Continuing with our new format, here are Baseball Farm’s Prospects of the Week for the seventeenth week of the season, July 23 thru July 29, 2018.
Each week, we search the boxscores and use our own proprietary roto weighting system to pick one hitter and one pitcher who had the best week at each minor league level.
Pitchers
AAA
This is James’s 4th PotW award this season. He’s been the brightest pop-up pitching prospect in baseball in 2018. After eating his spinach in the offseason, James is posting a 13.98 K/9 rate in 12 AAA starts. At the worst, he’s an intriguing bullpen piece for the Astros. At his best, he’s an intriguing middle-of-the-rotation starter for the best team in baseball.
| Name | Age | Class | Team | W | L | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
| Luiz Gohara | 21 | AAA | GWN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 4.821 | 0.714 |
| Austin Warner | 24 | AAA | MEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
| Josh James | 25 | AAA | FRE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| Stephen Gonsalves | 24 | AAA | ROC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1.384 | 0.769 |
| Cody Reed | 25 | AAA | LOU | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2.5 | 0.555 |
| Touki Toussaint | 22 | AAA | GWN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0.75 |
Pitchers
AA
The White Sox bulldog squared off against his former organization (Cubs) this week and made Theo Epstein and Co. seriously regret trading him away. His FIP in 5 AA starts as a 22 year-old is now a shiny 3.03.
| Name | Age | Class | Team | W | L | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
| Jacob Nix | 22 | AA | SA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14.1 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 2.553 | 0.851 |
| Chase De Jong | 24 | AA | ARK | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 1.928 | 0.857 |
| Brian Keller | 24 | AA | TRN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0.803 | 1.16 |
| Taylor Widener | 23 | AA | JXN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 2.213 | 0.901 |
| Trey Supak | 22 | AA | BLX | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 1.384 | 0.846 |
| Dylan Cease | 22 | AA | BIR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0.285 |
| Tony Gonsolin | 24 | AA | TUL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 2.571 | 0.714 |
| Hector Perez | 22 | AA | CC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 1.8 | 0.8 |
| Brock Burke | 21 | AA | MTG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0.833 |
| Conner Menez | 23 | AA | RIC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0.961 |
Pitchers
A-Advanced
Wells put in a fantastic start for the Ft. Myers Miracle on the road against Jupiter this week. He’s got his 2018 ERA down to 2.80 with a 0.89 WHIP and is probably a good candidate for a brief promotion to AA to see how he handles it.
| Name | Age | Class | Team | W | L | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
| Jesus Cruz | 23 | A-Adv | PMB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 1.5 | 1 |
| Justin Steele | 23 | A-Adv | MB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 1.978 | 0.769 |
| Zach Logue | 22 | A-Adv | DUN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 2.213 | 1.147 |
| Tanner Houck | 22 | A-Adv | SAL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0.75 | 0.666 |
| Logan Webb | 21 | A-Adv | SJ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9.1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 1.318 |
| Erick Leal | 23 | A-Adv | MB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0.246 |
| Tyler Wells | 23 | A-Adv | FTM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1.125 | 0.5 |
| Zach Plesac | 23 | A-Adv | LYN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1.285 | 0.857 |
| Cory Abbott | 22 | A-Adv | MB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1.451 | 0.806 |
| Brusdar Graterol | 19 | A-Adv | FTM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1.73 | 0.961 |
Pitchers
A-Full Season
There were a pile of strong pitching performances in A-Full Season ball this week, but PotW is Mr. Rogers neighborhood for the time being. Rogers, 20, was Miami’s 1st round pick in the 2017 draft. He made 2 strong starts this week, punching out 19 batters in 13.2 total innings.
| Name | Age | Class | Team | W | L | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
| Trevor Rogers | 20 | A-Full | GBO | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 19 | 1.363 | 0.757 |
| Alex Fagalde | 24 | A-Full | PEO | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 0.333 |
| Mac Sceroler | 23 | A-Full | DAY | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0.833 |
| Gustavo Armas | 22 | A-Full | LWD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 2.769 | 1.076 |
| Deivi Garcia | 19 | A-Full | CSC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0.333 |
| Edwin Uceta | 20 | A-Full | GL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 2.571 | 0.714 |
| Bryan Abreu | 21 | A-Full | QC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 1.8 | 1.6 |
| Wyatt Marks | 23 | A-Full | BEL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0.285 |
| Jean Carlos Mejia | 21 | A-Full | LC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0.571 |
Pitchers
A-Short Season
Crouse pitched 7 excellent innings on July 25th to pick up our PotW award this week. The Rangers 2017 2nd-round draft pick is now 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA and a 41:9 K:BB ratio in 33.0 innings of work this season.
