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Dalton Rushing, C, Dodgers: Rushing made his big league debut on Thursday night. He didn't get much to hit in his first at-bat, walking on five pitches, and later scored on a Shohei Ohtani sacrifice fly. But he turned it up a notch in his second at-bat, ripping a 110 mph single up the middle before coming home on a Hyeseong Kim line drive. That single was the hardest-hit ball of the game.

Rushing collected his second hit of the game in the eighth inning by singling off A’s catcher Jhonny Pereda, who was in to pitch in mop-up duty of a blowout win. The Dodgers DFA'd veteran catcher Austin Barnes, the longest-tenured player on the team, to open a path for the 24-year-old Rushing. Manager Dave Roberts said Rushing will serve as the backup catcher and is expected to play once or twice a week. While he’s seen some time in the outfield, Roberts made it clear he’ll mostly stick behind the plate to build a strong rapport with the pitching staff.

Luke Dickerson, SS, Nationals: The Nationals decided Dickerson only needed six games in the Florida Complex League before his promotion to Low-A. Dickerson, on the other hand, only needed three games with the FredNats to launch his first homer—a three-run shot. He also chipped in an RBI single earlier in the game and stole a base. The 19-year-old saw a bump in power last spring as a high schooler at Morris Knolls HS in New Jersey, where he also won a hockey state championship, and the Nationals signed him to a $3.8 million bonus in the second round, which was $1.68 million over slot, to sway him from attending Virginia.

Colt Emerson, SS, Mariners: It’s been a pretty smooth month for Seattle’s top prospect. Earlier in May, Emerson belted his first two home runs of the season, and he’s recorded a hit in all but one game since. Now, he’s matched his career high with four RBIs in a game for High-A Everett, thanks in large part to a bases-clearing triple that capped off another strong night at the plate. Overall, the 19-year-old is slashing .281/.386/.405 this year, building off an impressive 2024 campaign. He is continuing to hit the ball hard, with his highest exit velocity reaching 115.3 mph as of early May.  

Konnor Griffin, SS, Pirates: When the Pirates drafted Griffin ninth overall last year, he arrived in pro ball with one of the most coveted skill sets in the class. Griffin had four tools graded 60 or above, including 70-grade speed, with his offensive profile hinging on coaxing more consistent contact out of his bat. So far, Griffin’s tools are showing up in pro ball. Griffin turned in the second four-hit game of his career--the other came last week--for Low-A Bradenton on Thursday. All four hits came off the bat 100+ mph, with the hardest registering at 110.3 mph. Griffin has been a mainstay atop Low-A exit velocity leaderboards and his .315 batting average ranks third in the Florida State League. He was one of seven prospects we considered as potential dark horse candidates to rank No. 1 in the sport next year.

Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Brewers: Misiorowski turned in another scintillating start for Triple-A Nashville yesterday, as is the norm so far this season, but one pitch in particular really got our attention. Misiorowski fired a 103 mph fastball on his 78th pitch of the game. As J.J. Cooper explains, that’s the hardest recorded pitch of the Statcast era, and puts Misiorowski in fairly elite company. Read more…

Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies: After tossing three scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut, Painter followed it up with a five-inning outing on Thursday—his longest since Sept. 3, 2022. The 22-year-old struck out three and threw 71 pitches, 47 of them for strikes, in a matchup with fellow Top 100 prospect Nolan McLean. His fastball reached 98 mph. It wasn’t without a learning moment, though, as he gave up a two-run homer to Joey Meneses. After missing more than a year recovering from Tommy John surgery, it’ll take some time for Painter to truly settle in, but so far, the signs are encouraging. In the past, Phillies general manager Dave Dombrowski has said they envision seeing their top prospect join the rotation at some point this season, culminating in quite the story for Painter.

Editor’s Picks

Early ACL Standouts: Baseball America’s Jesús Cano combs through the early returns from the Arizona Complex League to identify seven performers who need to be on your radar. Read more…

Top 100 Pitch Data: Geoff Pontes analyzes early Statcast data for eight Top 100 arms who are showing a variety of results so far. Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Tyson Lewis, SS, Reds: Lewis has entered the building—or the complex, that is—and he’s already made some rather loud contact after starting the ACL season on the injured list. With three hits in his first six at-bats, the 19-year-old’s booming bat has already produced exit velocities of 109.9, 119.4 and 114.8 mph, the latest which being a 434-foot homer. The Reds took a shot at Lewis in the second round of last year’s draft, making him the highest-ever drafted high school hitter from Nebraska. Shortly thereafter, he impressed many in the bridge league. There’s room for more power as he gets acclimated and grows. Check out this swing.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• Astros SS prospect Brice Matthews suffered a concussion, according to The Athletic.

• Yankees RHP Carlos Lagrange had nine more strikeouts for High-A Hudson Valley yesterday. He’s up to 50 strikeouts in 31.1 innings, and hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in a start since his first outing of the year.

• Padres prospect Kale Fountain stole four bases in a Complex League game yesterday without recording a single hit.

• C.J. Kayfus notched four more hits yesterday. He hasn’t slowed down since reaching Triple-A Columbus, slashing .340/.404/.560 through 13 games.