Another week, another Rays prospect doing ridiculous things at Triple-A Durham. Wander Franco got the call, but the Bulls aren’t exactly hurting for blue-chip talent. On Sunday, 22-year-old right-hander Shane Baz struck out 10 batters and walked none over 5.0 scoreless frames, allowing just two hits. His full-season numbers across two levels are obscene: 46.2 IP, 69 Ks, 5 BB, 2.12 ERA, 0.77 WHIP.
Yup, that’s a 69-to-5 ratio of strikeouts to walks. He’s been simply unfair.
Baz has a deep arsenal of playable pitches, including a triple-digit fastball. He hasn’t really struggled in a start all year and he’s now just one step away from the majors. Whenever he’s promoted to the bigs, for whatever purpose, you’ll want to pounce.
Amazingly, Baz was the PTBNL in the notably disastrous Chris Archer trade that sent Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow to Tampa Bay. It seems like we can go ahead and officially score that one as a W for the Rays.
Korey Lee crushing at Corpus Christi
Lee was just promoted to Double-A two weeks ago after slashing .330/.397/.459 at High-A Asheville. In his first 12 games at Corpus Christi, all he’s done is homer six times and drive in 14 runs while hitting .333/.400/.778. Here’s a no-doubter:
As if Houston needed more firepower. Lee was a 2019 first-rounder, the third catcher selected in the Adley Rutschman draft. He’s as hot as any hitter in the minors right now, so he might not be finished leveling up this season.
Jake Burger is binging
Over Burger’s last 10 games, he’s gone 18-for-43 with three walks, three bombs, and 13 RBIs. He’s now slashing .301/.343/.558 at Triple-A Charlotte with nine homers and 23 extra-base hits. Burger’s name keeps popping up in Eduardo Escobar trade rumors, which seems reasonable enough considering that he’s aging out of prospect status (25) and the fact that he doesn’t have a clear path to the everyday lineup in Chicago. Also, the possibility of a future Diamondbacks lineup featuring Burger and Seth Beer is an absolute delight, the most natural pairing imaginable for marketing purposes. Let’s make it happen, please.
Yonny Hernandez, on-base specialist with speed
File Hernandez’s name away as a potential future source for steals and runs, even if he offers no power whatsoever (.288 SLG) and he’s not hitting for average (.240). The 23-year-old infielder has swiped 13 bags this season and he basically draws a walk in every game (31 in 33), so he’s getting himself on base at a .423 clip (.392 for his career). Over his last 155 minor league games dating back to 2019, he has 46 steals, 109 walks and he’s scored 92 runs.
Nolan Gorman is moving up
The Cardinals are sending one of the organization’s top bats to Triple-A Memphis, where Gorman will reportedly continue to see time at second base, giving him another path to the majors. He’s cleared the fence 11 times at Double-A this season, slashing .288/.354/.508. Gorman just turned 21 in May, so he’ll be among the youngest players at Triple-A. If he can continue to thrive, perhaps we’ll see him in St. Louis before the end of 2021.
Jose Miranda, also on the move
Miranda, 23, has broken out in a big way this season, slashing .345/.408/.588 with 13 homers and four steals at Double-A Wichita. He’s been punishing baseballs consistently …
… so his recent promotion to St. Paul is no great surprise. Miranda has been a tough player to strike out throughout his minor league career, but his contact skills hadn’t translated into a high average until this season. He appears to be another alternate site development success story, forcing his way into Minnesota’s future plans.