Chicago Cubs shortstop prospect Luis Vazquez (undisclosed) went deep twice in his return to Triple-A on Thursday evening. Vazquez has been sidelined for just over a month due to an undisclosed injury. Vazquez earned a brief taste of the majors earlier this summer but went 0-for-1 in his lone at-bat. At Triple-A, he has held a .261/.351/.422 line through 58 games. However, across his past 11 games at Triple-A Iowa, Vazquez has posted a strong .316/.395/.579, which shows he began to turn the corner before the injury and has already picked up right where he left off yesterday evening. Vazquez could get another opportunity in the majors later this summer if he continues to perform well at Iowa.

Washington Nationals third base/shortstop prospect Brady House went 2-for-2 with two long balls and three RBI on Thursday evening. This was his first multi-home run game of the 2024 campaign. Since moving up to Triple-A Rochester on July 7, the infielder has held a solid .283/.301/.495 slash line with five home runs, 21 RBI, six doubles, and a 3:25 BB:K ratio. House opened the summer by receiving his second look at Double-A and posted a .234/.310/.423 line. House is worth following in deeper redraft leagues as he may earn a brief taste of the majors in the coming weeks. He is shaping up to be the third baseman of the future in D.C. and could be a full-time major league player next summer.

Texas Rangers starting pitching prospect Jack Leiter struck out a batter to record every out on Thursday evening. The right-hander was tasked to record just 11 outs and did so by striking out every batter. He allowed just one earned run, one hit, and one free pass. Across his past 36 innings at Triple-A Round Rock, the former number-two overall pick has performed quite well, holding a 2.79 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 17:54 BB:K ratio. This is a good sign, as he posted a high 4.63 ERA through his first 35 frames of the summer at Triple-A. Leiter earned a promotion to the major leagues earlier this summer but struggled as he allowed 17 earned runs in nine innings of work. However, if Leiter continues to perform well at Triple-A, he may earn another opportunity down the stretch.

Houston Astros infield prospect Shay Whitcomb is being promoted to the major leagues, according to Ari Alexander of KPRC2. Whitcomb has spent the entire summer at Triple-A Sugar Land and held a strong .293/.378/.530 slash line with 25 home runs, 19 doubles, 91 RBI, and 26 stolen bases through 108 games. Last summer, in his first 87 games at Triple-A, the UC San Diego product held a modest .224/.281/.434 line with 23 home runs and just seven doubles. Across his past 11 games, Whitcomb has carried a .283 average with three home runs and two doubles. The 25-year-old is currently ranked as the 14th-best prospect in the Houston pipeline on MLB.com. He is worth picking up in standard formats, given his potential to contribute to all five categories. However, he may not be given a full-time role, which could lower his ceiling in the short term.

New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos went yard twice on Thursday, but it wasn't enough for a win in the loss to the visiting Oakland Athletics at Citi Field. Vientos extended the Mets' lead to 3-0 with a two-run home run off A's right-hander Mitch Spence to right-center field in the third inning, later giving New York a temporary 6-4 lead with a solo homer in the fourth frame on Thursday against Oakland. The 24-year-old hard-hitting corner infielder has blossomed into a massive power threat in Queens during 2024, slashing a robust .275/.333/.557 with 19 home runs, 17 doubles, and 48 RBI through 262 at-bats.