September baseball is finally here. While the focus is usually on playoff races in the majors, there’s always exciting action in the minors. Let’s see who was the best of the best this past week.
OF Everson Pereira (Yankees No. 13) – The entire High-A Hudson Valley offense made a play to get on this list, but we’re going with Pereira. The Renegades were already up 9-4 over Greensboro heading into the top of the ninth on Sunday night, but Hudson Valley added another 14 runs in that half-inning alone, batting around twice. The Renegades finished with ten home runs in the game, with Pereira hitting three of them including a grand slam. Pereira, a 2017 international signing out of Venezuela, finished 3-for-5 with six RBIs on the night, still finding a way to stand out in a loaded offensive night.
1B Triston Casas (Red Sox No. 2) – Playing three games in two days seems like an exhausting stretch of baseball. Not for Casas. Casas, the 26th overall pick in the 2018 draft, tallied seven hits over ten at-bats during that three-game stretch. Five of them left the yard. Casas tallied 11 RBIs for Double-A Portland, and has continued a torrid stretch of hitting since returning from helping Team USA win silver at the Tokyo Olympics. Casas is batting .283 with 12 homers and 48 RBIs in 69 games for Portland so far this year, and is mashing his way towards Fenway.
LHP Kyle Harrison (Giants No. 5) – Harrison has been lights out all year for Low-A San Jose, including another solid start Thursday night. Tallying 12 strikeouts over five scoreless innings, Harrison brought his total to 141 over 87.2 innings, good for a 14.5 K/9 ratio. Harrison, a 2020 third-round pick, has been competing with teammate and San Francisco’s 25th overall prospect Carson Ragsdale for the Low-A West strikeout lead, and the battle down the stretch will be a fun one to watch.
OF Joe Gray (Brewers No. 9) – Everything has been coming up solid for Gray lately. After crushing his 20th homer of the minor league season Tuesday night, Gray joined the 20-20 club with his 20th stolen base of the year just a day later. This continues a breakout season for Gray, the 60th overall pick in the 2018 draft. Blending average, power and speed together, Gray’s game is an intriguing one, and should land him in Milwaukee sooner rather than later.
OF Robert Hassell III (Padres No. 3) – Hitting your first career home run at a minor league level is always a cause for celebration, but what if you get your first three in the same night? Hassell did just that. The eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft, Hassell was clobbering the ball for High-A Fort Wayne on Wednesday night, hitting a solo shot in the fifth, a two-run shot in the sixth and another two-run shot in the 11th, which would help pad the lead for a 12-11 win over Great Lakes.
RHP Brady Feigl (Athletics No. 23) – Making his first start at the Triple-A level with Las Vegas, Feigl showed his top-notch stuff. Only giving up a pair of runs with five strikeouts over 4.2 frames for the Aviators, Feigl kept his team in the game. Feigl earned his promotion after posting a 3.96 ERA with 106 strikeouts across 20 starts with Double-A Midland. Oakland has a fondness for crafty pitchers, and Feigl certainly fits that bill.
