The MLB Desert Invitational continued on Sunday with strong performances on both sides of the plate. Some players continued their hot start during this first weekend of baseball, while other's made a splash in their season debuts.
Here's a look at Sunday¡¯s top prospect performers, listed in alphabetical order.
Gavin Bruni, LHP, Ohio State
In his season debut, the junior left-hander earned the win after tossing five innings and allowing two runs (one earned) while striking out six. The 6-foot-3 southpaw was consistently around the plate all night, tossing 54 of his 79 pitches for strikes.
Kaelen Culpepper, SS, Kansas State
After missing 19 games last season, Culpepper is off to a strong start this year. MLB's No. 28 Draft prospect is looking to keep his success rolling after smashing his first home run of the season in the first inning of Kansas State's 7-6 win over Georgetown. More ?
Michael Farinelli, RHP, Boston College
A transfer with two previous collegiate stops on his r¨¦sum¨¦, Farinelli endeared himself to the Eagles by spinning four scoreless frames in his maroon and gold debut. Deftly deploying his three-pitch mix, the righty racked up seven strikeouts and accrued nine swing and misses while peppering the strike zone (particularly with his slider, which he landed for a strike 74.1 percent of the time).
Brendan Jones, CF, Kansas State
The junior centerfielder made the difference in Kansas State¡¯s victory. He went 2-for-4 with a triple in the sixth inning and a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.
Caleb Lomavita, C, Cal
MLB¡¯s No. 21 Draft prospect opened the scoring for the Golden Bears with a mammoth 452-foot two-run homer in the fifth inning for his first long ball of the season. It came exactly two years to the day after he hit a game-tying clout in his MLB Desert Invitational debut as a freshman. Lomavita added a sac fly, a single and a walk during his three-RBI afternoon. More ?
Tyson Neighbors, RHP, Kansas State
Despite allowing a two-run homer after entering the game, MLB¡¯s No. 69 Draft prospect buckled down to collect the final three outs to earn his first save of the season in his 2024 debut. More ?
Josh Rolling, 2B, Georgetown
The second baseman contributed half of the Hoyas' run production. He laced a game-tying RBI single in the top of the sixth and cut the Hoyas deficit with a two-run shot to left-center field in the ninth. Rolling finished the game 2-for-3.
Nick Wang, 3B, Boston College
The Eagles' third baseman continued to flourish in the desert. He capped off his strong weekend with a 2-for-3 showing, walking twice and smashing a two-run homer in the seventh for his second long ball of the season.
Kyle Wolff, 1B, Boston College
The scoreboard for Sunday¡¯s Boston College-Cal showdown was chock full of crooked numbers, a handful of which came at Wolff¡¯s doing. He got things started with a run-scoring single in the first before barreling up a two-run homer in the second. The power-packed sophomore was able to keep it fair inside the left-field foul pole after sizzling it 106.5 mph off the bat. Wolff went back in the same direction -- albeit with less launch angle -- in the sixth, keeping a scorcher fair to plate his fourth run of the day.