Wrist problems held Alex Kirilloff back from showing much power in 2019. On Friday afternoon, the left-handed slugger showed what he's capable of when he's closer to full strength.MLB.com's No. 32 overall prospect clubbed his first homer of the spring and finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored in
Wrist problems held Alex Kirilloff back from showing much power in 2019. On Friday afternoon, the left-handed slugger showed what he's capable of when he's closer to full strength.
MLB.com's No. 32 overall prospect clubbed his first homer of the spring and finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored in the Twins' 4-1 win over the Red Sox at CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers.
Kirilloff entered Friday's contest as a defensive replacement for right fielder Max Kepler in the sixth and singled in the bottom of the inning. He made his presence felt more powerfully an inning later by taking Red Sox right-hander Robinson Leyer deep to right-center for a two-run shot. He's 3-for-4 in Grapefruit League play as a non-roster invitee.
No. 25 Twins prospect Jorge Alcala struck out one and allowed one hit in a scoreless seventh inning to preserve the lead.
No. 21 Marcus Wilson and No. 30 Jonathan Arauz contributed singles for the Red Sox.
Rays 8, Nationals 1
Top overall prospect Wander Franco got his first Grapefruit League start and went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a strikeout from the top of the Tampa Bay lineup. The lone hit was an opposite-field single to left-center in the sixth inning before the switch-hitting shortstop, who turns 19 on Sunday, was lifted for a defensive replacement. No. 3 Rays prospect Vidal Brujan added a double and two RBIs as the starting second baseman, while 17th-ranked Randy Arozarena singled and walked twice. Top Nats prospect Carter Kieboom walked and struck out twice after getting the start at the hot corner. Box score
Mets 3, Cardinals 2
No. 84 overall prospect Andrés Giménez went deep in the eighth inning for his first spring homer, breaking a 2-2 tie at Clover Park. No. 47 overall prospect Nolan Gorman was 0-for-4 with a punchout for the Redbirds. Box score
Yankees 5, Braves (ss) 3
Estevan Florial, New York's No. 6 prospect, drilled a two-run homer in the seventh inning to give the visitors a 3-2 lead. Right-hander Alexander Vizcaino (No. 7) struck out Sean Kazmar Jr. and Greyson Jenista before getting CJ Alexander to ground out for a 1-2-3 eighth. Nick Nelson (No. 16) also was strong on the mound for the Yankees, fanning one in two one-hit frames. Braves No. 18 prospect Trey Harris capped the scoring with a solo shot to left-center field. Box score
Astros 6, Marlins 4
With his team down to its final out, No. 80 overall prospect Jesus Sanchez slugged a two-run homer to right for Miami. Featuring plus-power, the left-handed hitter clubbed 13 long balls last season between Double-A and Triple-A. Box score
Blue Jays 5, Tigers 4
Tenth-ranked Blue Jays prospect Anthony Kay started and allowed two hits in two scoreless innings, walking one and striking out three. Casey Mize, MLB.com's No. 7 overall prospect, struck out two in a perfect eighth out of the Detroit bullpen. No. 9 Tigers prospect Alex Faedo allowed one hit and struck out one in a scoreless seventh. Rony Garcia (No. 21) allowed one hit in a scoreless fifth, while 17th-ranked Kody Clemens singled and walked and No. 11 Willi Castro went 1-for-2. Box score
Phillies 6, Braves (ss) 5
No. 6 prospect Bryse Wilson started for Atlanta and allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two over 2 2/3 scoreless innings. No. 16 Thomas Burrows relieved Wilson and walked two with two strikeouts in 1 1/3 hitless frames. No. 28 prospect Jefrey Ramos singled and scored in Atlanta's three-run ninth. Top Phillies prospect Alec Bohm singled in both of his plate appearances to raise his spring average to .583. Tenth-ranked JoJo Romero allowed two hits and struck out two in a scoreless seventh and was followed by No. 15 Mauricio Llovera, who struck out one in a perfect eighth. Box score
Orioles 11, Pirates 4
O's No. 4 prospect Ryan Mountcastle went 2-for-3 with an RBI double to center in the first inning to raise his spring average to .438. No. 21 prospect Brandon Bailey started for Baltimore and walked two in two hitless innings. Eighth-ranked Dean Kremer allowed one hit and two walks while fanning two over two scoreless frames out, while No. 28 Dillon Tate finished up and gave up one hit with a punchout in a scoreless ninth. Pirates No. 30 prospect Blake Cederlind walked one and struck out two while recording the final two outs in the fourth inning. Box score
