Puk among top prospect performers Saturday

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As one of the younger everyday players at the Triple-A level, Rio Ruiz has been anything but overmatched this season.

The Braves’ No. 15 prospect put together a big offensive performance on Saturday, when he hit multiple home runs for the first time in his five-year career and plated all four runs as Triple-A Gwinnett shut out Rochester, 4-0. Ruiz finished 3-for-3 at the plate, also tallying a triple in the contest en route to accruing a career-best 11 total bases.

By collecting three hits for the fifth time this season, the 22-year-old third baseman improved his overall slash line to .273/.359/.401 through 117 games for Gwinnett. Meanwhile, with nine home runs and 19 doubles, Ruiz’s power has translated better than expected this season against the advanced pitching of the International League.

The rest of the best performances from top prospects Saturday

• No. 7 overall prospect Brendan Rodgers (Rockies’ No. 1) connected on his 19th home run and 29th double as part of a 2-for-5 performance for Class A Asheville. The 20-year-old shortstop has been on a tear of late, hitting an even .500 (10-for-20) with four home runs, eight runs scored and nine RBIs over his last five games.

• No. 74 overall prospect A.J. Puk (A’s No. 2) allowed two hits over five innings in his second straight scoreless start for Class A Short Season Vermont. The 2016 No. 6 overall Draft pick struck out five, generated eight ground-ball outs and threw 50 of his 63 pitches for strikes. “I felt really good out there today,” Puk told MiLB.com. “Probably the first few innings I just mainly used my fastball and a couple changeups, and they were just jumping on the first-pitch fastballs. The second time through the lineup, I started mixing all my pitches to keep them off-balance and I was able to keep getting them out.”

• No. 94 overall prospect Derek Fisher (Astros’ No. 8) connected on a solo home run and stole a base in Triple-A Fresno’s loss to Albuquerque. With 19 home runs and 24 steals in 114 games, the 23-year-old outfielder …

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