Elvis Andrus continued his great second half with two hits on his birthday, Jeremy Hellickson continued to rack up the strikeouts and Nolan Reimold continued to do everything he can do to get out of Double-A.

TEXAS LEAGUE

Prospect Of The Day

With his youth, feel for the game and short, quick swing, Elvis Andrus’ (Rangers) second-half surge should come as little surprise. The Frisco shortstop hit .277/.335/.335 before the all-star break, but has surged since then, batting .322/.373/.421 after the break. Andrus celebrated his birthday yesterday, going 2-for-5 to bring his line up to .298/.353/.375 on the year. The game was Andrus’ 13th straight game with a hit, and his fourth straight game with at least two hits.

Prospect Nuggets

Allen Craig (Cardinals) returned to the Springfield lineup, but with 2008 first-round pick Brett Wallace now in Springfield as well, there’s only room for one of them to play third base. So Wallace stayed at third base, while Craig took his glove to left field. Craig went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk … Craig and the Cardinals went up against Tulsa righthander Brandon Hynick (Rockies), who stymied the Springfield offense. Hynick tossed seven shutout innings, allowed three hits and one walk and struck out four.

What To Watch For Today

Northwest Arkansas righthander Julio Pimentel (Royals) pitches tonight at Arkansas (Angels).

SOUTHERN LEAGUE

Prospect Of The Day

Jeremy Hellickson (Rays) had a rude introduction to Double-A in late June, when he gave up five home runs in his first outing. Since then the results have been much better, including yesterday when the Montgomery righthander allowed one run in five innings and struck out nine. Hellickson, 21, has struck out at least one batter per inning in his last six starts, and his K-BB mark is at 77-13 in 69 1/3 innings overall with the Biscuits.

Prospect Nuggets

The Dodgers made a bold move by skipping left fielder Andrew Lambo over high Class A and sending the 20-year-old straight from low Class A Great Lakes to Double-A Jacksonville. In his second game with the Suns, Lambo hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving the Suns a 6-4 lead that would end up being the final score … Lefthander Scott Elbert struck out three in a scoreless inning of relief for Jacksonville. Once one of the top pitching prospects in the minors, Elbert is making his return from labrum surgery in the Suns’ bullpen, where he has a 2.40 ERA, 46 strikeouts and 20 walks in 41 1/3 innings … Mobile righthander Brooks Brown (Diamondbacks) struck out seven and allowed just one run in four innings, though he did walk four batters.

What To Watch For Today

Righthander Brett Sinkbeil (Marlins) pitches for Carolina … Lefthander Donald Veal (Cubs) starts for Tennessee … Righthander Kris Medlen (Braves) gets the start for Mississippi

EASTERN LEAGUE

Prospect Of The Day

With nearly 200 games of quality production for Double-A Bowie, right fielder Nolan Reimold (Orioles) might be wondering what he has to do to get at least a shot at Triple-A. Yesterday Reimold went 2-for-5 and hit two home runs, giving him 22 on the year and a .283/.364/.489 batting line in 133 games this year.

Prospect Nuggets

Two of Reimold’s talented teammates had good games. Righthander Chris Tillman has been robotic lately, throwing gem after gem, includin yesterday’s six shutout innings with two walks and eight strikeouts. Tillman hasn’t given up a run in his last three starts, a stretch of 18 innings. Catcher Matt Wieters chipped in with some run support, going 1-for-3 with a pair of walks … Trenton second baseman Reggie Corona (Yankees) is a bit of a sleeper prospect. The 21-year-old has a hit in 12 of his last 13 games, including yesterday when he went 3-for-5 with two doubles as the Thunder’s leadoff hitter … Corona’s former teammate, Jose Tabata (Pirates), went 1-for-4 with a home run for Altoona. Tabata’s current teammate, second baseman Shelby Ford, went 3-for-4 with a double.

What To Watch For Today

The two teams with the best overall records in the EL square off tonight when Trenton travels to Bowie.