Week 4 Little Hero of the Week

The Little Her of the week:
Rafael Devers, 3b, Red Sox
Team: low Class A Greenville (South Atlantic)
Age: 18
Why He’s Here: .500/.500/1.050 (10-for-20), 7 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 0 BB, 5 SO

The Scoop: Devers doesn’t turn 19 until the offseason, but that hasn’t stopped him from tearing up the South Atlantic League. He ranks among the league leaders in average (.353) and slugging (.518) and already has more multi-hit games (10) than hitless games (seven). Devers’ bat has the potential to be special, and he’s got the arm to play third base, but scouts are split on whether he’ll eventually outgrow the position and move across the diamond to first base.

Runner ups
Noah Syndergaard, rhp, Mets
Team: Triple-A Las Vegas (Pacific Coast)
Age: 22
Why He’s Here: 2-0, 1.20, 2 GS, 15 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 18 SO

The Scoop: Syndergaard on Thursday put together perhaps the game of the year for a pitcher. Not only did he fire eight innings of two-run ball with eight punchouts and no walks, but he also finished a triple short of the cycle at the plate. (Bonus points for logging a 72 game score while toeing the rubber in Albuquerque.) Oh yeah—he struck out 10 over seven shutout innings the start before that. Syndergaard has worked to a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio this year, and he’s done so in one of the least pitcher-friendly environments in baseball.

A.J. Reed, 1b, Astros
Team: high Class A Lancaster (California)
Age: 21
Why He’s Here: .385/.433/1.000 (10-for-26), 7 R, 1 2B, 5 HR, 13 RBIs, 3 BB, 7 SO

The Scoop: The reigning College Player of the Year enjoys his time in the California League. The two-way standout from Kentucky clubbed five home runs this past week, including a three-homer game with nine RBIs on May 6. He’s been a bit of a three true outcome player thus far, with more than 49 percent of his plate appearances ending in a walk (16.7 percent), strikeout (25.8 percent) or home run (0.49 percent). Reed leads the league in walk rate and ranks second in isolated slugging (.316).

Lance McCullers Jr., rhp, Astros
Team: Double-A Corpus Christi (Texas)
Age: 21
Why He’s Here: 1-1, 1.64, 2 GS, 11 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 HBP, 5 BB, 16 SO

The Scoop: OK, so McCullers isn’t the prospect to see even on his own Double-A team, at least not until the Astros promote Carlos Correa. Nevertheless, McCullers has overpowered Texas League hitters. With an ERA of 0.72, he has 37 strikeouts in 25 innings, mixing a mid-90s fastball with a wicked breaking ball to put hitters away. The control is still a work in progress, but that too is trending in the right direction.