D-backs: Corbin Carroll, OF, D-backs (No. 5/MLB No. 94)
When Arizona selected Carroll 18th overall in the 2019 Draft, the biggest question was whether the prep outfielder -- while already revered for his bat, speed and defense - would hit for power in the pro ranks. But after flashing some promising pop during his pro debut, posting an .896 OPS with 18 extra-base hits in 42 games, Carroll has been tapping into his raw power consistently this summer at Arizona's alternate site.
Dodgers: Ryan Pepiot, RHP (No. 27)
Hitters in the Dodgers' alternative camp have hated facing Pepiot, who's best known for having the best changeup in the 2019 Draft, a low-80s weapon with fade. But now he's also sitting at 95 mph with improved vertical movement on his fastball and could move quickly.
Giants: Marco Luciano, SS (No. 2/MLB No. 33)
The Giants' best international prospect in years, Luciano has more than held his own as an 18-year-old among much older players. His bat speed and raw power are his most obvious attributes, but he also displays some advanced hitting ability and quick-twitch athleticism that may allow him to stay at shortstop.
Padres: Ryan Weathers, LHP, Padres (No. 7)
After experiencing arm fatigue that caused his fastball to dip into the 89-91 mph range in his first full season, Weathers now looks more like the pitcher the Padres thought they were getting when they took him with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 Draft. The 20-year-old left-hander sat at 96-97 mph during Summer Camp and has maintained that velocity at San Diego's alternate site while also improving his breaking ball and changeup.
Rockies: Aaron Schunk, 3B/2B (No. 6)
The big and strong infielder taken in the second round of the 2019 Draft by the Rockies has been showing off his athleticism by adding second base to his defensive resume and he's been developing very well there and at third, his natural position. He's shown improved bat speed at the plate, driving the ball to all fields with authority, while showing strong leadership skills to boot. Puerto Rico native Enrique Hernández homered in the second inning on Roberto Clemente Day against the D-backs on Wednesday at Chase Field, a game the Dodgers went on to win, 6-4, in 10 innings.
Hernández, wearing Clemente's No. 21, tapped the number on the front of his jersey and pointed to the sky when he reached home plate after taking Taylor Clarke deep with two outs. It was the fourth home run of the season for Hernández, who was starting in left field with Joc Pederson on the paternity list.
Hernández picked up another hit and RBI in the fourth, driving in AJ Pollock with a single to left field. "Ah yes, the legendary -- the cult status of the Baywatch appearance," Mike Piazza says, laughing over the phone.
It's been 19 years since Piazza's post-9/11 home run, it's been 16 since he broke the record for the most career long balls by a catcher, it's been 13 since he hit his last big league homer (he did it while playing for the A's at Fenway Park, really).
But this isn't about any of those baseball moments. This isn't really about baseball at all.
This is about the time the entire decade of the 1990s was bottled up, shaken and poured over our collective heads. Historians will cite it when asked how to describe pop culture at the time. It's almost too much '90s nostalgia to handle.
Young, rising Dodgers superstar Mike Piazza cast alongside world-famous model/actress Pamela Anderson in the uber-popular, internationally syndicated television show "Baywatch." The one-minute scene aired 25 years ago, and although Piazza had fun doing it, he thought it might just evaporate into the ether after he filmed it.
"Maybe in the long run, I thought it would disappear," he tells me. "You know, into the bowels of a cut room somewhere -- never to see the light of day."
Thankfully, for all of us, it didn't. And a viral Twitter post brought it back to the world this past August, giving us something to smile about in a tumultuous 2020. So, flip on some relevant music and read the story behind the scene. Piazza was already a baseball giant by the time the "Deep Trouble" episode was shot in August 1994. He was a star in the star-obsessed land of Los Angeles County.
The 24-year-old was coming off a 35-homer NL Rookie of the Year campaign, he made his first of 10 straight All-Star teams, and he was called one of America's greatest success stories. "Baywatch" was also in its heyday around that time. More than one billion people had tuned into the show weekly in 1993. It aired in 148 countries and was translated into 44 different languages. It was also conveniently filmed just 20 minutes from Dodger Stadium -- down at Will Rogers State Beach.
