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Ryan Clifford, 1B/OF, Mets: It was a slow start for Clifford over his first week in Double-A but the slugger may have found his footing on Wednesday. Clifford hit his first Double-A home run in the eighth inning off of Noah Skirrow. Clifford went 2-for-4 in the game driving in three RBIs. This also marked Clifford’s first multi-hit game at Double-A and his seventh multi-hit game on the season. Clifford has been slow to begin 2024 but did have to contend with the treacherous home park in Brooklyn that crushes lefty power.

Zebby Matthews, RHP, Twins: It took 38.1 innings, but Matthews walked his first batter of 2024 on Wednesday. Matthews’ streak spanned 141 consecutive batters faced. Overall on the night Matthews continued his dominant run to begin 2024 going six innings, allowing two runs, one earned on three hits and eight strikeouts, Matthews has not only shown surgical command this season but above-average stuff across his five pitch shapes. Matthews’ fastball is a plus pitch, sitting 94-96 mph with 18 inches of ride and 11 inches of armside run.

Lazaro Montes, OF, Mariners: At this point, California League pitching staffs are likely begging the Mariners to promote Montes, as he continues to feast on Low-A. Montes reached base three times on Wednesday and slugged a home run in the fifth that proved to be the deciding run. In a game with three top 100 prospects between Modesto and Rancho Cucamonga, Montes’ star shined the brightest. He’s now hitting .336/.441/.557 over 38 games with Modesto to begin the season.

James Wood, OF, Nationals: Wood remains one of the hottest players in Triple-A as he went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and a walk on Wednesday. Wood had three hard-hit balls on the night, including a 108.5 mph double in the first inning. Wood is up to seven home runs in the month of May and is hitting .400/.506/.757 so far this month. It’s a matter of when the Nationals want to make room on their active roster for Wood, as he has little left to prove in the minor leagues.

Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina: ECU coach Cliff Godwin said on Wednesday afternoon that ace righthander Trey Yesavage was currently in the hospital dealing with a partially collapsed lung. Yesavage, the No. 10 prospect in the 2024 class, experienced chest discomfort last week that lingered and led to an X-Ray and the discovery of his partially collapsed lung. According to Godwin Yesavage is breathing fine, in great spirits and likely to be released from the hospital today. He’s unlikely to pitch this week but should be able to resume physical activity. Yesavage had pitched to a 2.09 ERA in 14 starts and 86 innings this spring and established himself as the consensus No. 3 pitcher in the class and a favorite to be selected among the top 15 picks.

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

Ryan Lobus, RHP, Rangers: The World Champion Rangers might have a real find in 2023 nondrafted free agent Ryan Lobus. After 17.2 strong innings for Low-A Down East, the Mercer product got the bump to Hickory. In his second High-A start Lobus struck out 12 of the 22 batters he faced allowing two runs, on three hits and three walks. Lobus uses his slider 50% of the time and for good reason, as it’s a sweeper at 80-81 mph with on average a foot of sweep and high spin rates. The remainder of his usage is split between a low-90s four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball and a low-80s changeup. So far this year, Lobus has 44 strikeouts over 27.1 innings across the two levels with a 1.024 WHIP.

We’re diving deep on the state of the international signing system this week.