Jackson Merrill homers as Padres top Twins

Morales returned from injury earlier this month and continues to hit. The 24-year-old is slashing .291/.370/.530 in 98 games at Triple-A with 24 home runs, 74 RBI, and five steals. Considering the Nationals are giving regular at-bats to Jose Tena and Jorbit Vivas, it might make sense for them to see what Morales can do as a 3B/DH option the rest of the way.

Clarke was working his way back from a foot injury when he hurt his hamstring in late May. He returned to the field on August 18th and has since gone 6-for-13 with one home run, five RBI, and a 3/4 K/BB ratio. He has not yet attempted a steal, which would be nice to see to verify the health of his hamstring, but there is a chance that Clarke can return to center field for the Athletics by the end of the week, which would push Henry Bolte to a corner outfield spot and may cost Carlos Cortes playing time.

Sheehan threw 68 percent of his pitches for strikes, while posting an 18 percent swinging strike rate and 37 percent CSW. His four-seamer averaged 94.2 mph, and his slider carved batters up all day. There’s no room for him in the Dodgers’ rotation right now, but it’s nice to see him continuing to pitch well.

Gil had been rehabbing from shoulder inflammation but was activated off the IL a week ago and kept in the minors. With Max Fried (elbow) and Ryan Weathers (forearm) now banged up, there’s a chance the Yankees will work to stretch Gil out in Triple-A. He threw 30 pitches in this one, firing 22 of them for strikes and not walking any batters. At worst, he could provide the Yankees with length out of their bullpen soon if they wanted it.

Anthony began his rehab assignment last week with Double-A Portland, and there was a thought that he would quickly rejoin the Red Sox, but it seems that won’t be the case. The Red Sox will be in Miami at the beginning of the week, but will come back to New York on Friday to play the Yankees. Anthony will be in Worcester at the time, playing against the Yankees Triple-A club, so he could easily meet the team in New York if they think he’s ready.

López allowed three hits and one walk while striking out three and throwing 70 percent of his 50 total pitches for strikes. He did struggle to command his curve, and the velocity on it was down quite a bit, but he located his four-seamer well. His velocity on the fastball was down a bit, but he also threw 78 percent four-seamers in this one, so it doesn’t seem like the veteran was really attacking the lineup like he would in an MLB game. It remains to be seen how many more starts the Braves want him to make in the minors.

Jax struck out two and walked two while throwing 42 pitches in the outing. He threw 60 percent of his pitches for strikes and posted a 17 percent swinging strike rate and 31 percent CSW. His sinker has 95.1 mph, and his four-seamer was 95.4 mph, so there didn’t seem to be much concern with his velocity. He did struggle to command his changeup and sweeper, so the Rays may opt to give him one more rehab start and try to get him closer to 60 pitches before activating him.

The 21-year-old has been absurd in August, hitting .379/.447/.1.015 with 14 home runs, 21 runs scored, 26 RBI, one steal, and an 11/8 K/BB ratio. This is after he hit just .203/.299/.419 in July. Velazquez has also been playing a lot more left field to make it easier to slide him into the MLB lineup. That extra time to learn a new position could also be why he has remained in the minors despite swinging a hot bat. Still, there’s a very good chance he could follow a similar path to the big leagues as teammate Chase Delauter, who actually made his MLB debut during last year’s postseason.

The Twins’ top prospect has been absolutely on fire in August, hitting .415/.493/.800 with seven home runs, 12 RBI, six steals, and a 12/10 K/BB ratio. He has 11 home runs, 16 steals, and a .931 OPS on the season and certainly looks ready for an MLB audition.

A year ago, Isaac was recovering from life-saving brain surgery. Now he’s one step away from the major leagues. The 22-year-old hit .255/.400/.510 in 99 games at Double-A this year with 24 home runs, 77 runs scored, 71 RBI, and 18 steals. That came with a 119/80 K/BB ratio, but also a 16.8 percent swinging strike rate that will need to be addressed as he moves to the higher levels of the minors.