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Brandon Sproat, RHP, Mets: The Mets have done a good job in recent years of accumulating pitching talent in the first few rounds of the draft. They drafted Sproat in consecutive years and finally signed him in 2023. So far this year, Sproat has been one of the best stories in the Mets farm system. That continued on Thursday. Sproat shut down one of the best lineups in minor league baseball, tossing six scoreless against Portland. Sproat allowed five hits and two walks while striking out three over six scoreless. Portland’s big four of Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel and Kristian Campbell went a combined 3-for-14 against Sproat on Thursday.

Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pirates: Pirates No. 3 prospect Bubba Chandler turned in one of his best starts of the season on Thursday. The righthander went 6.2 innings and allowed two runs, three hits and a walk while striking out 11. Chandler’s stuff was crisp throughout the start, as he generated a season-high 21 swinging strikes. Chandler has premium stuff but has struggled with command at times. When everything lines up the way it has over his last two starts, Chandler can be unhittable. Chandler has pitched into the seventh inning in each of his last two starts, with 21 strikeouts to just two walks and five hits allowed over his last 13.2 innings.

Rhett Lowder, RHP, Reds: Things have not been easy for the Reds first-rounder since his promotion to Double-A back in May. Lowder over nine starts has been mostly fine, but a trio of blowup starts ballooned his ERA. Lowder tossed five innings on Thursday, allowing two earned runs on six hits, a walk and five strikeouts. Lauded for his control at Wake Forest, Lowder has proven too hittable so far in pro ball. He consistently allows handfuls of hits each game and has struggled to avoid home runs.

Luis Baez, OF, Astros: Baez started the season out slow hitting just .239/.299/.366 in April. Since the calendar flipped to May, Baez has hit .293/.331/.502. He had his first multi-home run game at High-A on Thursday in the second leg of a doubleheader between Bowling Green and Asheville. Baez homered off starter Chandler Murphy in the first inning and again in the fifth. Baez is one of the top prospects in the Astros system and is an exciting power bat with 30-homer upside.

Gordon Graceffo, RHP, Cardinals: Per The Athletic’s Katie Woo, the Cardinals are set to call up Graceffo on Friday ahead of their game against the Reds. Graceffo is expected to pitch out of the pen behind listed starter Andre Pallante. Graceffo rose to prominence in 2022 when he showed upper-90s velocity and reached Triple-A to open 2023. Graceffo over the last two years has seen his fastball velocity diminish and has sat 91-93 mph in 2024.

Want to get ahead? Each day we’ll surface one prospect from recent Baseball America coverage who could be on the rise.

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

Franyerber Montilla, SS, Tigers: Returning to the Venezuelan capital of Caracas to round out their 2022 international signing period, the Tigers found the intellect and athleticism of Montilla too difficult to pass on. Detroit signed the switch-hitter for $500,000 and assigned him to the Dominican Summer League, where he spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Now, it’s looking like a wise decision. We explain today for Baseball America subscribers while Montilla is a player on the rise in Detroit’s system.