Texas Rangers once-prized prospect Jurickson Profar has been bit by the injury bug recently, keeping him off the field for the entirety of the last two years. With the Arizona Fall League in full swing, Profar was added to the Surprise Saguaros roster in order to get some work in before Spring Training next season. Well, it only took Profar one game to make an impact.
With the Saguaros trailing by a run in the bottom of the 9th, Profar stepped to the plate and unloaded on the pitch from Montreal Robertson (Detroit Tigers), sending it into the seats in right. Surprise would take a 7-6 lead in the top of the 10th, and win by that score. Scottsdale was pummeling their opponents last week but is now riding a three-game losing streak, dropping them below .500 at 3-4, tied for first with Salt River. With the win, Surprise is now 6-2 and sitting percentage points behind Glendale (5-1) for the best record in the Fall League.
Glendale won their game against the Rafters in the nightcap, 7-5, scoring four runs in the final two innings to come out ahead. It was Pittsburgh Pirates catching prospect Reese McGuire (Pirates #6 overall) that tied the game at five in the 8th with a one out double that scored a pair. McGuire would come around to score the go-ahead run on an Andrew Knapp single after a passed ball pushed McGuire to third. The Pirates future catcher would end the evening 1-for-5 with 3 RBI. For Salt River, Mets first base prospect Dominic Smith tallied his third multi-hit game in five chances with a 3-for-5 evening that included his first home run of the Arizona Fall League to go along with two RBI and two runs scored. The Mets #5 overall prospect is batting .625 and has an astounding .727 on-base percentage through five games.
Glendale starter Jharel Cotton of the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system (#15), lasted three innings and allowed three hits and no runs while striking out six against just one walk. The 23-year-old’s first start was not as crisp, as he went just 1.2 innings and allowed five hits and three runs (two earned) while walking one and striking out three against Mesa on October 14.
Speaking of the Mesa Solar Sox, their woes continued on Thursday afternoon as the team fell to 1-7 following their 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Peoria Javelinas. Most of the team’s troubles stem from their gaudy team ERA of 7.36, more than two runs higher than fifth-ranked (out of six) Scottsdale’s 5.08. The best team ERA belongs to Surprise at 2.75, and with the team being filled with Cardinals prospects that should come as no surprise with how they churn out top pitchers year after year. Mesa is the only team with double-digit home runs at 15, but they rank third in RBI at 35 through eight games.
Here are the standings from the Eastern and Western divisions through play on Thursday: