This Week in the Minors: Harold Castro muscles up

This Week in the Minors is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?”

Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers (18-27, 14 games back)

The Storm Chasers came from behind to win on Sunday to split their six games with St. Paul this week. Nick Pratto was 4-for-14 (.286) with two doubles and his sixth home run of the year. Carter Jensen homered in back-to-back games, going 4-for-7 after returning from a brief injury. Jac Caglianone is getting right on his rehab assignment, hitting 11-for-20 (.550) with two home runs and four doubles. Harold Castro was named International League Player of the Week by hitting 9-for-17 (.529) with four home runs, including two on Sunday.

Dallas Keuchel struck out eight without a walk, allowing just one earned run in 5.2 innings. Beck Way threw 5.1 innings without allowing a run to lower his ERA to 4.62. Jonathan Bowlan gave the Storm Chasers some bulk innings, giving up two runs in 4.2 innings with six strikeouts. Michael Fulmer had two shutout innings of relief without allowing a hit, but was released over the weekend. The Storm Chasers signed pitcher Nick Robertson, who has pitched 27 MLB games with the Dodgers, Red Sox, Cardinals, and Blue Jays.

Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals (23-22, 6 games back)

The Naturals dropped the final two games of the series, but still won four games over Arkansas. Carson Roccaforte was 9-for-24 (.375) with four walks, a double, and two steals. Gavin Cross hit .304 (7-for-23) with two doubles and five walks. Spencer Nivens had a hot week, going 5-for-14 (.357) with a double. Rudy Martin had three hits on Thursday, a homer on Saturday, and two steals on Sunday to give him 34 for the year. Speedster Colton Becker was 6-for-18 (.333) with a double, triple, and three stolen bases to give him 54 for the year. Javier Vaz had three hits and a homer on Saturday, and hit .316 (6-for-19) with five walks for the week. Brett Squires was 6-for-18 (.333) with a home run and 6 RBI.

Hunter Owen improved to 5-3 with five innings and just one run allowed with five strikeouts on Tuesday. Ben Kudrna tossed seven shutout innings and has a 2.93 ERA over his last nine starts. He was promoted to Triple-A Omaha on Monday. Hunter Patteson tossed five shutout innings with just two hits allowed and six strikeouts, while Ryan Ramsey finished the shutout with four no-hit innings and six strikeouts. Oscar Rayo had 5.2 shutout innings with six strikeouts in two relief appearances. Ben Sears allowed one run in 3.2 innings, earning his third save of the year. The Naturals added pitchers Caden Monke and Jonathan Heasley to the roster.

High-A Quad Cities River Bandits (24-24, 1.5 game back)

The River Bandits had to deal with rain, dropping five of seven to Cedar Rapids. Drew Beam allowed just one run in five innings with six strikeouts and no walks, but earned a tough loss. Jesus Rios threw 3.2 innings without allowing a run. Dennis Colleran had 2.2 innings of shutout ball in relief, earning a win. Logan Martin threw 2.2 innings of shutout ball. Mason Miller has still not allowed an earned run in 22.1 innings with the River Bandits, tossing four more shutout innings with six strikeouts.

Chris Brito hit 6-for-15 (.400) with a double, two steals, and 3 RBI. Sam Kulasingam hit .318 (7-for-22) with a double, steal, and four walks. Blake Mitchell was 6-for-23 (.261) with a triple and five walks. Nolan Sailors, the 2025 fourth-round pick out of Creighton, was 6-for-14 (.429) with a double, four walks, and three steals.

Pitcher Tyler Davis joined the team after a promotion from Columbia, and Austin Charles was activated from the Injured List.

Low-A Columbia Fireflies (16-30, 16 games back)

The Fireflies split their six games with Myrtle Beach this week. Kenrdry Chouio continued to shine with five perfect innings and four strikeouts, earning his first win with the Fireflies. David Shields continued his impressive Carolina League season with four innings, allowing a single unearned run, with five strikeouts and no walks. Jose Gutierez struck out six in five innings, allowing just one run. Darwin Rodriguez made his Carolina League debut, striking out six in four shutout innings. Yeri Perez gave up two runs in four innings with three strikeouts.

Jose Cerice was 6-for-22 (.273) with two doubles and a steal. Henry Ramos was 4-for-15 (.267) with two doubles, a triple, and six walks. Hyungchan Um hit is third home run of the season. Tyriq Kemp hit a sacrifice fly in his first professional plate appearance and collected his first hit the next day. Outfielder Luke Nowak had a terrific first week of pro ball, going 7-for-14 with a four-hit afternoon on Sunday to cap it off. The Fireflies placed JC Vanek on the Injured List but activated pitcher Yimi Presinal.