Once again, we take a look at some of the notable prospect performances in the past week. For this week, we'll focus on a couple outfield prospect and another update from the organization's top hitting prospect.
Dominic Canzone (No. 12) had a big week at Las Vegas, going 11-for-21 (.524) at the plate with two doubles, a triple, and four home runs. On the season, he is batting .351 with 15 home runs, 57 RBI, and a 1.106 OPS. After already a decent start entering the season, Canzone's bat has heated up in the month of June where he's batting .500 with a 1.494 OPS and hitting everything on the barrel. Over 65% of the balls he's put into play this month have an exit velocity of at least 95 MPH, which Statcast denotes as hard-hit, with nearly half of them over 100 MPH.
The D-backs aren't necessarily in a hurry to promote Canzone, as they would need to make a 40-man roster move. At first glance he would seem like a viable option to play the role of designated hitter against right-handed pitchers as he's hitting .396 with 14 home runs and a 1.243 OPS when holding the platoon advantage. However there is always an adjustment from Triple-A to the big leagues and it could be a case where the organization prefers taking the known quantity in Smith, who is batting .216 with six home runs and nearly as many walks (24) as strikeouts (27) in a similar situation.
Wilderd Patino (No. 18) has hit safely in each of his last 11 games with Hillsboro, batting .340 with a home run, six walks, and five stolen bases. The strikeout rate is a bit elevated, at 23% over that stretch, but the meter is trending up after a slow start to the season. After batting .238 with a .639 OPS in April, he has posted a .263 average in May and .339 in June. With the team traveling to Vancouver last week, he stayed behind at the complex to get some reps and unsurprisingly tore up the competition. With the organization needing to make a decision whether to add him to the 40-man roster this off-season, it's imperative for him to continue to progress at the plate.
Jordan Lawlar (No. 2) continues his bounceback month of June, as he batted .350 with two doubles, a triple, and a home run against the San Antonio Missions. It's a continuation of the progress he's made over the past four weeks. In the month of June, he's hitting .373 with six doubles, two triples, three home runs, and a 1.117 OPS. Lawlar continues to reduce his strikeout rate, which is now down to 24.3% on the season while raising his batting average up to .249 with nine home runs and an .816 OPS. He had a nine-game hitting streak snapped on Saturday, but then collected two hits in the following game.
Ryan Bliss (No. 13) also had a big week for Double-A Amarillo, collecting 11 hits in 27 at-bats against San Antonio. Bliss had caught on for a big month in April because slowly cooling off as the season continued on. The strong week has pushed his season average up to .369 with a 1.011 OPS in 57 games. Like his double play counterpart, he's looking like a promotion candidate for Triple-A around the All-Star break. The D-backs aren't necessarily hurting for second basemen, with Ketel Marte entrenched there for the foreseeable future, but Bliss could force their hand if he continues to swing the bat well.
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