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Franklin Arias, SS, Red Sox: With each standout game, the calls among Red Sox fans for Arias’ promotion get louder. They’re well beyond a dull roar after Arias went 3-for-5 with his fourth home run in 15 games with Triple-A Worcester on Thursday.

More interestingly, Arias started at second base, a position he’s played eight times this season, including three times with the WooSox. Arias is hitting .313/.384/.563 with Worcester and is making a strong case for a callup once rosters expand.

Ralphy Velazquez, 1B, Guardians: On Thursday night, Velazquez hit his 14th home run with Triple-A Columbus in the most unexpected way possible. Velazquez drove a ball to center field at 107.6 mph that banged off the wall and was misplayed by Omaha center fielder Drew Waters. Velazquez raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run, his eighth homer in nine August games and fourth of the series against Omaha.

Velazquez is knocking on the door of the major leagues and could be in line for a callup once rosters expand.

Jurrangelo Cijntje, SHP, Cardinals: Cijntje struck out a career-high 11 batters for Triple-A Memphis on Thursday. Cijntje threw exclusively righthanded and dominated Durham over 6.1 innings, allowing one run on two hits and a walk. From the right side, Cijntje sat 95-97 mph with his fastball while mixing in a high-80s slider and a changeup.

Lazaro Montes, OF, Mariners: One of the most divisive prospects in the minors, Mariners slugger Lazaro Montes has been on fire of late. Over his past nine games with Triple-A Tacoma, Montes has hit six home runs. On Thursday, he went 2-for-5 with a home run and three strikeouts. The performance was a perfect example of Montes’ profile. He’s going to hit plenty of home runs, but that power comes with a high strikeout rate.

Nathan Flewelling, C, Rays: The Rays have never been known as an organization that develops catchers, but the tide seems to be turning in Tampa. With multiple Top 100 Prospects behind the plate, the Rays are suddenly flush at the position. The athletic Flewelling could end up the best of the bunch.

Flewelling went 2-for-5 on Thursday, launching his 20th home run of the season. He’s hitting .238/.365/.452 over 96 games with High-A Bowling Green. Flewelling has above-average power, below-average contact and solid swing decisions.

Joshua Báez, OF, Cardinals: It’s been an interesting season for Báez. The athletic, slugging outfielder has hit a career-high 34 home runs but has battled questions about his hit tool. On Thursday, Báez went 2-for-4 with his 34th homer of the season as he continues to punish the baseball in August.

Báez has plus-plus power and plus speed, but his swing decisions and swing-and-miss have plagued him at times this season. If you believe in Báez’s profile, it’s a bet on his contact quality and loud tools.

Editor’s Picks

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Levi Sterling, RHP, Pirates: Sterling punched out a career-high 11 batters over six innings Thursday for Low-A Bradenton. The 19-year-old righthander has taken a step forward this season, holding his 92-94 mph velocity better throughout starts while seeing his strikeout numbers rise and walk rate decrease in his first sustained stretch of full-season ball. Sterling’s mid-80s slider has also improved after he tweaked its shape entering the season.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• The Reds now have two fascinating shortstops in the lower levels of the full-season minors. They continued Steele Hall on to Low-A Daytona following the Arizona Complex League season and on Thursday Hall went 2-for-5 with a pair of steals. One level higher, Justin Lebron went 3-for-4 with a steal as he gets his feet wet with High-A Dayton.

• The following prospects all turned in two-homer games yesterday:

  • Charles Davalan, Dodgers (High-A)

  • George Wolkow, White Sox (High-A)

  • Jansel Luis, D-backs (Double-A)

  • James Tibbs, Dodgers (Triple-A)

  • Rafael Flores, Pirates (MLB)

• Giants infielder Gavin Kilen had a huge day for Double-A Richmond. He went 3-for-4 with two triples and a double.

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