And down the stretch they come! On the penultimate Friday of full-slate affiliate ball action, MLB’s No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin (Pirates), looked the part -- even if one of his first Double-A moonshots came off a fellow position player. His teammate even cycled! Elsewhere, there were Harry Potter uniforms, a Peanuts Christmas jersey and threads with a much deeper meaning to Texas’ Hill Country. Lots of top prospects were burning the proverbial midnight oil, so let’s highlight the standouts:
Konnor Griffin, SS, Altoona (PIT No. 1/MLB No. 1)
It’s been a meteoric rise to the top of the prospect rankings for Griffin in his first full pro season, but even this was something else. The 19-year-old plated a pair with a line-drive base hit in the second, giving him five consecutive games with an RBI. He upped the ante in the fifth by demolishing his first Double-A Altoona homer, a three-run shot, going on to add a two-run roundtripper in the ninth. All told, it was a career-best seven RBIs for the 2024 first-rounder, giving him 17 in his past 13 games and 85 on the year. Across three levels, Griffin is slashing .333/.415/.526 with 64 stolen bases to his ledger. Full story | Gameday
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Eli Willits, SS, Fredericksburg (WSH No. 1/MLB No. 18)
The third-youngest No. 1 overall pick has hit the ground running to begin his professional career. Still just 17 years old, Willits delivered a two-hit performance to give him knocks in each of his first eight games for Single-A Fredericksburg. He got to show off his smooth right-handed stroke as well, ripping a double off a southpaw before adding a game-tying RBI single in the seventh from the left-handed batter’s box. Through his first week-plus in the Carolina League, Willits is hitting .407 with a .928 OPS and has struck out just four times in 31 plate appearances. Gameday
Carson Benge, OF, Syracuse (NYM No. 1/MLB No. 20)
While a former Syracuse Met was stealing the show down in Queens, Benge was socking his first homer at the Triple-A level. The Mets’ 2024 first-rounder took Jake Bird (a reliever with 191 MLB appearances) deep at 105.8 mph off the bat to his pullside, marking his 13th roundtripper of the year across three levels. Benge has been on a tear during his first full pro season, slashing .305/.410/.507 over 98 games. He’s clobbered right-handed pitching to the tune of a .957 OPS, while his 170 wRC+ entering the night topped all Mets Minor Leaguers with at least 100 plate appearances in 2025. Gameday
George Lombard Jr., SS/2B, Somerset (NYY No. 1/MLB No. 25)
While it’s been a tough acclimation to the Double-A Eastern League for Lombard Jr., there have been flashes of excellence. The 20-year-old’s latest outing was much of that, reaching base three times for Somerset, including swatting his seventh homer since his promotion, an opposite-field solo shot. The 2023 first-rounder added his 30th steal of the season later in the contest and is now just one extra-base hit away from 40 across two levels. Gameday
Justin Crawford, OF, Lehigh Valley (PHI No. 3/MLB No. 67)
The Omaha broadcast told the story after watching Crawford beat out yet another infield hit: “Justin Crawford is SO fast.” The 21-year-old put his 75-grade wheels to good use en route to a three-hit, two-steal performance for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, giving him 45 stolen bases on the season, two off his career high. The trio of knocks marked his fifth consecutive multihit game, raising his average on the season to an International League-leading .336 across 109 contests. August has been particularly good to the son of former big league outfielder Carl, as he’s hit .369 with a season-high 16 RBIs. Gameday
George Klassen, RHP, Rocket City (LAA No. 3)
Angels fans who tuned in to see Garrett Richards make 170 appearances for the club from 2011-18 wouldn’t be blamed for watching Klassen and seeing a near resemblance in the pitching style. Acquired in the Carlos Estévez deal with Philadelphia prior to last season’s Trade Deadline, Klassen has flashed captivating stuff when on his game. He certainly was in his latest Double-A Rocket City outing, stacking up nine strikeouts (seven on his breaking balls) across five frames of one-run ball. The 2025 All-Star Futures Game participant has turned in nine starts this season with one or zero runs allowed, going at least five innings in each of those outings. Gameday
Bo Davidson, OF, Richmond (SF No. 5)
While it’s unclear if Davidson yelled “Evanesco!” before the ball arrived on either of his home runs, he sure looked like a Quidditch natural while bludgeoning his second two-homer game in the span of a week for Double-A Richmond. (Yes, those are Gryffindor uniforms on Harry Potter Night; yes, they are fantastic.) Davidson’s second wallop -- which tied the game in the fourth -- went deep into the parking lot beyond the right-field fence. The 23-year-old is up to 17 homers across two levels this season, posting an .875 OPS. His 140 wRC+ entering the night was tops among all Giants Minor Leaguers to have recorded 300 plate appearances this season. Gameday
Adam Serwinowski, LHP, Great Lakes (LAD No. 13)
Since landing with the Dodgers at July’s Trade Deadline in roundabout fashion via a pair of deals, the 6-foot-5 southpaw has flashed the electric stuff that made him coveted. But he put it all together in his 22nd start of the season, striking out a career-high 12 batters for High-A Great Lakes across seven innings of one-run ball. His low-80s slider with sweeping action was particularly devastating, accounting for nine of those punchouts; in total, he got 20 swings-and-misses. (And he did it in a Peanuts-themed holiday uniform, nonetheless!) Over his past five starts, Serwinowski has posted a 1.55 ERA and struck out 37 batters in 29 frames with batters hitting just .173 against him. Gameday
Druw Jones, OF, Hillsboro (AZ No. 15)
When the D-backs selected Jones with the second overall pick out of the Georgia high school ranks in 2022, they loved the upside of his 70-grade run tool. He got to show that off as he collected his second inside-the-park home run of the season (in back-to-back months nonetheless) for High-A Hillsboro, this one delivering a lead the club would not relinquish. Having notched a single earlier, it marked the seventh multihit game this month for Jones, who has enjoyed a bit of a summer resurgence: .907 OPS in July, .295 AVG in August. Gameday
Carlos Jorge, OF/2B, Dayton (CIN No. 22)
When you hit leadoff, the name of the game is getting on base. And it’s hard to do better than Jorge did, collecting a hit all five times he stepped to the dish for High-A Dayton. His teammates were able to bring him around to score on three of those occasions as he gave new life to “hit ‘em where they ain’t” by notching three infield knocks. The career-best five-hit outing marked Jorge’s 24th multihit game this year and sixth this month. The 21-year-old utility man has also swiped a career-high 35 bags this year, his fifth consecutive campaign with 27 or more. Gameday
Nick Cimillo, 1B, Altoona (PIT unranked)
Not to be overshadowed by Griffin’s excellence, Cimillo recorded the first cycle for Double-A Altoona since 2014 -- and just the second in franchise history -- on a five-hit night. The 25-year-old struck out in his first at-bat before going on a run of single, double, solo homer, triple and another single for good measure. The Rutgers alum has tapped into his power during August, having swatted eight home runs and posted a 1.004 OPS over his past 23 contests. Gameday