| Hans Crouse | 19 | A-Short | SPO | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1.285 | 0.857 |
| Luis Frias | 20 | A-Short | HIL | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0.989 | 1.098 |
| Eury Ramos | 20 | A-Short | EUG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1.111 |
| Jaison Vilera | 21 | A-Short | BRK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0.571 |
Pitchers
Rookie
Wow, this kid put up an insane line this week, striking out 16 batters in a 6-inning against the GCL Tigers East on July 24th. Brown was a 33rd round pick out of Ward Melville HS in East Setauket, NY and is a 6’6″ righty. He’s still really young, and the Phillies are going slow with his development, as he’s just stretched out to start games this year.
| Name | Age | Class | Team | W | L | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
| Maikel Aguiar | 21 | Rookie | CUB1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 3.857 | 1.142 |
| Ben Brown | 18 | Rookie | PHW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Yerry Rodriguez | 20 | Rookie | RAN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 1 |
| Miguel Jerez | 20 | Rookie | BRA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0.75 | 0.916 |
| Daison Acosta | 19 | Rookie | KNG | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 3.6 | 0.8 |
| Victor Santos | 18 | Rookie | PHE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0.333 |
| Christian Fernandez | 18 | Rookie | RAY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 1.325 |
| Gilmael Troya | 21 | Rookie | PUL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0.857 |
Batters
AAA
Adolis Garcia is a Cuban OF who is allergic to walks (13 in 326 ABs) but digs the long ball. He hit 6 bombs this week, including a 3 HR, 8 RBI outburst against the Salt Lake Bees on July 26th.
| Name | Age | Class | Team | Rank | DELETE | POS | H | TB | AB | HR | RBI | R | BB | SO | SB | AVG | SLG |
| Adolis Garcia | 25 | AAA | STL | NA | MEM | OF | 12 | 36 | 29 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.413 | 1.241 |
| Ramon Laureano | 24 | AAA | OAK | 21 | NAS | RF | 14 | 30 | 25 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0.560 | 1.200 |
| Lane Thomas | 22 | AAA | STL | NA | MEM | CF | 10 | 26 | 29 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0.344 | 0.896 |
| Dylan Cozens | 24 | AAA | PHI | 16 | LHV | RF | 10 | 26 | 21 | 4 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0.476 | 1.238 |
| Frank Schwindel | 26 | AAA | KAN | NA | OMA | 1B | 11 | 23 | 29 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.379 | 0.793 |
| Andrew Velazquez | 24 | AAA | TB | NA | DUR | SS | 12 | 20 | 21 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0.571 | 0.952 |
| Eloy Jimenez | 21 | AAA | CWS | 1 | CHA | LF | 10 | 19 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.950 |
| Nicky Lopez | 23 | AAA | KAN | 7 | OMA | SS | 15 | 19 | 25 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.600 | 0.760 |
Batters
AA
It was a bumper week for St. Louis farmhands, and the kid from West Fargo, ND earned our PotW honors by hitting 5 bombs and driving in 12 runs. Young was a 37th round pick in 2017 out of Indiana State, and has posted a .876 OPS while playing a solid 2B between A-Advanced and AA ball this year.
| Name | Age | Class | Team | Rank | Team | POS | H | TB | AB | HR | RBI | R | BB | SO | SB | AVG | SLG |
| Andy Young | 24 | AA | STL | NA | SPR | 2B | 11 | 26 | 26 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0.423 | 1.000 |
| Brent Rooker | 23 | AA | MIN | 7 | CHA | OF | 13 | 24 | 26 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.923 |
| Ka’ai Tom | 24 | AA | CLE | NA | AKR | LF | 11 | 22 | 28 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0.392 | 0.785 |
| Bo Bichette | 20 | AA | TOR | 2 | NH | SS | 10 | 22 | 32 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0.312 | 0.687 |
| Alex Call | 23 | AA | CWS | NA | BIR | CF | 10 | 21 | 21 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0.476 | 1.000 |
| Kelvin Gutierrez | 23 | AA | KAN | 18 | NWA | 3B | 12 | 20 | 33 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.363 | 0.606 |
Batters
A-Advanced
Right-handed hitting Dominican outfielder is no relation to Albert, but he’s hit a little bit like him this year. Pujols is repeating A-Advanced ball after posting a .552 OPS in the Florida State League in 2017. He’s shown a ton of improvement. His 2018 OPS is up to .880 after this fantastic week, and he’s hit 18 HR and is slugging .516 for the Clearwater Threshers.
