Zach

Borenstein

The 29-year-old fizzled out in a 13-game stint at Triple-A Iowa in 2019 before finishing the season with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League. There, he slashed .267/.347/.447 with 16 homers and 67 RBI in 101 games. He’ll function as depth at Triple-A for the Rockies.

Borenstein posted a respectable .834 OPS with 25 home runs and 90 RBI over 133 games last season with the Triple-A affiliate of the Mets. The 28-year-old outfielder will now serve as Triple-A depth for the Cubs.

He finished it off with a double in the eighth inning. Borenstein’s home run in the fourth was his first of the season. He now has two cycles in a span of 13 months. The 23-year-old has hit .458 with three RBI during his seven-game hitting streak. Borenstein was acquired from the Angels as part of a four-player trade last July.

The 23-year-old outfielder had a breakout season at High-A Inland Empire in 2013, slashing .337/.403/.631 with 28 homers and 95 RBI. In his first taste of higher competition, he has hit .262/.316/.402 with seven homers and 50 RBI between Double-A Salt Lake and Triple-A Arkansas this season. He’s viewed as close to major league ready and could contribute to the Diamondbacks before the end of the season.

The 23-year-old was named the Angels’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2013 as well as the California League MVP after batting .337/.403/.631 with 28 home runs and 95 RBI in 112 games for High-A Inland Empire. Borenstein had gotten off to a slow start at Arkansas, but showed signs of turning the corner during the past weekend’s series, going 6-for-14 with five extra-base hits (both of his 2014 home runs) and six RBI. As an older prospect facing mostly younger pitching, Borenstein still has to answer questions about his bat before projecting as an everyday corner outfielder at the highest level.

Borenstein entered the game in the top of the third inning as a substitute in left field for Peter O’Brien. He cranked a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth and then doubled home Domingo Leyba in the bottom of the fifth. The game ended after the top of the sixth. Borenstein has posted some gaudy minor league numbers, but there’s quite a crowd currently on the Diamondbacks’ corner-outfield depth chart. He was a 23rd-round pick of the Angels in 2011.

Borenstein is 27 years old and has never appeared in a major league game, but he registered a strong .924 OPS with 24 home runs and 91 RBI in 433 plate appearances this past season for the Triple-A affiliate of the Diamondbacks. He’ll serve as organizational outfield depth for the Mets leading into 2018.