Brujan delivers big night for Stone Crabs
When thinking of the best way to describe Vidal Brujan's ascendance in the Florida State League, Class A Advanced Charlotte hitting coach Joe Szekely said with a wry laugh that the young hitter has become "a one-man wrecking crew" in his short tenure.The No. 12 Rays prospect went out of
When thinking of the best way to describe Vidal Brujan's ascendance in the Florida State League, Class A Advanced Charlotte hitting coach Joe Szekely said with a wry laugh that the young hitter has become "a one-man wrecking crew" in his short tenure.
The No. 12 Rays prospect went out of his way to prove that again Wednesday.
Brujan smashed two homers on his way to a career-high five RBIs, leading Class A Advanced Charlotte to an 8-3 victory over Bradenton at LECOM Park. He also singled, walked twice, stole three bases and scored four runs in his 10th multi-hit effort on the circuit.
"With the two home runs, five RBIs, three stolen bases, heck, that's a good week," the hitting coach said. "He came up [to the Florida State League] and he was good from the get-go. I'm just staying out of his way and watching him play. He's been electric and he's done everything we could possibly imagine. He's a tremendous sparkplug, solid at both sides of the plate and creates havoc on the basepaths as well."
After batting.313 with an .822 OPS in 95 games with Class A Bowling Green, the 20-year-old earned a promotion to Charlotte on Aug. 6. He's hit safely in 12 of the 15 games he's played with the Stone Crabs, batting .436 overall -- the 12th-best mark in the Minors over the span. He's also kept a patient approach, drawing 13 walks while whiffing five times.
Gameday box score
That keen eye and advanced approach has allowed him to produce gaudy numbers from both sides of the dish -- he's hit .556 as a right-handed batter and .413 from the left side. Szekely said the switch-hitter's success stems from his simple but effective preparation.
"He's just locked in right now and he's seeing the ball well and he's not trying to do too much," the hitting coach said. "He's just getting the barrel to the ball and he's making a lot of stuff happen. ... He just comes in, does his routine, gets some tee work done, gets some flips and keeps himself sharp and fresh. Especially this late in the year, you want to get your work done and get out because a lot of these guys have played a lot of games and he's one of them."
Leading off against the Marauders, Brujan worked a free pass after an eight-pitch battle with starter Pedro Vasquez. With two outs, the second baseman swiped second base before scoring on Jake Fraley's double to right field.
Two frames later, Brujan connected on a 1-0 pitch from Vasquez (0-3) and sent it over the right-field wall for a two-run dinger. He followed that up with a first-pitch single to left in the fifth and stole his second base of the night.
Facing reliever Ronny Agustin in the seventh, Brujan drew another walk and took second on his third steal of the game and 10th overall with Charlotte. The native of the Dominican Republic wasted no time in the ninth, cracking a first-pitch fastball from Blake Cederlind over the wall in right for a three-run homer. It capped off a night in which Brujan amassed a career-best nine total bases.
"He's strong for a smaller guy," Szekely said of the 5-foot-8 infielder. "I think that surprises some of the guys too, especially the second home run tonight went a long, long way. Right now, I don't know if you can do much more than he is offensively, defensively and on the bases. ... He was facing [Cederlind], who was going to come at him throwing 100 mph. I'm sure [Brujan] was thinking, 'I'm going to get ready and see it,' and he did."
On the mound, right-hander Brian Shaffer (2-1) allowed three runs -- one earned -- on five hits and a walk over six innings. Righty Jhonleider Salinas yielded two hits and a walk over three scoreless frames to earn his first save with Charlotte.
Pirates No. 22 prospectJared Oliva doubled and finished with three hits and a run scored for the Marauders.
Vasquez was charged with five runs -- four earned -- on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings.
Andrew Battifarano is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter, @AndrewAtBatt.
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
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.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
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
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB 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
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring