Weekly Risers: Gurevitch Keeps Mashing in Springfield, Rincon's September Power Surge
By Morgan Davis ·
The Weekly Risers column highlights the weekly performances of players outside of our Top 400. We strive to provide context to the performance so you can assess who is on a hot run and who has shifted their projection.
Gurevitch Won't Stop Going Deep at Springfield
Jack Gurevitch, ranked #550 overall, went 9-for-22 at Double-A Springfield this week with four home runs and nine RBI, adding a walk via hit by pitch and striking out six times. The Cardinals' prospect carries real swing-and-miss concerns so it is nice to see him club four home runs in 22 plate appearances with a reasonable strikeout count. The left-handed first baseman is 22 years old and has a 55 hit and 55 power grade that already suggested legitimate damage-creation ability; the question has always been whether a 65 percent contact rate and an aggressive swing tendency would allow those tools to play consistently against Double-A breaking balls.
Over his last 30 days at Springfield, Gurevitch is slashing .293/.340/.587 with eight home runs and 22 RBI across 100 plate appearances. The strikeout rate has ticked up to 36 percent during that stretch, so this is not a contact breakout. What it is, though, is a power surge that has pushed his combined line across all three levels on the season to .283/.360/.542 with 32 home runs, 26 doubles, and 96 RBI in 542 plate appearances. That is a 32-homer season from a 22-year-old bat-first first baseman who was in A-ball as recently as this spring. The projection is second-division, with a path to an everyday role if the approach can stabilize against upper-level pitching. Right now, the power is doing more than stabilizing; it is the loudest bat in a Springfield lineup that has sent several hitters to Triple-A already this season.
Quick Hits
Bryan Rincon, SS, Phillies (AA, Reading) · #670 · Five hits, three home runs, and seven RBI in 20 plate appearances, drawing four walks against three strikeouts. That is his 26th homer at Double-A alone this season, part of a combined season line of .267/.410/.517 with 26 home runs, 95 walks, and 30 stolen bases across 534 plate appearances. Over the last 30 days the 22-year-old switch-hitter is slashing .321/.467/.679 with eight home runs, a 19.0 percent walk rate, and a strikeout rate that has dropped to 18.1 percent in 105 plate appearances. The 60 arm and 60 field grades make the defensive foundation at shortstop real; the power this season has been the surprise. His projection is utility, and the bat has been running well ahead of that all month.
Carson DeMartini, 3B, Phillies (AA, Reading) · #690 · Eight hits, two doubles, two home runs, and seven RBI in 28 plate appearances, with eight walks and a hit by pitch against seven strikeouts. That walk total over a single week is not an accident; the 23-year-old has a 18.3 percent walk rate on the season and has been even more patient over the last 30 days, posting a 25.3 percent walk rate across 95 plate appearances at Reading. The season line sits at .284/.429/.505 with nine homers and 20 stolen bases, and the 39.2 percent swing rate is the lowest in this group. Power grades at 55, hit at 45; the approach has been carrying the profile all season.
Sterlin Thompson, OF, Rockies (AAA, Albuquerque) · #433 · Ten hits, two doubles, three home runs, and six RBI across 30 plate appearances, with three walks, two hit by pitches, and only three strikeouts. The 25-year-old left fielder has posted a 55 hit grade all season, and the last 30 days have made the case loudly: .382/.535/.671 with five home runs, a 19.8 percent walk rate, and a 13.9 percent strikeout rate across 101 plate appearances at Albuquerque. The season combined line of .313/.449/.500 with 15 home runs in 459 plate appearances also includes a 27-game stint at the major league level. The projection is second-division left fielder, and the Triple-A production is doing everything it needs to do to keep that window open.
Samuel Zavala, CF, White Sox (AA, Birmingham) · #635 · Six hits, a double, two home runs, and seven RBI in 24 plate appearances, drawing eight walks against five strikeouts. That walk total is right in line with Zavala's broader September: over his last 30 days he has posted a 36.4 percent walk rate and a 15.6 percent strikeout rate across 77 plate appearances, slashing .354/.597/.604 with three home runs. The season walk rate of 19.4 percent across 484 plate appearances is the clearest carrying tool in his profile, and the power is starting to show up alongside it. He projects as an up-down left fielder, but a month like this at least pushes the conversation.
Creed Willems, C, Orioles (AAA, Norfolk) · #584 · Eight hits, two home runs, and seven RBI in 24 plate appearances, with two walks, a hit by pitch, and just two strikeouts. That contact rate over the week is a notable departure from his season norms; the left-handed catcher has a 22.2 percent strikeout rate across 432 plate appearances at Norfolk on the year and an aggressive 53.3 percent swing rate. His 20 home runs and 69 RBI on the combined season are the carrying numbers for a profile graded at 55 power. The projection is second-division catcher; the bat has been productive enough to take that seriously.
Derek Diamond, RHP, Pirates (AAA, Indianapolis) · #652 · Five innings, one hit, no runs, no walks, and six strikeouts. He also generated 16 swinging misses on the night, the most of any pitcher in this group this week. Over his last 30 days at Indianapolis, Diamond has a 1.20 ERA, a 29.3 percent strikeout rate, and a 36.1 percent whiff rate across 15 innings. The season line across 56 combined innings sits at a 2.57 ERA with a 4.0 percent walk rate. The arsenal is a four-pitch mix without a clearly plus offering, and the projection is long reliever, but a right-hander posting a walk rate that low with whiff numbers that high over a sustained stretch earns a second look regardless of the ceiling label.
Adrian Bohorquez, RHP, Twins (AA, Wichita) · #698 · Five innings against 17 batters: one hit, no runs, one walk, four strikeouts, and 10 swinging misses. Over the last 30 days at Wichita, the 21-year-old has a 1.25 ERA and a 28.7 percent strikeout rate across 21.2 innings, with a combined season ERA of 3.02 through 59.2 innings. The fastball sits 95-98 mph with a pair of breaking balls that support real bat-missing ability; command at 45 remains the question that affects the #5 starter projection from the bullpen floor. The five starts at Double-A have been the best work of his season.
Zane Taylor, RHP, Athletics (AA, Midland) · #790 · Four innings, no hits, no runs, one walk, and eight strikeouts. Over his last three starts at Double-A, Taylor has posted a 0.00 ERA and a 31.0 percent strikeout rate across eight innings, with zero home runs allowed after giving up nine long balls in 81 innings at High-A Lantern this season. The 24-year-old has a 60 command grade, a four-seamer that touches 98 mph, and a changeup graded at 55. The home-run exposure at the lower level was the central concern in the profile; three clean starts at Double-A don't erase it, but they at least suggest the stuff plays when he is locating.
Steven Echavarria, RHP, Athletics (AA, Midland) · #750 · Five innings, one hit, one earned run, two walks, and eight strikeouts. Over his last four starts at Double-A, the 21-year-old has a 3.57 ERA, a 38.9 percent strikeout rate, and a 6.9 percent walk rate across 17.2 innings. The season numbers at High-A were rougher: 5.28 ERA and a 10.7 percent walk rate across 93.2 innings. The fastball sits 96-98 mph with a 55 slider; it is the same arsenal that has always been there. The Double-A audition has produced more efficiently than the full-season High-A work, and if the walk rate holds closer to the recent window, the up-down projection starts to look conservative.