Prospect Roundup: Games of April 25

Dodgers 2B Willie Calhoun, Triple-A Oklahoma City: 3-for-5, HR, 2B, RBI, 2 R -- Before teammate Cody Bellinger stole the spotlight with his promotion to the Majors, Calhoun was having himself a day in a 6-0 win over Memphis. The Dodgers' No. 4 prospect started the proceedings with a leadoff homer -- his first of the season -- and then doubled and singled in his next at-bats, putting him in reach of the cycle by the fourth inning. Though the feat never came, Calhoun had his third three-hit game of the season. The 22-year-old second baseman is batting .333 with an .832 OPS through 19 games but has yet to recapture his power from 2016, when he hit 27 homers for Double-A Tulsa. Perhaps Tuesday will be the start of that tool coming back to life in 2017.

Astros OF Derek Fisher, Triple-A Fresno: 3-for-5, HR, 2B, RBI, 2 R, CS -- Like Calhoun, Fisher homered in his first at-bat, but in this case, he went the other way for a solo shot off Salt Lake right-hander Luis Diaz. Also unlike Calhoun, the homer was the No. 4 Astros prospect's fourth of the season. With a .279/.375/.515 line through 18 games, the 23-year-old outfielder has picked up where he left off from his first Triple-A stint last season when he hit .290/.347/.505 with five homers in 27 games. He's fallen off a bit on the basepaths, however. Tuesday's caught-stealing was his fifth in seven attempts.

Padres RHP Dinelson Lamet, Triple-A El Paso: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K, 100 pitches, 68 strikes -- With his best start of the season on Tuesday, the Padres' No. 12 prospect now leads Pacific Coast League qualifiers with a 0.45 ERA and 28 strikeouts over 20 innings. In his last two starts alone, he's fanned 22 over 12 1/3 frames. Punchouts are nothing new for the 24-year-old right-hander, who has been given plus grades for both his fastball and slider. He led the San Diego system with 158 K's in 150 innings across three levels last season and has averaged 10.1 K/9 over four Minor League seasons. He just needs to show more consistent control to complete his ascension toward becoming a Major Leaguer, and with a 4.1 BB/9 through his first four starts, there's still some room to grow in that department.
Tigers OF Christin Stewart, Double-A Erie: 2-for-4, HR, RBI, R -- If the Tigers' No. 2 prospect is in the news, it's likely for his power. Indeed, that was the case Tuesday when he homered for the second straight day and fifth time in 17 games this season. That puts him in a tie with Reading's Scott Kingery and Andrew Pullin for the Eastern League lead. Stewart went deep 30 times last season between Erie and Class A Advanced Lakeland but struggled to make consistent contact at the higher level with a .218 average and 26 percent strikeout rate. Those numbers are greatly improved through the first month of 2017 at .290 and 18.1 percent, and that's resulted in a 181 wRC+. Stewart may never be more than a one-trick masher, but he's showing that he won't be a one-year wonder either.
Tigers RHP Kyle Funkhouser, Class A West Michigan: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 K, 88 pitches, 52 strikes -- Tuesday's gem marked the third time in four starts that the Tigers' No. 6 prospect has fanned nine batters. This time it came in his longest outing as a pro. Funkhouser has fanned 39.7 percent of the batters he's faced through his first four starts, and that ranks highest among qualified Midwest League pitchers. The 23-year-old right-hander made noise when he chose not to sign with the Dodgers as the 2015 35th overall pick out of Louisville but fell to the fourth round in 2016 after a rough senior season. He's looked much more like his junior self in the beginning of his first full season, and despite a 4.08 ERA, he could be pushing for a move up to Class A Advanced Lakeland before long.