Angels 7, Rangers 2
Jo Adell, MLB.com's No. 6 overall prospect, stroked an RBI double and scored in the first inning. The Halos' top prospect is batting .333 this spring. Fifth-ranked Jahmai Jones was 1-for-2, singling and scoring in Los Angeles' five-run sixth. Michael Hermosillo (No. 22) added two hits to push his spring average to .444. Sixth-ranked Texas prospect Joe Palumbo (1-1) took the loss after giving up five runs on six hits and a walk across 2 1/3 innings. He struck out one. Anderson Tejeda (No. 11) walked and scored in the third, then singled in the fifth. Box score
White Sox 7, Indians 3
Andrew Vaughn has had a strong showing in his first Spring Training since being selected third overall in last year's Draft. MLB.com's No. 16 overall prospect padded the lead with a solo shot to left in the eighth inning in his lone at-bat. No. 17 White Sox prospect Zack Burdi worked around a walk with a strikeout in a hitless fourth. For the Indians, No. 42 overall prospect Nolan Jones reached twice and came around to score once. No. 11 prospect Logan Allen got the start for Cleveland and issued three walks with two punchouts in two hitless frames. Jean Carlos Mejía (No. 26) fanned a pair in a 1-2-3 frame. Box score
Brewers 6, Dodgers 5
Corey Ray, Milwaukee's fourth-ranked prospect, went 0-for-2 but was hit by a pitch and scored on a bases-clearing single by Mark Mathias. Meanwhile, Dodgers No. 12 prospect DJ Peters cranked a two-run homer in the fourth inning for his lone hit of the day, scoring 19th-ranked Edwin Ríos with him. No. 10 prospect Dennis Santana dealt a scoreless frame, yielding a hit and striking out two, while 28th-ranked Marshall Kasowski followed with a shutout inning in which he gave up two hits and also fanned two. Box score
Mariners 6, D-backs 2
Tenth-ranked M's prospect Kyle Lewis cranked a solo homer in the second inning to jump-start a 10-hit attack in a Cactus League victory. In the third, the 24-year-old outfielder plated Jake Fraley with a groundout after the No. 8 prospect drew a leadoff walk. Joey Gerber (No. 18) issued a walk and whiffed one in an inning of scoreless relief, while Wyatt Mills (No. 20) worked around a walk in a shutout seventh. Andy Young, the D-backs' No. 21 prospect, went 1-for-2 with a run scored. Box score
Reds 10, Athletics 1
Ninth-ranked Jose Garcia was the first of many Reds prospects to stuff the box score in a Cactus League romp, opening the scoring with a two-run dinger off Mike Fiers in the second inning. Garcia added a sacrifice fly in the third. No. 18 prospect Andy Sugilio raced for a three-run inside-the-park homer in the eighth. Three Cincinnati prospects each pitched a scoreless inning out of the bullpen -- No. 4 Tony Santillan, No. 26 Ryan Hendrix and No. 29 José De León. A's No. 17 prospect Greg Deichmann homered in the ninth and is 4-for-8 this spring. Box score
Giants (ss) 3, Royals 1
Eighth-ranked Giants prospect Mauricio Dubón was 1-for-3 after getting the start at second base. He singled off right-hander Ian Kennedy in the second inning and scored on Darin Ruf's homer. No. 29 Abiatal Avelino went 1-for-2 with a walk but was thrown out trying to take third on Dubon's single. Sixth-ranked Sean Hjelle struck out one in a 1-2-3 seventh. Royals No. 4 prospect Khalil Lee singled in his lone at-bat and is 5-for-13 in Cactus League play. Box score
Padres 5, Cubs 1
If not for his All-Star namesake, Michel Baez would have turned in two perfect innings for the Friars. The eighth-ranked Padres prospect faced the minimum and struck out a pair in two scoreless frames, yielding only a sixth-inning single to Javier Baez. Padres No. 16 prospect Edward Olivares and 17th-ranked Jake Cronenworth both contributed RBI singles in the seventh, while 30th-ranked David Bednar locked down the split-squad victory with a perfect ninth. Box score
Giants (ss) 9, Rockies 6
San Francisco received key contributions from two of its top prospects in a split-squad win over the Rockies. Third-ranked Heliot Ramos launched a three-run homer and singled for his first two hits of the spring. Joey Bart, the club's top prospect, singled, walked and scored twice. MLB.com's No. 14 overall prospect has five hits through eight at-bats this spring. Giants No. 22 prospect Chris Shaw contributed an RBI single and scored a run. Rockies No. 8 prospect Sam Hilliard singled, walked and scored a run, while 10th-ranked Yonathan Daza delivered an RBI knock in a five-run fourth and No. 6 Ryan Vilade came through with a pinch single in the ninth. Ryan Castellani (No. 15) bounced back from a difficult spring debut with a perfect inning for Colorado. Box score
