BA Newsletter: Get Analysis, Rankings Delivered To Your Inbox!

Baseball America Prospect Report — Sept. 24, 2020

Sam Huff (Ronald Martinez/Getty) 1272183399
Sam Huff (Ronald Martinez/Getty)

Arizona Diamondbacks

—Top prospect Daulton Varsho crushed an RBI triple off the bat at 99.4 mph in the team’s win over the Rangers. The 24-year-old has tripled twice this season to go along with a .165 average, three home runs and eight RBIs.

—In just his seventh career big league game, Wyatt Mathisen checked off a major milestone by hitting his first home run, and then followed it up with another homer later in the game. The 26-year-old third baseman went 2-for-4 with three RBIs to raise his average to .182 in 22 at-bats.

Baltimore Orioles

—Even on a night when his team gets thwacked, Ryan Mountcastle keeps on hitting. The Orioles’ sweet-swinging rookie added three more hits to his ledger on Wednesday night and boosted his batting average to .330.

—Lefty Bruce Zimmermann spun four innings of one-run ball out of the bullpen with five strikeouts and a walk. The outing was in relief of starter and fellow rookie Dean Kremer, who turned in the first clunker of his young career with seven earned runs in 2.2 innings against the Red Sox.

Chicago White Sox

—First-rounder Garrett Crochet has quickly turned into an explosive weapon out of Chicago’s bullpen. The 21-year-old lefty struck out two more batters in a scoreless inning, marking the fourth consecutive scoreless appearance to start his professional career. Crochet mostly relied on his plus-plus fastball that averaged 99.0 mph for three swings and misses, while mixing in his plus slider twice.

—Another night, another hit for No. 4 prospect Nick Madrigal. Madrigal extended his hit streak to seven games with a 1-for-4 effort, bringing his slash line to .344/.378/.376.

Cleveland Indians

—Top 100 prospect Triston McKenzie made his first big league appearance out of the bullpen, striking out three and allowing a hit in two scoreless innings. The 23-year-old righthander is 2-1, 3.45 and has struck out 39 in just 31.1 innings of work.

Colorado Rockies

Ryan Castellani cruised through four innings before breaking down in the fifth against the Giants. The 24-year-old righty allowed four runs on five hits and five walks while striking out one in 4.2 innings. Castellani has struggled to throw strikes this season, with more walks (26) than strikeouts (25).

Detroit Tigers

—Top pitching prospect Casey Mize struggled en route to his third loss, allowing six runs on five hits and two walks in 4.2 innings while striking out four. The 23-year-old righthander is 0-3, 6.99 with 26 strikeouts and 13 walks in 28.1 innings.

—No. 6 prospect Isaac Paredes extended his hit streak to nine games and collected his second three-hit game of his big league career. The 21-year-old third baseman is hitting .230 with a home run and six RBIs.

—No. 13 prospect Willi Castro tallied two hits, including his fourth double of the season. Castro raised his average to .339 in what was his 12th multi-hit game of 2020.

Los Angeles Angels

Patrick Sandoval earned his first big league win, albeit in a different way than he might have imagined. The 23-year-old lefty replaced Jaime Barria with no outs and a man on second to start the third inning and pitched three scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing two hits to earn the victory.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Edwin Rios connected on his sixth home run, a solo shot, in the eighth inning against the A's. The 26-year-old corner infielder has 14 RBIs in 28 games.

Miami Marlins

—Righthander Sixto Sanchez was roughed up for the second straight start, allowing four runs (all earned) on four hits while walking four and striking out two. After allowing two earned runs in his first 29 innings, Sanchez has allowed nine over his last seven innings.

—Righthander Nick Neidert pitched scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh in relief of Sanchez. For the season, Neidert, who came over from the Mariners in the Dee Strange-Gordon trade, has whiffed three in 6.1 innings this year.

Shohei Ohtani Photo By Mary Decicco WBCI MLB Photos Via Getty Images

Podcast: World Baseball Classic USA-Japan Championship Game Preview

J.J. Cooper, Kyle Glaser and Geoff Pontes break down the wild WBC semifinal between Japan and Mexico and preview the championship game.

New York Mets

—Infielder Andres Gimenez swatted his third home run of the season in the Mets’ loss to the Rays. Gimenez has been a pleasant addition all season long and has provided contributions on both sides of the ball. He’s added seven stolen bases and shown excellent speed on the bases as well.

Philadelphia Phillies

—Rookie righthander Connor Brogdon pitched a scoreless ninth inning in his team’s walloping of the Nationals on Wednesday. For the season, Brogdon, the team’s 10th-rounder in 2017, is 1-0, 4.82 with 11 strikeouts over 9.1 innings.

—Former No. 1 overall pick Mickey Moniak pinch-hit for Andrew McCutchen and collected a single. He is 3-for-14 to start his career.

Pittsburgh Pirates

—No. 2 prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes crushed his fourth home run, a solo shot, at 106.9 mph off the bat in the team’s win over the Cubs. The 23-year-old third baseman, who went 2-for-4, has 10 extra-base hits in 20 games to go with a .623 slugging percentage.

San Diego Padres

Jake Cronenworth added to his impressive rookie campaign with another hit to raise his average to .304. The 26-year-old second baseman has four home runs, 20 RBIs and has scored 25 runs as a spark plug for one of the best lineups in baseball.

