Prospect Roundup: Games of Aug. 21

Theme of the day

Bauman Award race heating up: The competition to claim the 2018 Joe Bauman Trophy, given to the slugger with the most regular-season Minor League home runs, got tighter Tuesday night. Asheville's Casey Goldenwent deep twice for the Tourists, and Las Vegas' Peter Alonso also homered out west to give both batters 31 blasts on the season. They pulled into a five-way tie for first along with Bobby Dalbec, Seuly Matias and Ibandel Isabel. The tiebreaker is the player with the most RBIs, and Alonso leads the Minors in that category with 108, well ahead of Dalbec (99), Golden (87), Isabel (65) and Matias (63). But the other four will do everything in their power (literally) to claim the top spot over the next two weeks.

Who stayed hot

Yankees OF Estevan Florial, Class A Advanced Tampa: 3-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 R -- This was Florial's fourth straight multi-hit game and the seventh time in his last 10 games that he collected at least two knocks. He's hitting .410/.489/.692 with two homers, five doubles and six walks over that 10-game span, lifting his season line from .231/.340/.311 to .260/.364/.372. The Yankees' No. 2 prospect missed about two months due to a hamate injury in his right wrist but is making up for lost time. Florial participated in the Arizona Fall League last season and could be a candidate to return.

Who needed this one

Mariners OF Kyle Lewis, Double-A Arkansas: 1-for-2, HR, 3 RBI, R, BB -- It was promising news when Lewis arrived in the Texas League on July 21 after knee injuries limited his playing time at Class A Advanced Modesto both in 2017 and early 2018, but the Mariners' top prospect got off to a rough start. His homer Tuesday was only his second through 25 games with the Travelers, and he's hitting just .198/.257/.319. He has dropped his strikeout rate from 26.1 percent with Modesto this season to 18.8 so far with Arkansas, so the poor production can be partly explained by a low .222 BABIP. But with a .240/.288/.394 line and seven homers in 74 games overall this season, the 23-year-old outfielder's stock is slipping.

The unexpected

Phillies RHP Francisco Morales, Class A Short Season Williamsport: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 11 K, 83 pitches, 58 strikes -- The Phillies' No. 13 prospect hit double-digits in strikeouts once this season when he fanned 10 on July 6. In the six starts since, he hadn't punched out more than six batters in an outing while posting a 7.54 ERA with 16 walks in 22 2/3 innings. Tuesday's gem was a major course correction. The 11 K's mark a new career high as do the six innings pitched. The 18-year-old right-hander, who mixes a plus, mid-90s fastball with more average offerings in his slider and changeup, owns a 5.52 ERA and 1.66 WHIP with 57 strikeouts and 29 walks in 45 2/3 innings, though his FIP is much lower at 4.04. Control issues could force the 6-foot-4 right-hander to the bullpen, but as this outing showed, starting remains a possibility.

Best matchup

Justus Sheffield vs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.:  In preparation for a potential September call-up to the Majors, the Yankees' top prospect came out of the bullpen in the seventh inning as a true reliever for the first time in Tuesday's game between Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Buffalo, and one frame later, that assignment got that much tougher when he had to face the game's top overall prospect in Guerrero. The Bisons third baseman greeted the RailRiders southpaw quickly, striking the first pitch he saw to left-center for a double. That drove in the only run charged to Sheffield, who finished with two strikeouts and one earned run on two hits in his two frames. Despite both spending significant time in the Eastern and International Leagues, this was the first time the two top-100 prospects faced each other this season.

Who strengthened their promotion case

Mariners 1B Evan White, Class A Advanced Modesto: 4-for-5, HR, 3B, 3 RBI, R, SB -- Unlike Lewis, the Mariners' No. 2 prospect is still in Modesto, but White is showing growth at the right time. The 2017 first-rounder is hitting .387/.441/.710 with four homers, two triples and four doubles in 15 games this month after picking up four knocks Tuesday. He's hitting .294/.357/.435 with 10 long balls and a 118 wRC+ in 112 games overall, making him an above-average hitter in the California League. His Modesto side sits two games back of both Stockton and Visalia in the Cal League North Division second-half race, but if the Nuts fail to make the postseason, Arkansas has already qualified for the Double-A Texas League playoffs and could use White's hot bat. The M's already promoted the 22-year-old first baseman to Triple-A Tacoma for four games on an emergency basis back in June.

Others of note

Pirates OF Bryan Reynolds, Double-A Altoona: 4-for-5, HR, 2B, RBI, 3 R -- The Pirates' No. 8 prospect picked up a season-high four hits Tuesday as the No. 3 hitter in Altoona's 9-2 win at Binghamton. His .316 average and .883 OPS this month are both the highest he's produced this season, in which he's hitting .288/.370/.438 overall.
Braves 3B Austin Riley, Triple-A Gwinnett: 2-for-6, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 K in doubleheader -- The Braves' No. 4 prospect homered in both ends of Gwinnett's twin bill with Durham, marking the first time this season he's gone deep in back-to-back games. Riley is hitting .275/.343/.424 with seven homers in 61 games with the Stripers.