Lowe produces in spades in Rays' win
Brandon Lowe was a one-man wrecking crew on Saturday.The Rays' ninth-ranked prospect went 4-for-5 with a homer, a pair of doubles and six RBIs, accounting for all of the offense as Tampa Bay posted a 6-5 Grapefruit League triumph over the Blue Jays.
Brandon Lowe was a one-man wrecking crew on Saturday.
The Rays' ninth-ranked prospect went 4-for-5 with a homer, a pair of doubles and six RBIs, accounting for all of the offense as Tampa Bay posted a 6-5 Grapefruit League triumph over the Blue Jays.
After striking out on three pitches against Marcus Stroman in the first inning, the 24-year-old ripped the next pitch he saw from Blue Jays No. 28 prospectElvis Luciano into center field for an RBI knock that put the Rays on the board.
Lowe went after the first pitch again in his next at-bat in the fifth and laced a two-out, two-run double to left off southpaw Thomas Pannone that knotted the game at 3-3. Two innings later, the 2015 third-round Draft pick mashed a first-pitch fastball from 27th-ranked prospect Yennsy Diaz and deposited it over the wall in right for a three-run blast that put the Rays ahead for good.
With runners at first and second in the ninth, Lowe doubled again, this time off righty Zach Jackson, on another first pitch, but Roberto Alvarez was thrown out at the plate.
After that first at-bat against Stroman, the University of Maryland product collected four hits on four pitches.
Blue Jays No. 2 prospect Bo Bichette clubbed his first spring dinger to left-center on a first-pitch fastball from righty Curtis Taylor leading off the sixth.
In other spring action:
Pirates 8, Yankees 7
Ke'Bryan Hayes, MLB.com's No. 46 overall prospect, doubled, walked and scored twice for Pittsburgh. Fifth-ranked Pirates prospect Cole Tucker laced an RBI double in the seventh. Bucs No. 6 prospect Kevin Kramer singled in a run, 18th-ranked Pablo Reyes doubled and No. 15 Will Craig doubled and scored a run. Top Yankees prospect Estevan Florial collected a pair of doubles, drove in one run and scored another. Box score
Astros 8, Mets 7
Top Astros prospect Forrest Whitley picked up the win after throwing three innings out of the bullpen. MLB.com's No. 7 overall prospect surrendered a grand slam to catcher Wilson Ramos, but three of those runs were unearned. Whitley ended up allowing five runs -- one earned -- on three hits and two walks with a pair of punchouts. Astros No. 15 prospect Brandon Bielak recorded a six-out save, despite issuing three walks and an earned run. Kyle Tucker, the organization's second-ranked prospect, had an RBI single off Mets right-hander Drew Gagnon. No. 3 prospect Yordan Alvarez singled and scored on Tucker's knock. Ronnie Dawson also contributed a run-scoring single for Houston. Box score
Tigers 7, Braves 4
Kyle Muller was just one of the Braves prospects working out of the bullpen. The left-hander allowed a run on two hits and a walk while striking out one over 1 1/3 innings. Huascar Ynoa worked around a walk and a hit batter in a scoreless frame. Chad Sobotka and Jacob Webb each was tagged for two runs, but Tucker Davidson recorded four outs without allowing a run. Braves No. 4 prospect Cristian Pache came off the bench and yanked the only pitch he saw for a double, then scored. Ninth-ranked William Contreras singled in both of his at-bats and upped his Grapefruit League average to .600. For the Tigers, No. 23 prospect Matt Hall gave up one hit but struck out two in one inning of relief. Box score
Nationals 10, Twins 6
The Nationals battered Twins No. 8 prospect Lewis Thorpe for four runs on four hits and a walk over 1 2/3 frames. Tenth-ranked Nick Gordon singled and No. 24 prospect Ben Rortvedt added a base knock and scored a run. Nationals No. 2 prospect Carter Kieboom smacked an RBI double and scored on Adam Eaton's ground-rule double. Box score
Phillies 11, Rays 3 (ss)
No. 7 prospect JoJo Romero was solid out of the Phillies bullpen, locking down the final three innings without giving up a hit. The left-hander fanned three, walked two and lowered his spring ERA to 1.80. With the bases loaded in the eighth, ninth-ranked Phils prospect Mickey Moniak plated a run with an infield single. Box score
Cardinals 4, Marlins 3
Cardinals No. 16 prospect Randy Arozarena tripled, singled and scored twice. Jake Woodford, the organization's 26th-ranked prospect, got the win after yielding an unearned run on two walks with two strikeouts in two innings. Box score
Orioles 9, Red Sox 1
Second-ranked Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle collected a pair of hits and scored twice. No. 7 prospect Ryan McKenna walked and scored twice, while 16th-ranked D.J. Stewart doubled, singled and drove in two runs and No. 25 Drew Jackson went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. No. 17 Red Sox prospect Travis Lakins allowed a hit and a walk in an inning of scoreless relief. Box score
