Dingler hits grand slam for Erie

Detroit Tigers

Here’s a look at Saturday’s top Minor League performers from each team’s Top 30 Prospects list:

Orioles: Adley Rutschman, C (MLB No. 2), Double-A Bowie
Gunnar Henderson, SS (MLB No. 90), High-A Aberdeen
Jordan Westburg, SS (No. 6), High-A Aberdeen

Rutschman came up clutch for Bowie, hitting a game-tying, two-run homer in the ninth inning. The Orioles’ No. 1 prospect doubled earlier in the game and finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Rutschman is hitting .280 through 67 games with Bowie this season and has multiple hits in three of his past four contests.

Aberdeen’s left side of the infield is home to two highly touted prospects and that duo led the IronBirds to an 8-5 win over Hudson Valley with a pair of extra-base hits apiece. Henderson, manning the hot corner and hitting third, went 2-for-3 with a triple, a double, an RBI and a strikeout. After dominating for Delmarva with a .944 OPS in 35 games, Henderson was bumped up to Aberdeen. In 28 High-A games, the 2020 second-rounder owns a .756 OPS with nine extra-base hits (five doubles, one triple and three homers).

Westburg, the leadoff hitter and shortstop for the IronBirds, went 2-for-4 with a big fly, a double, an RBI, two runs, a strikeout and a walk. The 22-year-old extended his hitting streak to seven games with the performance and boosted his average up to .288 through 44 games with Aberdeen after hitting .366 over 20 games with Low-A Delmarva.

Rockies: Zac Veen, OF (MLB No. 39), Low-A Fresno
Veen, the ninth overall pick from the 2020 Draft, doubled and hit his 11th career homer as part of a 2-for-4 night, extending his hitting streak to 11 games in the process. The 19-year-old hit a solo homer in the third and then added a double in the fifth, bringing his average to .289 through 66 games.

Brewers: Garrett Mitchell, OF (MLB No. 49), Double-A Biloxi
A day after going 0-for-4, Mitchell bounced back with his third three-hit game of the season. The 22-year-old, the 20th overall pick from the 2020 Draft, finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs in Biloxi’s win over Mississippi. Mitchell picked up his first RBI when he drew a bases-loaded walk in the second and then followed that up with run-scoring singles in the fourth, fifth and eighth innings.

Marlins: Edward Cabrera, RHP (MLB No. 51), Triple-A Jacksonville
Eury Perez, RHP (No. 22), Low-A Jupiter

Cabrera has only started seven games this season after suffering a biceps injury in Spring Training, but the Marlins’ No. 4 prospect got back on his feet in start No. 8 with 5 2/3 scoreless innings. The 23-year-old worked around three hits and three walks, including a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth that saw Cabrera strike out the next man he faced on a 3-2 count before being pulled from the game with 98 pitches. He struck out five batters in his outing, giving him a total of 51 across 40 2/3 innings this year.

Perez had another phenomenal outing on Saturday, striking out a career-best nine batters over five scoreless innings of two-hit ball. Perez gave up both of his hits in the second inning, but quickly worked out of the two-on, one-out jam and ended his night by striking out the side in the fifth. A 6-foot-8, 18-year-old out of the Dominican Republic, Perez has given up two or fewer runs in all but one of his 12 starts, giving him a 2.09 ERA with 60 strikeouts, 17 walks and just two home runs allowed through 43 innings in his first Minor League season.

Angels: Reid Detmers, LHP (MLB No. 57), Triple-A Salt Lake
It’s hard to imagine a debut going better than it did for Detmers on Saturday night. Making his Triple-A debut, the 22-year-old Louisville product struck out nine and yielded just three hits over six scoreless innings. Detmers got off to a fast start as he used just 10 pitches to strike out the side in the first inning and continued to carve his way through the Las Vegas lineup throughout his start. Prior to the promotion, Detmers pitched to a 3.50 ERA over 12 starts with Double-A Rocket City.

Mets: Brett Baty, 3B (MLB No. 73), Double-A Binghamton
After starting his time in Double-A 5-for-36, Baty broke out in a big way in a thrilling back-and-forth Binghamton victory over Erie. The 21-year-old went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, including his first Double-A homer. In addition to the homer, Baty also doubled twice, singled, drew a walk and scored three runs. The four-hit effort marked the third of his career and his six RBIs set a career high.

Dodgers: Andy Pages, OF (No. 8), High-A Great Lakes
Landon Knack, RHP (No. 14), High-A Great Lakes

Pages extended his hitting streak to six games in grand fashion. The 20-year-old finished 2-for-4 with a grand slam and a double, bringing his home run total to 18, one shy of his career high.

