It was a day to not be forgotten within the Minors, with a pair of historic performances on the plate, a throwback efficiency on the mound and a wonderfully pitched recreation at Double-A. To not be outdone, a few of baseball’s youngest prospects confirmed they will stand toe-to-toe with the very best of ’em. All that and extra throughout a busy Saturday:
Jonah Tong, RHP, Binghamton (NYM No. 6)Tong got here inside an out of tossing a seven-inning good recreation however as a substitute settled for a mixed perfecto and the very best efficiency of his professional profession. The 21-year-old struck out a career-high 13 whereas retiring all 20 batters he confronted throughout his 99-pitch outing. Tong, whom the Mets chosen within the seventh spherical of the 2022 Draft, has 40 punchouts over his previous 4 begins (19 innings) and 51 Okay’s for the season. The native of Canada has a 2.57 ERA, is holding opposing hitters to a .162 common and has struck out 44.7 p.c (51 of 114) of them. Full story | Gameday
Brice Matthews, SS/3B, Sugar Land (HOU No. 2)Within the midst of a 1-for-24 skid, Matthews broke out in arguably the most important means doable. The 23-year-old hit for the cycle, homering within the eighth to not solely safe his place within the report books, but in addition match a profession excessive with 4 hits. Matthews drove in two runs and scored 4 occasions. Gameday
Bryce Eldridge, 1B, Richmond (SF No. 1/MLB No. 20)The Giants’ large slugger saved his finest for final, turning across the recreation for Double-A Richmond with a three-run homer within the eighth inning. It was Eldridge’s second lengthy ball of the yr and first since his first at-bat for the Flying Squirrels on April 22. The 6-foot-7, 240-pounder has reached base safely in eight of 9 video games this month and is batting .333 in that span. For the season, Eldridge has an .825 OPS and 5 extra-base hits in 15 video games. Gameday
Josue De Paula, OF, Nice Lakes (LAD No. 2/MLB No. 35)Nonetheless two weeks away from turning 20, De Paula is making waves at Excessive-A. He made a press release on Saturday evening within the type of the second multihomer recreation of his professional profession. He completed the sport 3-for-6 with 4 RBIs. His homers, which had been his fifth and sixth of the season, moved him right into a tie for the lead in that class within the Midwest League. He additionally leads the circuit in slugging share (.553) and OPS (.981). Gameday
Jesús Made, SS, Carolina (MIL No. 2/MLB No. 50)In his first season stateside, Made has settled properly into Single-A ball, batting .303 throughout his first 25 video games. On Saturday, he added an exclamation level onto Carolina’s 16-2 victory, driving in 5 runs on two hits with two stolen bases. It’s the second five-RBI recreation of his younger profession, and his season complete of 20 RBIs lands him within the prime 10 of the Carolina League. Gameday
Termarr Johnson, 2B/SS, Altoona (PIT No. 4/MLB No. 77)Johnson provided energy from atop the Double-A Altoona lineup once more, going deep for the second time in three video games. The 20-year-old reached base three extra occasions on a single and two walks, whereas additionally swiping a base. Johnson has hit safely in six of his previous seven video games for the Curve. Gameday
JR Ritchie, RHP, Rome (ATL No. 7)In an age the place six-inning begins are largely celebrated, Ritchie harkened again to a bygone period for pitchers. The Washington state native allowed only one hit whereas twirling a complete-game, nine-inning shutout for Excessive-A Rome. Ritchie, who surrendered his lone hit to the primary batter of the sport, struck out a career-high 9, walked one and wanted solely 95 pitches. The 21-year-old has a 1.30 ERA, an 0.79 WHIP and is limiting opposing batters to a .161 common. Gameday
Dante Nori, OF, Clearwater (PHI No. 6)Chosen within the first spherical of the 2024 Draft, Nori continues to be getting his ft moist in professional ball, however he put collectively a breakthrough efficiency on Saturday with a career-high 4 hits. He began the sport with the primary house run of his professional profession within the first inning, adopted it with a triple within the second inning and added a few singles to fall simply shy of a cycle. Gameday
CJ Alexander, INF/OF, Las Vegas (Unranked)Enjoying for Triple-A Las Vegas appears to ensure that at the very least one participant will for hit the cycle all through the course of the yr. That honor fell to Alexander, who doubled within the eighth inning to finish the feat, giving the membership 4 consecutive seasons with a cycle to its credit score. The 28-year-old’s eight homers are tied for the membership lead with Colby Thomas (ATH No. 2). Gameday