Rangers 0, Giants 0 (ss)
No. 29 prospect Jalen Miller accounted for half of the Giants' hits with a pair of singles but was caught stealing. Fifth-ranked Logan Webb delievered a clean ninth with a punchout and No. 30 Travis Bergen preceded him with a pair of strikeouts and a walk in a scoreless eighth. For the Rangers, 11th-ranked Taylor Hearn picked up a strikeout in a 1-2-3 inning out of the bullpen. Box score
Padres 7, Giants (ss) 6
Padres No. 15 prospect Hudson Potts delivered the decisive blow when he whacked a solo homer in the seventh inning off right-hander Derek Law. Top San Diego prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. and fourth-ranked Francisco Mejía each collected a hit and scored a run, while No. 17 Buddy Reed scored as a pinch-runner in the sixth. Giants No. 22 prospect Aramis Garcia blasted his first spring homer and walked. No. 11 Chris Shaw collected an extra-base hit for the second straight day, doubling in the seventh. Box score
White Sox 10, Rockies 6
No. 10 White Sox prospect Luis González reached twice on a single and a walk and scored a run in the win. Hit by a pitch in the eighth inning, ninth-ranked Blake Rutherford came around to score when José Rondón cranked a two-run homer. No. 25 Caleb Frare allowed a run on a hit and two walks while recording one out. Top Rockies prospect Brendan Rodgers and No. 15 Yonathan Daza both singled and scored a run. Ben Bowden (No. 17) fanned the only batter he faced in the fourth inning, while No. 12 Ryan Castellani allowed two runs on three hits in one frame. Box score
Royals 8, Mariners 0
Royals No. 16 prospect Richard Lovelady worked around a hit and walk in a scoreless ninth inning, lowering his Cactus League ERA to 2.25 Eighth-ranked Nicky Lopez reached on a throwing error in the sixth and scored two batters later on a single by Cheslor Cuthbert. For the Mariners, No. 15 prospect Dom Thompson-Williams singled in two at-bats, while seventh-ranked Kyle Lewis and No. 11 Braden Bishop walked. No. 27 Gerson Bautista walked one in a scoreless inning and ninth-ranked Erik Swanson gave up four runs -- one earned -- on a hit and two walks in recording two outs. Box score
Brewers 7, Cubs 4
Brewers No. 8 prospect Lucas Erceg took right-hander Christian Bergman deep to right field for a solo homer in the seventh inning. Tyrone Taylor (29th) laced a pair of doubles to boost his spring slash line to .389/.421/.556. Cubs No. 20 prospect Trent Giambrone whacked a solo homer in the sixth off right-hander Aaron Wilkerson and is batting .467 with a 1.000 slugging percentage this spring. Box score
Diamondbacks 6, Dodgers 5
Making his second Cactus League appearance, Dodgers No. 3 prospect Dustin May threw two innings of scoreless relief. The right-hander allowed two hits and a walk and hasn't given up a run over three innings in his first big-league Spring Training. Dodgers No. 20 prospect Omar Estevez smacked a double in two at-bats. D-backs No. 16 prospect Emilio Vargas -- the reigning California League Pitcher of the Year -- recorded the win, despite allowing one run on three hits with a pair of strikeouts in two innings. No. 26 prospect Domingo Leyba clubbed a solo homer in the first for Arizona. Box score
Angels 11, Reds 2
Top Angels prospect Jo Adell showed off his hit tool with a pair of doubles to bring his Cactus League average to .308. In the fifth, he smacked his second two-bagger of the game to left to plate Taylor Ward. Seventh-ranked Luis Rengifo went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while No. 21 Jared Walsh doubled, walked and scored twice. Reds No. 6 prospect Tyler Stephenson drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and second-ranked Taylor Trammell walked. Box score
Royals' Zobac talks spring, two-way past on podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Space Potatoes? Hooch Pooches? Check out these new alternate identities
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Paying homage to Negro Leagues, this team is MiLB's "hoppinest"
Nicknamed “baseball’s most hoppinest team” by the local newspaper coverage at the time, the Fredericksburg Frogs were one of the Chesapeake Bay area’s more successful Negro League teams in the 1920s, standing out amid a long lineage of segregated Black teams that played in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia, between the 1880s
The year after Jackie, Ritchey integrated PCL
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2018. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
Each team's top power hitting prospect for '25
The home run is the most efficient event in sports. It’s the maximum outcome a single batter can achieve, and all it takes is one swing. One very powerful, well-timed, well-coordinated swing. It’s why power is such an important tool in prospect development and evaluation. You can put the ball
