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Around the Minors: The week of Aug. 9

Sights and sounds from action across Minor League Baseball
August 16, 2021

Aug. 15

Aug. 15

Three ways from Sunday
Blue Jays infield prospect Sebastian Espino, acquired on waivers from the Mets in December, blasted his way into history with a career night for the High-A Canadians. The 21-year-old smacked a two-run shot to right-center in the fourth against the AquaSox. He went to right-center again on a solo dinger in the seventh and capped the feat with his seventh of the season to center in the eighth.

Movin' on up!
Now just one step away from The Show, Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, and Ryan Kreidler have been called up to Triple-A Toledo. Second-ranked Tigers prospect Greene and No. 19 Kreidler opened the season with the SeaWolves, while top-ranked Torkelson joined the duo for the last 50 games from High-A West Michigan. The trio will likely be in the Mud Hens lineup for their series opener against Indianapolis at home on Tuesday.

Power on tap
For the second time this season, Seth Beer clubbed a pair of jacks. The 13th-ranked D-backs prospect mashed solo shots in the first and third innings for Triple-A Reno. The 24-year-old has found the seats 15 times for the Aces this year.

Three was not a charm
Triple-A Iowa took what might have been the team's third no-hitter of the season into the ninth inning, but the feat was broken up by a leadoff double from Omaha's Angelo Castellano. Still, a quartet of Cubs pitchers combined to shut out one of the most potent offenses in the league. Starter Keegan Thompson twirled 4 1/3 perfect frames with seven strikeouts before Dakota Mekkes, Dillon Maples and Matt Swarmer completed the blanking of the Storm Chasers.

Rolling back, back, back on track
Coming off a pair of hitless games, Yermin Mercedes made up for lost time with a five-knock night including a pair of home runs. The 28-year-old ended a seven-game homerless drought with a monster long ball that went 466 feet and 109 mph off the bat in the second and found the seats again for a solo shot in the seventh for Triple-A Charlotte. He has 10 taters with the Knights this season.

Look out below!
Talk about an experience of a lifetime. Double-A Bowie's helicopter candy drop event took place on Sunday and fans ages 12 and under were invited onto the field after a helicopter dropped over 10,000 pieces of candy. Once all the candy was on the ground, the young fans not only were able to make a mad dash to collect as much as they could handle, but they also were invited to run the bases.

Walk it off, again
For the second straight game, Julian Esobedo delivered the game-winning knock for High-A Lake County. The Cleveland outfield prospect's RBI single in the 12th inning lifted the Captains past the Whitecaps, 4-3, and gave the club its third straight walk-off win. Esobedo is swinging a hot bat of late with five knocks over his last two games -- including a pair of doubles, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored.

Aug. 14

That was a lucky No. 13
There's a new Whitecaps career home run leader. While serving as designated hitter in the doubleheader opener against Lake County, Reynaldo Rivera belted a solo home run in the third inning. It was his 13th of the season, but his 26th for the Tigers' now-High-A affiliate, which bested the mark set by Jeramy Laster in the 2006-'07 seasons.

No, no after nine hitless innings
A pair of BlueClaws pitchers didn't allow a hit over nine frames, but High-A Jersey Shore didn't squeak out a 2-0 victory until the 12th inning at Hudson Valley. Right-hander Tyler McKay spun six perfect frames with four strikeouts to start the game, and lefty Manuel Silva worked around two walks to fan five over the next three innings. Silva escaped a one-out, runner-on-third jam unscathed in the seventh. Blake Brown replaced Silva to start the 10th and yielded a leadoff single on the sixth pitch of the at-bat to Elijah Dunham to end the bid.

Powering back to the top
The Minor League home run race is no longer tied. Less than 24 hours after Royals' MJ Melendez blasted his 30th dinger of the season, Griffin Conine blasted his 31st with Double-A Pensacola to retake sole possession of the leaderboard. The 16th-ranked Marlins prospect has driven in 76 runs over 89 games this season across two levels of the Minors.

Seeing Green(e)
This is not a replay, Riley Greene found the seats for the fourth straight game. The second-ranked Tigers prospect is in the midst of the best power stretch of his career -- having gone yard in six of his last seven contests -- while extending his hitting streak to nine games. Greene has 15 long balls and 51 RBIs on the season for the Double-A SeaWolves.

Three for history
The trio of Gilberto Chu, Amos Willingham, and Leif Strom combined to throw the first no-hitter in Low-A Fredericksburg history. Chu opened the game with five strikeouts over three frames, Willingham earned the victory after a pair of frames with two whiffs and Strom completed the feat over the final two innings of Game 1 of the club's doubleheader against visiting Salem.

