Here’s our latest Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week

For the first time this season, a Rookie-level player joins the ranks of a Prospect Team of the Week selection as Orioles catching prospect Samuel Basallo nabs a spot on this week’s squad. Baltimore’s No. 18 prospect put together a terrific week for the Orioles’ Florida Complex League affiliate and showed that his organization’s system has depth beyond baseball’s top prospect, Adley Rutschman.

Basallo signed with the O’s in January 2021 for what was at the time the largest deal Baltimore had ever given an international prospect, $1.3 million. Just 17 years old, the catcher is following up on a solid professional debut last year, during which he batted .239/.381/.518 in the Dominican Summer League, tagging five homers in 41 games played.

To be eligible for the Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week, Minor League players must be ranked among their club’s Top 30 prospects on Pipeline’s lists. (Those in the Majors do not qualify.)

This is the Prospect Team of the Week for June 27-July 3:

Catcher: Samuel Basallo, FCL Orioles (Rookie)Orioles No. 18.500/.588/1.143, 4 G, 7-for-14, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB, 3 K

One Baltimore catching prospect has made heaps of headlines during the 2022 season, which brought his Major League debut. Down the ladder from Adley Rutschman and company, Basallo becomes the first Rookie-level selection to the Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week this year. The backstop put up multiple hits in his first three games of last week, going 7-for-11 over that span, with three homers and five RBIs. Entering the day on Monday, Basallo was a .333/.397/.529 hitter through 14 games in the Florida Complex League.

1B: Hunter Goodman, Fresno Grizzlies (Single-A)Rockies No. 20.417/.538/1.000, 6 G, 10-for-24, 4 HR, 2 2B, 8 RBI, 7 R, 5 BB, 5 K

Goodman has jumped into the mix as a promising Rockies prospect while getting time at first base and behind the plate. Last week, he kicked off a road series at Stockton with seven hits in his first three games, including three homers, two doubles and six RBIs. Goodman’s biggest performance of the week was a 4-for-5, two-homer day with three RBIs and three runs scored on Thursday. The slugger also homered on Saturday before going 0-for-3 with a pair of walks on Sunday, snapping a six-game hitting streak but keeping a nine-game on-base streak alive.

2B: Brayan Rocchio, Akron RubberDucks (Double-A)Guardians No. 4, MLB No. 69.417/.462/.958, 5 G, 10-for-24, 3 HR, 4 2B, 9 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 SB

Last season, Rocchio played 44 games with Akron and batted an impressive .293/.360/.505 after being promoted from High-A Lake County. This year, his numbers at Double-A haven’t been quite as sterling, but last week showed signs of big progress. Rocchio had at least one hit in all five games at Erie and broke out on Thursday by going 4-for-5 with two homers, a double and five RBIs. The performance marked the switch-hitting infielder’s first career multihomer game and set a new career high in RBIs.

3B: Eguy Rosario, El Paso Chihuahuas (Triple-A)Padres No. 5.429/.571/1.143, 6 G, 9-for-21, 4 HR, 3 2B, 13 RBI, 10 R, 7 BB, 4 K, 2 SB

Rosario returns for his second selection to the Prospect Team of the Week just three weeks after his first. At home to host Oklahoma City, the third baseman tallied hits in the final five games of the award period, homering on Wednesday and Thursday before belting a pair on Sunday. Rosario’s 13 RBIs are the most among this week’s selections and helped lead the Chihuahuas to five wins in his six games played. Ten of Rosario’s 13 homers have come since June 8, and his five RBIs on Sunday marked his second-highest total of the season behind a six-RBI day on June 8. Rosario’s highlights weren’t all just at the plate, either.

SS: Marcelo Mayer, Salem Red Sox (Single-A)Red Sox No. 1, MLB No. 9.435/.500/.913, 5 G, 10-for-23, 2 HR, 5 2B, 5 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 SB

Through his first 20 games in June, Mayer was a .205 hitter with 16 hits in 90 at-bats. Over his last three games of the month, he went 4-for-13 to kick off a terrific series at Lynchburg. The fourth overall pick in last year’s Draft homered in his series opener on Tuesday and again on Friday night. Over his final four games of the series, Mayer doubled in each, tagging a pair of two-baggers on Friday as part of a three-hit game. He finished with another three-hit game on Saturday.

