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Nolan McLean, RHP, Mets: McLean learned the hard way on Monday night that not all great performances get rewarded. The electric Mets righthander was outstanding in his start against division-rival Philadelphia, but it wasn't enough to bring home the win. The Oklahoma State alum scattered seven hits and three walks over 5.1 one-run innings but wound up taking the loss because the Phillies, led by Aaron Nola, silenced New York's bats. McLean struck out five, bringing his season total to 33 over his first 31.2 innings and his ERA down to 1.42.

McLean is doing an excellent job of missing bats (27.7% strikeout rate) and keeping balls in play on the ground (65.3% groundball rate). He has by far been the most consistent arm in the Mets’ rotation since his callup to the majors, and they’ll need to lean on him over the final three weeks of the season: New York has lost four of its last five, but still has a three-game lead on the late-charging Giants for the final NL Wild Card spot.

Luis Morales, RHP, Athletics: After smooth sailing through his first six big league appearances, Athletics righthander Luis Morales turned in the first clunker of his career. Facing Boston, Morales let up five runs—all earned—in 4.2 innings, including home runs to Trevor Story and Carlos Narvaez. Otherwise, the Cuban product had allowed two or fewer earned runs in each of his big league outings. He's got 32 strikeouts and 12 walks in 33 innings.

Braden Montgomery, OF, White Sox: Braden Montgomery was placed on the 7-day injured list on Monday, according to the league's transactions page. Currently with Double-A Birmingham, Montgomery left Saturday's game early and did not play on Sunday. The injury has not been disclosed. The former Red Sox draft pick who switched socks in the deal that brought Garrett Crochet to Boston has been productive in his first pro season. While rising from Low-A to Double-A, Montgomery has produced an .804 OPS with 12 homers and 14 stolen bases.

Victor Mesa Jr., OF, Marlins: Mesa Jr. turned 24 on Monday. To commemorate the occasion, he gave himself the gift of his first big league home run. The Cuban outfielder connected off of Nationals reliever Shinnosuke Ogasawara in the eighth inning of Miami's loss to Washington. The blast came on a hanging slider as part of a four-run inning.

Josue De Paula & Zyhir Hope, OF, Dodgers: First reported by MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, the Dodgers are moving two of their top prospects to Double-A. With High-A Great Lakes' season in the books, Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope are headed to Tulsa to join the Drillers for the final week of the regular season and a possible Texas League playoff run. Entering the week, Tulsa is two games up on Wichita for the final spot in the TL's northern division. For the season, De Paula has an .827 OPS with 12 homers and 32 stolen bases and Hope has an .805 OPS with 13 home runs and 26 stolen bases. De Paula ranked third on this week's Baseball America Hot Sheet.

Editor’s Picks

Hot Sheet: This week’s Hot Sheet is topped by Travis Bazzana, the 2024 No. 1 overall pick who is hitting his stride to close out the season. Read more…

Statcast Standouts: Presenting 10 Statcast standouts from MiLB, led by an impressive Marlins lefty who’s now pitched himself up to Triple-A. Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Shane Murphy, LHP, White Sox: Figuring out who is going to win the MiLB ERA crown may require a math degree. If Jonah Tong (1.43 ERA) doesn’t qualify based on innings, Murphy, who has a 1.65 ERA across 125 innings to meet the IP qualifications, would likely be the beneficiary. The younger brother of big league pitcher Patrick Murphy, Shane doesn’t light up a radar gun. He maxes out at 91-92 mph and generally sits in the 89-90 mph range. But the younger Murphy throws a little of everything, mixing four-seamers, sinkers, changeups, cutters, sliders, sweepers and a curveball. It’s managed to keep hitters off-balance all season. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his 24 appearances, and he’s allowed one or no runs 17 times.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• The Phillies promoted red-hot Aidan Miller to Triple-A. He ranks No. 38 on our Top 100.

• Luke Keaschall went 3-for-6 with a steal and two RBIs on Monday, graduating from prospect eligibility in the process.

• Another Twins prospect, Emmanuel Rodriguez, is off the injured list.

• Guardians 1B C.J. Kayfus has struggled since his callup, but had a strong day on Monday going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles.

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