It took a month, but one of the top young pitchers in the sport picked up his first professional win with arguably his best outing to date. There was also plenty of fireworks on the offensive side, with a very big Yankee going very deep, a second straight four-hit night by a National and a Red Sox prospect who hit a ball so hard, it put a hole in the scoreboard ... literally.
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Chase Burns, RHP, Chattanooga (CIN No. 1/MLB No. 23)
Burns spun five strong innings in his second Double-A start en route to his first professional win. Last year's second overall Draft pick surrendered two hits and a run before recording an out but settled down to strike out eight while retiring 14 of 17 to to end his outing. Burns tossed an efficient 59 pitches (45 strikes) and lowered his ERA to 2.61 with 33 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings across five starts for High-A Dayton and Chattanooga. Gameday
Franklin Arias, SS/2B, Greenville (BOS No. 4/MLB No. 71)
Not only did Arias homer, flirt with a cycle and equal a career high with four RBIs, he also hit a ball through the scoreboard for a double. The 19-year-old entered the game hitless in his first 11 at-bats since his promotion to High-A Greenville, but he broke out with his first long ball of the year while notching his fourth three-hit game. Arias is batting .319 with an .800 OPS in 23 games across two Minor League levels. Full story | Gameday
Spencer Jones, OF, Somerset (NYY No. 2)
Jones extended his Eastern League homer lead with his ninth roundtripper and walked twice for Double-A Somerset. The 6-foot-7, 240-pounder has hit safely in five consecutive games and has compiled a .955 OPS on the strength of his 20 walks and 12 extra-base hits in his first 25 games. Gameday
Nolan McLean, RHP, Binghamton (NYM No. 5)
McLean continues to be one of the stingier starters in the Minors through the first month of the season. The 23-year-old equaled a career best by spinning six scoreless frames to lower his ERA to 1.37, the fifth-lowest mark in the Double-A Eastern League. The Oklahoma State product scattered five hits, walked two and although he only struck out four, he's fanned 30 in 26 1/3 innings across five starts for the Rumble Ponies. Gameday
Robert Hassell III, OF, Rochester (WSH No. 11)
Hassell followed up his first four-hit game in more than three years on Thursday with another, but this time the 2020 first-rounder added a pair of long balls, three RBIs and three runs to his ledger. The homers were the first Triple-A jacks for Hassell, who had not gone deep since last Aug. 28 for Double-A Harrisburg. The Tennessee native has eight hits in his past nine at-bats, raising his average 54 points to .294. Gameday