Week 8 Little Hero of the Week

Robert Stephenson, rhp, Reds
Team: Double-A Pensacola (Southern)
Age: 22
Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 2 GS, 15 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 17 SO
The Scoop: Stephenson entered the year as Cincinnati’s No. 1 prospect, a ranking that was more a testament to his stuff and upside than his 2014 results. He missed bats last year, but he was also missing the strike zone, which resulted in him getting tagged for a 4.74 ERA in Double-A. The Reds had Stephenson repeat the Southern League this year, and things only seemed to be going backwards for him.
By mid-May, Stephenson had a 5.45 ERA and had completely lost his mechanics, including one start where he got lit up for six runs and didn’t make it out of the first inning, plus another where he walked seven in 6 1/3 innings. Now, things are starting to click for Stephenson, who’s done a better job of repeating his delivery and pounding the strike zone in his last two starts. He still has a mid-90s fastball, a putaway curveball and a changeup that could develop into an average pitch, all the stuff to be a frontline starter if he can keep filling up the strike zone.

Runner up (7 of the top 12 on the hot sheets were Heroes this week)
Rookie Davis, rhp, Yankees
Team: high Class A Tampa (Florida State)
Age: 22
Why He’s Here: 1-0, 1.50, 12 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 16 SO
The Scoop: Armed with a three-pitch mix of mid-90s fastball, mid-70s curveball and a changeup, Davis has made a run up the Yankees’ pitching-prospect list. A moose of a man at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, Davis’ progress in 2015 continued this week, when he made two starts, including one against Dunedin in which he struck out 10 hitters. His 58 strikeouts this year have him in a three-way tie for third place in the Florida State League, and he should get a chance to test out his arsenal against Double-A hitters in the second half.

Mauricio Dubon, 2b/ss, Red Sox
Team: low Class A Greenville (South Atlantic)
Age: 20
Why He’s Here: .429/.500/.679 (10-for-25), 11 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 3 BB, 2 SO, 5-for-5 SB
The Scoop: Without the hype of his fellow infielders, Dubon has slowly but surely made a name for himself. He’s been featured in Helium this year, and now he’s made multiple Hot Sheet appearances. And for good reason. He sports an .786 OPS for the season, has stolen 15 bases in 17 chances and has played solid defense at both shortstop and second base. It’s anything but a downgrade when either Yoan Moncada or Javier Guerra need a day off.

Cody Bellinger, 1b/cf, Dodgers
Team: high Class A Rancho Cucamonga (California)
Age: 19
Why He’s Here: .400/.464/.880 (10-for-25), 8 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBIs, 3 BB, 7 SO
The Scoop: With a home run on Thursday, Bellinger tied Astros prospects Brett Phillips and A.J. Reed for the California League lead with 29 extra-base hits. Of course, the Houston duo plays half its games in Lancaster, one of the friendliest parks for hitters in the minors. Bellinger does not, which makes his breakout year all the more impressive. (The irony here being that Bellinger actually hit that Thursday home run on the road in Lancaster.) He also ranks among the league leaders with 43 RBIs, 45 runs and a .571 slugging percentage.

A.J. Reed, 1b, Astros
Team: high Class A Lancaster (California)
Age: 22
Why He’s Here: .320/.469/.760 (8-for-25), 6 R, 2 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBIs, 5 BB, 8 SO
The Scoop: It was a good week for the Astros’ 2014 college bats, as you’ll see below. Reed, the former Kentucky two-way stud and 2014 College Player of the Year, has fully transitioned to pro ball, showing the kind of power the Astros envisioned when they popped him in the second round. Reed still is learning his way around the first-base bag and is limited defensively, but his power-and-patience combo has the Astros drooling.
Derek Fisher, lf/cf, Astros
Team: high Class A Lancaster (California)
Age: 22
Why He’s Here: .320/.414/.920 (8-for-25), 10 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 16 RBIs, 3 BB, 9 SO, 4-for-5 SB
The Scoop: In truth, Fisher made this list with one monumental day early in the week. The rest was just gravy. Part of the Jethawks’ trio of college colossuses—colossi?—along with A.J. Reed and J.D. Davis, Fisher kicked off his time in high Class A with three homers. Two of those blasts were grand slams, and he added a double, good enough to help him total 12 RBIs. Fisher, a supplemental first-round pick from Virginia, is a pure hitter with plenty of potential to hit for average and power, but he’ll need to improve his outfield defense before he projects as a regular in the major leagues.

Lucas Giolito, rhp, Nationals
Team: high Class A Potomac (Carolina)
Age: 20
Why He’s Here: 0-0, 0.00, 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 SO
The Scoop: Maybe every top-end pitching prospect should stay at their team’s extended spring training complex for a month. Giolito and fellow touted righty Reynaldo Lopez broke camp late this spring and have pitched brilliantly since. The former’s latest outing featured nine punchouts over five, two-hit innings. Want to know how nasty Giolito has been over the course of his season? Of the 82 outs he has recorded, 38 come via the strikeout (46 percent), and he’s fanned one-third of batters faced overall.