Connor Norby Belts First Big League Homer

Plus: Rhett Lowder continues to sizzle so far in 2024.

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Prospect Standouts

Seth Johnson, RHP, Orioles: Johnson, then of the Rays, generated plenty of buzz at High-A in 202. Eventually, he was dealt to the Orioles as part of a three-way swap that also included the Astros and also had Tommy John surgery. He returned late in 2023 for five starts and has already doubled that total this year. On Tuesday, he spun four strong innings with eight strikeouts while allowing just a hit and two walks against Binghamton as part of a stellar prospect matchup with Mets farmhand Nolan McLean. Johnson racked up 17 whiffs in the four innings, tied for second in Double-A on the day.

Joe Rock, LHP, Rays: Over the offseason, Tampa Bay swapped speedy utilityman Greg Jones to the Rockies in exchange for Rock. So far, Rock has been a revelation. With Triple-A Durham, he’s commanded and carved his way to a solid season that has included 56 strikes against 12 walks in 53 innings. His latest outing was another gem, a six-inning effort that included nine punchouts and two walks while letting up a pair of solo home runs. If he keeps this up, the majors shouldn’t be far off.

Rhett Lowder, RHP, Reds: Lowder opened plenty of eyes in spring training. Now, he’s doing it in the regular season. The Wake Forest alum punched out 11 hitters for Double-A Chattanooga on Tuesday, an effort that established a new career high in the category. His 22 swings and misses were the most in Double-A on the evening. The outing brought his season ledger to 59 strikeouts against just 11 walks over 46.2 innings spread across two levels.

Trevor Martin, RHP, Rays: Martin was exquisite on Tuesday, when the righthander dominated for seven strong innings in the hitter’s heaven that is Asheville. Turns out, the best way to neutralize and offense-friendly environment is to miss as many bats as possible. By the time he exited, Martin had struck out 14 and walked one over seven one-run innings. He got 20 swings and misses, too, the best mark in all of High-A.

Connor Norby, IF, Orioles: Just two games into his big league career, Norby has one of his first major milestones out of the way. Facing the Blue Jays on Tuesday, the East Carolina alum clubbed his first big league longball. The blast came in the eighth inning of his team’s win and was hit off of fireballing righty Nate Pearson. It traveled an estimated 370 feet to left-center field. Combined with his minor league stats, Norby now has 10 homers this season.

20 DSL Prospects With Breakout Potential

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

Dexters Peralta, SS, Yankees: Peralta has a lot of arrows pointing up. He’s a $500,000 signing out of the Dominican Republic at 16 with a lean, athletic build (6-foot-2, 170 pounds) that has potential for significant strength gains. It’s a smooth, low-effort swing from both sides of the plate with good path and feel for the barrel. He drives the ball well from gap to gap now with loft in his swing and the bat speed for him to develop at least average power. He’s a plus runner and a good athlete at shortstop with a strong arm. Catcher Queni Pineda, shortstop Christopher Sanchez and speedy center fielder Browm Martinez give the Yankees three more sleepers to watch in the middle of the field in their DSL lineup. 

In case you missed it…

Mets RHP Jonah Tong joined the Hot Sheet show this week.