Weekly Top MLB Prospect Report – 7/26 – 8/1

With an astounding 55 trades in this year’s deadlines, several top prospects found new homes. While they begin to adjust to their new organizations, let’s take a look at the prospects who performed the best last week.

SS Liover Peguero (Pirates No. 4) – Perhaps no prospect deserved to be on this week’s list more than Peguero. The 20 year old has been on absolute fire over his last seven games, batting .400 with seven extra-base hits, 12 RBIs, five homers in his last four games and nine runs scored. A 2017 international free agent, the Pirates snagged Peguero in the Starling Marte trade, and he’s done nothing but mash since. He still needs some seasoning under his belt, but if last week’s play was any indication of the future, Pirates fans can look forward to seeing him in Pittsburgh soon.

SS Nick Loftin (Royals No. 8) – Loftin was pushing for a spot on this list even before getting to the ballpark Sunday afternoon. Loftin had been riding a solid 15-game hitting streak, but somewhere along the way he must have decided he wasn’t content with a hit or two per game. In a 13-12 slugfest win over South Bend, Loftin led the charge for High-A Quad Cities. The 2020 first-round pick was already 4-for-5 in the game with a triple, two doubles and a single when he stepped in the box in the bottom of the ninth. Down by one, Loftin launched a no-doubt home run to complete the cycle and send his team home with the win.

RHP Luis Frias (Diamondbacks No. 9) – Earlier on in the year, there was some controversy surrounding Madison Bumgarner’s seven inning no-hitter and whether or not it should count as a no-hitter in the record books. Frias must not have gotten that memo. Commanding his pitches with ease, Frias went just one batter over the minimum in a dominant 4-0 win in the first game of a Sunday afternoon doubleheader. After starting the year with High-A Hillsboro, the 23 year old was quickly promoted where he has struggled but shown enormous amounts of promise. Perhaps his shortened no-hitter was the start of something special.

RHP Edward Cabrera (Marlins No. 4) – While Cabrera might be more of a household name for the nightmares he’s induced for “MLB The Show 21” players, but his pitching might override that soon. Cabrera has been extra sharp in 10 starts across three levels this year as he marches his way towards Miami. He took another big leap Friday night against Triple-A Charlotte. Cabrera only went 4.1 innings on the bump, but of those 14 outs, a whopping 12 of them were by the strikeout. Cabrera is known for his electric stuff, but the Knights must have felt like they were facing his video game version. If he can keep up this pace, Cabrera is on the fast track to the big leagues.

RHP Jose Franco (Reds NR) – Franco doesn’t appear on Cincinnati’s Top 30 list, but he’s definitely trying to change that. Franco started his Saturday night start in inauspicious fashion; back-to-back walks to the Low-A St. Lucie lineup. What the 20 year old right hander did next was something special. Franco found his groove and struck out the next 11 batters in a row, surpassing the MLB record of 10 in a row. While he finished one batter short of tying the all-time minor league record of 12 straight, Franco was dominant and certainly turned some heads in the Cincinnati front office.

IF Ezequiel Duran (Rangers No. 8) – The first deadline-dealt prospect to make the list, Duran had been putting up solid numbers prior to his trade to the Rangers and has kept the same rhythm since then. The once top Yankees prospect had been playing well in his time with High-A Hudson Valley, but with a plethora of middle infield prospects around him and a logjam on the major league roster ahead of him, Duran found himself on the trading block. He’s done well in his short time with his new employers, capping off an impressive first week with a three-hit, four-RBI effort Sunday afternoon. With clear playing time ahead of him, Duran will look to keep up the pace.

Honorable Mention – LHP Reid Detmers (Angels No. 2) – Last week we mentioned how Detmers quickly made his Triple-A debut and could be in Los Angeles soon. We didn’t think it would be this soon. Called up to make his major league debut Sunday afternoon after just one Triple-A start, Detmers showed his youth by giving up six runs in 4.1 innings. He did pick up a pair of strikeouts and showed promise. Detmers probably needs a little more seasoning, he only has 60 career minor league innings under his belt, but this callup serves as proof that the Angels believe heavily in Detmers and he’s given them good reason to.

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