Johnson among top prospect performers Thursday

After his latest gem, it’s safe to say Sean Newcomb has found a rhythm on the mound.

The Braves’ No. 3 prospect (No. 57 overall) has struggled with consistency a bit this season, but he is locked in lately and in the middle of possibly his best stretch for Double-A Mississippi.

Newcomb fired his way through 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball on Thursday, but he was ultimately stuck with a no-decision.

The 23-year-old scattered three hits and gave up just one earned run. Newcomb has given up one earned run or fewer in three of his past four starts.

The lefty threw 67 of his 100 pitches for strikes against Pensacola and left the game with a season-high 10 strikeouts. Improved command not only increased the strikeouts, but also decreased the free passes.

After walking five and four in back-to-back starts in early July, Newcomb has walked two or fewer in four of his past five trips to the mound.

The rest of the best performances from top prospects Thursday:

• Manuel Margot (Padres’ No. 2, No. 34 overall) and Hunter Renfroe (Padres’ No. 3, No. 50 overall) put on an impressive offensive display in Triple-A El Paso’s 16-15 loss to Tacoma. Margot recorded both his first five-hit game and his first multi-homer game of the season as part of a 5-for-6, four RBI night. Meanwhile, Renfroe also homered and finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs.

• Yohander Mendez (Rangers’ No. 2, No. 66 overall) threw five scoreless innings for Triple-A Round Rock, keeping his ERA at 0.00 through two starts with the Express. The lefty gave up three hits over five innings and has allowed one earned run or fewer in three consecutive starts.

• Athletics’ No. 6 …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com