Ronny Cruz, SS, Nationals: That didn't take long. The Nationals promoted 19-year-old shortstop Ronny Cruz to High-A Wilmington after just 14 games in the Carolina League. He led the league with 15 stolen bases while batting .333/.460/.627 with three home runs for Low-A Fredericksburg.

The Nationals acquired Cruz from the Cubs at the 2025 trade deadline in the deal that sent Michael Soroka to Chicago. He didn't play for Washington last season after the trade.

The Cubs drafted Cruz in the third round in 2024 out of high school in Miami. He played in just 48 games in the Chicago system, all in the Arizona Complex League last year, when he hit .270/.314/.431 with two homers and 10 steals.

Promoting Cruz to Wilmington helps clear up the Nationals' infielder logjam at Fredericksburg, where Eli Willits, Luke Dickerson and Coy James are all natural shortstops looking for regular reps. Gavin Fien also played shortstop in high school but had appeared only in right field for Fredericksburg.

Eagle-eyed Baseball America subscribers know that the buzz around Cruz has been building:

• Matt Eddy tabbed him as a Nationals breakout prospect in January

• Cruz jumped onto the fantasy radar

• And he caught Ian Cundall’s attention this week

Asa Lacy, LHP, Royals: The Royals released Lacy on Monday, cutting ties with the fourth overall pick in the 2020 draft after he threw just 80 professional innings. Lacy, who turns 27 in June, has not pitched since 2022 after needing a pair of Tommy John surgeries in 2023 and 2025.

"It's disappointing, but it's been a long road," Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said Monday. “It's six years that he's been with us. He's obviously had some injury history that hasn't allowed him to get on the mound a whole lot, but it's a decision that we made, that the time was right, and you just move on. Just wish him the best wherever he lands, and hopefully he gets it going."

Lacy starred for Texas A&M before signing a $6.67 million bonus in 2020 and once ranked as high as No. 37 on Baseball America's Top 100 list. But wayward command as a professional—he walked 83 batters in his 80 pro innings—and subsequent run of injuries never allowed Lacy to find much success and he topped out in Double-A with a career 7.09 ERA.

Bryce Rainer, SS, Tigers: The Tigers drafted shortstop Bryce Rainer 11th overall in 2024 out of SoCal prep power Harvard-Westlake High. The lefthanded hitter appeared in just 35 games for Low-A Lakeland in his 2025 pro debut after he dislocated his right shoulder diving back into first base.

Rainer returned to play in the Florida State League this season and appeared in 11 games before receiving a promotion to High-A West Michigan. He clubbed a 477-foot home run on April 10 for his lone longball but otherwise has struggled to a .167/.265/.310 batting line with a strikeout rate near 41%.

With Rainer moving up a level, the Tigers are assigning 2025 first-round shortstop Jordan Yost to Lakeland.

Sal Stewart, 1B, Reds: Stewart helped power the Reds to victory in Tampa Bay on Monday with a home run and a double as part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate. Cincinnati won 6-1. Stewart also stole third base in the game, while scoring twice and driving in two.

Stewart's blast was his eighth of the season, tying him with the Cardinals' Jordan Walker for the National League lead and tying him with the White Sox's Munetaka Murakami for the rookie lead. Stewart also leads rookies with a 1.027 OPS.

Rhett Lowder, RHP, Reds: Lowder delivered six quality innings in a 6-1 win at Tampa Bay. He struck out three, walked two and allowed one run on five hits.

Lowder kept Rays hitters guessing by mixing his four pitches—sinker, slider, changeup, four-seam fastball—and locating his slider to get ahead while avoiding hard contact.

Lowder improved to 3-1 with a 3.10 ERA through five starts this season. He has allowed only one home run through 29 innings, notching 18 strikeouts against nine walks.

Editor’s Picks

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Mason Peters, LHP, Mariners: The Mariners identify and develop pitching as well as any team in baseball. Could Peters, their 2025 fourth-round pick, be their next pitching dev win? The lefthander out of Dallas Baptist is off to an auspicious start, as over his first 12 professional innings, he has struck out 21 batters to just three walks while showing a plus curveball. Peters’ curve sits 78-80 mph with heavy two-plane break and spin rates in the 2,800-2,900 rpm range. He also mixes a cut-ride four-seam fastball at 92-94 mph that needs to add a few ticks, a slider and a splitter with good vertical separation off his fastball. Peters has all the ingredients to be a breakout in 2026.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• Mariners prospect Colt Emerson is dealing with a wrist injury

• Cubs RHP Jaxon Wiggins went on the IL with elbow inflammation

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