Prospect Roundup: Games of Aug. 27

Theme of the day

More bats than Bruce Wayne's cave: The Minors were the place to find offense on Monday. Mets prospect Jhoan Urena had one of the season's best hitting performances when he homered three times (twice on grand slams) and plated nine runs for Double-A Binghamton. Not to be outdone, Padres No. 20 prospectGabriel Ariashit for the cycle and set a career high with five hits for Class A Fort Wayne. Elsewhere, Ibandel Isabeltied a Florida State League record with his 33rd homer of the season for Class A Advanced Daytona. He has 34 overall, one ahead of Peter Alonso (33) for the Minor League lead. And of course, Eloy Jiménez continued to do Eloy Jimenez things, going 4-for-4 for Triple-A Charlotte and raising his Triple-A average to .378 through 49 games.

Who stayed hot

Yankees RHP Deivi Garcia, Class A Advanced Tampa: 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K, 91 pitches, 56 strikes -- The Yankees' No. 12 prospect was perfect over seven innings in his Tampa debut on Aug. 6 and hasn't looked back. After this gem, Garcia has a 1.27 ERA and 0.95 WHIP with 35 strikeouts and eight walks in 28 1/3 innings with the Tarpons. He has struck out 98 batters in 69 innings on the season, and his 35.1 percent strikeout rate ranks seventh among all Minor League pitchers with at least 65 frames. The 5-foot-10 right-hander isn't large, but he makes the package work with elite spin rates on his low-to-mid-90s fastball and curveball.

Who needed this one

Pirates RHP Steven Jennings, Rookie-level Bristol: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 84 pitches, 57 strikes -- In the No. 12 Pirates prospect's previous outing, he allowed nine runs (six earned) on seven hits and two walks in just 2 1/3 innings. This start went significantly better. It was his longest scoreless outing of the season and lowered his Appalachian League ERA to 4.82 through 65 1/3 innings. As they did with Shane Baz before dealing him to the Rays, the Bucs have taken the slow road with Jennings -- a second-round pick out of a Tennessee high school in 2017 -- and there have been some growing pains. But at his best, the 19-year-old right-hander has a plus fastball, above-average slider and average offerings in his curveball and changeup.

The unexpected

Brewers RHP Adrian Houser, Triple-A Colorado Springs: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 86 pitches, 59 strikes -- The No. 16 Brewers prospect's longest outing of the season was five innings, but Houser blew past that with a seven-inning gem in the Sky Sox's 7-0 win. Houser returned from Tommy John surgery in July 2017, and Milwaukee has brought him along slowly this season, starting out with Double-A Biloxi in April and continuing with Colorado Springs after a late-May promotion. This was a promising step, especially since he didn't need to cross the 90-pitch threshold to get through his seven frames. Houser, who has made seven appearances out of the bullpen with the big club this season, has struggled with a 5.36 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and .313 average-against over 47 innings in the Pacific Coast League. He's shown a plus fastball and plus curve in the past, which could point to him continuing as a reliever, but on Monday at least, he very much looked the part of a starter.

Best matchup

Ryan Weathers vs. Miguel Amaya: As covered in last Friday's Toolshed, the Padres like Weathers, the No. 7 overall pick in this year's Draft, enough that they've sent him to finish his season at Class A Fort Wayne. On Monday, MLB.com's No. 99 overall prospect was tested with an assignment against the No. 92 overall prospect in the game in Amaya. The left-handed TinCaps starter got the South Bend right-handed slugger to bounce out to shortstop in the first inning but walked him with two outs in the third inning as his final batter faced. That was the only free pass issued by Weathers, who fanned five and was charged with two unearned runs on two hits in 2 2/3 frames. Amaya went 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored in his side's 15-5 loss.

Who strengthened their promotion case

Orioles OF Austin Hays, Double-A Bowie: 2-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, R, CS -- This time last year, Hays was being mentioned as a potential September callup for the Orioles, and he did indeed have his contract selected on Sept. 5. The 23-year-old outfielder has dealt with shoulder and ankle injuries this season and has hit just .242/.270/.425 over 59 games with Bowie, but his recent performance should help his case for another cup of coffee. The O's No. 4 prospect has homered and doubled in each of his last two games and has pushed his August line up to .288/.299/.561 to go with 10 extra-base hits over 16 games. With a rebuild coming to Baltimore, the big club might want to get another look at the right-handed slugger's progress. They could also let him enter the offseason on a high and hold off a potential return for 2019.