San Francisco Giants

Mauricio Dubon hit his third home run, a three-run shot, in the team's win over the Rockies. The 26-year-old has seven extra-base hits and 18 RBIs on the season.

Joey Bart collected his second double of his big league career and went 1-for-4 on the night with an RBI.

Seattle Mariners

—AL Rookie of the Year frontrunner Kyle Lewis singled twice and stole a base in four at-bats in the team’s win over the Astros. The 25-year-old outfielder has struggled in his last 15 games, but is still hitting .277/.378/.462 with 11 home runs, 28 RBIs and four stolen bases.

Tampa Bay Rays

—Outfielder Randy Arozarena, whom the Rays acquired in the offseason as part of the deal for lefty pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore, clubbed two home runs in a win that clinched the AL East for Tampa Bay. Arozarena’s first blast was particularly critical because it broke what had been a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning. His second longball gave the Rays a six-run cushion.

Texas Rangers

—No. 2 prospect Sam Huff doubled twice in four at-bats, including a fourth-inning two-bagger that exited the bat at 109.9 mph, to extend his hit streak to four games. The 22-year-old catcher, who scored once, is 7-for-24 with a home run to start his big league career.

—No. 3 prospect Leody Taveras collected two hits in four at-bats—a double and a single—to raise his average to .221 in 104 at-bats. The speedy 22-year-old outfielder has six stolen bases and has scored 17 runs.

Anderson Tejeda drove in his eighth run of the season on an RBI single in the fourth inning. Tejeda is hitting .250 with three home runs in 68 at-bats.

HITTERS

TEAMCLASSPLAYERABRHBIAVGNOTES
ARIMAJVarsho, Daulton CF4111.1653B (2)
BALMAJHays, Austin RF4131.262HR (3)
BALMAJMountcastle, Ryan 1B4030.343
BALMAJUrias, Ramon SS4010.308
BOSMAJDalbec, Bobby 1B4100.265
CHCMAJHoerner, Nico PR0000.240
COLMAJFuentes, Josh 1B4000.320
COLMAJHilliard, Sam LF4000.228
CWSMAJMadrigal, Nick 2B4010.337
CWSMAJRobert, Luis CF4000.215
DETMAJCameron, Daz RF4010.163
DETMAJCastro, Willi SS5220.3242B (4)
DETMAJParedes, Isaac 3B4230.238
KCMAJHeath, Nick LF0000.154
KCMAJOlivares, Edward RF0000.291
LAAMAJWalsh, Jared 1B5000.291
LADMAJRios, Edwin 3B1111.236HR (6)
MINMAJJeffers, Ryan C3020.300
NYMMAJGimenez, Andres SS4111.271HR (3)
OAKMAJHeim, Jonah C4000.235
PHIMAJBohm, Alec 3B-1B6120.353
PHIMAJMoniak, Mickey PH-LF1010.214
PITMAJHayes, Ke'Bryan 3B4121.338HR (3)
PITMAJOliva, Jared CF3000.000
SDMAJCronenworth, Jake SS3010.315BB (18)
SEAMAJBishop, Braden LF1000.125
SEAMAJLewis, Kyle CF4120.281SB (4)
SEAMAJWhite, Evan 1B4000.170
SFMAJBart, Joey C4110.2423B (2)
SFMAJDubon, Mauricio CF3113.275HR (3), BB (14)
STLMAJCarlson, Dylan LF-RF3000.191BB (6)
STLMAJWoodford, Jake P0000--
TBMAJArozarena, Randy LF5333.2782 HR (7)
TBMAJTsutsugo, Yoshitomo DH4100.185BB (23)
TEXMAJApostel, Sherten 1B3000.100BB (1)
TEXMAJHuff, Sam C4120.2922 2B (3)
TEXMAJSolak, Nick 2B3100.262BB (17)
TEXMAJTaveras, Leody CF4120.2182B (5)
TEXMAJTejeda, Anderson SS4011.250CS (1)
WASMAJGarcia, Luis SS3001.297


PITCHERS

TEAMCLASSPLAYERIPHRERBBKERANOTES
BALMAJKremer, Dean2.2777324.82L (1-1)
BALMAJZimmermann, Bruce4211157.71
CLEMAJKarinchak, James1111022.52
CLEMAJMcKenzie, Triston2100033.45
COLMAJCastellani, Ryan4.2544515.82L (1-4)
COLMAJDoyle, Tommy14220118.00
CWSMAJHeuer, Codi1000111.54
DETMAJMize, Casey4.2566246.99L (0-3)
LAAMAJSandoval, Patrick3200055.56W (1-4)
LADMAJGraterol, Brusdar1000003.00
MIAMAJNeidert, Nick2100115.40
MIAMAJSanchez, Sixto3444423.46
MINMAJAlcala, Jorge1100102.78
PHIMAJBrogdon, Connor1000004.82
SDMAJMorejon, Adrian1344214.86L (2-2)
SEAMAJMisiewicz, Anthony0.2000014.26
SFMAJWebb, Logan5.1722115.28W (3-4)
STLMAJElledge, Seth1433124.63
STLMAJWhitley, Kodi1111012.45
STLMAJWoodford, Jake1000025.57
TBMAJFairbanks, Peter1100022.36
TEXMAJEvans, DeMarcus1000023.00
TEXMAJHernandez, Jonathan1000022.51
of Free Stories Remaining