Making Red Sox history
With his single into right in the eighth inning, Yairo Muñoz didn't just make Triple-A Worcester franchise history, the Boston farmhand made Red Sox organizational history. The knock extended the 26-year-old's hitting streak to 35 games -- surpassing the previous high-water mark of 34 set by Dom DiMaggio with Boston in 1949. Muñoz is sporting a .317/.345/.446 slash line over 77 games with the WooSox this season.

Talk about an entrance
In his Triple-A debut, right-hander Adam Oller fanned a career-high 13 for Syracuse. The Mets pitching prospect worked around a pair of hits and a walk over 6 2/3 scoreless frames. Oller whiffed the side in the third following a leadoff double and recorded at least two strikeouts in every inning he was on the hill.

Like he never left
It was business as usual for Nate Pearson, , who saw his first game action since June 16. The top Blue Jays prospect tossed a perfect frame with a strikeout and flashed 98 mph for Triple-A Buffalo. Pearson has been out recovering from a groin injury.

Aug. 13

Flexing back to the top
With his second long ball in three games for Triple-A Omaha, MJ Melendez not only reached the 30-homer milestone on the season but also pulled back into a tie atop the Minor League home run leaderboard with Miami's Griffin Conine. The 22-year-old backstop has amassed 68 RBIs on the year.

Historic milestone
The Hot Rods had never had a three-homer game in franchise history, until Hill Alexander accomplished the feat on Friday night. The Rays' prospect mashed a pair of two-run shots and a solo blast by the fifth inning for High-A Bowling Green. The 25-year-old finished with a career-best five RBIs.

Talk about a perfect first impression
It has only been two appearances in his professional career for Collin Sullivan, but the right-hander was perfect over his first nine innings. The 23-year-old followed up four perfect frames in his debut last week with five perfect innings to begin his start for Low-A Visalia on Friday. Sullivan notched seven strikeouts over his first nine pro frames.

Red light, Green(e) light
The hits continued to rack up for Riley Greene. The second-ranked Tigers prospect collected four knocks -- including his fifth dinger in the last six games -- for Double-A Erie. It was the fourth four-hit game of Greene’s career, who is currently on an eight-game hitting streak and has knocked multiple hits in six of the 11 games he’s played in this month.

All he does is hit
With his 10th long ball of the season, Luis Matos notched his league-leading 107th hit of the year in 79 games. The No. 7 Giants prospect has been especially hot of late, going 30-for-69 (.435) over his last 17 games. The 19-year-old entered action on Friday sporting a .325/.360/.488 slash line with 64 RBIs for Low-A San Jose.

Joining elite company
With Triple-A Louisville's 10-0 victory over Nashville, Bats skipper Pat Kelly became the fourth active manager to reach the 1,800 wins plateau. The 65-year-old joins Sounds manager Rick Sweet, Tom Kotchman and Buddy Bailey as the only current Minor League managers to have reached the milestone. Kelly has managed 18 different teams over his 30+ seasons in the Minors.

An immaculate career night
It wasn't just that Quinn Priester recorded a career-best 10 strikeouts while matching his career long with seven scoreless frames, the right-hander also mixed in an immaculate inning for High-A Greensboro. Priester retired the side in order, on nine pitches -- all punchouts -- in the sixth inning. The 20-year-old is sporting a 2.80 ERA over 15 starts with the Grasshoppers this season.

Splash zone
A fan inside the pool at FirstEnergy Stadium went home with a souvenir compliments of Bo Naylor. Cleveland's third-ranked prospect hit a laser to right that found the splash zone. The blast was a two-run shot and marked the 21-year-old eighth dinger of the year.

Such a very good boy
In his return to action, Low-A Myrtle Beach bat dog Slider appeared to be in midseason form. The beautiful pooch earned his treats on Friday night with a few innings of work for the Pelicans. The crowd could not get enough of his flawless technique and fetch abilities.

This is the Way
In his best start as a professional, Beck Way brought a no-hitter into the sixth inning for Low-A Tampa. The 22-year-old recorded the first two outs of the sixth before yielding a base hit to right field. Way did not issue a walk and whiffed five over six frames for the Tarpons to earn his third victory of the year. The right-hander is sporting a 3.05 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 13 games this season.

