Ryan Mountcastle didn't get a Major League callup last September, but he's making it difficult for the Orioles to leave him off the team this spring.Baltimore's No. 4 prospect -- who was named International League MVP last season after hitting .312/.344/.527 with 25 homers in 127 games with Triple-A Norfolk
Ryan Mountcastle didn't get a Major League callup last September, but he's making it difficult for the Orioles to leave him off the team this spring.
Baltimore's No. 4 prospect -- who was named International League MVP last season after hitting .312/.344/.527 with 25 homers in 127 games with Triple-A Norfolk -- led the charge Thursday as the Orioles blistered the visiting Pirates, 13-0, in Sarasota. Mountcastle doubled in his first two at-bats before hitting a solo shot off Pittsburgh's Chris Stratton in the fifth inning. The 23-year-old's three-RBI day lifted his Grapefruit League average to .417.
Selected as a shortstop with the 36th overall pick in the 2015 Draft, Mountcastle spent 2018 playing third base for Double-A Bowie before splitting time between first base, third and left field last year with Norfolk. He started in left for the Orioles on Thursday. MLB.com ranks him as baseball's 94th-best prospect.
Teammate Austin Hays, Baltimore's No. 6 prospect, doubled twice and drove in a pair of runs. Ranked Pirates prospects Ke'Bryan Hayes, Kevin Kramer, Will Craig, Jared Oliva and Jason Martin combined to go 0-for-12 with a walk and three strikeouts.
Rays (ss) 6, Tigers 3
Wander Franco made his Grapefruit League debut with Tampa Bay. Baseball's top overall prospect, who turns 19 on Sunday, entered as a defensive replacement in the sixth and grounded back to the mound in his lone at-bat. Rays No. 24 prospect Peter Fairbanks allowed two hits with a strikeout in a scoreless fourth. Box score
Braves 3, Cardinals 1
Both clubs' top prospects -- Atlanta's Cristian Pache and St. Louis' Dylan Carlson -- contributed singles in the Braves' victory in Palm Beach. Pache's hit was his first of the spring, making him 1-for-7, while Carlson improved to 5-for-11 (.455). Nineteen-year-old Nolan Gorman, the Cardinals' No. 2 prospect, went 1-for-2. Box score
Yankees 7, Rays 1
New York's No. 25 prospect Michael King earned his first hold of the spring, allowing three hits over two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He was followed by second-ranked Clarke Schmidt, who gave up two hits and struck out three in two shutout frames. No. 11 Rays prospect Ronaldo Hernandez singled twice and 15th-ranked Taylor Walls singled once in two at-bats. Box score
Twins 3, Blue Jays 3
After homering in back-to-back games, No. 81 overall prospect Trevor Larnach went 1-for-4 for Minnesota. Gabriel Maciel (No. 27) doubled and scored the go-ahead run in the ninth. Right-hander Griffin Jax (No. 20) fanned one in two perfect frames. Blue Jays No. 20 prospect Reese McGuire slugged a solo shot off Twins starter Randy Dobnak while Kevin Smith (No. 23) tied the game for good with a two-run single in the ninth. Box score
Phillies 12, Red Sox 5
No. 30 overall prospect Alec Bohm drove in a pair on a single in the rout. Philly's No. 8 prospect Mickey Moniak reached twice and scored once, Simon Muzziotti (No. 11) went 3-for-3 with two RBIs while Deivy Grullon (No. 19) belted a two-run shot and a double. On the mound, Kyle Dohy (No. 24) worked around a hit batsman with a punchout in a hitless ninth. Red Sox No. 3 prospect Bobby Dalbec ripped a double and scored once while Jonathan Arauz (No. 30) slapped a three-run homer. Starter Bryan Mata -- Boston's top pitching prospect -- yielded two hits and a walk with two strikeouts in two scoreless frames. Box score
A's 5, Rockies 2
Second-ranked Oakland prospect A.J. Puk yielded a pair of hits and registered a strikeout in two scoreless frames to open the victory. It was the second scoreless appearance of the spring for the No. 60 overall prospect. A's No. 25 prospect Parker Dunshee yielded a run on three hits with a strikeout in one inning of relief. Fourth-ranked Jorge Mateo drew a leadoff walk and scored on Marcus Semien's sacrifice fly in the third. No. 10 Rockies prospect Yonathan Daza had a base hit in two at-bats to boost his Cactus League average to .364 through 11 at-bats. Box score
Giants 5, Mariners 4 (ss)
Getting his first start in the Cactus League campaign, third-ranked Seattle prospect Logan Gilbert yielded just one hit with a punchout in two scoreless frames. He retired the first four overall before Joe McCarthy singled in the second. Gilbert induced back-to-back flyouts by Yolmer Sanchez and Tyler Heineman to close out the outing. No. 30 Sam Delaplane gave up a hit and fanned one in one scoreless inning. Top Mariners prospect Jarred Kelenic singled over three at-bats and second-ranked Julio Rodriguez singled once in two at-bats. No. 4 Giants prospect Hunter Bishop singled and ended the day 1-for-2. No. 28 Giants prospect Dany Jimenez allowed hit in a shutout frame and earned the win. Box score
Reds 8, D-backs 0
Cincinnati ran eight hurlers to the bump during a three-hit effort against Arizona. Seventh-ranked Reds prospect Tyler Stephenson smacked a two-run tater in the eighth and a two-RBI double in the ninth. Right-hander Joel Kuhnel, the club's 22nd-ranked prospect, allowed a hit and struck out one in an inning of relief. Box score
Dodgers 6, Indians 5
Third-ranked Cleveland prospect Tyler Freeman went 1-for-2 with a single and an RBI groundout. Seventh-ranked Bobby Bradley homered for the first time this spring, a two-run shot that tied the game in the eight inning. Box score
Padres 1, Angels 0
Second-ranked San Diego prospect Taylor Trammell delivered the only offensive of the day with an RBI single in the fourth. He took a pitch from JC Ramírez and drove it through the right side to bring in Gordon Beckham with the game's lone run. Sixth-ranked Adrian Morejon got the start, allowing a hit and a walk with two strikeouts across 1 1/3 frames. Box score
Rangers 13, Cubs 1
Leody Taveras, Texas' fifth-ranked prospect, had two hits and scored once during a seven-run outburst in the eighth. No. 17 Tyler Phillips picked up the win, allowing three hits and two walks while whiffing a pair in 1 2/3 innings. Eleventh-ranked right-hander Justin Steele tossed a 1-2-3 fourth for the Cubs. Box score
Brewers 4, Royals 2
Milwaukee's top prospect Brice Turang remains in search of his first knock after eight Cactus League at-bats, including two against Kansas City. No. 4 Royals prospect Khalil Lee singled in his lone at-bat, and eighth-ranked Kyle Isbel scored on a wild pitch after entering the game as a pinch runner in the fifth. Left-hander Kris Bubic (No. 6) yielded a hit and a walk and fanned two in two scoreless innings, and No. 24 Josh Staumont worked around a walk and recorded a strikeout in a scoreless frame. Box score
Astros 5, Nationals 5
Cristian Javier surrendered a leadoff homer to Adam Eaton on his fourth pitch of his spring debut and walked the next two hitters before finding his footing. Houston's No. 9 prospect retired the last six Nats, four via the strikeout, to complete his two frames. Taylor Jones (No. 28) jump-started the Astros' eighth-inning rally with an RBI double and scored later in the frame. No. 27 Ross Adolph singled and scored the tying run on Jake Meyers' base knock. Second-ranked Washington prospect Luis Garcia singled in each of his two plate appearances. The 19-year-old is batting .444 in nine Grapefruit League at-bats. Box score
Marlins 3, Mets 1
Robert Dugger tossed 2 2/3 scoreless frames in his second spring appearance and first start for Miami. The No. 24 Marlins prospect scattered three hits and a walk while striking out four. Former top prospect Lewis Brinson homered in his second consecutive game and scored twice. Third-ranked New York prospect Andrés Giménez doubled in two at-bats. Edgardo Fermin drove in the Mets' run with a base hit in the eighth. Box score
