Prospect Roundup: Games of May 2

Theme of the day

No hits for you: There were several day games Wednesday, but biggest news of the day came in primetime when three Inland Empire pitchers combined to no-hit Lake Elsinore. The fact that the starting pitcher for the 66ers was Jason Alexander sent the Twittersphere into a tizzy. The George Costanza quotes and .gifs were plentiful, from questions about cotton uniforms to references to a hit column about nothing. Twitter MVP Keith Hernandez didn't weigh in, unfortunately, but we won't yadda yadda yadda over the best parts. MiLB.com's Andrew Battifarano broke down the effort by Alexander and relievers Zac Ryan and Sean Isaac in the link above.

Who stayed hot

Nationals OF Juan Soto, Class A Advanced Potomac: 2-for-2, 2B, 3 BB, 2 R -- A promotion from Class A Hagerstown hasn't slowed down MLB.com's No. 28 prospect. Soto reached in all five of his plate appearances against Wilmington and collected multiple walks for the third time in his last five games. Soto's plate discipline has been impressive since the jump to the Carolina League on April 24; he's walked eight times and struck out only twice in 40 plate appearances with the P-Nats. Soto is hitting .344/.475/.656 with two homers, a triple and two doubles in eight Carolina League games and has produced a .363/.482/.758 with 18 extra-base hits and 31 RBIs in 24 games overall with his 1.241 OPS ranking third-best in the Minors. Already considered a blue-chip prospect, Soto is turning into one of the game's most exciting youngsters.

Who needed this one

Orioles OF Austin Hays, Double-A Bowie: 2-for-5, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI, R, K -- After finishing 2017 in the Majors, the Orioles' top prospect has had trouble in his return to Bowie, ending April with a .221/.284/.360 line. On Tuesday, he hit his first home run in nine games and followed with two more extra-base hits Wednesday. Hays's slugging percentage has jumped 61 points in two games, and his OPS (.710) is above .700 for the first time since April 14. His return to the Eastern League seemed like an odd move, but the O's figured Hays has work to do before becoming a full-time Major Leaguer.

The unexpected

Nationals 1B/3B Anderson Franco, Class A Hagerstown: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R -- The Nationals sent their No. 28 prospect back to Hagerstown this year after he hit just .201/.272/.348 with 11 homers in 120 games last season. The 20-year-old corner infielder hasn't shown much improvement, entering Wednesday with a .216/.344/.270 line with no homers in 22 games. Yesterday, however, Franco went deep not just once but twice in a 10-8 loss to Greensboro, raising his slugging percentage 102 points in a single day. This isn't the first time Franco has had a two-homer game -- he had two last season -- but it was a surprise to see him turn on the power so abruptly. At 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, he could add more power as he develops.

Best matchup

Adrian Morejon vs. Jahmai Jones: This would have been the main story of Wednesday's Lake Elsinore-Inland Empire game if not for the whole no-hit thing. MLB.com's No. 48 overall prospect, a left-hander, took the mound against the No. 90 overall prospect, a right-handed hitter, and it was the 66ers slugger who decidedly came out on top. Jones walked on a nine-pitch plate appearance in the first, took another free pass on five pitches in the third and capped his day against Morejon with a triple in the fifth. Over five innings, the Storm southpaw allowed eight baserunners to reach base (four hits, four walks) and Jones accounted for three of them. The two could see each other in two weeks when Inland Empire hosts the Storm from May 15-17.

Who strengthened their promotion case

Blue Jays RHP Sean Reid-Foley, Double-A New Hampshire: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, 90 pitches, 60 strikes -- Reid-Foley was arguably the top pitching prospect in the Toronto system before his 2017 season with Double-A New Hampshire, when he posted a 5.09 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and .278 average-against over 132 2/3 innings. This year he seems to have finally cracked the Eastern League code. This was his fourth quality start in five outings this season, with the 22-year-old right-hander hitting double-digits in strikeouts for the first time since last July 21. Reid-Foley is now 4-0 with a 1.53 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 31 strikeouts and 10 walks in 29 1/3 innings in 2018. Reid-Foley is closer to Triple-A than he's ever been before.

Others of note

Athletics OF Austin Beck, Class A Beloit: 4-for-5, 3B, RBI, R, K -- Oakland's first-rounder from last year notched the first four-hit game of his young career. With a .296 average, Beck is getting hits, but could still develop more power (only six of his 24 hits have gone for extra bases) and plate discipline (two walks in 19 games).
Pirates OF Jordan Luplow, Triple-A Indianapolis: 2-for-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, BB, K -- The Pirates' No. 22 prospect's slugfest gave him his first two homers of the season. After playing 27 games in the Majors last season, Luplow is hitting just .203/.400/.362 in his return to Indy and will need to keep the power on to earn a promotion to Pittsburgh.
Reds SS Jeter Downs, Class A Dayton: 3-for-5, 2 R, K, 2 SB -- The Reds' No. 6 prospect isn't known as a speedster, but after swiping two bags Wednesday he has 11 stolen bases in 22 games, tied for most in the Midwest League.