Arizona Fall League Recap: Mariners’ D.J. Peterson Off to Hot Start
The Seattle Mariners entered the 2015 season with title aspirations and by season’s end everyone had forgotten about them. With the Arizona Fall League brings hope, and for the Mariners, they have to be encouraged by the quick start that third baseman D.J. Peterson is off to with the Peoria Javelinas. Through two games, Peterson has 6 runs batted in, which leads the league in the early going and has already matched his RBI total from last year’s Fall League. The two home runs he has hit already doubles his output from last season (69 at-bats) as well.
Since reaching Double-A ball in 2014, Peterson has been struggling to hit for average, batting .261 in AA last season, .169 in Fall League action, and .223 this season. Also missing from Peterson this season was the power that he exhibited last year, as he belted 31 bombs between High-A (18) and Double-A (13), compared to just 7 in 407 plate appearances in 2015.
Both home runs came in action on Wednesday afternoon, along with four of the RBI. The other two were picked up on a 2-for-4 outing on Tuesday that included an RBI single and an RBI double. Peterson is one of four players to have two home runs in the early going, with Oakland’s second baseman Chad Pinder, Detroit’s shortstop JaCoby Jones and Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez joining in on the long-ball fun. Sanchez is the only player in this grouping that didn’t homer twice in the same game.
Two notable pitching performances from the first two days have been turned in by players that were acquired at the trade deadline in Adrian Houser and Sean Manaea. Houser, picked up by Milwaukee from the Astros in the Carlos Gomez deal, tossed three innings of one hit ball on Tuesday that included two strikeouts. Houser, you may recall, was just as dominant in one of his playoff outings for the Biloxi Shuckers, tossing 9 innings, allowing three hits and striking out ten.
Manaea was picked up by the Oakland Athletics from the Kansas City Royals in the Ben Zobrist deal, which currently is looking like a win-win with how both players have performed. Manaea was filthy in the Texas League playoffs, starting two games and totaling 15 innings, 15 strikeouts and a 1.20 ERA. On Wednesday he went 4 innings and allowed just two hits and a run while striking out four.
Chicago White Sox first base prospect Nick Delmonico homered for the Glendale Desert Dogs on Tuesday, and Glendale is the only undefeated team in the Arizona Fall League after two games. Baseball America did a breakdown of each team’s roster, and listed Delmonico as a ‘rehabbing’ player, saying, “[he] is not rehabbing an injury, but his reputation. Delmonico was suspended 50 games for PED use last season and then was released by the Brewers in February. He signed with the White Sox and has said he missed the grind and is happy to have another shot.”
One last pitcher that has stood out is Luke Weaver from the St. Louis Cardinals farm system (of course). Weaver came on in relief of Houser on Tuesday and pitched three innings of his own, giving up one hit and one walk which lead to a run, but he also struck out five which is tied for the AFL lead. Of the three pitchers with five strikeouts (Weaver, Yoan Lopez of Arizona and Corey Black of the Cubs) the Cardinals’ right-hander has the fewest innings pitched.