Minor League Pitcher and Hitter of the Week: April 8-14
A pop-up Phillies flamethrower leads the way on the pitching front in a loaded week of Minor League Baseball.
The first week of full Minor League Baseball started with a bang in terms of multi-player performances. There was no way Week Two would be able to match, let alone top, Week One, right?
Well, the game gifted us with another week of incredible play throughout the minor leagues. It made it tough to highlight a singular pitcher and hitter for this article. Last week, I highlighted a pitcher, a hitter, and some honorable mentions in my first article of this weekly series. With how great Week Two ended up being, I will do the same here.
Now, without further ado, here are the players who had standout performances this past week in the Minor Leagues.
For more information on the Top Prospects that find themselves on Just Baseball’s Top 100, you can find that list here.
Pitcher of the Week: George Klassen (RHP) – Philadelphia Phillies (Single-A Clearwater Threshers)
Weekly Stats: 1 GS 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 8 K
Season Stats: 2 GS 10.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 17 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.86 FIP, 15.3 K/9
George Klassen’s start to his professional career in the Phillies organization could not have started better than it has. After a strong first start for the Clearwater Threshers, the 2023 sixth-round pick backed it up with another stellar start against the Single-A Bradenton Marauders.
The right-hander went another five innings in his second start, striking out another eight hitters and allowing only four baserunners. His fastball topped out at 96.8 MPH and generated nine of the 15 total whiffs in this outing.
Klassen entered this season ranked within the Top 30 Phillies prospect rankings amongst multiple publications but, with how he has looked in his first two starts of the season, I would not be surprised to see a meteoric rise within the ranks. Should he continue to perform at this level, as stated in the tweet above, Klassen might not be in Clearwater for much longer.
Hitter of the Week: Edgar Quero (C) – Chicago White Sox (Double-A Birmingham Barons)
Weekly Stats: .286/.421/.929, 3 HR, 9 RBI, .643 ISO
Season Stats: .240/.344/.720, 4 HR, 14 RBI, .480 ISO, 201 wRC+
Edgar Quero had one heck of a weekend for the Birmingham Barons. The number 67 prospect on our Top 100 hit three home runs this past weekend, two of them coming in one game against the Rocket City Trash Pandas on Friday night.
Since being acquired by the White Sox via the Angels in the Lucas Giolito trade at last year’s deadline, which is still a head-scratcher, Quero has done nothing but hit the ground running for the White Sox. Through the first two weeks of the season, he finds himself ranked at number three in all of the Southern League with a 1.064 OPS.
There seems to have been some prospect fatigue when it comes to Edgar Quero, but there should be no denying his talent. In an organization that is looking for as many jolts to their lineup in the South Side of Chicago, Quero looks to be an up and coming bright spot for the White Sox in the future.
Honorable Mentions:
Pitcher: Tink Hence (RHP) – St. Louis Cardinals (Double-A Springfield Cardinals):
Weekly Stats: 1 GS 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 8 K
Pitcher: Drew Thorpe (RHP) – Chicago White Sox (Double-A Birmingham Barons):
Weekly Stats: 1 GS 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1, ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Hitter: James Wood (OF) – Washington Nationals (Triple-A Rochester Red Wings):
4/8 – 4/14 Stats: .385/.484/.731, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 SB, 6:5 K:BB, .346 ISO
Hitter: Creed Willems (C) – Baltimore Orioles (High-A Aberdeen IronBirds):
4/8 – 4/14 Stats: .353/.353/.882, 3 HR, 7 RBI, .529 ISO
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