Arizona Fall League Update: October 9

The Arizona Fall League is off and running with great starts from multiple players. There are six teams in the league and they are all stacked with outstanding young talent. A lot of strong arms and big bats fill the lineups. Big names and top prospects fill the rosters. The number 1 overall prospect Byron Buxton tops the list of players making their way to the desert. 24 of the Top 100 are playing in the AFL so it should be a fun league to watch and to keep up with. The six teams include, Glendale Desert Dogs, Mesa Solar Sox, Surprise Saguaros, Peoria Javelinas, Salt River Rafters and Scottsdale Scorpions. Some pretty awesome team names for a fall league.

Salt River 12, Scottsdale 2

The action on October 9th was high scoring with some big names putting up big numbers. Salt River took on Scottsdale with Salt River winning by a score of 12-2. James Ramsey (Cardinals) and Kenny Wilson (Blue Jays) did most of the damage for Salt River. Ramsey and Wilson each drove in 3 in the win. Garvin Grayson (Rays) took the mound for the Rafters and was stellar. Grayson pitched 5 innings only allowing one hit and no runs, he also struck out 5. The bright spot for Scottsdale was Peter O’Brien (Yankees) who drove in the only two runs for the Scorpions on a home run. Salt River and Scottsdale both go to 1-1 on the young season.

Surprise 9, Peoria 5

The second matchup was between the Surprise Saguaros and Peoria Javelinas. The Javelinas went out to an early lead before Surprise’s bats finally woke up scoring 3 runs in the 5th, 6th and 8th innings. The Saguaros went on to win this one 9-5 to move to 2-0 and send the Javelinas to 0-2. For the Saguaros Mitch Haniger (Brewers) and Travis Shaw (Red Sox) each drove in 3 runs. While Michael Ohlman (Orioles) had a double and a home run. For the Javelinas Jake Lowery (Indians) had a solid day at the plate going 1-3 with 2 RBI.

Mesa 11, Glendale 3

The last game was between Glendale and Mesa which was another blowout. After a tie on Tuesday Mesa decided to bring their big bats to the yard on Wednesday. The Solar Sox got home runs from Albert Almora (Cubs), Kris Bryant (Cubs) and Wes Darvill (Cubs). Yes those were all Cubs, and those guys also racked up 8 RBI together. Another Cub by the name Jorge Soler had 3 RBI on the day. So if you are keeping scoring at home, its Cubs minor leaguers 11 Glendale Desert Dogs 3. Almora, Bryant, and Soler are all in the top 5 prospects for the Cubs. So the future is definitely bright on the north side of Chicago. Glendale didn’t get much out of their offense, as they spread out 8 hits over the entire game. Michael Lorenzen (Reds) gave up 7 earned runs in 2 innings of work. On the other side Sammy Solis pitched 3.2 innings allowing 3 hits, 2 K’s.

If you love to follow minor league baseball and keep up with your favorite teams best prospects this will be the league to follow this fall that will turn into winter. We will be bringing you daily coverage of the big days at the plate and on the mound. So come back daily for your scoop on the Arizona Fall League.