WHO’S HOT:

Brandon Nimmo – St. Lucie

Nimmo has been hot all season and has been showing why he was a first round pick. Nimmo saw an eight game hitting streak snapped on May 27th when he went 0-2 before being removed from the game in the third inning after spraining his ankle, cutting off a double. During the streak, he hit .433 (13 for 30) with two doubles, two home runs, five RBI, nine runs scored and collected six walks for a sparkling .527 OBP. Nimmo has definitely shown he can handle the Florida State League’s pitchers – the question now is… when will he be promoted to AA?

Dilson Herrera – St. Lucie

Herrera just keeps on hitting and it’s possible that in years to come – we’ll remember the late season trade that sent Marlon Byrd and John Buck to the Pirates for Vic Black and another low level minor leaguer as the Dilson Herrera trade. Through May 27th, he has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, over which he’s batted .396 (21 for 53) with 11 runs scored, six doubles, two home runs and five RBI.

Gabriel Ynoa – St. Lucie

After a rough start to the season, Ynoa is getting his season back on track. Over his last three starts dating back to May 12th, he’s gone 1-0 with a 0.94 ERA while allowing just 19 hits in 19 innings, walking one and striking out 18. His WHIP over this streak was just 1.05.

Dominic Smith – Savannah

The 11th overall selection of the 2013 draft is on another hot streak at the plate, currently on a nine-game hitting streak over which he’s been hitting .371 (13 for 35) with four runs, two doubles, and seven RBI over that span. While he hasn’t shown much power and has yet to hit a home run this, the Mets are expecting his power to develop over time – and let’s not forget he hasn’t even turned 19 yet and is playing against players several years older than him. Let him get his hitting stroke down in the pros, and he’ll be fine. The $2.6 million signing bonus the Mets gave him may be money well spent down the line.

L.J. Mazzilli – Savannah

Mazzilli is on the hot list for the 2nd straight week (although some of his female fans may argue that he’s always on the hot list). He’s hit in 11 of his last 12 games over which he’s gone 17 for 44 (.386 batting average) while scoring 11 runs, four doubles, one triple, three home runs, nine RBI, seven walks, an OBP of .471 and a slugging percentage of .681.

Kevin McGowan – Savannah

McGowan was a 13th round pick in last year’s draft and made just 1 start in 14 appearances for Brooklyn last year. This year, he’s made eight starts for Savannah. Over his last five starts, he’s allowed just one unearned run. Since April 29th, Kevin has a record of 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA. During this span, he’s pitched 32.1 innings while allowing 17 hits, 12 walks, and striking out 24. His WHIP over this stretch? A minuscule 0.90. On the season, he’s pitched 46 innings with an ERA of 1.57 while opposing batters are hitting just .178 against him.

WHO’S NOT:

Maikis De La Cruz – St. Lucie

The 23 year old outfielder from the Dominican Republic hasn’t been swinging a hot stick lately. For the week of May 21-27, he only managed two singles in 17 at bats (.118 batting average) to drop his average on the season to .206. He’s been rising through the ranks and did hit .321 at two levels of the Dominican Summer League in 2011, but it has dropped at each rung of the ladder.

Eudy Pina – St. Lucie

Pina is another 23 year old Dominican Outfielder who appears to have stalled in St. Lucie. From May 21-27, he’s gone 2 for 20 (.100 batting average), managing just two singles while dropping his season batting average to .198.

(Photo Credit: David Conde/MMN)