OF: Estevan Florial, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Triple-A)Yankees No. 29.550/.600/1.350, 6 G, 11-for-20, 4 HR, 4 2B, 7 RBI, 10 R, 4 BB, 5 K, 3 SB

Florial produced three homers through his first 52 games this season before mashing four over his next five contests. The outfielder cranked solo dingers on back-to-back days to kick off Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s home series against Buffalo, added four doubles in his next two days and then hammered two more homers on Saturday. Florial, who also walked in four of those five days, then singled twice and scored a run while driving in another on Sunday.

OF: Tyler Gentry, Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Double-A)Royals No. 24.435/.500/1.044, 6 G, 10-for-23, 4 HR, 2 2B, 11 RBI, 9 R, 5 BB, 7 K, 1 SB

After impressing with a .336/.434/.516 line in 35 games at High-A Quad Cities, Gentry has been even better with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, posting a 1.110 OPS through 16 contests. The Alabama product may have had his best week of the year last week at Amarillo (though it wasn’t his first Prospect Team of the Week nod), nabbing hits in all six games with three multihit performances and homers in three games. Gentry homered three times in his first two games of the week, adding a single, driving in four and scoring four. After singling and walking twice on Thursday, he homered, doubled, drove in four and scored three runs as part of a 3-for-4 day on Friday. Gentry tacked on another double on Saturday and a single on Sunday to complete his stellar week.

OF: Bubba Thompson, Round Rock Express (Triple-A)Rangers No. 27.526/.609/1.000, 5 G, 10-for-19, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 5 K, 1 SB

Thompson returns to the Prospect Team of the Week for the second time this year after another outstanding stretch for the Express. The 2017 first-rounder is in the midst of his best pro season, batting .302/.345/.469 for a career-high .814 OPS and doing it all in his first season at Triple-A. Last week, Thompson started steadily, going 1-for-4 in each of his first two games against Las Vegas before taking off in the next three. Thompson belted his first homer in three straight contests with a dinger as part of a 3-for-4 showing on Thursday. On Saturday, he posted the same line and added a walk, and on Sunday, Thompson went 2-for-4 with another homer and an additional walk.

LHP: Angel Zerpa, Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Double-A)Royals No. 100-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, 0.43 WHIP

Prior to his start on Thursday, Zerpa had approached seven innings in a game in his career but hadn’t accomplished the feat. That finished with a dominant outing at hitter-friendly Amarillo in which the southpaw allowed just four baserunners, none of whom advanced past second. After Zerpa walked Amarillo’s Tristin English to start the fifth, the lefty retired the final nine men he faced to close his longest outing.

RHP: Joe Boyle, Dayton Dragons (High-A)Reds No. 270-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 K, 0.20 WHIP

Impressive throughout the season for Dayton, Doyle finally earned his first Prospect Team of the Week nod with his most dominant outing. The righty surpassed his previous career high of 10 strikeouts in a game (set twice, last on April 19 against West Michigan) by fanning a dozen over five innings on Wednesday at Great Lakes. Boyle hit the leadoff man with a pitch in the first inning before striking out five of the next six. He allowed just one single the rest of the way and ended his day on five straight K’s. Through 12 starts this season, Boyle has gone 3-1 with a 0.65 ERA and 90 strikeouts against 37 walks over 55 1/3 innings.

RP: Angel Rondón, Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A)Cardinals No. 120-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 0.40 WHIP

Rondón only got the ball once last week in relief but matched Boyle’s inning total. On Friday, the right-hander matched up with Jacksonville and dealt five efficient, scoreless innings, utilizing 63 pitches (41 strikes) to finish the game on the mound for Memphis. Rondón has pitched five times this year as a starter and 13 as a reliever in the Minors. In a starting role, he’s posted a 4.74 ERA in 19 innings pitches. That number has dipped to 3.60 across 30 innings out of the bullpen.