It was a perfect match; a cameo on TV's hottest series was the next logical step for Piazza. And there wasn't much to it: Pamela Anderson's character, C.J. Parker, walks off her lifeguard tower to find Piazza (playing himself) practicing his swing in his white Dodgers jersey on the beach. Suddenly, a woman cries out from the ocean, struggling in the current, and Piazza joins C.J. to help rescue her.
The Dodgers catcher had some downtime to do the cameo: baseball was in the midst of a labor strike in '94. And, well, Piazza had a special connection to the show.
"The girl that was in the scene, I was dating her," Piazza says.
Yes, the woman Piazza helped Pamela Anderson save from drowning was his girlfriend in real life. Her name is Anita Hart. She's an actress who's had a long career as a stunt double for starlets like Elizabeth Hurley and Brooke Shields. She was appearing on Baywatch at the time, and her boyfriend dropped by the set to check things out.
"Somehow, the conversation came up when I was watching her work and the producer and I started kicking the idea around," Piazza remembers. "My agent thought it would be a great opportunity for PR. And yeah, it was during the strike, so boredom was probably starting to set in as well. I really had fun with it, though."
As you can probably tell by the one minute of footage, Piazza says there's not much depth or thought that was really put into the scene. When you have two larger-than-life stars, what more do you really need? It only took a few takes and directors "weren't really looking for any dramatic improvements." The moment with Anderson was shot first and then the rescue scene that involved "saving Anita from four feet of water" was shot second.
"I mean, I think the producer thought it would just be tongue-and-cheek kinda funny," he says. "It was definitely just something we were fooling around with and having fun. I will say, the show was successful for a reason. They were very regimented. We knocked it out pretty fast. Truth be told, I was kinda impressed with everything that went down ... even though I wouldn't put my performance up there with 'Raging Bull' or anything."
You also might be wondering why Piazza couldn't just wear his baseball cap on the beach and instead went full-out with his jersey. Well, Piazza wondered why too, and show creators had an answer for him.
"Yeah, the jersey looked a little dorky," Piazza says, laughing. "[Producers] said the show is worldwide, so people in like Lithuania or Turkey aren't gonna know who you are. We have to make you look like a professional baseball player."
Piazza says he enjoyed meeting and working with Anderson -- he'd also star alongside her a year later in another dripping-with-'90s-nostalgia-moment: MTV's Rock N' Jock Baseball game. She was an international celebrity at that point -- her role as lifeguard C.J. Parker had launched her into superstardom. Her red bathing suit has since been auctioned off for hundreds of dollars on eBay, she once said, "'Baywatch' happened, and then everything else kind of just happened, and I got married, and rock stars, and kids."

With no Minor League season, the only time we really get to see prospects is when they get called up to the big leagues. Occasionally, we get a report about a guy performing well at an alternate site, but news coming out of those camps has been sparse, at best.
This week, we want to change that. Reaching out to player development staffs for all 30 teams, we uncovered one prospect for each team who has impressed the most. We might not hear the buzz they are creating all the time, but these 30 prospects are certainly helping themselves with how they've performed, typically against older and more experienced competition.
AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
Blue Jays: Austin Martin, SS/OF (No. 2/MLB No. 18)
Toronto landed arguably the best all-around hitter in this year's Draft in Martin, taking him with the No. 5 overall pick and subsequently assigning him to the team's 60-man player pool. Though he was announced as a shortstop in the Draft, Martin's athleticism and tools could make him a fit anywhere on the diamond, and his first reps with the organization in Summer Camp were at the hot corner. Overall, Martin has received glowing reviews for his progress at Toronto's alternate site under the guidance of the team's coaching staff.
Orioles: Adley Rutschman, C (No. 1/MLB No. 3)
It shouldn't surprise anyone that the No. 1 pick in the 2019 Draft is performing well during what should have been his first full season of pro ball. He's hit for power while showing above-average plate discipline, and he's been very good defensively behind the plate. The intensity of the work he puts in daily has also rubbed off on other players.
