Minor League Ball Gameday, Friday, May 5th, 2017

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the Minor League Ball Gameday discussion thread for Friday, May 5th, 2017. Let’s get started.

****Today’s Minor League Scoreboard

****Today’s MLB scoreboard

****Highlights from yesterday can be found in the Thursday comments thread.

COOL STUFF THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY

****Los Angeles Dodgers slugging prospect Edwin Rios hit two homers yesterday for Double-A Tulsa. He’s hitting .457 in his last 10 games and .380/.414/.663 overall. He seems too good for the Texas League at this point, but the 23-year-old needs to show that his questionable strike zone judgement and third base defense will hold up at higher levels. I think he’s a first baseman, but I think the bat is real.

****Atlanta Braves pitching prospect Kolby Allard was superb yesterday for Double-A Mississippi, fanning 11 over six shutout innings, allowing three hits and zero walks. He now has a 28/7 K/BB in 33 innings with a 1.36 ERA. At age 19, in the Southern League.

****Impressive start from Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Anthony Banda last night for Triple-A Reno: seven shutout innings, four hits, one walk, nine strikeouts. He now has a 3.82 ERA in 30.2 innings with a 34/17 K/BB.

****A 3-for-5 showing from St. Louis Cardinals catching prospect Carson Kelly for Triple-A Memphis, with a home run, an RBI, and two runs scored. He’s at .254/.347/.556 on the season, with the improved power a very promising sign.

****A Jurickson Profar sighting: he went 4-for-5 for Triple-A Round Rock, with a double and two runs scored against Nashville.

RECOMMENDED READING

****MLB Pipeline posted their Top 30 International Prospects for 2017 report this morning.