Baseball America Prospect Report—May 17, 2021, Presented By OOTP 22

Out Of The Park Baseball 22 is the world's best baseball strategy game. Do you have what it takes to put together a World Series-winning organization? Check it out today! Available on PC and Mac!

Mick Abel, RHP, Low A Clearwater (Phillies) — After a rough pro debut and a less than impressive second outing, Abel’s third outing was easily the best of his so far very short pro career. Abel allowed one run in 2.1 innings (he’s been limited to roughly 50-55 pitches so far). Abel is still having some issues with strike-throwing. He walked two and threw one wild pitch as he threw 28 strikes in 51 pitches. He did show premium stuff—he touched 99 mph and sat 94-96 mph.

Jasiah Dixon, LF, Low A Bradenton (Pirates) — Dixon stole two bases on Sunday to give him 10 in 10 tries this year. He’s second in the minors in steals, one behind Jupiter’s Nasim Nunez. A late-round (23rd round) pick out of powerhouse Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High in 2019, Dixon's game is all about using his speed. He’s only hitting .216 so far this year, but thanks to walks he’s posting a more robust .356 on-base percentage.

Jhailyn Ortiz, RF, High A Jersey Shore (Phillies) — Ortiz didn’t have a remarkable day but he did have an eventful one. To start with, Ortiz was hit by not one but two pitches. On the negative side of the ledger, he had a fielding error in right field. But on the positive side, he threw out two runners at first.

Want the prospect report delivered to your inbox every morning? Sign up here for free!

Orlando Arcia, SS, Triple-A Gwinnett (Braves) — His days as a prospect are long-since expired, but it’s worth paying attention to what Arcia is doing with the Braves’ Triple-A club. Arcia was traded to Atlanta for RHPs Patrick Weigel and Chad Sobotka last month. Seeing Arcia, a career .244/.293/.364 MLB hitter, hitting three hole for Gwinnett seems odd. But he’s swinging the bat with the confidence of a middle of the order power hitter. He walked off Louisville on Sunday with a home run of Shane Carle to break a 4-4 tie. Five of Arcia’s seven home runs came at Charlotte, which is a ballpark that usually plays small, but Arcia’s home runs there were not wall-scrapers. What’s notable is Arcia is swinging the bat like someone who expects to do damage. Six of his seven home runs have come on fastballs, and when he gets a fastball up in the zone (where most pitchers like to live these days), Arcia is clearing the fence. The moat between Triple-A and the majors is a deep and wide one, but Arcia is showing that confidence can be a valuable asset for a hitter. He’s now hitting .385/.450/.856 for Gwinnett and seven home runs leads the minors.

Scott Schebler, RF, Triple-A Salt Lake (Angels) — Forgive the back-to-back non-prospect intrusions here on the Baseball America Prospect Report, but some feats have to be honored and acknowledged. Schebler hit three home runs for Salt Lake on Sunday helping to quickly turn around what had been a slow start to his Triple-A season.

Spencer Howard, RHP, Triple-A Lehigh Valley (Phillies) — The Phillies have said they are going to try to keep Howard’s innings pitched this year to a moderate level. The Phillies won’t say what that level exactly is, but after Howard’s battles with shoulder soreness in past seasons, it’s definitely less than that of a full-time starting pitcher. So for now, Howard has yo-yo’d back and forth between Philadelphia and Triple-A. When he’s pitched in the majors so far this year, it’s gone poorly (two bad relief outings and one good one). In the minors, it’s gone much better so far. Howard struck out eight of the 16 batters he faced. The lone run he gave up in four innings of work was a fourth-inning home run to Chris Gittens.

Ethan Elliott, RHP, High A Fort Wayne (Padres) — When a pitcher faces a team twice in a week, the old adage is that the hitters have the advantage, especially if the pitcher had the hitters number the first time. After all, familiarity generally helps hitters adjust to pitchers. Don’t tell that to Elliott. Facing Lake County for the second time in six days, Elliott struck out 13 of the 18 batters he faced. Lake County’s lone baserunner against Elliott came on an Austen Wade single in the third inning. Elliott then picked Wade off first, which meant he faced the minimum in six innings of work. Elliott, a 10th-round pick of the Padres in 2019, is old for the level as he just turned 24, but he hadn’t pitched in full season ball before this season, so High-A is a very reasonable assignment.

Adley Rutschman, C, Double-A Bowie (Orioles) — Rutschman’s third home run of the season was a rather heroic one, as it came with one on and Bowie trailing by three in the bottom of the ninth. Rutschman’s homer cut the lead to one. The tying run scored later in the inning on a passed ball. In the 10th, Rutschman got another chance to be the hero, but he ended up being the lone Bowie batter of the inning to be retired. Three walks (one of which scored a run thanks to the extra-inning runner on second) and a bases-clearing J.C. Escara double gave Bowie a 13-12 win over Reading.

Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, Double-A New Hampshire (Blue Jays) — Woods Richardson threw the first five innings of a combined shutout of Somerset. Although the results were his best of the season, this was actually Woods Richardson’s wildest outing of an excellent start to the year. He gave up four walks in addition to four hits while striking out seven.

Gavin Sheets, 1B, Triple-A Charlotte (White Sox) — Sheets hit his first home run since Opening Day in the third inning of Sunday’s game, then added a second in the eighth inning. He’s now hitting .367/.415/.633.

C.J. Alexander, 3B, Double-A Mississippi (Braves) — It’s been a rough start to the season for Alexander, but Sunday will help put a 4-for-31 start behind him. Alexander homered twice for Mississippi, contributing two of the M-Braves five home runs. That wasn’t nearly enough to get a win, as Biloxi took advantage of 12 walks to win 14-10.

Jose Miranda, 3B, Double-A Wichita (Twins) — Miranda came into spring training in midseason form (helped in part by his playing in the Puerto Rican winter league) and in excellent shape. It’s paid off with a fast start. Miranda hit his fourth home run of the two-week old season on Sunday and is now hitting .370/.400/.652.

C.J. Abrams, 2B, Double-A San Antonio (Padres) — Abrams hit his second home run of the season and his second on a Sunday this year.

Ronny Mauricio, SS, High A Brooklyn (Mets) — Mauricio has gotten off to a blazing start to the season. He’s gotten a hit in all nine games he’s played this year. Sunday was his second three-hit game of the young season. He hit his fourth home run which puts him in a tie for third in the league (High-A East).

Jay Groome, LHP, High A Salem (Red Sox) — This was Groome’s best start of the season so far. That’s the good news. Groome gave up a three-run home run to Luke Ritter and allowed four runs (three earned) overall. So far this year, Groome has been way too hittable. Opponents are currently hitting .405 against the lefty and slugging over .700.

Michael Busch, 2B, Double-A Tulsa (Dodgers) — Busch had his best day of the young season with his first three-hit day (3-for-6) and his third home run of the week.

Luis Matos, CF, Low A San Jose (Giants) — Matos had his fifth straight multi-hit game thanks for a 2-for-5 day with a double.

Wander Franco, 3B, Triple-A Durham (Rays) — Franco went 4-for-5 for Durham with a double and three singles on Sunday. It was the first four hit game of the season for the 20-year-old and the third of his still young pro career (he also has one additional five-hit game on his resume).

HITTERS

PITCHERS

To Win A World Series, The Orioles Are Going To Have To Spend

If recent history is any indication, the Orioles are going to have to spend for their rebuild to result in a World Series title.