Welcome to the 14th installment of our Weekly Hot Prospects Report ranking the top minor-league performances from the week of July 17 through July 23rd:
1. Jackson Chourio, OF, Brewers (Double-A Biloxi)
Chourio is loving the Southern League getting rid of the pre-tacked balls for the second half, going off last week with a .483/.531/.862 triple-slash, 2 homers and 5 steals. The 19-year-old entered the All-Star break with a .714 OPS but has gone 23-for-47 with 3 homers and 5 steals since then to raise his OPS to .795. Chourio is so dialed in that he’s struck out just 3 times in 49 plate appearances since the break. Chourio will likely soon get the bump to Triple-A and could get a taste of Milwaukee in September.
2. Angel Bastardo, SP, Red Sox (High-A Greenville)
Bastardo racked up 14 strikeouts with no walks in 7 scoreless innings against Asheville on Friday. The 21-year-old right-hander allowed just 3 hits and lowered his season ERA to 3.49 with 119 Ks in 87.2 innings. Bastardo has a 1.13 ERA with 36 Ks in 24 IP in July, so it looks like he’s ready for Double-A Portland. He will be moving into our next weekly-updated Top 500 Prospects.
3. Drew Thorpe, SP, Yankees (High-A Hudson Valley)
Thorpe just keeps on dominating the South Atlantic League, dazzling with 13 Ks in 8 scoreless innings against Brooklyn on Saturday. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed just 2 hits and 1 walk to lower his season ERA to 2.08 with a 1.01 WHIP. Since the start of June, Thorpe is 7-0 with a 0.65 ERA and 72 Ks in 55.2 IP – time to move the guy up to Double-A Somerset.
4. Griff McGarry, SP, Phillies (Double-A Reading)
McGarry posted 10 strikeouts with no walks in 7 innings against Altoona on Friday. The 24-year-old right-hander has turned things around with just 2 walks in his last 13 innings after handing out 17 free passes in 13 IP over his previous 4 starts.
5. Connor Phillips, SP, Reds (Triple-A Louisville)
Phillips struck out 11 in 7 scoreless innings against Columbus on Friday, walking just 2 after issuing 10 free passes in his first 10.2 innings for Louisville. The 22-year-old right-hander leads the minors with 134 strikeouts and could give Cincinnati a boost in the rotation down the stretch.
6. Ben Brown, SP, Cubs (Triple-A Iowa)
Brown bounced back from a 5-walk, 6-run debacle in his previous start to strike out 9 with no walks in 5 1-hit innings against Indianapolis on Wednesday. The 23-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA to 5.24 with 83 Ks in 55 innings in Triple-A.
7. Emerson Hancock, SP, Mariners (Double-A Arkansas)
Hancock tossed 7 1-hit innings with 7 Ks and no walks against Springfield on Friday, lowering his ERA to 4.50. The 24-year-old right-hander has tossed 13 consecutive scoreless innings on the heels of a 9-run debacle in 1.2 innings on July 5.
8. Wikelman Gonzalez, SP, Red Sox (Double-A Portland)
Gonzalez twirled the first 6 innings of a combined no-hitter against New Hampshire on Sunday, striking out 10 but walking 4 and allowing a run. The 21-year-old right-hander is dominating since getting promoted to Portland with 19 Ks in 12 innings with a 0.75 ERA.
9. Tyler Hardman, 3B, Yankees (Double-A Somerset)
Hardman put up a triple-slash of .474/.583/1.158 with 4 homers and a steal for the week. The 24-year-old is up to 24 homers on the season, but needs to cut down on his 33.4% strikeout rate.
10. Blake Dunn, OF, Reds (Double-A Chattanooga)
Dunn stuffed the stat sheet last week with a .565/.577/1.087 triple-slash, 10 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 6 RBIs and 3 steals. The 24-year-old is batting .367 in 36 games for Chattanooga and has a combined .927 OPS with 13 homers and 38 steals between Double- and Triple-A.
Honorable Mentions
11. Tyler Black, 2B, Brewers (Double-A Biloxi): 12-for-27 (.444), 10 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 5 BB, 4 SO, 3 SB, .531 OBP, .889 SLG, 1.420 OPS
12. Hayden Birdsong, SP, Giants (High-A Eugene): 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 0.20 WHIP
13. Samuel Zavala, OF, Padres (Low-A Lake Elsinore): 7-for-20 (.350), 9 R, 1 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBIs, 7 BB, 6 SO, 3 SB, .500 OBP, .850 SLG, 1.350 OPS
14. Yu-Min Lin, SP, Diamondbacks (Double-A Amarillo): 1-0, 2.57 ERA, 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER< 0 BB, 6 SO, 0.57 WHIP
15. Bubba Chandler, SP, Pirates (High-A Greensboro): 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 10.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 14 SO, 0.75 WHIP
16. Cole Young, SS, Mariners (High-A Everett): 7-for-24 (.292), 5 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 2 RBIs, 4 BB, 6 SO, 2 SB, .414 OBP, .667 SLG, 1.081 OPS
17. Ty Madden, SP, Tigers (Double-A Erie): 0-0, 0.93 ERA, 9.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 18 SO, 0.93 WHIP
18. Gavin Cross, OF, (High-A Quad Cities): 8-for-23 (.348), 4 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 2 BB, 3 SO, 3 SB< .400 OBP, .739 SLG, 1.139 OPS
19. Masyn Winn, SS, Cardinals (Triple-A Memphis): 10-for-22 (.455), 9 R, 4 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBIs, 2 BB, 5 SO, 0 SB, 520 OBP, .909 SLG, 1.429 OPS
20. Franklin Lopez, C, Rockies (Dominican Summer League): 12-for-19 (.632), 9 R, 5 2B, 0 HR, 4 RBIs, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 SB, .650 OBP, .895 SLG, 1.545 OPS