Sunday's top prospect performers
Here's a look at Sunday¡¯s top Minor League performers from each team's Top 30 Prospects list:
Marlins: JJ Bleday, OF (MLB No. 13), Double-A Pensacola
Bleday scored three runs and drove in three on a 2-for-5 performance, including a two-run triple in the bottom of the second, his second three-bagger of the year. The Marlins¡¯ No. 2 prospect has collected two multihit games in his past three contests and has reached base safely in nine of his past 10. Bleday is slashing .290/.450/.677 in that 10-game stretch with two homers, six RBIs and seven walks.
Astros: Hunter Brown, RHP (No. 3), Triple-A Sugar Land
Brown twirled six one-run innings in his Triple-A debut, giving up just three hits and walking one while racking up seven strikeouts. The 22-year-old has surrendered two or fewer runs in seven consecutive starts, including one run or less six times. Brown¡¯s seven punchouts pushed his season total to 83 in 55 1/3 innings, an average of 13.5 per nine. His hot stretch has lowered his ERA from 6.20 on June 18 to 3.74.
Pirates: Liover Peguero, SS (No. 4), High-A Greensboro
Pegeuro has been on a power kick lately. The 20-year-old has launched five homers in his last four games, capped off by a two-homer performance on Sunday, his second such effort of the season. Peguero drove in four runs and added a walk to his 2-for-4 day, giving him a career-high 32 RBIs on the season to go with 11 home runs, 17 stolen bases and a .266 batting average.
Royals: Nick Loftin, SS (No. 8), High-A Quad Cities
A lot of things went Loftin¡¯s way in the River Bandits¡¯ 14-12 marathon win. First, he set a new career-high in hits, going 5-for-6 at the plate after never recording more than three hits in a game. Second, he hit for the cycle, the first of his young career. Third, he completed said cycle on a walk-off two-run homer in an at-bat that was supposed to result in a bunt to advance the runners before a wild pitch changed the course of the game. Yeah. It was certainly the best game of Loftin¡¯s career, and the 2020 Draft pick is now batting .268 with seven homers, 14 doubles and only two more strikeouts (39) than RBIs (37).
Rangers: Ezequiel Duran, 2B/SS (No. 8), High-A Hickory
Duran is a new addition to the Rangers¡¯ farm, having come from the Yankees in the Joey Gallo trade, and he wasted no time getting acquainted with his new team on a 3-for-6, four-RBI day in Hickory¡¯s 12-7 win. Duran got the scoring started in the bottom of the first, cashing in on a leadoff double with a two-bagger of his own. A two-run single in the bottom of the third made it 6-0 Crawdads, and a sharp single in sixth extended the lead to 11-5. The 22-year-old is hitting .295 with a .905 OPS across three teams (two levels) this season with 12 homers and 54 RBIs.
D-backs: Luis Fr¨ªas, RHP (No. 9), Double-A Amarillo
Frias was unhittable for the Sod Poodles in their victory over Mississippi as he fired a seven-inning no-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader. It was the first hitless outing of Frias¡¯ career and the second time in three starts that he went seven innings. The 23-year-old only allowed two baserunners -- the first coming on a wild pitch third strike that allowed the runner to take first, and the second a four-pitch walk in the sixth. Fr¨ªas struck out four of the first seven batters he faced and added a strikeout in the sixth and the seventh to give him six on the day. He threw 62 of his 90 pitches for strikes.
Reds: Riley O¡¯Brien, RHP (No. 13), Triple-A Louisville
After a rough month of June that saw his ERA jump from 2.86 to 5.40, O¡¯Brien picked it up in July and started August off strong with five hitless innings in relief in Louisville¡¯s 2-0 win. The 6-foot-4 righty struck out six and allowed only one baserunner on a four-pitch walk in the fourth; the threat was promptly taken care of when O¡¯Brien induced a double-play ball five pitches later. O¡¯Brien threw 33 of his 50 pitches for strikes and has lowered his season ERA to 4.12 with 78 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings.
Giants: Casey Schmitt, 3B (No. 15), Low-A San Jose
Schmitt flirted with a cycle in San Jose¡¯s victory, falling a homer shy while collecting his second three-hit performance in three games. The 22-year-old picked up right where he left off in July when he batted .290/.371/.376 with eight doubles in 93 at-bats. Selected in the second round of the 2020 Draft, Schmitt is batting .258/.327/.428 with 22 extra-base hits and 27 RBIs in 58 games.
Phillies: Jhailyn Ortiz, OF (No. 21), Double-A Reading
Ortiz shook off a hitless debut with Reading on Saturday to blast his first Double-A homer while tallying three hits and a walk. The 22-year-old certainly earned his promotion from High-A Jersey Shore after posting an .852 OPS, 30 extra-base hits, 19 homers and 48 RBIs in 74 games. Ortiz is coming off a July in which he went deep 13 times and drove in 25 runs in 90 at-bats.
Indians: Jose Tena, SS (No. 23), High-A Lake County
Tena collected the second multihomer game of the season on a 3-for-4, two-RBI day at the plate. The power wouldn¡¯t come until the top of the fifth, after he started his day with a single in the first. His first solo shot broke a 1-1 tie, and his second dinger in the eighth extended Lake County¡¯s lead to 7-1. After hitting only one homer in each of his last two Minor League seasons, Tena has nine long balls in 2021 to compliment his .288./339/.469 slash line.