Prospect Roundup: Games of May 2

Dodgers OF Alex Verdugo, Triple-A Oklahoma City: 4-for-6, RBI, 2 R, BB, K -- With Cody Bellinger in the Majors, Verdugo is now the highest-ranked prospect at Triple-A Oklahoma City, and he's doing his best to live up to the billing. MLB.com's No. 54 overall prospect snapped a 1-for-15 skid by matching his career high with four hits Tuesday night in an 8-6, 14-inning loss to Colorado Springs. The 20-year-old outfielder, who entered the season as the youngest player in the Pacific Coast League, is hitting .337/.408/.430 over 23 games. The power has yet to appear, but he's shown solid discipline against Triple-A arms with a favorable 10/11 K/BB ratio in 98 plate appearances. It'll take a few more months of dominance or even more injuries in the Los Angeles outfield before the Dodgers consider giving Verdugo his first taste of the bigs, but all involved should be encouraged by the way he's taken to the Minors' highest level.

Padres SS/2B Luis Urías, Double-A San Antonio: 4-for-4, 2B, IBB, CS -- The Padres' No. 5 prospect really hasn't stopped hitting since the 2016 season began. Urias, who batted .333 with an .850 OPS at Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore last year, pushed his current line to .354/.431/.563 with his third four-hit game of the 2017 campaign. He's tied for second in the Texas League with 13 extra-base hits and ranks fifth with a .994 OPS through 24 games. (By the way, he won't turn 20 until June 3.) The Padres have been starting 33-year-old Erick Aybar at shortstop with Luis Sardiñas and Rule 5 pick Allen Córdoba also on the roster, but with each passing week, Urias is looking more and more like he'll make a claim as the shortstop of the future in San Diego.

Brewers SS/2B Isan Díaz, Class A Advanced Carolina: 3-for-4, HR, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, IBB, K -- The Brewers' No. 5 prospect showed plenty of pop as he extended his hitting streak to 12 games and home run streak to three games in a 4-3, 10-inning loss to Buies Creek. The 20-year-old hit just .208 in his first 13 games but has come on strong since, raising his slash line to .299/.358/.515 with five homers and six doubles through 25 contests. Despite his 5-foot-10 stature, no one should be surprised by Diaz's power after he smacked 20 homers for Class A Wisconsin in 2016, but it's good to see the middle infielder, who will turn 21 on May 27, carry that type of bat to Class A Advanced.

White Sox RHP Dane Dunning, Class A Advanced Winston-Salem: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HBP, 75 pitches, 47 strikes
Indians RHP Triston McKenzie, Class A Advanced Lyncburg: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 87 pitches, 55 strikes 
The 1,450 fans in attendance at Lynchburg's Calvin Falwell Field on Tuesday were treated to a pitcher's duel between the No. 10 White Sox prospect and the No. 3 Indians prospect. Technically, Dunning came out the winner with five scoreless frames in his Class A Advanced debut, but McKenzie had the higher game score at 74-67. Including his time with Class A Kannapolis, Dunning has a 0.29 ERA and 0.61 WHIP with 38 strikeouts and three walks in 31 innings to open his first full season, while McKenzie owns a 2.39 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 30 K's and 11 walks in 26 1/3 innings, all with Lynchburg. The pair of right-handers will be two of the most exciting arms in the Carolina League and proved it Tuesday night.
Blue Jays LHP Ryan Borucki, Class A Advanced Dunedin: 3 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K, 45 pitches, 34 strikes -- How's this for efficiency? The Blue Jays' No. 16 prospect started with seven straight strikeouts and retired all 11 Tampa batters he faced before exiting in the fourth inning. The eight total punchouts matched his season high, which he set April 17 over 5 1/3 innings against St. Lucie. Tommy John surgery, other injuries and some general ineffectiveness have kept the 2012 15th-rounder from cracking Double-A, but he's got the three-pitch mix to keep batters off-balance. The Blue Jays showed confidence in Borucki's health and stuff by adding him to the 40-man roster in November.