Sunday marked the end of the regular season at Single-A and High-A, the first full-season levels to wrap up play in the Minor Leagues. Fittingly, players across both turned in big performances that put exclamation points on their seasons to finish on high notes. But the top prospect performers weren’t limited to those two levels.
Walker Jenkins, OF, St. Paul (MIN No. 1/MLB No. 14)
The fifth overall pick in the 2023 Draft cranked his first home run at Triple-A in his 12th game at the level, making his 414-foot solo shot the centerpiece of a three-hit performance. It served as an exclamation point for what has been a very positive introduction to the Minors’ highest level for Jenkins, who is hitting .311 with a .893 OPS since arriving at St. Paul. Jenkins has been limited to 73 games this season due to a spate of lower-body injuries. But he’s been productive when healthy, hitting .305/.429/.477 with nine homers and 14 steals across four levels. Gameday
Josue De Paula, OF, Great Lakes (LAD No. 1/MLB No. 12)
The Dodgers’ top prospect drilled his 12th homer, a three-run shot, during a strong all-around performance for the High-A Loons in which he collected two hits, reached base three times, drove in three runs, scored twice and stole a base. The 20-year-old had slumped initially upon returning from the Injured List in mid-August. But he locked in and finished the season strong, hitting .409/.552/.818 with two homers, eight RBIs and two steals in six September games. Gameday
Travis Bazzana, 2B, Columbus (CLE No. 1/MLB No. 15)
Speaking of top prospects making up for lost time, Bazzana continued his recent tear at Triple-A. His three-run tater was his fourth in the past four games for the Clippers, following Saturday’s two-homer game. Limited to 81 games this season because of a serious oblique strain, Bazzana is healthy again, finding his swing and on fire this month. He’s hitting .391 (9-for-23) with eight RBIs in six games in September. Gameday
Devin Taylor, OF, Stockton (ATH No. 7)
Selected in the second round of the Draft this summer out of Indiana, Taylor logged his second three-hit game in the past two weeks to close out the Single-A season. The left-handed-hitting outfielder also set a career high with four RBIs, which included his sixth professional homer. Gameday
James Tibbs III, OF (LAD No. 8)
Has anyone moved around more this season than Tibbs? Probably not, as the outfielder was traded from the Giants to the Red Sox in the Rafael Devers deal and then flipped to the Dodgers at the Trade Deadline in the Dustin May trade. He’ll finish the year at Double-A Tulsa, where he cracked a two-run homer — his 18th of the season — and a two-run triple in his latest outing. Tibbs has played 30 games in Los Angeles’ system, the same number he played in Boston’s system. His .806 OPS for Tulsa is 220 points higher than it was for Double-A Portland. Sometimes change is good. Gameday
JR Ritchie, RHP, Gwinnett (ATL No. 2)
The 22-year-old didn’t allow a hit until the fourth frame and surrendered only two in six shutout innings, striking out four and working around three walks, for the Triple-A Stripers. It was Ritchie’s third straight scoreless outing dating back to late August, a dominant three-start stretch during which he’s racked up 22 strikeouts in 17 innings while allowing only five hits total. Nine starts into his Triple-A career, the 35th pick from the 2022 Draft is dealing at the Minors’ highest level, sporting a 2.79 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Gameday
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, RHP, Somerset (NYY No. 5)
The 22-year-old was lights-out for the Double-A Patriots twirling five shutout innings while allowing only two hits and striking out eight. It was the second straight scoreless outing for Rodriguez-Cruz, who logged six innings of one-hit ball in his previous start. It’s shaping up to be a season to remember for the right-hander, who stands second in strikeouts (166) in the Minors to the Mets’ Jonah Tong (179). Rodriguez-Cruz completed at least five innings in eight of his 10 starts with Somerset since arriving in early July, posting a 2.56 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP and a .197 average-against in those outings. Gameday
