The Weekend Round-up: Florentino's Two-Homer Sunday, Walcott Keeps Hitting at Frisco
By Morgan Davis ·
Edward Florentino's Sunday started with a hot streak and ended with his second career multi-homer game. The 19-year-old left fielder went 6-for-15 across the weekend for High-A Greensboro, collecting two doubles, a home run, five RBI, and four walks against zero strikeouts in 15 plate appearances. The capstone was a two-homer performance in Sunday's 10-7 loss to Bowling Green, where he drove in multiple runs while posting his best contact-rate weekend of the second half. For a hitter who carries a 68.7 percent contact rate on the season, the zero-strikeout weekend shows the profile operating at its ceiling: a swing that can create damage without surrendering the plate discipline that makes him interesting in the first place.
The scouting file grades him with a 55 hit tool and 55 power, projecting a second-division left fielder whose path to an everyday role runs through continued maturation of the barrel and the body adding strength without losing looseness. That projection feels conservative when you look at the last 30 days: seven home runs, eight doubles, and 28 RBI in 122 plate appearances at High-A, with his walk rate holding at 14.8 percent and his strikeout rate actually dropping below 21 percent during that stretch. On the season combined across both levels, he sits at 25 home runs, 80 RBI, and a 15.8 percent walk rate in 448 plate appearances, all before his 20th birthday. The power output is already ahead of what a 55 raw grade typically produces. The bat-to-ball concerns are real because the 68.7 percent contact rate season-long leaves him exposed to quality velocity, but the weekend showed what he looks like when the swing decisions are crisp. For a teenager at High-A with 25 home runs, the most honest conversation is whether the projection ceiling needs to move up rather than down.
Quick Hits
Sebastian Walcott, DH, Rangers (AA, Frisco) · #10 · Went 4-for-10 with two home runs, a double, four RBI, and a walk against one strikeout. His six home runs through 29 combined games this season are notable for a player returning from UCL surgery, and over the last 30 days at Double-A he has posted a 14.1 percent walk rate with seven doubles and solid contact at 71.7 percent. Grades of 60 athleticism, 60 speed, and 55 power support an everyday shortstop projection, and the power is showing up ahead of schedule for someone still working back into full game shape. The swing-and-miss concerns around advanced breaking balls remain on the scouting file, but nothing from this weekend backed that up.
Jonah Tong, RHP, Mets (AAA, Syracuse) · #125 · Seven innings, one hit, zero earned runs, two walks, and eight strikeouts. The near no-hit outing came with 13 swinging misses on 88 pitches, though the 41-of-88 strike rate reflects that efficiency is still a work in progress. Over the last 30 days at Triple-A, Tong has a 2.45 ERA in 25.2 innings with 26 strikeouts, a meaningful uptick from his 4.54 season ERA at Syracuse. The fastball sits 95-to-97 and the changeup grades 60; when those two pitches are working in tandem, the profile looks closer to the No. 3 starter upside than the No. 4 or 5 forecast. Three big-league appearances are already on his ledger this year, and a seven-inning gem at Triple-A on the strength of his best two pitches is a reasonable argument for another shot.
Zyhir Hope, CF, Tigers (AA, Erie) · #26 · Collected seven hits in 15 plate appearances, driving in three and drawing three walks against two strikeouts, with all seven hits coming as singles. The contact-heavy weekend is a departure from his season-long profile: 26 home runs and 100 RBI in 516 plate appearances across two Double-A stops, with a contact rate sitting at 71.7 percent. Over his last 30 days the contact rate has slipped to 70.5 percent and the power has cooled, so the seven-hit, no-extra-base weekend reads more as the hit tool carrying things while the pop takes a breather. He projects as an everyday center fielder with 65 athleticism and 55 power, and the on-base ability he showed this weekend is the part of the profile that keeps the floor high even when the home run pace dips.
Tyler Bremner, RHP, Angels (AA, Madison) · #104 · Five innings, two hits, one earned run, two walks, and eight strikeouts. Over his last 30 days at Double-A, he has a 3.60 ERA across 25 innings with 34 strikeouts, a 34.0 percent strikeout rate, and a 35.4 percent whiff rate. The carrying tool is a plus-plus changeup that grades 70 and generates consistent weak contact from both sides of the plate; pair that with a fastball that sits 95-to-98, and you have a two-pitch foundation that already projects as No. 2 starter material. He has 92 strikeouts in 68.1 innings on the season and the weekend outing was another reminder that the secondary pitch is already major-league caliber.
John Gil, SS, Braves (AA, Columbus) · #138 · Eight hits in 15 plate appearances, a double, two RBI, and just one strikeout. That eight-hit weekend pushed his Double-A line to .323 in 111 plate appearances since his promotion, and over the last 30 days he carries a 77.2 percent contact rate. Gil grades out at 70 speed, which is the headline tool, and the 55 combined stolen bases this season between High-A and Double-A back that up. The power is still modest, a 40 raw grade, and the projection is utility infielder rather than everyday regular, but the contact and on-base skills he showed this weekend are what the profile needs if the bat is going to carry its weight against better pitching.
Mitch Voit, SS, Mets (AA, Binghamton) · #319 · Three hits in 10 plate appearances, including a double and a home run, with two walks and two strikeouts. Since his promotion to Double-A he has 42 stolen bases combined on the season across both levels, and over his last 30 days at Binghamton he has a 81.8 percent contact rate with 10 doubles in 88 plate appearances. The power grades 50, the hit tool 50, but the 42 stolen bases and 11.3 percent walk rate give him multiple ways to affect a game beyond slugging. The Double-A numbers have been his best work of the year and this weekend added to that case.
Ryan Sloan, RHP, Mariners (AA, North Little Rock) · #9 · Six innings, five hits, one earned run, zero walks, and six strikeouts, with 12 swinging misses on 71 pitches. The walk column has been Sloan's calling card all season: 14 walks in 92.2 innings at Double-A, a 3.7 percent walk rate that ranks among the best in the upper minors. Over his last 30 days the ERA sits at 2.84 with 34 strikeouts and just 2 walks in 25.1 innings. He is a 55-command, 55-fastball arm projecting as a No. 4 starter, and the profile's value is built on strikes and durability rather than overpowering stuff. The home run rate is the variable to watch, but Sunday's outing showed the floor: six clean innings, no free passes, one blemish.
Josiah Hartshorn, 1B, Cubs (A+, South Bend) · #233 · Three hits, a home run, four RBI, six walks, and four strikeouts across 15 plate appearances. The six-walk weekend is right in line with his patient approach, carrying a 15.8 percent walk rate on the season. Combined across Low-A and High-A, he has 22 home runs, 106 RBI, and 83 walks in 524 plate appearances at 19 years old. The scouting file projects a second-division first baseman, with the value tied to on-base production and enough pull-side power to be playable in a corner. The 22-homer, 106-RBI line through 116 games is running well ahead of that floor.
David Shields, LHP, Royals (A+, Davenport) · #167 · Six innings, three hits, two earned runs, zero walks, and seven strikeouts, with 14 swinging misses on 71 pitches. The walk column is where Shields truly excels: over his last 30 days at High-A, he has issued just two walks in 24.2 innings with a 2.1 percent walk rate and 33 strikeouts. A 55 command grade and a clean left-handed delivery that creates deception for a fastball sitting only 94-to-95 are the foundation. His 6.2 percent season walk rate across 112.2 innings at High-A is among the better marks in A+ pitching. At 19, the floor is already high because the strike-throwing is real.