Dodgers duo takes home AFL's final weekly awards
There's finishing strong, and then there's finishing with a downright historic performance.
Emmet Sheehan, the Dodgers' No. 22 prospect, did the latter in the Arizona Fall League to secure the AFL's NFP Pitcher of the Week honors for Week 6, while Glendale Desert Dogs teammate and No. 8 Dodgers prospect Jose Ramos was named the AFL's final NFP Hitter of the Week for 2022.
Ramos kisses 'em goodbye
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Ramos, who came to the prospect-rich showcase with no experience as high as the Double-A level, used the final week of the circuit to demonstrate that he's gotten comfortable and is ready to play up to elite competition.
Entering Week 6 with one homer and a .246/.289/.348 slash line through 17 AFL games, the 21-year-old outfielder exploded for nine total bases on Tuesday, homering and tripling in a four-hit showing. He went yard again on Wednesday, then scored another run on Thursday -- the final day of regular-season play for the AFL. The 13 total bases he amassed over the three days were more than any other slugger accumulated in Week 6.
That fine stretch brought his line to .275/.326/.463, and his 16 RBIs over 20 games tied him for sixth in the league.
As a bonus, he homered in the title game on Saturday, earning a spot among the 11 best performers from that showdown.
Sheehan shuts 'em all down
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While Ramos was breaking out in the box on Tuesday, there was just no coping with Sheehan on the mound for Peoria hitters. He punched out 10 over five scoreless innings, permitting one hit -- a bloop single -- and one walk.
At one point, he piled up eight strikeouts in a row.
The performance ranked among the best in Arizona Fall League history, as no hurler on the hitter-friendly circuit has fanned eight or more in a scoreless outing without allowing more than one hit and one walk since 2005.
“I think I just executed the game plan to where I wanted to be,” Sheehan said after the gem. “Getting ahead in counts is huge; that’s something I’ve been working on the past couple of weeks. It just all kind of came together today.”
Sheehan finished tied for third in the league with 24 strikeouts (collected over 20 1/3 innings), sixth with a 0.89 WHIP and seventh with a .169 average against. He was 3-1 with a 3.54 ERA over six starts for Glendale.