#Mesa Solar Sox

[a2zsportsnews]

Locally Sourced Arizona Fall League Notes: Tre’ Morgan’s Skills, Caleb Durbin Branches Out

Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News-USA TODAY NETWORK Travis Ice and I have begun early work on the Los Angeles Angels and Sacramento Athletics prospect lists, and because both franchises’ prospects are on the Mesa Solar Sox roster, I spent most of last week seeing whatever game they were playing. At this point in the Fall League, the leaders in games played have laced up their spikes only eight or…

[kdubya80]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Mesa Solar Sox Arizona Fall League Black New Era 59Fifty Fitted Hat Mens 7 1/2.

[youblogzz]

Cubs calling up 1B prospect Matt Mervis

Oct 26, 2022; Surprise, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Matt Mervis plays for the Mesa Solar Sox during an Arizona Fall League baseball game at Surprise Stadium.Image: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports The Chicago Cubs are calling up power-hitting prospect Matt Mervis, ESPN reported Thursday Which NFL rookie wide receiver should you draft? | Fantasy Football The 25-year-old first…

[niallodonohoe]

C's Recap - Zeuch, Case & Davis Lead Peoria To Arizona Fall League Championship

C’s Recap – Zeuch, Case & Davis Lead Peoria To Arizona Fall League Championship

2016 Vancouver Canadians righthander T.J. Zeuch was the winning pitcher in the 2017 Arizona Fall League championship game. Six former Vancouver Canadians are getting a championship ring as their Peoria Javelinas upended the Mesa Solar Sox 8-2 in the Arizona Fall League final at Scottsdale Stadium Saturday. 2016 C’s pitcher T.J. Zeuch got the start for the Javelinas and he was greeted by three…

[jerrydelpriore]

Ex-Met Jordany Valdespin Joins Independent Long Island Ducks

Ex-Met Jordany Valdespin Joins Independent Long Island Ducks

The Long Island Ducks ink former NY Met Jordany Valdespin for 2018 season.

The Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League brought back a familiar face to the area when they signed former New York Met Jordany Valdespin for the 2018 season during the week.

Valdespin, inked as an undrafted free agent by the Mets in 2007, played with New York for two seasons (2012-13) and two more with the…

[sportsrepo]

AFL: Astros' Lee bashes first AFL homer

AFL: Astros’ Lee bashes first AFL homer

MESA, Ariz. — No one has built a career around a home run total in the Arizona Fall League. But Astros catcher Korey Lee didn’t want to walk away from his time here empty-handed. His two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning for the Glendale Desert Dogs tied the score and the Dodgers’ Carson Taylor singled in the go-ahead run as the Desert Dogs beat the Mesa Solar Sox, 3-2, on Wednesday…

[chessgroup69-blog]

Thoughts on the 2018 season now that it’s in the history books

When the Boston Red Sox began the 2018 season on a 17-2 run, we should have known the eventual World Series winner was almost pre-ordained.

While Boston did have competition for the A.L. East title for a while in the late spring — they were in second place as late as June 26 — they went 57-29 after July 1 and were never seriously challenged after the All-Star break.

And we definitely should have known this was the likely result once the Red Sox finished the regular season with 108 wins. Even if the Cubs had managed to win the wild-card game and get through a division series and the NLCS to play them, they likely would have lost the World Series to Boston. 108-win teams are quite rare in Major League Baseball. That’s winning two-thirds of your games (or, prior to the 162-game schedule, more than two-thirds). In the 116 seasons since the World Series as we know now was created, just 12 teams have won 108 or more games. Here’s how all those teams did in the postseason.

108-win teams in the World Series era

Team Year Wins Result

Team Year Wins Result

Cubs 1906 116 Lost WS Pirates 1909 110 Won WS Yankees 1927 110 Won WS Indians 1954 111 Lost WS Yankees 1961 109 Won WS Orioles 1969 109 Lost WS Orioles 1970 108 Won WS Reds 1975 108 Won WS Mets 1986 108 Won WS Yankees 1998 114 Won WS Mariners 2001 116 Lost ALCS Red Sox 2018 108 Won WS

Eight World Series winners. Three World Series losers (none since 1969). And one team that inexplicably played its worst baseball of the year at the worst possible time to not even get to the World Series, the 116-win Mariners of 2001.

Winning 108 games is really hard to do — you’ll note it’s happened just three times since 1986. This year’s Red Sox were simply relentless, getting strong pitching when they needed it most, and getting hitting from a guy — Steve Pearce — who was so little thought of this year that the Blue Jays sent him over to Boston for a minor leaguer who might never play in the big leagues. Now Pearce has a ring and a World Series MVP trophy.

Because baseball. Even in this utterly dominant Red Sox season, you could see how things might have gone differently. What if Andrew Benintendi doesn’t make that great catch to end Game 4 of the ALCS? The Astros likely win that game (the bases were loaded and all three runs probably score, which would have given the game to Houston) and then the ALCS is tied and who knows, maybe it’s Houston vs. L.A. What if the Cubs win one more game before September 30, or the Brewers lose one more? Maybe the Cubs get back to the World Series.

That’s how close things can be in the wild-card era. Remember that even in the Cubs’ dominant 103-win season in 2016, they were one ninth-inning rally from having to face Johnny Cueto in a Game 5 of the division series, and they trailed two games to one in the NLCS and three games to one in the World Series. Those comebacks are what makes the Cubs’ World Series title that much more special.

The Red Sox just had one of those seasons. Next year’s storyline for them will be: “Can they repeat?” And the answer, as of now, is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Because baseball.

Now we enter winter and the baseball free-agency season, which will be interesting to watch based on last offseason’s almost total lack of movement until very late. Will Bryce Harper get the huge-money deal everyone’s been assuming he will? Manny Machado didn’t do himself any favors in free agency with his poor postseason performance (.227/.278/.394, 15-for-66, with 18 strikeouts, a lack of hustle and a couple of first basemen’s feet stepped on).

Here is the timeline for free agency this week:

As of 9AM this morning, all players whose contracts ran out with the 2018 season are, technically, free agents. People will still call them members of their last team, but that’s not true in a technical sense;

Players with contract options or with opt-outs have to make those decisions by Wednesday. If it’s a team option, the team has to make that decision by then too;

The deadline for teams to extend qualifying offers to free agents who last played for them is 5PM on Friday. Players have until November 12 to accept or reject the qualifying offer. Here is everything you need to know about qualifying offers. For the 2019 season, the qualifying offer is $17.9 million;

Teams have an exclusive window to negotiate with the free agents who last played for them between now and Saturday. Beginning on Saturday, players can negotiate and sign with any team.

The Cubs have the following free agents and players with options:

Cole Hamels, $20 million team option. Will likely be picked up. Brandon Kintzler, $10 million team option, $5 million player option. The team option will likely be declined, but he likely picks up his player option. Maybe the Cubs can then trade him. Justin Wilson: free agent. Probably gone. Jesse Chavez: free agent. Could be worth retaining. Jorge De La Rosa: free agent. Probably gone. Daniel Murphy: free agent. Probably gone. Jaime Garcia: free agent. Probably gone. Bobby Wilson: free agent. Bobby, we hardly knew ye.

The six free agents mean the Cubs will immediately have six open spots on their 40-man roster. Four of those get filled right away, as the four players on the 60-day DL (Yu Darvish, Drew Smyly, Justin Hancock and Mark Zagunis) have to be restored to the 40-man. It’s possible Hancock and Zagunis will be outrighted to Iowa, off the 40-man with (likely) spring training invitations. Other players probably off the 40-man: Mike Freeman and Taylor Davis, and possibly Allen Webster and Jen-Ho Tseng. That should leave the Cubs somewhere between six and eight open spots on the 40-man. Some of those will be filled with guys the team wants to protect from the Rule 5 draft, others will be left open for free-agent signings or trades.

The Cubs don’t have anyone who will get a qualifying offer this offseason. Murphy is not eligible for one because he was traded during the season (and also because he has previously received a qualifying offer, from the Mets after 2015).

Hang in there. It’s just 116 days until the Cubs take the field in Mesa against the Brewers in the 2019 spring opener and 150 days until the regular-season opener against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas.

There will be at least one more game thread here in 2018. I’m going to run a game thread this coming Saturday for the Arizona Fall League’s “Fall Stars Game,” their All-Star game, which will be televised on MLB Network at 7 p.m. CT November 3. And if the Mesa Solar Sox, where Cubs prospects play, win their division and get into the AFL championship game, we’ll have another game thread here Saturday, November 17.

Hang in there. There will be plenty of baseball to discuss over the winter, and 2019 spring training will be here before you know it.

Source: https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/10/29/18037486/2018-season-history-books-red-sox-world-series

[jutebugle4-blog]

Hoerner is a top AFL hitter after first pro season

MESA, Ariz. -- Both Nico Hoerner and the Cubs were excited to see how he'd fare in his first taste of pro ball after they drafted him 24th overall in June. But his pro debut lasted just 14 games before he strained ligaments in his left elbow diving for a ball in July.

One of the purposes of the Arizona Fall League is to help prospects make up for lost at-bats and innings. Hoerner took full advantage of the opportunity, emerging as one of the best hitters in the developmental league despite his lack of pro experience. He concluded his season with a three-hit day on Thursday, stroking a pair of doubles and driving in three runs as his Mesa Solar Sox outlasted the Surprise Saguaros 11-10.

MESA, Ariz. -- Both Nico Hoerner and the Cubs were excited to see how he'd fare in his first taste of pro ball after they drafted him 24th overall in June. But his pro debut lasted just 14 games before he strained ligaments in his left elbow diving for a ball in July.

One of the purposes of the Arizona Fall League is to help prospects make up for lost at-bats and innings. Hoerner took full advantage of the opportunity, emerging as one of the best hitters in the developmental league despite his lack of pro experience. He concluded his season with a three-hit day on Thursday, stroking a pair of doubles and driving in three runs as his Mesa Solar Sox outlasted the Surprise Saguaros 11-10.

• Gameday

Hoerner said he was thankful to the Cubs for giving him the opportunity to play in the AFL. The only other 2018 draftee in the league this fall was Mesa right-hander Calvin Coker, a 15th-round pick by the Athletics.

"They trusted me a lot," Hoerner said. "They knew I'd make the most of it, whether the results were great or not, I'd make the most of it development-wise. That was my goal going into it, and I think I did a good job of that."

After batting .327/.450/.571 with two homers and six steals in 14 games across three levels during his truncated pro debut, Hoerner hit .337/.362/.506 with a homer and a steal in 21 games for the Solar Sox. He tied for the Fall League lead with four triples, ranked second with 30 hits and placed third with 45 total bases.

• Arizona Fall League batting leaders

During his time in Arizona, Hoerner stood out with his ability to handle the bat and use the entire field. The Stanford product also showed glimpses of sneaky power. Some scouts question whether his actions and arm fit better at shortstop, where he spent most of his time with Mesa, or at second base, but there are no worries about his ability to produce at the plate.

Hoerner said the Fall League helped him learn what he needed to improve going forward. Though he had a lot of success at the plate, he also drew just two walks versus 16 strikeouts in 94 plate appearances.

"I feel like I understand already what I do that works for me at this level, but also things I really need to work on and got exposed in some ways," Hoerner said. "So for me moving forward, it helps my offseason knowing what I need to work on a lot. Pitch selection and approach, not so much I need to revamp my swing or anything but just getting to know how pitchers work and focusing on my strengths."

Mesa's season finale was a wild affair in which four of its first five batters recorded extra-base hits, including a home run by third baseman Bobby Dalbec (Red Sox) off left-hander Shawn Morimondo (Blue Jays), as it surged to a 10-2 lead after four innings. But the Saguaros rallied with five runs in the eighth as first baseman Will Craig (Pirates) tied for the AFL home run crown with his sixth of the season, a three-run shot off Coker, and tied ithe game with a two-out, two-run single from third baseman Charles LeBlanc (Rangers) in the top of the ninth. Left fielder Nick Heath (Royals) got into scoring position with the tying run with his 13th steal of the fall, breaking a tie with Mesa's Daniel Woodrow for the AFL lead.

The Solar Sox responded with a walkoff win in the bottom half, with catcher Jake Rogers (Tigers) driving in his first run in 52 Fall League plate appearances to end it. Perhaps the best defensive catcher in the Minors, Rogers hit .167/.231/.271 for Mesa but came through with the game-winning single against Joe Barlow (Rangers).

Jim Callis is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow @jimcallisMLB on Twitter. Listen to him on the weekly Pipeline Podcast.

Source: https://www.mlb.com/news/cubs-nico-hoerner-18-draft-a-top-afl-hitter/c-300798628

[uncleyarn2-blog]

Arizona Fall League Update: Mesa goes on winning streak

Time for our second-to-last Arizona Fall League update! The regular AFL season ends on Thursday and the Mesa Solar Sox are on a playoff drive, going 4-1 over the past week, including a 7-2 win over the Salt River Rafters in the Military Appreciation Game on Saturday (as seen on the MLB Network). This has improved the Solar Sox overall record to 13-13-1, just 1½ games behind Salt River for a chance to play in the AFL Championship Game on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, there are only three games left and none of them are against Salt River. So Mesa is going to have to win out and hope that Salt River loses two of three. (Or hope Salt River loses out and then Mesa only has to win two of three, but that’s too much help to hope for.)

Hitters

Nico Hoerner: I don’t want to spoil anything about my mid-winter Cubs prospect rankings, but I’d be pretty surprised at this point if Hoerner doesn’t end up as the top-ranked Cubs prospect. Hoerner didn’t have the best week, going 2 for 13 with a hit-by-pitch in three games. But both of those hits were triples. Hoerner now has four triples on the campaign and is tied for the league lead in triples with his Mesa teammate Skye Bolt of the Athletics.

Hoerner is now hitting .325/.353/.488 with two doubles, the four triples and a home run in 19 games. Hoerner also has one stolen base.

Here’s Hoerner’s triple on Saturday along with a groundout by Trent Giambrone to score him [VIDEO].

D.J. Wilson: Wilson had struggled for much of the AFL, but he had a better week since the last update. Wilson played in three games in left field and went 3 for 11 with a walk and a stolen base.

For the regular season, Wilson has played 14 games and is hitting .148/.242/.167 with one double and four stolen bases in four atttempts.

P.J. Higgins: Higgins caught Saturday’s Military Appreciation game and Monday night’s game at Glendale. He went 0 for 4 on Saturday and 1 for 3 with a walk and an RBI in Monday’s game. He went 1 for 2 in throwing out runners trying to steal.

On the season, Higgins has played ten games and is hitting .158/.283/.237 with one home run over 28 at-bats.

Trent Giambrone: Giambrone got his two games in this week and in one of them, he actually played right field, a position he’s only played six times before as a professional. He played third base in the Military Appreciation game and had a big game, going 3 for 5 with a stolen base and and RBI, driving in Hoerner after his triple with a groundout. He was 0 for 4 in the other game he played.

For the AFL season, Giambrone is hitting .405/.463/.622 with two doubles, two home runs and two stolen bases in 37 at-bats in nine games.

Jhonny Pereda: Pereda caught just one game since the last update on Tuesday. He was 1 for 4.

Pereda has caught seven games and is hitting .240/.321/.320 with two doubles in 25 at-bats.

Pitchers

Erick Leal: There is only one pitcher, starter or reliever, in the AFL this year who has not allowed a single run and that’s Leal. Leal made another scoreless start last Tuesday, hurling four scoreless innings and giving up just one hit. He walked two and struck out five while improving his record to 2-0.

Leal has pitched 17⅓ innings over five starts in the AFL. He’s struck out 17, walked nine and given up ten hits.

Here’s Leal talking about his performance along with some video of him throwing a few pitches. [VIDEO].

Justin Steele: If Steele made his last start of the year on Monday, he went out on a high note. Steele pitched four innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits. He walked two and struck out three.

Steele has started six times for the Solar Sox and went 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA over 18⅔ innings. Steele has struck out 16 and walked 11.

Bailey Clark: Clark made two relief appearances since the last update. Last Wednesday, Clark threw one inning and gave up just one hit. Unfortunately, that hit was a home run. He did not walk or strike anyone out in that appearance.

On Saturday, Clark pitched two scoreless innings in the Military Appreciation Game. He gave up four hits, but was able to pitch out of trouble in both innings. He walked one and struck out one.

Clark has thrown 11 innings over eight relief appearances. He has a 2.45 ERA and one save. Clark has struck out seven batters and walked seven batters. He’s allowed ten hits in those 11 innings.

Manuel Rondon: Rondon also made two relief appearances over the past week. On Wednesday, he pitched one inning and gave up just one hit but once again, unfortunately that one hit was a leadoff home run. Rondon would later walk two batters in that inning, but he got out of that jam with no further damage. Rondon struck out one.

On Monday, Rondon faced three batters. The first one reached on an error by Nico Hoerner. But he got the next two batters on a grounder to Hoerner and a pop out to Hoerner.

Source: https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/11/13/18090816/arizona-fall-league-update-mesa-solar-sox-nico-hoerner-erick-leal-trent-giambrone

[screwbait71-blog]

Arizona Fall League Update: Hoerner continues to rake

It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for yet another update on the Mesa Solar Sox and the Cubs who are toiling with the “Boys of Fall” in the Arizona Fall League.

The Mesa Solar Sox had another tough week, going 1-3-1 over the past week. This moves their overall record to 9-12-1 and they are currently 4½ games behind the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League East Division. The West also won the “Fall Stars” Game on Saturday, 7-6.

Hitters

Nico Hoerner: It’s not Hoerner’s fault that the Solar Sox have struggled. In fact, he’s been one of the best players on the Solar Sox. This past week, Hoerner played three games, going 5 for 12 with a double and a triple. He stole one base. Hoerner was also a substitute in the Fall Stars game and was 1 for 2. He was caught stealing after his single, however.

In 16 games in the AFL, Hoerner is hitting .358/.380/.493 with two doubles, two triples and one home run and one steal. Not bad for a guy who has only played 14 games outside of the AFL. Yep, he’s now played more games in the AFL than he has in the regular season minors. That’s pretty rare.

D.J. Wilson: Wilson got two starts this past week and he was 1 for 7 with a walk. Wilson has struggled badly in the AFL, hitting .116/.220/.140. That’s 5 for 43 with a double and two walks.

P.J. Higgins: Higgins caught two games this past week and had hits in both of them, going 2 for 7 with a walk. In eight games in the AFL, Higgins has gone 5 for 31 with a home run. That’s .161/.289/.258.

Trent Giambrone: Giambrone played in Friday’s tie game and went 0 for 3. On the season, Giambrone has played seven games and is 12 for 28 with a double and two home runs. That translates to a slash line of .429/.500/.679.

Jhonny Pereda: Pereda played one game since our last update, going 1 for 3 with a walk last Tuesday. On the AFL campaign, Pereda has played six games and was 5 for 21 with a double and three walks. That’s .238/.333/.286.

Pitchers:

Justin Steele: Steele made two starts this past week and neither one of them was good. He started last Tuesday and allowed three runs on four hits over two innings. He walked two batters and struck out two.

His start yesterday (Monday) was worse. Steele gave up a run on a solo home run in the third inning and then a two-run home run in the fourth. He later gave up a fourth, unearned run in that fourth inning. That gave him a line for the game of four innings, allowing four runs on four hits, two of which were home runs. Steele did strike out five batters while walking two.

Steele has now made five starts in the AFL and has a record of 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA. He’s struck out 13 and walked 9 in 14⅔ innings.

The big picture here is that Steele’s real goal in the AFL is to regain arm strength and stay healthy after Tommy John surgery. The results aren’t good, but they are pretty secondary to him just being on the mound and throwing.

Erick Leal: Leal has made four starts in the AFL and has yet to allow a run. That’s pretty good. On Wednesday, Leal made a four inning start, giving up just three hits. He walked four and struck out four. He also hit one batter. So it wasn’t a great start, but the bottom line is that he didn’t allow a run.

Leal has pitched 13⅓ innings this fall and has struck out 12 and walked 7.

Bailey Clark: Clark made two relief appearances the past week, one on Wednesday and one in the Fall Stars Game on Saturday. On Wednesday, he pitched the sixth inning and allowed a run on two hits and two walks. Clark struck out one.

In the Fall Stars Game, Clark entered the game in the fourth inning and got into trouble immediately. He gave up singles to the first two batters. A ground out put the runners on second and third and then a third single scored two run. Clark retired the next runner on fly to left field and then exited the game to give someone else a chance to pitch.

On the AFL campaign (not counting the Fall Stars Game), Clark has pitched eight innings over six relief appearances. He’s allowed two runs for a 2.25 ERA and one save. Clark has struck out six batters and walked six.

Manuel Rondon: Rondon had one strong relief appearance on Thursday, pitching two scoreless innings. Rondon allowed just one single and he walked one while striking out two.

Rondon has pitched 8⅔ innings this Fall over two starts and three relief appearances. He’s 0-1 with a 5.19 ERA. Rondon has given up five hits. He’s walked six and struck out six.

Source: https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/11/6/18067372/arizona-fall-league-update-hoerner-trent-giambrone

[browanger55-blog]

Thoughts on the 2018 season now that it’s in the history books

When the Boston Red Sox began the 2018 season on a 17-2 run, we should have known the eventual World Series winner was almost pre-ordained.

While Boston did have competition for the A.L. East title for a while in the late spring — they were in second place as late as June 26 — they went 57-29 after July 1 and were never seriously challenged after the All-Star break.

And we definitely should have known this was the likely result once the Red Sox finished the regular season with 108 wins. Even if the Cubs had managed to win the wild-card game and get through a division series and the NLCS to play them, they likely would have lost the World Series to Boston. 108-win teams are quite rare in Major League Baseball. That’s winning two-thirds of your games (or, prior to the 162-game schedule, more than two-thirds). In the 116 seasons since the World Series as we know now was created, just 12 teams have won 108 or more games. Here’s how all those teams did in the postseason.

108-win teams in the World Series era

Team Year Wins Result

Team Year Wins Result

Cubs 1906 116 Lost WS Pirates 1909 110 Won WS Yankees 1927 110 Won WS Indians 1954 111 Lost WS Yankees 1961 109 Won WS Orioles 1969 109 Lost WS Orioles 1970 108 Won WS Reds 1975 108 Won WS Mets 1986 108 Won WS Yankees 1998 114 Won WS Mariners 2001 116 Lost ALCS Red Sox 2018 108 Won WS

Eight World Series winners. Three World Series losers (none since 1969). And one team that inexplicably played its worst baseball of the year at the worst possible time to not even get to the World Series, the 116-win Mariners of 2001.

Winning 108 games is really hard to do — you’ll note it’s happened just three times since 1986. This year’s Red Sox were simply relentless, getting strong pitching when they needed it most, and getting hitting from a guy — Steve Pearce — who was so little thought of this year that the Blue Jays sent him over to Boston for a minor leaguer who might never play in the big leagues. Now Pearce has a ring and a World Series MVP trophy.

Because baseball. Even in this utterly dominant Red Sox season, you could see how things might have gone differently. What if Andrew Benintendi doesn’t make that great catch to end Game 4 of the ALCS? The Astros likely win that game (the bases were loaded and all three runs probably score, which would have given the game to Houston) and then the ALCS is tied and who knows, maybe it’s Houston vs. L.A. What if the Cubs win one more game before September 30, or the Brewers lose one more? Maybe the Cubs get back to the World Series.

That’s how close things can be in the wild-card era. Remember that even in the Cubs’ dominant 103-win season in 2016, they were one ninth-inning rally from having to face Johnny Cueto in a Game 5 of the division series, and they trailed two games to one in the NLCS and three games to one in the World Series. Those comebacks are what makes the Cubs’ World Series title that much more special.

The Red Sox just had one of those seasons. Next year’s storyline for them will be: “Can they repeat?” And the answer, as of now, is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Because baseball.

Now we enter winter and the baseball free-agency season, which will be interesting to watch based on last offseason’s almost total lack of movement until very late. Will Bryce Harper get the huge-money deal everyone’s been assuming he will? Manny Machado didn’t do himself any favors in free agency with his poor postseason performance (.227/.278/.394, 15-for-66, with 18 strikeouts, a lack of hustle and a couple of first basemen’s feet stepped on).

Here is the timeline for free agency this week:

As of 9AM this morning, all players whose contracts ran out with the 2018 season are, technically, free agents. People will still call them members of their last team, but that’s not true in a technical sense;

Players with contract options or with opt-outs have to make those decisions by Wednesday. If it’s a team option, the team has to make that decision by then too;

The deadline for teams to extend qualifying offers to free agents who last played for them is 5PM on Friday. Players have until November 12 to accept or reject the qualifying offer. Here is everything you need to know about qualifying offers. For the 2019 season, the qualifying offer is $17.9 million;

Teams have an exclusive window to negotiate with the free agents who last played for them between now and Saturday. Beginning on Saturday, players can negotiate and sign with any team.

The Cubs have the following free agents and players with options:

Cole Hamels, $20 million team option. Will likely be picked up. Brandon Kintzler, $10 million team option, $5 million player option. The team option will likely be declined, but he likely picks up his player option. Maybe the Cubs can then trade him. Justin Wilson: free agent. Probably gone. Jesse Chavez: free agent. Could be worth retaining. Jorge De La Rosa: free agent. Probably gone. Daniel Murphy: free agent. Probably gone. Jaime Garcia: free agent. Probably gone. Bobby Wilson: free agent. Bobby, we hardly knew ye.

The six free agents mean the Cubs will immediately have six open spots on their 40-man roster. Four of those get filled right away, as the four players on the 60-day DL (Yu Darvish, Drew Smyly, Justin Hancock and Mark Zagunis) have to be restored to the 40-man. It’s possible Hancock and Zagunis will be outrighted to Iowa, off the 40-man with (likely) spring training invitations. Other players probably off the 40-man: Mike Freeman and Taylor Davis, and possibly Allen Webster and Jen-Ho Tseng. That should leave the Cubs somewhere between six and eight open spots on the 40-man. Some of those will be filled with guys the team wants to protect from the Rule 5 draft, others will be left open for free-agent signings or trades.

The Cubs don’t have anyone who will get a qualifying offer this offseason. Murphy is not eligible for one because he was traded during the season (and also because he has previously received a qualifying offer, from the Mets after 2015).

Hang in there. It’s just 116 days until the Cubs take the field in Mesa against the Brewers in the 2019 spring opener and 150 days until the regular-season opener against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas.

There will be at least one more game thread here in 2018. I’m going to run a game thread this coming Saturday for the Arizona Fall League’s “Fall Stars Game,” their All-Star game, which will be televised on MLB Network at 7 p.m. CT November 3. And if the Mesa Solar Sox, where Cubs prospects play, win their division and get into the AFL championship game, we’ll have another game thread here Saturday, November 17.

Hang in there. There will be plenty of baseball to discuss over the winter, and 2019 spring training will be here before you know it.

Source: https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/10/29/18037486/2018-season-history-books-red-sox-world-series

[ratemallet93-blog]

Arizona Fall League Update: Clark named to Fall Stars Game roster

The Arizona Fall League has just finished their third week and that means they’re getting ready for the “Fall Stars Game” and Cubs right-handed pitcher Bailey Clark has been named to the East Fall Stars squad. Also, if you didn’t see the article yesterday, you need to vote for Nico Hoerner for the final spot on the East squad. Voting ends at 2 p.m. CT tomorrow.

The Fall Stars Game will be televised this Saturday at 7 p.m. CT on the MLB Network. So it’s your chance to see at least one potential future Cubs player on TV right now.

It was a rough week for the Mesa Solar Sox, who played six games over the past week and lost five of them. The first five games they played were all one-run games and they went 1-4 in those one-run contests. This means that Mesa’s record has dropped to 8-9 and they’ve gone from first place to last place since last Tuesday. They are still only two games out of first, so they’re not out of it.

Hitters

Nico Hoerner: Hoerner made four starts this past week, all of them at shortstop. He went 8 for 16, all singles. He also walked once. He was caught stealing in his only attempt.

On the season, Hoerner has made 13 starts and is hitting .345/.373/.455 with one double, one triple and one home run. He has struck out 15 times in 55 at-bats which doesn’t really sound like Hoerner, but it is a small sample size and he is facing pitching that is much more advanced than he’s ever faced before.

D.J. Wilson: Wilson is really struggling in the AFL. He only got two starts this past week and he went 0 for 9 with a walk and five strikeouts. He did steal one base.

On the season, Wilson is hitting .125/.237/.125 in eight games. He is 3 for 3 in stealing bases.

Jhonny Pereda: Pereda made two starts behind the plate. He had a good week, going 3 for 8 with a double and a walk. He threw out two of the five baserunners that tried to steal second base on him.

Pereda has played five games this AFL campaign and he’s 4 for 18 with a double and two walks. That gives him a line of .222/.300/.278.

P.J, Higgins: Higgins also made two starts behind the plate this past week. (There are three catchers and six games a week, so you can see this makes sense.) Higgins was 0 for 4 on Wednesday and 1 for 3 with a walk yesterday.

On the season, Higgins is 3 for 24 with a home run and five walks.

Trent Giambrone: Giambrone got to play three games since our last update — two last week and yesterday. (As far as I know, he’s still on the taxi squad that limits him to two games a week.) On Tuesday, Giambrone went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. Ouch. But after that, he was golden. Against Glendale on Friday, Giambrone went 3 for 6 with a two-run home run, his second of the campaign. Yesterday against Salt River, Giambrone got on base four times as he went 2 for 2 with two walks.

So far, Giambrone has played just six games and he’s 12 for 25 with a double and two home runs. Those two home runs tie him with Oakland’s Skye Bolt for the team lead and Bolt has 15 more at-bats than Giambrone. His triple-slash line for the season is .480/.552/.760.

Giambrone played second base last Friday. He was the DH in the other two contests.

Giambrone talked about the home run and playing in the AFL here. He also had some nice things to say about Hoerner.

Pitchers

Justin Steele: Steele started Wednesday’s game against Peoria, the only game the Solar Sox won this past week, although Steele got a no-decision. Steele threw four innings and gave up just one run on four hits. He struck out four and walked just one.

Steele has made three starts in the AFL and is 1-0 with a 5.19 ERA. He got hammered in his first start but has allowed just one run total over seven innings in his last two starts.

Erick Leal: I’m not sure why Leal wasn’t named to the Fall Stars team. I can only guess that it’s because he’s scheduled to start the day before. Leal started Thursday’s game at Peoria and he pitched four scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out three.

Leal has also made three starts this fall and he’s yet to allow a run over 9⅓ innings.

Bailey Clark: Clark made two relief appearances over the past week and he saved one game and he blew one save. On Wednesday, he came on in the ninth inning with a one-run lead and retired the first two batters on pop ups before walking the next two. But he retired the final hitter of the game on a grounder to first for Mesa’s only win of the week.

On Saturday, Clark entered the game with runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth inning. He gave up a two-run single to the first batter he faced. Then, after balking that runner over to second base, Clark gave up another RBI single. He finally got out of the inning with a strikeout and then stayed on to pitch the sixth inning. Clark gave up a one-out walk in the sixth, but a quick 4-6-3 double play ended that inning with no damage done.

For the season, Clark has made five relief appearances. He’s pitched seven innings total and has allowed just one run charged to him, giving him an ERA of 1.29.

Manuel Rondon: Rondon made two starts this past week. One was good and one was bad. Last Tuesday against Scottsdale, Rondon pitched the first two innings and allowed no runs and just one hit in a no-decision. He struck out two and walked no one in that game.

Rondon then started last night’s game at Salt River and didn’t make it out of the first inning. He was hammered for five runs on three hits and two walks in just two-thirds of an inning. One of the hits was a three-run home run by the Nationals’ Jake Noll.

Up until last night, Rondon had not allowed a run in six innings this fall.

For the AFL campaign, Rondon now has an ERA of 6.75, up from zero before yesterday’s game.

Source: https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/10/30/18041280/arizona-fall-league-update-clark-fall-stars-game-trent-giambrone-mesa-solar-sox

[healthpeak02-blog]

Watch Cubs prospects in AFL action Saturday

The Arizona Fall League's annual Military Appreciation Game will spotlight several prominent prospects with big league bloodlines. MLB Network and MLB.com will broadcast the matchup with the Mesa Solar Sox visiting the Salt River Rafters live Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local time).

Salt River shortstop Carter Kieboom (Nationals) is the lone member of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list scheduled to play in the game. Ranked No. 37, the younger brother of Nationals catcher Spencer Kieboom leads the Fall League with 15 walks and is batting .290/.387/.436 for the Rafters, who can reduce their magic number for the East Division title to one with a victory.

The Arizona Fall League's annual Military Appreciation Game will spotlight several prominent prospects with big league bloodlines. MLB Network and MLB.com will broadcast the matchup with the Mesa Solar Sox visiting the Salt River Rafters live Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local time).

Salt River shortstop Carter Kieboom (Nationals) is the lone member of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list scheduled to play in the game. Ranked No. 37, the younger brother of Nationals catcher Spencer Kieboom leads the Fall League with 15 walks and is batting .290/.387/.436 for the Rafters, who can reduce their magic number for the East Division title to one with a victory.

Salt River first baseman Tyler Nevin (Rockies) finished second in the Class A Advanced California League batting race with a .328 average during the regular season and tops the AFL in hitting at .404. The son of former No. 1 overall pick and All-Star Phil Nevin, Tyler also paces the Fall League with a .508 on-base percentage and ranks second with a 1.083 OPS.

A third Rafter, catcher Daulton Varsho (D-backs), is the son of ex-big league catcher Gary Varsho and named after his dad's former teammate, Darren Daulton. Extremely athletic for a catcher, Varsho is batting .296/.352/.406 and is tied for seventh in the AFL with seven steals.

Mesa outfielder Daz Cameron (Tigers) is the son of Mike Cameron, a former All-Star and three-time Gold Glover. Cameron hit his first Fall League home run on Wednesday and is batting .338/.477/.442 in Arizona.

The Rafters feature a player with military ties in right-hander Griffin Jax (Twins), who's trying to become the first product of the Air Force Academy to reach the big leagues. Jax, who started Friday's game against the Solar Sox, is part of the World Class Athlete Program, which allows active-duty personnel to train for the Olympics. He's also the son of Garth Jax, who played 10 years in the NFL as a linebacker.

Eleven different organizations will be represented in the Military Appreciation Game. Below is a list of all participants who made MLB Pipeline's team Top 30 Prospects lists:

Mesa Solar Sox

Angels: 2B Jahmai Jones (No. 4), RHP Jesus Castillo (No. 12) Athletics: 2B Eli White (No. 18), OF Skye Bolt (No. 30) Cubs: SS Nico Hoerner (No. 6), LHP Justin Steele (No. 8), OF D.J. Wilson (No. 16), 2B Trent Giambrone (No. 29) Red Sox: 3B Bobby Dalbec (No. 6), LHP Darwinzon Hernandez (No. 7), RHP Mike Shawaryn (No. 9), 1B Josh Ockimey (No. 10) Tigers: OF Daz Cameron (No. 8), C Jake Rogers (No. 12), LHP Gregory Soto (No. 14), RHP Sandy Baez (No. 26)

Salt River Rafters

D-backs: RHP Jon Duplantier (No. 1), SS Jazz Chisholm (No. 3), 1B Pavin Smith (No. 4), C Daulton Varsho (No. 5), 3B Drew Ellis (No. 9), C Dominic Miroglio (No. 30) Marlins: OF Monte Harrison (No. 2), OF Brian Miller (No. 12), RHP Jordan Yamamoto (No. 17), SS Bryson Brigman (No. 27) Nationals: SS Carter Kieboom (No. 2), OF Daniel Johnson (No. 7), C Tres Barrera (No. 15), RHP Luis Reyes (No. 23) Rockies: OF Sam Hilliard (No. 9), RHP Ryan Castellani (No. 10), 1B Tyler Nevin (No. 11), RHP Justin Lawrence (No. 17), RHP Jesus Tinoco (No. 20) Twins: 2B Travis Blankenhorn (No. 18)

Active duty military personnel and veterans will be admitted free to the game at Salt River Fields, the Spring Training home of the D-backs and Rockies. They also will be given free admission to all three AFL games on Veterans Day on Monday.

Jim Callis is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow @jimcallisMLB on Twitter. Listen to him on the weekly Pipeline Podcast.

Source: https://www.mlb.com/news/fall-league-military-appreciation-game-preview/c-300508808

[egyptbra6-blog]

Here's what Cubs did in the AFL on Tuesday

Here's a team-by-team breakdown of how all 30 teams' prospects fared in Arizona Fall League action on Tuesday:

• Gameday: Glendale 3, Scottsdale 0 | Peoria 12, Surprise 7 | Salt River 14, Mesa 4

AL East

Blue Jays (Surprise) No. 1 overall prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went hitless in four at-bats, but he drew a walk and scored a run. Blue Jays No. 9 prospect Cavan Biggio entered as a pinch-runner and later doubled, while second baseman Santiago Espinal (No. 22) added a double and an RBI. Jackson McClelland gave up four runs in one inning of relief.

Orioles (Glendale) Tanner Chleborad turned in his third straight scoreless outing with a 1-2-3 sixth inning, striking out one Scottsdale hitter.

Rays (Peoria) Right-hander Miguel Sanchez was the first man out of the bullpen for Peoria. He gave up two unearned runs on one hit and one walk. Southpaw Dalton Moats hurled 1 1/3 perfect frames and struck out two batters.

Red Sox (Mesa) Esteban Quiroz went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, his second homer of the Fall League campaign, as he went deep to the opposite field in the ninth.

Yankees (Glendale) Shortstop Thairo Estrada, the Yankees' No. 16 prospect, stretched his hitting streak to seven games with a 2-for-5 afternoon, raising his AFL average to .269. Matt Wivinis threw a perfect seventh inning with a pair of strikeouts.

AL Central

Indians (Glendale) Indians No. 6 prospect Yu Chang clubbed his second homer of the AFL season, an opposite-field, two-run shot that extended Glendale's lead to 3-0 in the third inning. He's hitting .364 after extending his hitting streak to nine games, with multiple hits in six of those contests. Starting pitcher Justin Garza was spectacular, allowing one hit and one walk in five scoreless innings while striking out five to earn his first win of the fall. Connor Marabell was 0-for-3 with a walk.

Royals (Surprise) Catcher Meibrys Viloria drew three walks and scored two runs, and right fielder Nick Heath went 1-for-4 with a single and a run. Reliever Grant Gavin allowed one run on two hits and struck out a batter in a one-inning relief appearance.

Tigers (Mesa) Daniel Woodrow went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, and he is now hitting .282 in the Fall League.

Twins (Salt River) Twins No. 18 prospect Travis Blankenhorn broke out of his slump with a 3-for-4 day. The former third-round pick also collected four RBIs, which matched his season high from the Minor League season. More »

Video: Blankenhorn on his Arizona Fall League experience

White Sox (Glendale) White Sox No. 4 prospect Luis Robert continued his fall tear, hitting safely in his ninth straight game with a 2-for-3 performance, including a first-inning RBI single. Zach Thompson allowed a hit in the ninth, but he struck out the side to earn his second save of the fall. No. 9 prospect Luis Alexander Basabe walked but struck out four times.

AL West

A's (Mesa) Luis Barrera went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including a two-run opposite-field double. Eli White, the A's No. 18 prospect, picked up two hits, and Skye Bolt (No. 30) went 0-for-4. Jake Bray came on in relief and gave up one run on two hits in two innings.

Angels (Mesa) Angels No. 4 prospect Jahmai Jones had a tough day as he went 0-for-5, but he is still hitting .327 in the AFL. David MacKinnon went 1-for-2 and walked twice. Roberto Baldoquin's rough AFL continued with an 0-for-4 performance. A trio of Angels pitching prospects took the mound, but none of them had much success as Daniel Procopio, Ryan Clark and Brett Hanewich combined to give up 10 runs on nine hits in four innings.

Astros (Scottsdale) Trent Thornton, the Astros' No. 24 prospect, allowed a two-run homer in two innings of relief while striking out three. Center fielder Ronnie Dawson walked but struck out three times.

Mariners (Peoria) Mariners No. 2 prospect Ian Miller had two hits, a run and a walk, but he was also caught stealing in the second inning. Second baseman Chris Mariscal had an RBI ground-rule double.

Rangers (Surprise) Rangers No. 2 prospect Julio Pablo Martinez started in left field and went 1-for-3 with a strikeout. First baseman Charles Leblanc had two hits, including a triple, and two runs scored. Yanio Perez went 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI groundout. Right-hander Tai Tiedemann started and pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out five.

NL East

Braves (Peoria) First baseman Braxton Davidson starred for Peoria with a multi-homer game. He drove in three runs and also added a double. Braves No. 6 prospect Cristian Pache went 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI, and shortstop Ray-Patrick Didder (2-for-5) scored three runs, drew a walk and stole a base. Right-hander Matt Walker earned the win in relief, allowing one unearned run in 1 2/3 innings. Righty Jeremy Walker started and was tagged for four runs on five hits, including a home run, and three walks in four innings. More »

Video: Braxton Davidson discusses Fall League performance

Marlins (Salt River) Marlins No. 2 prospect Monte Harrison missed hitting a grand slam by only a few feet, but had a pretty big day regardless. Harrison went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, stole two bases and picked up an outfield assist. Bryson Brigman went 1-for-5 and scored a run.

Mets (Scottsdale) The Mets' top two prospects were both in action, with No. 1 prospect Andres Jimenez going 1-for-4 with a strikeout and No. 2 Peter Alonso going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Joe Zanghi walked a batter in a scoreless sixth inning.

Nationals (Salt River) Nationals No. 7 prospect Daniel Johnson and Tres Barrera (No. 15) each picked up a hit. Johnson went 1-for-5 with an RBI, while Barrera went 1-for-2 with a run scored. Jake Noll went 0-for-3 but collected a pair of RBIs. Three Nationals pitching prospects turned in strong performances on the mound as Jordan Mills, Taylor Guilbeau and Ben Braymer each put together a scoreless outing. The three combined to throw 3 1/3 innings, while striking out five and yielding only one hit.

Phillies (Scottsdale) Third baseman Luke Williams was 1-for-4 with a triple, his first extra-base hit of the fall. The other three Phillies prospects in the lineup -- Austin Listi, Darick Hall and No. 11 prospect Arquimedes Gamboa -- were all hitless. Seth McGarry started for Scottsdale and allowed one run in two innings, despite running into jams in both of the frames.

NL Central

Brewers (Peoria) Brewers No. 19 prospect Trent Grisham had a single and a walk in five plate appearances. Aaron Wilkerson threw a perfect inning of relief. Designated hitter Keston Hiura (No. 1) stuffed the box score, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored, two RBIs, a double and a stolen base.

Cardinals (Surprise) Lane Thomas clubbed his first home run of the fall with a three-run blast in the second inning, and he also plated a run on a sacrifice fly. Connor Jones allowed two runs in 1 1/3 innings on a hit and two walks.

Cubs (Mesa) Justin Steele, the Cubs' No. 8 prospect, got the start for the Solar Sox, but he struggled and pitched only two innings. He gave up three runs on four hits, while walking two and striking out two. Jhonny Pereda singled and went 1-for-3.

Pirates (Surprise) Pirates No. 5 prospect Cole Tucker had a forgettable day at the plate, going hitless in five at-bats with two strikeouts. Matt Eckelman took the loss for Surprise after allowing four runs in one inning of relief. Geoff Hartlieb allowed a hit and a walk and struck out one batter in a scoreless frame.

Reds (Scottsdale) Catcher Mark Kolozsvary was 1-for-3 in his second straight game with a hit, while shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez, the Reds' No. 23 prospect, was hitless in three at-bats with a strikeout.

NL West

D-backs (Salt River) D-backs No. 1 prospect Jon Duplantier was up-and-down in his start for the Rafters. The right-hander struggled with consistency as he gave up three runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings. Duplantier recorded five strikeouts, but he also issued four walks. Daulton Varsho (No. 5) is hitting .389 after his 2-for-4 day at the plate.

Dodgers (Glendale) The Dodgers had a number of prospects in action. No. 2 prospect Keibert Ruiz draw a walk, but he went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. First baseman Jared Walker added a single and a walk. Second baseman Errol Robinson (No. 20) went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts, and left fielder Cody Thomas was 0-for-4. Right-hander Jordan Sheffield (No. 26) pitched a scoreless inning.

Giants (Scottsdale) Three Giants prospects pitched in relief for Scottsdale, with Chase Johnson, No. 19 prospect Melvin Adon and Sam Wolff combining for four scoreless frames. Johnson was shaky but survived a bases-loaded jam, while Adon and Wolff combined for six strikeouts in three innings.

Padres (Peoria) Padres No. 25 prospect Austin Allen helped fuel Peoria's 12-run outburst with two home runs and five RBIs. Third baseman Hudson Potts (No. 23) went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a walk, and Dauris Valdez struck out two in a perfect ninth.

Rockies (Salt River) Justin Lawrence, the Rockies' No. 17 prospect, gave up a solo homer, but he struck out the side in his one inning on the mound. Tyler Nevin (No. 11) continued his torrid AFL campaign with a 1-for-2, two-RBI performance. Nevin, who was named the Player of the Week earlier in the day, is hitting .469. Sam Hilliard (No. 9) and Josh Fuentes each picked up two hits and scored three runs. Fuentes also hit his second homer of the AFL season in the fifth inning.

Source: https://www.mlb.com/news/arizona-fall-league-roundup-for-october-30/c-300005382

[niallodonohoe]

C's Recap - Zeuch, Case & Davis Lead Peoria To Arizona Fall League Championship

6 former #VanCanadians getting more championship bling by winning AFL title. #BlueJays #Jays

2016 Vancouver Canadians righthander T.J. Zeuch was the winning pitcher in the 2017 Arizona Fall League championship game.

Six former Vancouver Canadians are getting a championship ring as their Peoria Javelinas upended the Mesa Solar Sox 8-2 in the Arizona Fall League final at Scottsdale Stadium Saturday.

2016 C’s pitcher T.J. Zeuchgot the start for the Javelinas and he was greeted by three…

[feetglider2-blog]

Arizona Fall League Final Recap: Nico Hoerner shines for Solar Sox

The Arizona Fall League has completed another season and the Peoria Javelinas defeated the Salt River Rafters 3-2 in ten innings on a walkoff home run by Braves prospect Braxton Davidson. Davidson also broke his foot running the bases, so there was some real drama there.

The Mesa Solar Sox, the team that the Cubs’ prospects play for, finished the season with a 15-14-1 record. That record put them just a half a game behind Salt River for a spot in the Championship Game. They won two of their final three games, but it turned out that they needed to win all three to catch Salt River for the division title.

Here’s a quick summary of how the Cubs prospects did in the AFL.

Hitters

Nico Hoerner: All eyes were on the Cubs’ 2018 first-round pick and Hoerner lived up to everyone’s expectations and more. Hoerner played in two of the final three games and went 4 for 9 with two doubles.

Hoerner finished the AFL season with a batting line of .337/.362/.506 with four doubles, four triples, one home run and one stolen base. Even for the hitter-friendly AFL, that’s a terrific line. His .337 average was ninth in the league and he was named in this article as one of the top ten breakout prospects of the AFL.

If you’re looking for a downside, Hoerner did walk only two times compared to 16 strikeouts.

Here’s Hoerner talking about his experience in the AFL. [VIDEO]

D.J. Wilson: Wilson did not have a strong AFL and in particular, he did nothing to dispel the questions about his hit tool. He did, however, finish strong. He played in two of the three games in the final week and went 4 for 9 with a double and two steals.

For the entire AFL, Wilson played 16 games and hit .190/.268/.238 with three doubles. He was a perfect six-for-six in stealing bases.

Trent Giambrone: Giambrone played all three of the final games and went 1 for 12 with two walks. He also made two errors in the one game that Mesa lost, but since Mesa lost 14-3, I don’t think Giambrone’s mistakes were a factor in the final outcome of the game.

While the final week wasn’t good, Giambrone had an excellent AFL campaign overall. Giambrone got into 12 games and hit .327/.400/.490 with two doubles and two home runs. He also stole two bases in three attempts.

P.J. Higgins: Higgins played just ten games in the AFL and none of the final three Solar Sox contests. Higgins finished with a line of .158/.283/.237 with one home run.

Jhonny Pereda: Pereda caught one game this past week and went 2 for 4 in that 14-3 shellacking.

For the entire AFL, Pereda played in eight games and went .276/.344/.345 with two doubles.

Pitchers

Erick Leal: in his first five starts in the AFL, Leal did not allow a single run, earned or unearned. Unfortunately, he started last Tuesday’s game and gave up his first run of the fall in the third inning. It got worse. In the fourth inning, Leal faced six batters and failed to retire anyone. In that last start, Leal pitched 3+ innings and allowed seven runs, six earned, on six hits. He walked two and struck out three.

Still, one bad start shouldn’t detract from an overall terrific AFL season. Leal pitched 20.1 innings and went 2-1 with a 2.66 ERA. He struck out 20 and walked 11.

Justin Steele: Steele’s season ended before our last update, so it’s time to just recap how he did. Steele pitched 18⅔ innings over six starts and posted a 5.79 ERA with one win and one loss. Steele struck out 16 and walked 11. It should be noted that Steele only returned from Tommy John surgery in July, so just the fact that he was on the mound should be taken as a positive.

Bailey Clark: Clark made one relief appearance in Wednesday’s 10-6 win and he gave up two runs on three hits in just one inning. Clark walked one and struck out one.

For the entire AFL season, Clark pitched 12 innings over nine relief appearances. He allowed five runs overall which gave him a 3.75 ERA. Clark struck out eight and walked eight.

Manuel Rondon: Rondon pitched one inning in Thursday’s finale and retired all three batters he faced.

For the AFL as a whole, Rondon pitched 11⅓ innings over two starts and six relief appearances. He allowed six runs, which left him with a 4.76 ERA. Rondon struck out seven and walked eight.

Source: https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/11/20/18104210/arizona-fall-league-recap-nico-hoerner-trent-giambrone-erick-leal-justin-steele-chicago-cubs