As we enter June, it’s time to take a quick look back at how we got here. Apparently in Minor League Baseball, it was on the bats of some of the best first base prospects in the game. Minor League Baseball announced their Players of the Month for May, and 5 first baseman highlight the list.
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It should come as no surprise that the Houston Astros — who have pumped out several Minor League sensations already thus far in 2015 — top the list with two of the said first basemen taking home honors.
Jon Singleton, the 2009 8th round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies, slugged his way to Pacific Coast League Player of the Month honors behind a 10-home run month of May. He drove in 37 runs — highlighted by a 2 home run 10 RBI night May 23 — and scored 22 more.
He know sits at .269/.373/.552 with 14 home runs and 52 RBI on the season.
Singleton, now 23-years old, has seen the big leagues before and should Chris Carter not get his batting average above that Mendoza Line soon, Singleton may be the next Astros Minor Leaguer in the every day lineup. Thus far, Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers and Preston Tucker have been called up and seized their moments. Is Singleton next and how long will the slumping Carter get by?
Way down in High-A, the Astros No. 12 prospect and clear first baseman of their future, A.J. Reed took home California League Player of the Month honors for the Lancaster JetHawks. Drafted just last June in the second round, the Astros 22-year old first base prospect is building off of an impressive 2014 half-season debut.
This year, his first full season of High-A baseball, Reed is slashing a .303/.408/.583 line with 15 home runs and 52 RBI. 10 of those home runs came in May along with 29 RBI. Reed’s May was highlighted by a 10-game hitting streak from May 6th to May 17th, as well as 11 multi-hit games. Reed is not just doing it with the power, but is an on base machine. He now has 12 doubles (8 of which came in May), two triples and has walked 58 times this season. Reed should be advancing to Double-A soon and should he continue his progression, he could very well make either Carter or Singleton expendable at the trade deadline.
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Tampa’s Blake Snell, who saw his unbelievable 49-scoreless inning streak come to a close on May 24th, highlights the pitchers who took home Double-A Southern League Player of the Month honors. The Rays No. 9 prospect certainly became a household name after starting the season 6-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Although he has let up a few runs now, he is still sitting at a remarkable 6-1 with a 0.99 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 77 strikeouts over 63.2 innings.
The 22-year old lefty allowed just three runs in 6 May starts, going 3-0. When he finally did allow that first run to score, Snell would go on to have a season in strikeouts behind a 12 strikeout performance. The Montgomery Biscuits ace should continue his climb this season — especially with the injuries to the rotation in Tampa — and you can pencil him in as the next great young Tampa Bay Rays budding pitching prospect.
Also taking home Player of the Month honors for May were:
International League — Alen Hanson, SS, Indianapolis
Eastern League — Ricky Oropesa, 1B Richmond
Texas League — Balbino Fuenmayor, 1B, Northwest Arkansas
Carolina League — Trey Mancini, 1B, Frederick
FSL — Scott Lyman, RHP, Jupiter
Midwest League — Andrew Daniel, 2B, Burlington
SAL — Ariel Jurado, RHP, Hickory