Sparks on MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Team of the Week

MLBPipeline.com’s Prospect Team of the Week honors the best performances from the previous seven days. Any player currently on an organization Top 30 Prospects list on our Prospect Watch is eligible, including big leaguers.

Making the transition to full-season ball can often be a tough one. It’s true that the dog days of summer have yet to set in, but a number of prospects are showing that they can more than handle it.

This week’s Prospect Team of the Week, for games May 23-29, gives several examples. The Class A Midwest League is very well represented, with four players who are playing full-season ball for the first time having big weeks. Two — Austin Allen and Tyler Krieger — are 2015 draftees, and there’s a third member of that Draft class on this week’s team in Willie Calhoun, and he gets extra credit for doing his damage all the way up in Double-A.

C: Austin Allen, Fort Wayne TinCaps (Class A) (Padres’ No. 24 prospect) 5 G, .412/.444/.647, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SO

After a torrid April, Allen cooled off in May, but it looks like he might be heating up again just in time for June. After starting the week 0-for-7, Allen went 7-for-10 and drove in runs in each of his last three games for the week and currently leads the Midwest League with his .352 average.

1B: Josh Bell, Indianapolis Indians (Triple-A) (Pirates’ No. 3 prospect) 6 G, .478/.538/.739, 5 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SO

Bell collected hits in each of the six games he played this week, three of them being multihit performances. The switch-hitting first baseman is now sixth in the Triple-A International League with his .877 OPS.

2B: Willie Calhoun, Tulsa Drillers (Double-A) (Dodgers’ No. 15 prospect) 7 G, .423/.483/.885, 7 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 4 SO

Most times you have a 4-for-4 Monday, it’s going to be a pretty good week. Such was the case for Calhoun, the …

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