Saturday's top prospect performers
Here's a look at Saturday's top performerrs from Arizona Fall League and Winter League action.
Angels: Davis Daniel, RHP (Unranked), Scottsdale Scorpions
The 26-year-old kept showing his stuff, putting together his second Fall League quality start with seven strikeouts and two earned runs in six innings for Scottsdale. For reference, no other pitcher has registered a single quality start thus far. In three starts this season, Daniel has put together a 1.69 ERA -- the sixth-best in the desert.
Athletics: Max Muncy, SS (No. 7), Mesa Solar Sox
Muncy continued a great Fall League campaign with a three-RBI night for Mesa. The 21-year-old is now second on the team in RBIs after his bases-clearing three-run triple on Saturday night. The 25th overall pick in the 2021 draft picked up two hits and has been a consistent performer in the desert.
Cubs: James Triantos, 2B (No. 9), Mesa Solar Sox
Triantos continued his success at the plate, picking up two more hits on Saturday night. The 20-year-old leads the Fall League in OPS (1.290) and picked up a double while also lifting a two-run home run against Glendale. He raised his slash line to .431/.524/.766 as he continues his dominant at the dish.
Guardians: Kyle Manzardo, 1B (MLB No. 58), Peoria Javelinas
José Tena, SS (No. 14), Estrellas Orientales
Ross Carver, RHP (Unranked), Peoria Javelinas
Another game, another Manzardo hitting clinic. The current Fall League home run leader continued his hot streak at this dish finishing a homer shy of the cycle on Saturday. The triple, which was his first of the fall, came in the third inning on a scorching line drive to right field that left the bat at 100 mph on the dot according to Trackman. The No. 2 Guardians prospect has now posted five multihit games in 13 contests in the desert, putting his power potential on full display alongside his 60-grade hit tool. The 3-for-4 night brings Manzardo’s slash line to .283/.367/.698.
This winter, Tena will compete on the Orientales for the second consecutive season. Last year he tallied 36 hits in 36 games, this season he’s well on his way to that number after posting a four-hit performance in his third game in LIDOM. The San Cristobal native was spraying the ball all over the yard, depositing a single to center, a double to left, an RBI single to right and another single to right-center field. The double was his first of the season for the Orientales.
After a Fall League debut where he surrendered four runs on seven hits across three innings, Carver locked in and spun three scoreless innings with five strikeouts in his second outing. On Saturday, in his third start, he looked a lot more like the pitcher on the mound in his second start than the first. Facing off against a Surprise lineup that has tallied the second-most runs in the Fall League – behind Peoria -- Carver delivered four scoreless frames, fanning three. Dating back to his first appearance, Carver has now gone eight innings without allowing a run in the desert. The start improves his record to 2-0 and he now has a 3.60 ERA and 1.40 WHIP.
Mariners: Tyler Locklear, 3B/1B (No. 11), Peoria Javelinas
Locklear entered Saturday's game having reached base in 10 of 11 games in the desert, and he added to that number with a standout performance. The 22-year-old reached base three times, going 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. The first knock came in the opening frame, Locklear socked a line drive into center field plating a run. One inning later, he swatted a ground ball down the left-field line, for his fourth double and 10th RBI of the fall. The former VCU Ram now has a .886 OPS in the AFL. More »
Pirates: Jase Bowen, OF (No. 27), Salt River Rafters
Jase Bowen only needed one pitch to land himself on the highlight reel. His third home run of the season -- a Salt River high -- sailed over the center field fence for 424 feet. The outfielder turned up the heat entering the halfway mark of the season as the dinger marked his second homer and third extra-base hit in the last week.
Tigers: Dylan Smith, RHP (No. 24), Salt River Rafters
It was lights out for Smith on Saturday night as he struck out nine batters in four one-hit innings. In four Fall League starts, the 23-year-old is averaging 11.93 strikeouts per nine innings. Not only are the nine punchouts a career high for Smith, but it is also the first time the righty averaged more than two strikeouts per inning pitched in a start.
White Sox: Bryan Ramos, 3B (No. 7), Glendale Desert Dogs
After hitting his first big fly against Mesa on Friday night, Ramos once again went deep against Mesa tonight. The 21-year-old was the second player to hit a home run as part of a back-to-back-to-back sequence in the second inning. Ramos hit 14 home runs in Double-A last season and tapped into the power on Saturday night. More »