Pete Crow-Armstrong, Coby Mayo Provide The Thunder On Thursday

Mayo's ninth-inning homer gave Norfolk a 9-8 win. Plus a look at two backstops making strong impressions and Prospect Wire stats leaders.

Prospect Wire, powered by Louisville Slugger, is Baseball America’s new free home for in-season daily news, analysis and filterable season stats for every player ranked in a Top 30. Check that out here.

PROSPECT STANDOUTS

Jair Camargo, C, Twins: Camargo homered and doubled in the Saints’ 4-3 loss to Nashville on Thursday. As impressive as Camargo’s day was, it was how hard he hit the ball that truly stood out. Camargo’s home run was measured at 111.8 mph exit velocity and estimated to travel 428 feet. It cleared the batter’s eye in center field. It was the 10th-hardest hit ball in the young Triple-A season. His 110.6 mph double was the second hardest-hit ball in the game. Camargo is unlikely to get much time in the majors this year if Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vasquez stay healthy, but he’s a viable option if either misses significant time.

Coby Mayo, 3B, Orioles: A day after Norfolk thrashed Charlotte by 15 runs, Thursday, the Tides needed late-inning heroics to win yet again. Mayo’s ninth-inning home run gave Norfolk a 9-8 win. Mayo’s season has begun with a mixture of good and bad. It’s hard to criticize a .367/.387/.700 slash line, but Mayo has 12 strikeouts (38.7%) and one walk (3.2%) in 31 plate appearances. Mayo made three throwing errors in the first two games of the season, but hasn’t made an error since.

Heston Kjerstad, OF, Orioles: Kjerstad remains the hottest hitter in the minor leagues. Kjerstad hit two home runs on Tuesday in the opener of the Tides’ series at Charlotte. He hit two more on Wednesday. On Thursday, he settled for one home run as part of a two-hit game. Kjerstad is hitting a hard to fathom .571/.581/1.214 with a minor league leading five home runs.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs: Crow-Armstrong has handled his demotion well. Sent to Triple-A Iowa after spending the end of the 2023 season in the majors, Crow-Armstrong homered on Thursday as part of a two-hit day that also saw him hit a double and steal his third base of the season. Crow-Armstrong has reached base in all six games this year and has hits in five of the six. While Crow-Armstrong’s home run was his first of the season, he has two triples and two doubles as well. He’s hitting .308/.367/.654.

Ivan Herrera, C, Cardinals: After two years where he got brief stints in the majors, Ivan Herrera has earned the Cardinals’ backup catcher job this year. And with Willson Contreras dealing with a sore hand after being hit by a pitch, Herrera has gotten back-to-back starts behind the plate. He’s responded well. A day after he got two hits, Herrera hit his first home run as a major leaguer as part of a second-straight two-hit day. He’s hitting .333/.286/.583. Behind the plate, he has allowed six steals in six attempts over the past two days.

PROSPECT WIRE STAT LEADERS

The Prospect Wire has both daily and updated season stats for players who rank inside their organization’s Top 30, which you can find at the bottom of the page. You can filter the stats by minor league team, position and level.

Here are the current leaders in Triple-A homers among Top 30 prospects.

Some other notables…

  • Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate, Norfolk, has the top five leaders in total bases

  • Coby Mayo has the most strikeouts (12) of any Top 30 prospect in Triple-A

  • Jackson Chourio is off to one of the strongest starts of any Top 30 prospect in the majors

KEEP AN EYE ON THIS BREWERS INFIELDER

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

Cooper Pratt, SS, Brewers: Milwaukee reached deep in its bag to sign Pratt, whom they awarded a bonus of more than $1 million over the recommended slot in the sixth round of the most recent draft to sway the shortstop from his commitment to Ole Miss. Based on scouts’ reviews so far, the investment appears wise. They see a potential everyday player who can put the barrel often and grow into plenty of power as he adds muscle to his tall frame. He may one day grow out of shortstop and have to move over to third base, but his hands and arm would fit well at the position and the potential uptick in power would help his bat fit the prototypical hot corner profile. Pratt was one of 70 players highlighted in conversations with scouts this spring. You can see the full piece below.

In case you missed it…

The rest of the minors kick off today. Here are the top prospects in Double-A.

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