| Name | Age | Class | Team | Rank | Team | POS | H | TB | AB | HR | RBI | R | BB | SO | SB | AVG | SLG |
| Jose Pujols | 22 | A-Adv | PHI | NA | CLR | RF | 10 | 26 | 24 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0.416 | 1.083 |
| Luis Castro | 22 | A-Adv | COL | NA | LAN | 3B | 12 | 24 | 26 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.461 | 0.923 |
| Cody Thomas | 23 | A-Adv | LAD | NA | RC | CF | 10 | 24 | 28 | 4 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0.357 | 0.857 |
| Alex Kirilloff | 20 | A-Adv | MIN | 2 | FTM | RF | 15 | 24 | 27 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0.555 | 0.888 |
| Vince Fernandez | 23 | A-Adv | COL | 23 | LAN | DH | 9 | 23 | 26 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0.346 | 0.884 |
Batters
A-Full Season
Pompey stood out among the crowd this week by hitting 2 HR, stealing 3 bags, and posting an excellent 6:7 BB:K ratio. Tristan is the younger brother of Toronto prospect Dalton Pompey. He’s a toolsy 6’4″ switch-hitting outfielder who was Miami’s 3rd round draft pick in this year’s draft. He’s posted an .826 OPS so far in professional ball this season.
| Name | Age | Class | Team | Rank | Team | POS | H | TB | AB | HR | RBI | R | BB | SO | SB | AVG | SLG |
| Yariel Gonzalez | 24 | A-Full | STL | NA | PEO | 3B | 10 | 20 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | 1.000 |
| Sam Huff | 20 | A-Full | TEX | 21 | HIC | C | 7 | 19 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 0.280 | 0.760 |
| William Contreras | 20 | A-Full | ATL | 12 | ROM | C | 9 | 19 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.409 | 0.863 |
| Tristan Pompey | 21 | A-Full | MIA | 16 | GBO | OF | 11 | 19 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0.523 | 0.904 |
| Jean Carlos Encarnacion | 20 | A-Full | ATL | 14 | ROM | 3B | 11 | 16 | 27 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0.407 | 0.592 |
Batters
A-Short Season
Venezuelan LF prospect is playing in A-Short Season ball as a 19 year-old this season. The Blue Jays signed him as a J2 way back in 2015, but 2018 is his first taste of action outside of Rookie ball. Mc Gregory has handled himself well thus far, putting up an .877 OPS in 32 games for the Vancouver Canadians.
| Name | Age | Class | Team | Rank | Team | POS | H | TB | AB | HR | RBI | R | BB | SO | SB | AVG | SLG |
| Mc Gregory Contreras | 19 | A-Short | TOR | NA | VAN | CF | 9 | 24 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0.450 | 1.200 |
| Francisco Ventura | 19 | A-Short | TEX | NA | SPO | C | 9 | 19 | 24 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0.375 | 0.791 |
| Luis Asuncion | 21 | A-Short | SD | NA | TRI | RF | 11 | 19 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0.440 | 0.760 |
| Joey Bart | 21 | A-Short | SF | 1 | SK | C | 8 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.444 | 1.000 |
| Bobby Honeyman | 22 | A-Short | SEA | NA | EVE | SS | 10 | 17 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.500 | 0.850 |
Batters
Rookie
Cincinnati’s 26th round draft pick in this year’s draft is built like me (5’11”, 235) and unleashed his power potential on the Appy League this week, hitting 4 HR and slugging an obscene 1.315. He’s only 28 games into his professional career, so proceed with caution, but he is slugging .651.
| Name | Age | Class | Team | Rank | Team | POS | H | TB | AB | HR | RBI | R | BB | SO | SB | AVG | SLG |
| Rylan Thomas | 21 | Rookie | CIN | NA | GRN | 1B | 10 | 25 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.526 | 1.315 |
| Jeremiah Jackson | 18 | Rookie | LAA | 15 | ANG | SS | 10 | 25 | 23 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0.434 | 1.086 |
| Jose Caraballo | 21 | Rookie | KAN | NA | IDF | RF | 11 | 23 | 29 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0.379 | 0.793 |
| Kaleo Johnson | 21 | Rookie | TB | NA | RAY | 3B | 8 | 22 | 26 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.307 | 0.846 |
| Niko Hulsizer | 21 | Rookie | LAD | NA | OGD | OF | 10 | 21 | 22 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0.454 | 0.954 |
| Mark Vientos | 18 | Rookie | NYM | 10 | KNG | SS | 9 | 20 | 24 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0.375 | 0.833 |