Aug. 12

High five in the Hudson Valley
Everson Pereira entered Thursday with six hits this month. He nearly equaled that total in the span of nine innings. The No. 13 Yankees prospect slugged a pair of home runs as part of a career-high 5-for-5 performance for High-A Hudson Valley. Pereira singled to lead off the bottom of the first, homered in the third and fifth innings and singled in each of his last two at-bats to produce his four RBIs. Although he didn't debut until June 19, the 20-year-old is batting .360/.462/.721 with 19 extra-base hits, including 10 homers, and 33 RBIs in 30 games for the Renegades.

Oh, Henry!
Henry Davis was so excited to register his first hit with High-A Greensboro, he decided to keep on running ... until he couldn't anymore. The first overall pick in last month's MLB Draft tripled in his first at-bat with the Grasshoppers. However, the adrenaline could only take him so far as he was thrown out trying to stretch it into an inside-the-park home run.

No hits for you
Welcome to the 2021 no-hit club, South Bend. Two months after being on the receiving end, the High-A Cubs got to experience their own with a 3-0 victory over the Tin Caps. Starter and Cubs' No. 8 prospect Alexander Vizcaino fanned three in two innings before giving way to Joe Nahas who struck out six in six frames out of the bullpen. Burl Carraway walked the leadoff batter in the ninth, but Chicago's No. 22 prospect retired the next three Fort Wayne batters to finish off South Bend's first no-no since 2019.

Rumbling pony
From the looks of it, Brett Baty has found his comfort level in upstate New York. One day after seeing his nine-game hitting streak end, the No. 4 Mets prospect came back with a vengeance, homering twice, doubling and driving in four runs in a 4-for-5 effort. After batting .196 in his first 13 games with Double-A Binghamton, Baty is hitting .378/.455/.676 with three homers and nine RBIs this month and .296 with an .885 OPS, 12 long balls and 52 RBIs in 75 games overall.

Three's company, SeaWolves style
So, what did Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene do for an encore in Game 2 of Double-A Erie's doubleheader? Well, like any good teammate would do, they let their peers join in on the fun. After Greene led off the bottom of the first inning with a homer, Tigers No. 19 prospect Ryan Kreidler followed with one of his own. Not to be outdone, Torkelson completed the trifecta with a third consecutive long ball.

Simply offensive
And to think it was only the first game of a doubleheader. Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene showed why they sit atop Detroit's prospect rankings. The duo combined to go 6-for-8 with two homers, two doubles, eight RBIs and five runs scored in Double-A Erie's 15-1 win. Torkelson -- MLB's No. 2 overall prospect -- kicked things off with a two-run shot in the opening inning and Greene, who sits 13th on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospect list, broke things open with a grand slam during the SeaWolves' 10-run third.

Aug. 11

Staying on top
With a first-inning long ball for the Double-A Blue Wahoos, er, the Crabzillas, Griffin Conine reached the 30-homer milestone. The blast was his fifth of August and kept him atop the Minor League home run leaderboard. The 16th-ranked Marlins prospect has found the seats seven times since joining Pensacola on July 20.

Dominating debut
In his first Double-A action, Emerson Hancock blew away the competition. The second-ranked Mariners prospect retired the first 14 batters he faced in his debut with Arkansas -- whiffing six. After yielding his first baserunner on a five-pitch walk, the No. 6 overall selection in last year's Draft exited the game. The right-hander tossed 34 of his 64 pitches for strikes.

New level, same flex
It didn't take long for MJ Melendez to feel at home with his new club. The 13th-ranked Royals prospect went oppo taco in his debut with Triple-A Omaha, driving in his first two runs at the Minors' highest level. The blast was his 29th of the year and pulled the 22-year-old to within a long ball of Griffin Conine's Minor League lead. He made an impression on the defensive front as well, catching would-be basestealer Iowa's Zach Davis trying to take third in the first.

Reeling in a victory
It was the Cristian Pache show for the Triple-A Stripers in Game 1 of their doubleheader against Durham. The top Braves prospect drove in all four of Gwinnett's runs with a three-run jack and a walk-off knock -- en route to a 4-3 victory. Pache also added a double for his third three-hit game of the season and then homered to start off the nightcap.

Blowing fire out of the gate
It didn't take very long for Matt McClain to make his presence felt with the Dragons. In his full-season debut with High-A Dayton, the first-round Draft pick collected four hits -- including a home run and a double -- while notching five RBIs and scoring twice. The UCLA product, who was called up from the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League, recorded all four of his knocks during his first four at-bats.

The system of brotherly love
The Minor League teams in the Phillies organization all united to honor Daniel Brito on Wednesday. The infield prospect suffered a medical emergency during the July 31 game with Triple-A Lehigh Valley and underwent two surgeries as a result.. According to the organization, the 23-year-old is in stable condition and recovering at the hospital.

Aug. 10

It's clobberin' time
It's been a tough task to pitch to Bobby Witt Jr. of late as the top Royals prospect seems to be hitting everything out of the park. His latest long ball was a moonshot to center and was his fifth jack in the past seven games. The 21-year-old has found the seats eight times since joining Triple-A Omaha and has mashed 24 taters on the year.

Swinging Langelier
Known for his prowess behind the dish, Shea Langeliers' bat has provided the noise of late. The third-ranked Braves prospect notched his fourth multi-homer game of the season with a pair of jacks for Double-A Mississippi as part of a four-hit night with four RBIs. The 23-year-old is sporting a .270 average and an .886 OPS over 70 games with the Braves.

A real winner
The Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans helped manager Buddy Bailey make some history with their 6-5 victory. The win marked Bailey's 2,186th and put the skipper fourth all time in Minor League history. Bailey joined the Cubs organization in 2006 and took the helm for the Pelicans in 2016. The 64-year-old has managed in the Minors for 30 years with seven different clubs.

Suddenly, Seymour
Everything was working for Ian Seymour as the left-hander struck out a career-best 10 over five hitless frames for Low-A Charleston. The only blemish on the 22-year-old's ledger was a two-out walk in the third inning and Seymour whiffed a pair in each frame of his outing. The second-round selection in last year's Draft has amassed 41 punchouts over 26 1/3 frames this season.

Now that's a good boy
Turbo made his professional debut with the High-A Hot Rods, and the top dog definitely lived up to his hype with perfect form, flawless pace and impeccable execution of his first Minor League bat retrieval. We hope the folks in Bowling Green enjoy him, because at this rate, he just might get called up to Montgomery in no time!

New place, familiar face
It didn't take long for Adley Rutschman to make himself at home with his new club. MLB Pipeline's top overall prospect recorded his first Triple-A hit and RBI in his third at-bat in his Tides debut, and the backstop caught five hitless frames from rehabbing starter Bruce Zimmermann -- helping Norfolk take a no-hit bid into the eighth. Not bad for the first day at the Minors' highest level.

Do the hustle
After hitting the top of the wall -- and yes, we do mean the actual top of it -- and missing a traditional home run by mere inches, Jose Barrero took matters into his own hands and never stopped running. The fourth-ranked Reds prospect motored around the bases and just slid in ahead of a tag at home to notch a two-run inside-the-park homer for Triple-A Louisville. His 55-grade speed may get a boost after this one.

Aug. 9

More accolades, please
Earlier Monday, Austin Allen was named the Triple-A West Player of the Week after going .619 (13-for-21) with two homers, five doubles, seven runs scored and four RBIs for the Aviators last week. Then he bashed three homers on a four-hit night, plating five runs, in the night contest against the visiting Bees. He's obviously eyeing a repeat already.

Equal-opportunity tater mashing
It didn't matter which side of the plate Triple-A Reno's Henry Ramos was on against Tacoma. The 29-year-old designated hitter was adept at the long ball from both sides. In the bottom of the fifth, he smacked a two-run homer to center off righty Logan Verrett. Then in the seventh against lefty David Huff, he swatted his ninth for the Aces to right.

The man's like a machine
On Sunday, Skye Bolt went a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate for the Triple-A Aviators against the Bees. He kept the volume turned up to 11 in his first at-bat Monday, driving a two-run homer to left-center field in the bottom of the first inning. Then the Athletics' farmhand showed his defensive ability, diving to rob Chad Wallach of a base hit in the second. But after manning center in the third, his production was halted for the night when Las Vegas pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the frame.

Helping out in a pinch
All the offense produced by the Triple-A Isotopes during the start of Ryan Castellani came off the bat of the pitcher himself. The 25-year-old righty, who gave up two runs on seven hits while striking out six in 4 1/3 frames against Tacoma, also roped a two-RBI double to improve to .625 at the plate with five hits in eight at-bats this year for Albuquerque.

Rolling out the welcome mat
Triple-A Norfolk is already looking forward to getting the newly crowned top prospect in baseball -- Adley Rutschman. But before he starts playing for the Tides, one step away from the Major Leagues, take a look at all 18 homers the 23-year-old backstop belted for the Double-A Baysox.

The week that was
Whew, still catching our collective breath from the jam-packed seven-day period that included milestones, amazing feats of pitching and hitting strength and promotions of big prospects edging ever closer to the Major League stage. Review the action here.

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