Chase Burns Reportedly Heads To Double-A

Plus: Brewers infielder Luis Peña continues to shine, Jordan Lawlar stays hot in Reno and Eli Ben-Porat's 10 Statcast Standouts.

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Chase Burns, RHP, Reds: Charlie Goldsmith reports that the Reds will promote Chase Burns, the team’s 2024 first-round pick, to Double-A Chattanooga. The move comes after Burns went 0-2, 3.09 with five hits and five walks allowed in 11.2 innings. He struck out 20 of the 45 High-A batters he faced, while sitting in the high 90s with his fastball. The move is somewhat reminiscent of how the Reds handled Rhett Lowder last season. The Reds’ 2023 first-rounder made five starts at Dayton before being promoted to Chattanooga. Lowder spent much of the season with the Lookouts, made one start in Triple-A and then made his MLB debut on Aug. 30. Burns seems so far to be on a similar schedule.

Brooks Brannon, C, Red Sox: Brannon went 3-for-5 on Opening Day this year, but until Sunday he’d struggled to follow up on that great first game. Brannon had just five hits in his next nine games after the opener. He bounced back nicely on Sunday, hitting a pair of home runs to lead High-A Greenville to an 8-7 win over Winston-Salem. Brannon drove a two-run homer out to center field in the fourth inning, and then cleared Greenville’s Green Monster for a three-run home run in the fifth. He finished the day with three hits, raising his slash line to .256/.347/.419.

Cooper Pratt, SS, Brewers: Pratt went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three walks on Sunday for Double-A Biloxi, capping off a weekend where he went 5-for-13. The Brewers prospect is hitting .274/.343/.435 with six walks and six strikeouts in 70 plate appearances. Pratt started off slowly, but he has four multi-hit games in his past seven games played.

Blade Tidwell, RHP, Mets: In his best start of the season, Triple-A Syracuse righthander Blade Tidwell held Buffalo to two hits and one walk in 4.1 scoreless innings. He struck out nine. Tidwell lowered his ERA to 4.43. Tidwell did nibble a bit, with a 61% strike percentage that explains why he had to be pulled three batters into the fifth inning after throwing 74 pitches. He got four swings-and-misses on his four-seam fastball, which sat at 95-97 mph and touched 98. He also got another eight whiffs with his sweeper.

Yanquiel Fernandez, OF, Rockies: Fernandez went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs on Sunday while manning right field for Triple-A Albuquerque. Fernandez now has five home runs this year, tied for sixth most in the minors. Fernandez’s first home run was an impressive 420-foot blast that landed well up the Isotopes’ berm overlooking right field. The two-homer was a nice boost for Fernandez, who has struggled to hit for average so far this young season. He’s hitting .213/.300/.492, although he’s doing a good job of putting the ball in play. Fernandez has struck out only 15.7% of the time this year.

Peyton Wilson, 2B, Royals: Wilson was sent back to the Double-A Texas League for a third-straight season, which was not a great sign. But if you’re going to be asked to repeat a level, it’s best to dominate it, and that’s what Wilson has done. Wilson went 4-for-5 with a double, two triples and three runs scored on Sunday. He’s now hitting .444/.545/.815, as he leads MiLB in batting average and ranks third in OBP. He has a hit in every game this year, even going 1-for-2 in a day where he walked three times on Opening Day.

Jordan Lawlar, SS, D-backs: Lawlar went 3-for-5 with a double, stolen base and a home run on Sunday for Triple-A Reno, continuing what has been a very hot start for the D-backs No. 1 prospect. Lawlar has started at second base, shortstop and third base already this season. He’s now hit five home runs in the past 10 games, and he is in a tie for sixth most in the minor leagues, two behind Nick Kurtz’s MiLB-best seven homers. He leads the minors with 21 runs scored. Lawlar is hitting .325/.423/.627.

Editor’s Picks

RoboScout’s Early Teaser: RoboScout highlights the prospects already piquing its interest at every full-season level so far. Read more…

Eye-Popping Data: These five big leaguers are off to tremendous starts and could serve as a potential blueprint for two bluechip prospects. Read more…

10 Statcast Standouts: Tim Elko is hitting for even more power, plus a look inside the Red Sox bat speed development plan. Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

Each day, we’ll pick a prospect that has our attention.

Luis Peña, 2B/SS, Brewers: The Low-A Carolina Mudcats improved to a MiLB-best 13-2 on Sunday with an 8-0 shutout over Delmarva, capping a 5-1 series win. Peña went 2-for-4, hitting his first home run of the season as he yanked a ball over the left field wall. It continued what has been an exceptional start for the 18-year-old. He’s hitting .349/.442/.488 with 11 steals in 10 games. He has a 13.5% walk rate and just a 7.7% strikeout rate.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

  • The Marlins are expected to call up Agustin Ramirez, according to Craig Mish of the Miami Herald.

  • Rangers RHP Jack Leiter is expected to make a Triple-A rehab start on Tuesday, according to Jeff Wilson.

  • Brewers RHP Logan Henderson struck out nine A’s batters over six innings of one-run ball in his MLB debut on Sunday.

  • Red Sox LHP Connelly Early continued his hot start, striking out six batters over three scoreless innings for Double-A Portland. Early now has 21 strikeouts to just three walks and a 0.84 ERA over 10.2 innings.

  • Astros OF Cam Smith hit a pair of home runs on Friday night.

  • Guardians LHP Josh Hartle has a 2.38 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 11.1 innings in High-A since coming over from the Pirates this winter in a trade.

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