Minor League Roundup: Top Prospects and Teams Week Five
We are full steam ahead in the minor league season and there are already clear contenders and top prospects. We saw big-name prospects like Bobby Witt Jr and Julio Rodriguez make the jump to the MLB. Now we have the next round of guys looking to make a name for themselves. That being said, let’s break down this week’s top minor league teams and prospects.
Minor League Top Teams: Oklahoma City Dodgers, Nashville Sounds
Is it a coincidence that the NL West-leading LA Dodgers have a successful farm team? Absolutely not and the Triple-A OKC Dodgers currently sit atop their division as well. The OKC Dodgers are outscoring their opponents by quite a bit. They have scored over 150 runs compared to their opponents scoring just over 120. They are impressive at home but average on the road. No wonder the Dodgers are not worried about their future as a franchise.
Next, we have the Nashville Sounds, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Dodgers might be scoring more runs but the Sounds are not allowing the runs. The Sounds are outscoring opponents 118-65 through the first 23 games. Nashville is also dominant at home and just above average on the road. Having a successful Triple-A team is a huge help to the MLB organization and Nashville is doing everything correctly right now.
Top Prospects: Nolan Gorman & Ethan Small
This weeks top prospects are two guys dominating the stat book. Gorman is dominating with the bats while Small is dominating on the mound.
First, Gorman is batting a whopping .317 so far with 11 homers and 17 RBIs. Gorman is also sporting an OPS of 1.118 and a slugging percentage of .744 which are both insanely high. I know it is still early but Gorman is only 21 years old and is playing like this at the Triple-A level. It might not be long before Gorman makes it to the show. Gorman is currently playing for the Memphis Redbirds, the Triple-A affiliate for the St.Louis Cardinals.
Next, we have Ethan Small who has been nothing short of unhittable on the mound. Small currently plays for the Brewers Triple-A affiliate. Coincidence one of the best pitchers is on the team I listed above for shutting down opponents? Small is currently 2-0 with 31 strikeouts, a 0.77 ERA in 23 innings pitched. He is holding opponents to a .114 average folks, that is the definition of unhittable. Small unfortunately is pitching for an organization who has elite level pitching above him in the MLB. However, he could get called up and throw relief and test him out.
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