Here are the 10 best potential prospect matchups at Spring Breakout
Spring Breakout will soon offer the opportunity for the majority of baseball's top prospects to face off against each other for the second straight year. Fearsome sluggers against hard-throwing pitchers. Speedy baserunners against cannon-armed catchers. Well-rounded shortstops battling to prove who should be ranked higher. Full rosters for all 30
10 prospects at Spring Training who are lighting up Statcast
One of the best parts of Spring Training every year is getting to see the top prospects in baseball. A lot of the time, it's the first look fans get at MLB's future stars. But we also know a lot more about those prospects going into Spring Training than we
Questions plague Peeples' trailblazing story
A version of this story previously appeared on MiLB.com in 2007. We present it again as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
Prospects to watch this spring -- one for each team
Spring may not have arrived quite yet, but Spring Training has! Players have reported to camp and exhibition games kick off Thursday with the Cubs visiting the Dodgers in Glendale, Ariz.
8 of the best team matchups in Spring Breakout
After Spring Breakout's dynamic debut last year, the prospect showcase event returns in full force for 2025. All 30 Major League teams will field squads of top prospects to face off in 16 games from March 13-16 -- the Cubs and Nationals will play twice since there's an odd number
Fowler: A 19th-century baseball pioneer
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2006. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
Everything you need to know about prospects and Spring Training
This story was excerpted from MLB Pipeline's newsletter. Subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Arkansas-based Mariners affiliate to honor legacy of the Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine sounds like it could be the name of a baseball team playing in Arkansas' capital city, and for three nights during the 2025 season, it will be. The story behind the name transcends baseball, however. From Aug. 21-23, the Arkansas Travelers -- Seattle's Double-A affiliate --
MiLB podcast breaks down Spring Training storylines
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Leaf Peepers? Thunder Chickens?! Coming to the Minors this year
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Dodgers greats Newcombe and Campanella made history as Minors teammates
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2006. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
15 prospects primed for a bounceback season from injury
A lot of players will be getting a fresh start heading into the 2025 season. Prospects who missed significant time due to injury have had upwards of six months between regular-season games to return to health. Now they'll be looking to re-establish their value and maybe even reach new heights.
Check out the newest Minor League team logos for 2025
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Here are 18 prospects who also starred on the gridiron
The two-time defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs are set to meet the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, and plenty of baseball prospects will be keeping a close eye. After all, many current Minor Leaguers played football at a high level before committing fully to the diamond. No, there aren't any
Did you know the Superdome was once home to a Minor League team?
On Sunday, one of the world’s most-watched sporting events will take place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Believe it or not, decades before Super Bowl LIX came to town, the same building was home to a Minor League Baseball team for one season. The 1977 Triple-A New Orleans Pelicans
How a Black pitcher's brief PCL stint in 1916 generated a historic card
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2010. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers.
The Show Before the Show: Episode 489
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minors legend Jones still holds batting record
A version of this story originally appeared on MiLB.com in 2008. We present it here once more as Minor League Baseball celebrates Black History Month with stories of Black baseball pioneers. Grover "Deacon" Jones spent more than a half-century in baseball, serving the game at almost every level and in
Hooks have a new look -- and more -- on the line for 20th season
In advance of a milestone season at Whataburger Field, the Corpus Christi Hooks are making a change. The Houston Astros' Double-A affiliate unveiled new logos and uniforms on Friday evening, marking the first time they have significantly altered their look since debuting in 2005. According to Hooks general manager Brady