The All-Star break is behind us and we're entering late July. You know what that means: the weather is warm and the ball is flying.
That was true across the Minor League Baseball landscape on Sunday, when all the elite prospect performances came from hitters capitalizing on such favorable conditions. That included Yankees slugger Spencer Jones, who just keeps sending the ball out of the yard at Triple-A, Colt Emerson celebrated his 20th birthday in style and Sal Stewart (Reds) swatted his first long ball at the Minors' highest level. Just to make sure the pitchers didn't get left behind, Miguel Ullola (Astros) was unhittable while racking up a season high in strikeouts.
Spencer Jones, OF, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (NYY No. 2)
Jones knows how to put on a show, and that show doesn't seem to be closing anytime soon. Jones added two more homers as part of a four-hit day in his first multihomer performance at the Minors' top level (his third of the season), pulling the slugging outfielder into a tie for the MiLB home run lead with 26 in 65 games. He crushed a mammoth 445-foot homer to center field and added an opposite-field jack for good measure. Jones has gone yard in three straight games dating back to before the All-Star break and 10 times in his first 16 games at Triple-A. Gameday
Leo De Vries, SS, Fort Wayne (SD No. 1/MLB No. 3)
That is some precocious power. The 18-year-old De Vries leaned into his seventh homer of the year, a two-run shot from the left side of the plate, in the latest sign that he might be getting hot. De Vries has seven extra-base hits in 11 games this month at High-A, where he is routinely the youngest player on the field and carries an impressive .359 on-base percentage overall. Gameday
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Colt Emerson, SS, Everett (MLB No. 16/SEA No. 1)
Digging into the batter’s box for the first time as a 20-year-old, Emerson showed off strength beyond his years. The left-handed hitter provided birthday magic with his first home run out of the All-Star break and second in his past seven games. With two hits and a walk, he upped his slash line to .271/.379/.479 in July. Gameday
Carter Jensen, C, Omaha (KC No. 2/MLB No. 70)
The bat-first backstop rattled off six homers in his first 11 games at Triple-A Omaha before the All-Star break, and it seems the layoff hasn't cooled him down. He swatted a solo homer during a two-hit, three-RBI day -- the fifth game of 10 this month in which Jensen has driven in multiple runs. His seven homers in 15 games with Omaha is already more than the six he hit across 68 games at Double-A before his late June promotion. Gameday
Sal Stewart, 2B/3B, Louisville (CIN No. 3/MLB No. 49)
Stewart cracked his first Triple-A home run in his third game with the Bats, a solo shot as part of a multihit effort. But it's really just more of the same from Stewart, who compiled a slash line of .306/.377/.473 with 10 homers and 13 steals over 80 games at Double-A to earn his promotion. The No. 32 overall pick in the 2022 Draft has always been a bat-first player. If the 21-year-old can settle in defensively at third base at Triple-A, it might not be long before that bat carries him to Cincinnati. Gameday
George Lombard Jr., 2B/SS, Somerset (NYY No. 1/MLB No. 33)
The 20-year-old Lombard stormed up prospect lists this spring after a white-hot start at High-A Hudson Valley earned him a promotion to Double-A Somerset after only 24 games. But it's been an adjustment at the new level, with Lombard cooling off prior to the All-Star break. He might be beginning to get the hang of the level, though. Lombard homered out of the leadoff spot for the second consecutive day, the first time in his career he's gone yard in back-to-back games. It was his fourth homer in 60 games with Somerset to go along with 14 steals. Gameday
Miguel Ullola, RHP, Sugar Land (HOU No. 4)
Unhittable over 5 1/3 innings, Ullola struck out a season-high 11 batters and generated 22 swings-and-misses, the most in affiliated baseball for the day. The righty, who walked five for Triple-A Sugar Land, has proven to be another low-bonus international pitcher quickly ascending the Astros’ system and putting himself in upcoming conversations about the organization’s future. Gameday
Starlyn Caba, 2B, Jupiter (MIA No. 2/MLB No. 75)
The 19-year-old has been back on the field for less than a month after missing most of the first half to injury, and this was his best all-around performance yet. Caba doubled twice as part of a season-high three-hit effort, scored twice and drove in a run out of the leadoff spot at Single-A, forming a lethal 1-2 punch with PJ Morlando at the top of the lineup. It was also the first two-double game of the season for Caba, who despite some thin numbers has been walking more than he's struck out through 25 games this year. Gameday
PJ Morlando, OF, Jupiter (MIA No. 7)
Morlando cashed in behind Caba in the order with his first career four-hit performance. The 20-year-old center fielder doubled, drove in three runs and scored another -- he and Caba combined for seven hits, four RBIs and three runs scored on the day. Miami's 2024 first-round pick has also been limited by injuries this year, playing in just 27 games. He's slashing .272/.430/.402 with two homers and 23 walks in those contests. Gameday