Prospects of the Week: Games Ending 8/11

Prospects of the Week captures the best performances across all levels of the minor leagues. Because this covers a huge pool of players, its focus will generally favor prospects considered among the top of each organization.

This week includes games played August 5-August 11. You can read previous Prospects of the Week articles here:

July 29-Aug 4	July 22-July 28	July 15-July 21
July 8-July 14

 

Strikeout Kings

 

Matt Manning, 21, RHP, Erie (DET), Double-A
(1 W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 10 K)

Manning hit double-digit strikeouts for the first time since May, limiting New Hampshire to four singles over six strong innings on Friday. The 21-year-old has done everything the Tigers could have asked for at Double-A this year, including lowering his walk rate for a third straight season.

Tarik Skubal, 22, LHP, Erie (DET), Double-A
(1 W, 5 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 10 K)

After another dominant outing last week, Skubal has now recorded an absurd 60 Ks in his first 29 innings with Erie. His BB% has almost doubled (10.3% vs. 5.9%) since his promotion from High-A (thanks to a six-walk outing in July), so command will be key as his rapid ascension continues into 2020.

Joe Ryan, 23, RHP, Charlotte (TAM), High-A
(7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 13 K)

As great as Wander Franco has been this year, Joe Ryan has to be in consideration for the Rays’ Minor League Player of the Year. After tallying a career-high 13 Ks on Wednesday, Ryan’s ERA now sits at 1.42 on the season, backed by a stellar 37.2 K% and 5.39 BB% (through Sunday’s action). Just a 7^th-round pick last year, he’s far exceeded expectations and needs a step up in competition like yesterday.

Kris Bubic, 21, LHP, Wilmington (KC), High-A
(1 W, 9 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 11 K)

The Stanford product notched 11 strikeouts in the first complete game of his pro career against Fayetteville on Thursday. The knock on Bubic entering last year’s draft was that his pitch quality didn’t stand out, but he’s pretty much breezed through two levels of A-ball thus far (2.41 ERA, 34.0 K%, .198 opp. avg.).

Grayson Rodriguez, 19, RHP, Delmarva (BAL), Class A
(1 W, 5 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 10 K)

Orioles’ fans can take solace in knowing the system has a slew of quality arms in the pipeline and none with as much upside as Rodriguez, who twirled five no-hit innings on Saturday against Kannapolis. This was especially nice to see from the 19-year-old after his numbers dipped in July (4.60 ERA, 1.63 WHIP).

Seth Corry, 20, LHP, Augusta (SFG), Class A
(5 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 12 K)

Corry extended his scoreless streak to 32 innings on Friday, adding 12 Ks for good measure. It marked his fifth straight outing without allowing a run, and the South Atlantic League is hitting just .158 against him on the year. He’s quickly becoming the most intriguing arm in the Giants’ system.

 

Just Showing Off

 

Ramón Urías, 25, 2B, Memphis (STL), Triple-A
(13-for-22, .591 avg., 4 HR, 11 RBI, 5 Runs, 4 BB)

Someone is jealous his little brother is in the big leagues without him. The older brother of Padres’ infielder Luis Urías, the Cardinals’ Ramón Urías had a huge week in the Pacific Coast League, swatting four home runs and driving in 11 runs to boot. While Ramón is nowhere near the level of prospect of his younger brother, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him hit his way into a utility role with the Cardinals in the future.

Patrick Wisdom, 27, 1B/OF, Nashville (TEX), Triple-A
(10-for-23, .435 avg., 7 HR, 11 RBI, 9 Runs, 3 BB, 1 SB)

Wisdom had probably the greatest week of his pro career, homering in six straight games, and he raised his season average fifteen points in the process. Unfortunately, the former Cardinals’ prospect is still hitting just .237 on the year and signs point to this being more of a whacky PCL hot streak than a late breakout.

Bryson Stott, 21, SS, Williamsport (PHI), Class A (Short season)
(11-for-24, .458 avg., 3 HR, 6 RBI, 5 Runs, 4 BB)

Stott went 14^th overall in the June draft, but he struggled to make his mark on the New York-Penn League out the gate, batting just .188 in his first 14 games. The UNLV product looks to have turned the corner, though, collecting multiple hits in four straight games to bring his batting line up to .275/.365/.505 on the season.

 

The Newly Promoted

 

Shane McClanahan, 22, LHP, Montgomery (TAM), Double-A
(1 W, 5 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 K)

Much like Joe Ryan, the Rays’ McClanahan has mostly been flying under the radar, but he’s now pitched across three levels this year after tossing five shutout innings in his Double-A debut last week. If he can maintain anything close to the 4.2% walk rate he showed at High-A, the potential is there for a quick rise to the big leagues next year.

Corbin Carroll, 18, OF, Hillsboro (ARZ), Class A (Short)
(7-for-19, .368 avg., 0 HR, 3 RBI, 9 Runs, 4 BB, 1 SB)

Carroll made his Class A debut with Hillsboro on Thursday and wound up collecting six hits in his first 15 ABs, including two multi-hit efforts over the weekend. At just 18 years old, the Diamondbacks’ top pick from the June draft now has a .304/.426/.488 slash line across two levels and 17 stolen bases in 34 games played.

 

Just missed:

Nick Solak, 24, 2B/OF, Nashville (TEX), Triple-A
(10-for-26, .385 avg., 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 Runs)

Jarred Kelenic, 20, OF, Arkansas (SEA), Double-A
(8-for-16, .500 avg., 1 HR, 4 RBI, 5 Runs, 1 SB)

Daulton Varsho, 23, C, Jackson (ARZ), Double-A
(8-for-19, .421 avg., 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 Runs)

Griffin Conine, 22, 3B, Lansing (TOR), Class A
(10-for-27, .370 avg., 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 Runs, 2 BB, 1 SB)

Luis Frias, 21, RHP, Kane County (ARZ), Class A
(1 W, 11 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 12 K)

Brandon Lewis, 20, 3B, Odgen (LAD), Rookie Adv.
(6-for-10, .600 avg., 3 HR, 7 RBI, 5 Runs, 2 BB)

 

(Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire).