Prospect Roundup: Games of June 18

Theme of the day

Faces in new places: The middle of June means two things in Minor League Baseball -- All-Star Games and promotion season. Organizations like to see their best prospects rewarded with spots on league All-Star squads, and once those players receive that recognition, they're given a new challenge at a higher level. The Tigers put that plan into action Monday when they promoted Alex Faedo and Daz Cameron to Double-A Erie. But the baseball season is also entering the portion of the schedule when trades fill the headlines. The Royals and Nationals kicked off the trade market a little early with Kelvin Herrera going to Washington and prospects Kelvin Gutierrez, Blake Perkins and Yohanse Morel headed to the Kansas City farm system.

Who stayed hot

Astros OF Yordan Alvarez, Double-A Corpus Christi -- 2-for-5, HR, 4 RBI, R, K -- The Astros' No. 4 prospect homered and plated three runs Sunday in his return to the Corpus Christi lineup after a hand injury kept him on the disabled list for a little more than a month. A day later, he basically repeated the performance with one extra RBI. Despite all the time off, Alvarez still has a 13-game hitting streak dating back to April 25. The 20-year-old slugger has a .308/.376/.581 line with eight homers, eight doubles and 33 RBIs in 29 games, and his 148 wRC+ ranks third among Texas League hitters with at least 130 plate appearances. At a listed 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, Alvarez has always had power potential, but the Astros have worked with him on getting the ball in the air more to take advantage of his strength. Now that he's healthy, he shouldn't have a problem beating last season's total of 12 homers between Class A Quad Cities and Class A Advanced Buies Creek.

Who needed this one

Giants OF Austin Slater, Triple-A Sacramento: 2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, R -- Despite a season line of .337/.413/.563, the Giants' No. 5 prospect had been struggling in June, going just 12-for-52 (.231) with five doubles in 13 games. He'd last homered on May 30. Monday's performance turned things around in both the hits and home runs departments. It was also Slater's first Triple-A game with multiple extra-base hits since May 11. The 25-year-old outfielder has bounced between the Majors and Minors this season, and based on his whole body of work, he's earned more shots in the Show.

The unexpected

Brewers RHP Corbin Burnes, Triple-A Colorado Springs: 2 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 27 pitches, 19 strikes -- All of the No. 58 overall prospect's appearances the last two seasons had been in a starting role -- and for good reason. Burnes has three above-average pitches in his fastball, slider and curveball -- a strong repertoire for a starter. But on Monday, he pitched in relief for the first time since Aug. 18, 2016 in his Draft year. This was no piggybacking situation either. Burnes was the third man out of the Sky Sox bullpen Monday and handed the ball back after two efficient frames. It has been a rough season for the Brewers' No. 2 prospect, who has posted a 4.82 ERA and 1.44 WHIP with 74 strikeouts and 30 walks in 71 innings, and with Milwaukee tied atop the NL Central standings, the organization might want to see if Burnes could be an immediate help in the bullpen. Given his profile, however, his potential as a starter seems too great to abandon in the long term.

Best matchup

Forrest Whitley vs. Fernando Tatis Jr.: It's not often that two top-10 overall prospects meet like Tatis (No. 6) and Whitley (No. 7) did Monday. In fact, the only other present possibility is Nick Senzel and Michael Kopech in the International League. Like so many of his fellow Missions, Tatis had a lot of trouble against Whitley in San Antonio's 12-0 loss. The shortstop flew out to right against the right-hander in the first inning and then struck out looking on four pitches in the fourth. More on Whitley's gem and Corpus Christi's first-half-clinching win here. The two sides could see each other next when San Antonio hosts Corpus Christi July 23-25 or when the matchup is flipped from July 30 to Aug. 1. 

Who strengthened their promotion case

Cardinals RHP Dakota Hudson, Triple-A Memphis: 6 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 104 pitches, 63 strikes -- Hudson and Enyel De Los Santos are fellow pitchers dominating in Triple-A but failing to get big league opportunities because of a 25-man roster crunch. With his quality start Monday at El Paso, Hudson lowered his PCL-best ERA to 2.13, and that's over no small sample; he ranks second in the PCL with 80 1/3 innings pitched. With just a 17.9 percent strikeout rate, Hudson relies on generating tons of weak contact and leads all Triple-A pitchers with his 57.7 percent groundball rate. The Cardinals still boast an impressive rotation despite the season-ending injury to Alex Reyes, so Hudson will have to continue to bide his time.