Knack, who has been used as both a starter and long reliever this season, recorded a stellar four-inning, scoreless start in the Loons’ victory. The 2020 second-rounder tied a career high with eight strikeouts, allowed four hits and yielded no walks. Knack is getting his first taste of pro ball this season and has responded well. He has a 4-0 record with a 2.86 ERA in 34 2/3 innings and nine appearances, striking out 47 batters and allowing just five walks.

Padres: Brayan Medina, RHP (No. 14), DSL Padres
Medina made his fourth DSL appearance Saturday and turned in the best outing of his brief career. The 18-year-old tossed three innings, did not allow a hit, struck out five and walked one. After giving up 10 runs on 11 hits, including three homers, in his first three appearances, it was important for Medina to bounce back and showcase the tools that made him the top Venezuelan pitching prospect in the 2019-2020 international signing class.

Phillies: Mickey Moniak, OF (No. 11), Triple-A Lehigh Valley
Jhailyn Ortiz, OF (No. 20), High-A Jersey Shore

Since the calendar flipped to July, Moniak has been raking, but the tear he’s been on over his past 10 games is something else. He came into the month batting .205, and with another three-hit, three-RBI day at the plate on Saturday, he’s brought his average up to .257. The 23-year-old clubbed his second multihomer game of the season, giving him a career-high 12 dingers. He’s recorded at least one hit in all but three games in July, and he’s tallied five multihit efforts in his past 10 games, including back-to-back three-hit games. The former first overall pick is slashing .361/.390/.722 with 19 RBIs through 19 games this month.

Ortiz tallied his third multihomer game this season on a 2-for-4, four-RBI night at the plate, and Jersey Shore needed all of it in its 7-6 win over Winston-Salem. The 22-year-old is now three homers shy of his career-high mark of 19, which he set through 115 games in 2019. He’s batting .253 on the year with a .839 OPS and 41 RBIs.

Reds: Bryce Bonnin, RHP (No. 15), Low-A Daytona
Graham Ashcraft, RHP (No. 17), Double-A Chattanooga

Bonnin has been limited to four starts since he started the season on the injured list, but he’s made the most of each of them and Saturday was no exception. The 2020 third-rounder (84th overall) pitched five one-hit innings against Fort Myers, fanning seven and walking two as he tossed 44 of his 61 pitches for strikes. In the fifth inning, Bonnin erased the only scoring threat — a leadoff double — using consecutive strikeouts and a groundout to strand the runner. In his first season, he’s pitching to a 1.29 ERA with 28 strikeouts and four walks through 18 innings.

Bonnin isn’t the only one having an impressive year. Ashcraft has pretty much been lights out since his promotion to Double-A on June 23, save for one outing where he gave up eight runs in one inning to break up his streak of seven straight starts without surrendering an earned run. But Ashcraft is starting a new streak after he built on a scoreless outing his last time out with seven scoreless innings Saturday. The 23-year-old fanned eight, gave up four hits and walked none in Chattanooga’s 2-1 win, bringing his ERA down to 1.85 with a .158 BAA and 35 strikeouts in 34 innings since since his promotion. Dating back to May 30, he’s only given up earned runs in one of nine starts.

Royals: MJ Melendez, C (No. 3), Double-A Northwest Arkansas
Melendez has been red-hot lately and that trend continued as he turned in his third two-homer game of the season. The 22-year-old went deep in the fifth and sixth innings as part of a 3-for-4, two-RBI performance. Melendez has hits in 10 of his past 11 games and has multiple hits in three straight contests. The 2017 second-round pick is hitting .288 on the season and .337 in July.

Tigers: Dillon Dingler, OF (No. 4), Double-A Erie
Ryan Kreidler, SS (No. 21), Double-A Erie

Both Dingler and Kreidler played big parts in Erie’s marathon contest against Binghamton. With the game knotted at two in the second, Kreidler laced a double to give the SeaWolves a one-run lead and, a few batters later, Dingler crushed a grand slam on the first pitch he saw to give Erie a 7-2 lead. Kreidler would get on base two more times and end up scoring three runs in Erie’s 14-13 loss, giving him four multihit efforts in his past 10 games to bring his average up to .243 with 27 RBIs.

Dingler’s grand slam was his third homer of the year in Double-A and 11th overall, bringing his season RBI total up to 40 across two levels. The 2020 second-rounder finished the night 2-for-5 with all four RBIs coming from that one swing. He’s now slashing .208/.271/.358 through 29 Double-A games in his first Minor League season.

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