit games in only 13 games overall after his latest big week. In face, Lewis has played well enough that his GCL manager Ramon Borrego told BA correspondent Mike Berardino that Lewis should jump straight to the low Class A Midwest League.

AVG	OBP	SLG	XBH	BB	SB
.400	.478	.650	3	3	4

9. Evan White, 1B, Mariners (21)
Short-season Everett (Northwest)

White’s pro debut got off to a slow start, as he came into the week hitting .130. But White more than doubled his batting average this week as he started to show the power and bat-to-ball skills that impressed scouts when he was at Kentucky.

AVG	OBP	SLG	XBH	BB	SB
.417	.464	.792	4	3	1

10. Matt Hall, LHP, Tigers (23)
High Class A Lakeland (Florida State)

Hall dominated at Missouri State thanks to a devastating curveball and mid-to-high 80s fastball. He still doesn’t throw hard, but Hall is putting up a long run of zeros right now. Hall gave up eight runs to Palm Beach on May 23. In seven starts since, he’s given up zero earned runs and is currently working on a 30.1 inning scoreless streak.

ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
0.00	7	2	0	0	5

11. Cornelius Randolph, OF, Phillies (20)
High Class A Clearwater (Florida State)

The first three months of Randolph’s season fit right in line with last year. He showed an ability to work counts, but didn’t really drive the ball. This month, he’s doing much of the same, but while hitting .350 instead of .250. Those extra 100 points of batting average (and on-base percentage and slugging percentage) make a big difference.

AVG	OBP	SLG	XBH	BB	SB
.375	.524	438	1	5	0

12. Spencer Adams, RHP, White Sox (21)
Double-A Birmingham (Southern)

Coming into 2016, Adams ranked as the White Sox’s No. 4 prospect. Coming into this season, he ranked ninth. Coming into next year, he may rank 20th. Let the record show that this is not any indication that Adams is not progressing nicely. It’s just an artifact of a farm system that keeps getting better and better because of trades.

ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
1.23	7.1	2	0	2	12

13. Brent Rooker, OF, Twins (22)
Rookie-level Elizabethton (Appalachian)

If Royce Lewis seems unchallenged by GCL pitchers, consider how bored Rooker has to be by the best the Appalachian League can offer. He’s averaging a home run every three games and slugging .600, making the case to jump to the Midwest League and Cedar Rapids.

AVG	OBP	SLG	XBH	BB	SB
.409	.536	.773	4	6	2

14. Jorge Ona, OF, Padres (20)
Low Class A Fort Wayne (Midwest)

Why yes, it was an excellent week for the Fort Wayne TinCaps. They went 5-1 this week, which doesn’t seem all that surprising when you consider the weeks Tatis, Baez and Ona had. Ona has hit .300 or better in three of his four months in the Midwest League, and so far July is his best yet.

AVG	OBP	SLG	XBH	BB	SB
.435	.519	.696	4	4	0

15. Trent Clark, OF, Carolina (20)
High Class A Carolina (Carolina)

Even when he was struggling earlier this season, Clark always got on base. He draws his walks and works counts. But what’s encouraging about this month is the 2015 first-round pick is finally driving the ball as well, most notably with his three doubles, triple and home run last week.

AVG	OBP	SLG	XBH	BB	SB
.292	.433	.625	5	6	1

16. Isaac Paredes, SS, Cubs (18)
Low Class A South Bend (Midwest)

One of the youngest players in the Midwest League, Paredes managed to hold his own in the first half of the season, but he’s ramped it up to a new level over the past month. He’s hit five home runs since June 9, showing the power the Cubs expect to grow as he matures.

AVG	OBP	SLG	XBH	BB	SB
.400	.516	.720	4	3	0

17. Daz Cameron, OF, Astros (20)
Low Class A Quad Cities (Midwest)

Cameron’s career so far has had plenty of struggles. He battling injuries and a demotion last year and this year he was hitting .189/.264/.330 on June 9. So it’s worth noting how much he’s turned it around since. He’s hitting .395 since July 1 and has raised his OPS 160 points in the past month.

AVG	OBP	SLG	XBH	BB	SB
.550	.609	.950	5	3	2

18. Adbert Alzolay, RHP, Cubs (22)
Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

If Spencer Adams keeps sliding down the White Sox’s prospect list because of trades, Alzolay is on an express elevator up the Cubs list. A lot of it is his doing as he’s shown stuff and feel this year, but his soon to be updated midseason ranking has also risen a lot is also because of trades and graduations.

ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
0.00	5	2	0	1	10

19. Nick Neidert, RHP, Mariners (20)
High Class A Modesto (California)

Neidert attacks hitters because he can locate his fastball better than the average high Class A pitcher, which explains how he’s handled the California League with very few hiccups. He’s worked five or more innings in his last 17 starts.

ERA	IP	H	HR	BB	SO
1.80	5	5	1	0	8

20. Jake Rogers, C, Astros (22)
High Class A Buies Creek (Carolina)

Rogers is best known for his defense, which is what makes a week like the one he just had notable. He’s a good enough defender that Rogers will have a big league career with a pretty modest offensive contribution. With four home runs this week, his impact for Buies Creek this week has been well beyond modest.

AVG	OBP	SLG	XBH	BB	SB
.250	.348	.850	4	3	0

HELIUM

Tristan Gray, 2B, Pirates (21)
Short-season West Virginia (New York-Penn)

Gray played a little bit of everywhere at Rice because of his versatility and athleticism. The Pirates have let him focus on second base, his best defensive position, and it’s paid off so far. Gray is hitting for average and power. As a lefty-hitting second baseman with a .386/.462/.636 slash line, he’s looking like a bargain as a 13th-round pick.