Prospect Roundup: Games of June 11

Pirates OF Austin Meadows, Triple-A Indianapolis: 3-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, R, K -- It hasn't been the ideal season so far for the Pirates' top prospect. Meadows got off to a slow start with a .195 average and .503 OPS during 21 games in April, only to turn it around with a .300 average and .804 OPS in May. The first nine games of June have more closely resembled his April output, but he tied his season high with three hits Sunday. He's still only hitting .244 with a .636 OPS this month and has a .253/.313/.356 line on the season, and his .669 OPS is the lowest among qualified Indianapolis hitters. That's far from ideal for MLB.com's No. 6 overall prospect, who's been lauded for his bat -- when healthy -- over his previous four seasons in the Minors. Still, he only turned 22 on May 3 and was the fifth-youngest player in the International League on Opening Day. Patience always needed to be part of the equation; hopefully Sunday is the next step in making June as solid a month as May. 

Royals 1B Samir Dueñez, Double-A Northwest Arkansas: 4-for-4, 2B, 3 R, BB -- The Royals' No. 17 prospect set a season high with four hits in a perfect day at the plate. Duenez started the year with a .321/.375/.531 line over 20 games in April but saw those numbers fall to .234/.292/378 across 28 contests in May. June has been somewhere in between, and his .268/.329/.433 line with eight homers, three triples and 10 doubles on the season have been a smidge above league average. The Venezuela native made waves in 2016 by climbing three levels and earning a spot on the Royals' 40-man roster. He earns points for being a solid hitter and handling first base well, but he lacks the power to stand out at the position. His current package of tools and his roster status could be enough to get him a Major League look come roster expansion in September, but don't expect him to be the Royals' ready-made replacement for Eric Hosmer should he leave via free agency this offseason. 

Cubs OF Eloy Jiménez, Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, K -- It was disappointing to see Jimenez miss the first five weeks of the season with a right-shoulder bruise, leaving us to wonder what numbers he could've put up over a full season. However, the Cubs' top prospect has hit the ground running since his May 14 return. His homer Sunday was his sixth of the season and third in his last eight games. The 20-year-old outfielder, who hit 14 homers in his breakout season for Class A South Bend in 2016, is showing plenty of pop in his jump to Class A Advanced, along with an improved approach that has resulted in a 13/12 K/BB ratio through 88 plate appearances. If he had posted his .293/.398/.560 line over the entire first half of the season, we'd be talking about a bump to Double-A Tennessee potentially in the second half. He'll need to keep these numbers up for a larger sample to make that a possibility after starting on the shelf, but Jimenez is showing little reason to apply brakes to his hype train.

Padres LHP Joey Lucchesi, Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, 1 HBP, 1 HR, 96 pitches, 68 strikes -- Draft day is here, and Lucchesi is showing plenty of helium one year after the Padres took him in the fourth round out of Southeast Missouri State. The Padres' No. 20 prospect hit double-digit strikeouts for the second straight start -- outpitching Rancho Cucamonga starter and No. 41 overall prospect Yadier Álvarez -- and now sits second in the California League with 86 in 66 2/3 innings, trailing only 2016 first-rounder A.J. Puk's 87 for Stockton. Lucchesi, who has fanned 32.5 percent of the batters he's faced in his first full season, is also second with a 0.96 WHIP and third with a 2.43 ERA, making him a lock for the California League All-Star Game on June 20. The 24-year-old left-hander has three pitches in his fastball, curve and changeup that have all graded out as above-average, and his control with a 6.4 percent walk rate has been superb. He'll need to be tested against Double-A bats soon, and it's likely that next week's All-Star Game is the only thing holding back a promotion at this juncture.
Astros RHP Forrest Whitley, Class A Quad Cities: 4 2/3 IP, 0 H, 4 BB, 7 K, 90 pitches, 59 strikes -- The Astros are being cautious with their 2016 first-round pick and No. 5 prospect as Sunday marks the first time in nine appearances that he's reached 90 pitches. It was a mixed bag of a start for the 19-year-old right-hander, who didn't allow a hit but gave up a season-high four walks. His seven punchouts matched a season high and pushed his total to 46 over 33 1/3 innings in his jump to full-season ball. Whitley has impressive stuff with two potential plus pitches in his fastball and curve and above-average offerings in his slider and changeup, and it will be fun to see what he can do when fully unleashed.