Thursday's top Spring Training prospect performers

Here's a look at Thursday’s top performers at Spring Training from each team's Top 30 Prospects list.

Royals: Bobby Witt Jr., SS (MLB No. 1)
Another day, another homer for baseball’s top prospect. Witt went deep for a second consecutive game, slugging a three-run shot in the fourth inning to give the Royals a lead they would not relinquish. The 21-year-old added a single, scored twice and is now 5-for-10 with five RBIs in four Cactus League games. Witt is coming off a .290/.361/.575, 33-homer, 95-RBI campaign with Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha in 2021.

Mets: Francisco ?lvarez, C (MLB No. 10)
?lvarez showed why he's regarded as one of the top prospects in the sport, connecting on a long home run for his first hit of the spring. The 20-year-old entered the game as a defensive replacement in the sixth and tapped out to the pitcher in his first at-bat. ?lvarez jumped on a first-pitch fastball in the eighth and cleared the left-center field fence. The Venezuela native went deep 24 times and drove in 70 runs while batting .272/.388/.554 in 99 games with Single-A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn in 2021.

D-backs: Alek Thomas, OF (MLB No. 18)
Seth Beer, 1B
Ryan Bliss, SS
It was a good day to be a D-backs prospect. Thomas racked up two hits and drove in three runs – two via a double to center off Brewers veteran Brandon Woodruff, and one on a single to left off Brent Suter. It was the 21-year-old’s first multihit performance of the spring and his first with at least one RBI.

Beer joined in on the party with three hits, two RBIs and two runs scored of his own. The 25-year-old got the scoring started off Woodruff with a single up the middle before lacing a run-scoring double to right three innings later. He added another base knock to complete his day. He’s collected five hits and scored three runs in nine at-bats so far.

Bliss came into the game in the sixth and immediately singled to right on his first trip to the plate in the seventh off Jake Cousins. The infielder stole second (he swiped 13 bags in ‘21) before adding an RBI double down the left-field line to his ledger in the ninth inning. After being taken 42nd overall in last year’s Draft, the 22-year-old slashed .259/.322/.443 with Single-A Visalia with six homers, 13 walks and 23 RBIs.

Athletics: Nick Allen, SS
Allen has done nothing but hit in the early portion of Spring Training and added to it with his first home run on Thursday afternoon. Oakland’s third-round pick in the 2017 Draft followed Sheldon Neuse’s solo homer in the fourth with one of his own and added a single to raise his average to .714 (5-for-7). Allen hit a career-high six home runs in 2021 and hit .288/.346/.403 in 89 games with Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas.

White Sox: Jake Burger, 3B
Bennett Sousa, LHP
Burger entered the game in the sixth inning, grounded out in the seventh and then connected on his first homer of the spring in the ninth. The 25-year-old, who went deep 18 times in 74 games with Triple-A Charlotte last year, is 4-for-13 (.286) this spring. Burger made his Major League debut in 2021 and hit .263 with a .807 OPS in 15 games.

Sousa turned in his second scoreless outing of the spring, striking out two in a perfect inning of work. The 25-year-old averaged 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings across two Minor League levels last year and has whiffed five of six batters in Spring Training.

Giants: Patrick Bailey, C
Bailey filled up the box score for San Francisco with a homer, a double and two RBIs. The hits were the first two of the spring for the 22-year-old, who began Cactus League play hitless in six at-bats. Selected 13th overall in the 2020 Draft, Bailey made his professional debut last year and batted .265 with a .795 OPS and 34 extra-base hits in 82 games with Minor League clubs.

Phillies: Mickey Moniak, OF
Moniak hasn’t gotten off to the hottest start in Spring Training, but the outfielder finally left the yard on Thursday with a solo homer off fifth-ranked Pirates prospect Roansy Contreras, who allowed three runs in two innings. On the very first pitch of the fifth inning, Moniak took a 97 mph fastball and deposited it over the fence in center. The 23-year-old is looking to bounce back from a mediocre 2021, when he hit .238/.299/.447 with 15 homers and 101 strikeouts in 99 Triple-A games.

Cubs: Jason Triantos, DH
Less than two months after turning 19, Triantos got hits in each of his first two spring at-bats, including an RBI single that temporarily tied the game in the seventh. Drafted in the second round last year, Triantos hit .327 with a .970 OPS, 14 extra-base hits and 19 RBIs in 25 games in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League.

Orioles: Zac Lowther, LHP
In his first appearance this spring, Lowther spun two scoreless innings and fanned three while surrendering just one hit and one walk. He struck out the first two batters he faced before allowing a walk, but he quickly bounced back with a groundout to retire the side. The 25-year-old fanned the first batter he faced in his second inning of work, gave up a double and sent the last two batters of the inning down in order to cap his night.

Twins: Jhoan Duran, RHP
Duran continued his strong spring with two scoreless innings in which he allowed only a hit and a walk while fanning two. After recording a strikeout in a 1-2-3 first inning while touching 100.7 MPH on his fastball, Duran faced some trouble in his second inning with two men on via a walk and single. But he quickly retired the final batter of the game with three breaking balls to give him two straight scoreless Spring Training appearances.

Rockies: Ezequiel Tovar, SS
Tovar has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball in the early part of spring and Thursday was no exception. The 20-year-old has hit safely in five of six games, batting .615 (8-for-13) with two homers, four RBIs and a stolen base. His two-run shot in the ninth enabled the Rockies to earn a 6-6 tie with the Dodgers. Tovar put together an impressive .287/.322/.475 slash line, 48 extra-base hits, 15 homers, 72 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 104 games with Single-A Fresno and High-A Spokane in 2021.