Here are 5 players to watch in the 51s-Redbirds series

The 51s will welcome Memphis into town looking to snap a four-game series. Here are five players to watch this weekend:

Alex Reyes, RHP, Memphis

Reyes, the Cardinals’ top prospect, will get the start in Friday’s series opener for Memphis.

Baseball America ranked the 21-year-old as the seventh overall prospect this past offseason. Reyes struck out eight batters in four innings giving up just two hits on May 22 in his first start of the year. Prior to that, he was serving a 50-game suspension for testing positive for marijuana.

51s hitters

After watching the team with the lowest ERA in the Pacific Coast League leave town with four wins, the 51s will now take on a pitching staff that’s 11th in the league with a 4.36 team ERA.

Aside from Reyes, Memphis won’t throw a starter that has a sub-4.00 ERA.

The Redbirds will go with J.C. Sulbaran (2-5, 7.52 ERA), Jeremy Hefner (2-3, 4.17 ERA) and Arturo Reyes (4-2, 4.57 ERA). Though some of those numbers, like Hefner’s, are skewed by one poor start, the 51s should have their opportunities, especially at the hitter-friendly Cashman Field.

Tommy Pham, CF, Memphis

Pham is a Las Vegas-native and Durango High School graduate.

He hit .268 in 52 games with the Cardinals last year and began this season in the Majors before suffering a left oblique strain in the first game of the season.

After his rehab stint with the Redbirds concluded, he was optioned to Memphis where he’s hit .238 in 13 games.

Gabriel Ynoa, RHP, Las Vegas

The 51s ace was hit in his last start, giving up a season-high four runs on 11 hits.

But he’s been remarkably consistent for Las Vegas throughout the season, at one point tossing seven straight quality starts and picking up five consecutive wins. He’ll be looking for a bounce-back performance when he faces the Redbirds on Saturday.

Charlie Tilson, OF, Memphis

Tilson is the Cardinals’ second-ranked prospect (behind Reyes) currently in Triple-A and is seventh overall per MLB.com.

He’s second on the team with 38 hits and leads the team with seven steals in eight attempts. The 2011 second round draft pick has played a mix of center and left for Memphis this season in his first year in Triple-A.