Who strengthened their promotion caseTwins LHP Stephen Gonsalves, Double-A Chattanooga: 4 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K -- Gonsalves went 16-4 in 28 starts for the Lookouts in 2016 and 2017, so it's something of a mystery that he's begun 2018 back in the Southern League. After
Who strengthened their promotion case
Twins LHP Stephen Gonsalves, Double-A Chattanooga: 4 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K -- Gonsalves went 16-4 in 28 starts for the Lookouts in 2016 and 2017, so it's
something of a mystery that he's begun 2018 back in the Southern League. After two starts, it's clear that he's ready to take on International League hitters. The 23-year-old southpaw fired
5 1/3 no-hit frames in his season debut last week and four more scoreless innings last night. He's allowed just three hits over 9 1/3 innings, and while he's walked six, Gonsalves has not historically had an issue with his command. It's time for him to head to Triple-A Rochester for good.
Who stayed hot
Giants OF Chris Shaw, Triple-A Sacramento: 1-for-3, HR, BB, 2 RBI, K -- A day after
collecting five hits, including a homer, in an 18-5 rout, Shaw kept up the pressure with a two-run shot in the first inning Thursday. Pacific Coast League slugging percentages should be taken with a grain of salt, but a .333/.371/.636 line is nothing to sneeze at in any circuit. The 24-year-old Boston College product hit 24 homers last season, and with his hot start in 2018, has little left to prove in the Minors.
Who needed this one
Orioles OF DJ Stewart, Triple-A Norfolk: 4-for-5, 2 R -- The burly 2015 first-round pick went just 2-for-14 (.143) in his first four games of the season before ripping four singles in the Tides' 8-9 loss. Neither Stewart nor the Orioles were panicking after four contests, but it's always nice to see your batting average jump 173 points in an evening. Stewart already had a relatively low strikeout rate for a slugger in this day and age, but he's improved even further in 2018 -- he's fanned just three times in his first 21 plate appearances.
The unexpected
Red Sox 3B Michael Osinski, Class A Greenville: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI -- As Mike Piazza, among others, taught us, late-round Draft picks should never be discounted. Even so, few foresaw Osinski -- a 31st-round selection last year -- driving in four runs in back-to-back games. The Longwood product collected 14 RBIs over 44 games with the GCL Red Sox and Class A Short Season Lowell Spinners last summer; he's already plated 11 in his first seven full-season games for the Drive.
Best matchup
Josh Staumont vs. Oscar Mercado and Tyler O'Neill: Triple-A Memphis is 7-1 and has a stacked lineup that's batting .302 as a team. None of that fazed Royals No. 13 prospect Staumont, who came on in the seventh with his Storm Chasers trailing by a run. After getting Wilfredo Tovar to ground out, Staumont yielded a single to Mercado before Max Schrock reached on a fielder's choice. Now faced with two on and one out, Staumont bore down to strike out both O'Neill (the No. 94 prospect in baseball) and Rangel Ravelo swinging. Staumont struggled with his command as a starter -- he walked 97 batters in 124 2/3 innings last year and 104 over 123 1/3 frames in 2016 -- and has already issued two free passes in his first three innings out of the 'pen this year. But the stuff is there -- he also has seven strikeouts.
Others of note
Rockies 3B Colton Welker, Class A Advanced Lancaster: 2-for-4, HR, RBI, BB -- The Rockies' No. 4 prospect and fourth-round pick in 2016 continued his hot start in the California League with his ninth RBI in his eighth game Thursday.
The Stoneman Douglas alum has six hits in his last three games and three homers and 11 runs scored overall in 27 at-bats. The 20-year-old hit .350 with six homers and 33 RBIs in 67 games last year at Class A Asheville.
Dodgers CF DJ Peters, Double-A Tulsa: 3-for-5, RBI, BB, R -- The 22-year-old outfielder and No. 6 Dodgers prospect bounced back from an 0-for-4 night on Wednesday with a season-high three hits Thursday against Frisco. The Dodgers' 2016 fourth-round pick is batting .276 with a pair of homers in six Texas League games this season, following his two-game postseason cameo with the Drillers last year.
Reds CF Stuart Fairchild, Class A Dayton: 3-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R -- Cincinnati's second-round pick last summer has looked good as he begins his first full season in the Minors, batting .333 with two homers and seven RBIs in eight games. The Wake Forest product slammed a two-run shot in the third inning on Thursday before Dayton went on to claim a walk-off win in the ninth, led by
the exploits of teammate Jeter Downs . Fairchild, ranked as the Reds' No. 11 prospect, is 10-for-30 with eight runs scored in the Midwest League.
Braves RHP Touki Toussaint, Double-A Mississippi: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K -- Toussaint rebounded from a rough 2018 debut with five scoreless innings Thursday at Biloxi, striking out at least nine batters for the first time since last Aug. 19 -- a total he managed only four times in 26 starts last season. The 2014 first-round pick took the loss in his debut on April 6 against Tennessee, allowing five runs in 2 2/3 innings before shutting down the Shuckers in a 6-5 Braves loss at MGM Park last night. Toussaint has 13 strikeouts and six walks in 7 2/3 frames this year.