Red Sox: Triston Casas, 1B (No. 2/MLB No. 78)
Though the 2018 first-rounder is still just 20 and hasn't played above low Class A -- where he ranked second in extra-base hits (49) and third in homers (19) in the South Atlantic League in his first full pro season -- Casas has had little difficulty adjusting to more advanced pitchers in alternative camp. The still-growing 6-foot-5, 250-pounder arrived three weeks ago and has stood out with his huge raw power and mature approach.
Rays: Josh Lowe, OF (No. 10)
The 2016 first-round pick began to put it all together last year in Double-A, setting career highs in OPS (.783), home runs (18) and stolen bases (30), and he continued to make strides in the Arizona Fall League before undergoing offseason shoulder surgery that was expected to sideline him for the first half of 2020. But the delayed start to the start to the season enabled the 22-year-old outfielder to make a full recovery without missing any real time, and he's said to be showing well in all facets of the game at Tampa Bay's alternate site in Port Charlotte.
Yankees: Estevan Florial, OF (No. 7)
Florial has some of the best all-around tools in the system, including well-above-average raw power and arm strength to go with plus speed and center-field defense. He could have used a full season of at-bats to iron out his swing-and-miss issues, but he did get to make his big league debut and singled against the Mets in his lone game with New York.
Indians: George Valera, OF (No. 4)
One of the most advanced young hitters in a system full of them, Valera has a pretty left-handed swing as well as the aptitude to recognize pitches and work counts. He posted an .802 OPS as the second-youngest regular (age 18) in the Short-Season New York-Penn League last year and would have made his full-season debut this season.
Royals: Bobby Witt Jr., SS (No. 1/MLB No. 10)
The 2019 Draft's No. 2 overall pick looked like he belonged in big league camp during the Spring and even more so in Royals Summer Camp, where he made several spectacular plays at both shortstop and third base while also showcasing an advanced bat with power to all fields. Royals officials are very impressed with how well the 20-year-old has played around older players at the team's alternate site in Kansas City and are quick to note that Witt Jr. does something to excite them on a daily basis.
Tigers: Riley Greene, OF (No. 4/MLB No. 29)
Greene, the No. 5 pick in the 2019 Draft, was the biggest standout among Tigers prospects in big league camp this past spring, slashing .417/.611/.917 with two homers and six walks in seven games before the season was put on hold. He picked up right where he had left off when play resumed in July and has continued to impress Tigers officials in alternate camp, with the 19-year-old outfielder showcasing a combination of tools and advanced skills belying his age.
Twins: Royce Lewis, SS (No. 1/MLB No. 9)
Lewis had put an up-and-down 2019 behind him when he took home MVP honors in last year's Arizona Fall League. He's continued to make strides at the plate, hitting for average and more power as progress with his lower-half mechanics has paid dividends. He's been playing only shortstop in camp to maximize his reps there and has made some exceptional plays in intrasquad games.
White Sox: Garrett Crochet, LHP (No. 4/MLB No. 98)
Crochet's Draft forecast was a bit cloudy because he came down with mild shoulder soreness and made just one appearance during the shortened college season, but the White Sox had no concerns about his health and were thrilled to grab him with the No. 11 overall pick in June. He has sat in the upper 90s and hit 101 mph with his fastball during alternative camp, and both his slider and changeup can be well-above-average offerings at their best.
Astros: Shawn Dubin, RHP (No. 20)
After playing at three colleges in four years and going in the 13th round of the 2018 Draft, Dubin was a revelation in his first full pro season when he limited opponents to a .547 OPS and 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings, mostly in high Class A. He has continued to open eyes in alternative camp with his nasty slider and 92-97 mph four-seamer while working on upgrading his changeup and command.
Angels: Jordyn Adams, OF (No. 4)
At age 20, he's at the young end of alternate camp participants, but he's stood out. The Angels have seen impressive growth for their 2018 first-rounder over the last 12 months in all facets of the game. Adams is making quick adjustments at the plate and his raw power is starting to show up. His 80 speed plays on both sides of the ball, taking extra bases regularly and showing he has the wheels and instincts to be a premium defender in center field.