The Boys of Autumn are now half way through the AFL season and things have picked up for the Solar Sox.
The Arizona Fall League is six weeks long, so that means we are now halfway through the 2024 campaign. So far, the news is much more good than bad for our Cubs prospects and the Mesa Solar Sox.
As a quick reminder, the Solar Sox are the Cubs AFL affiliate and they play their home games at Sloan Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs. Every year they are joined by the Athletics, who also train in Mesa and are always part of the Solar Sox. The other three teams that contribute players to the Solar Sox rotate, and this season the Cubs and A’s are joined by the Red Sox, Angels, and Rays.
After a rough week two for the Solar Sox, they turned things on this past week. They lost their first game on Tuesday in ten innings, but then they won their next four. That puts their overall record at 10-6, just one game behind the first-place Surprise Saguaros.
Here are all five games the Solar Sox played this past week. The home team is listed last.
Tuesday, October 22: Solar Sox 5, Surprise Saguaros 6 in 10 innings.
Wednesday, October 23: Glendale Desert Dogs 5, Solar Sox 9.
Thursday, October 24: Scottsdale Scorpions 1, Solar Sox 4.
Friday, October 25: Solar Sox 14, Peoria Javelinas 10.
Saturday, October 26: Solar Sox 5, Desert Dogs 4.
Site manager Al Yellon attended Thursday’s win and filed a report here.
Here’s how the Cubs prospects did this past week. I should mention that the AFL is a pretty hitter-friendly league.
Catcher Moisés Ballesteros
Ballesteros went 0 for 5 on Tuesday and then tore the cover off the ball in his other two games. On Wednesday he went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run and a walk and in Friday’s win, Ballesteros was 3 for 6 with his fourth home run of the AFL campaign. Adding that up, he was 5 for 15 with a double, two home runs and a walk. He scored four runs and drove in four runs.
For the AFL season, Ballesteros is hitting .391/.431/.717 with four home runs, 11 runs scored and 11 RBI. The four home runs is tied for third in the league. The .391 batting average puts him in fourth place among qualified hitters. The .717 slugging percentage is good for sixth place in the AFL. (I told you it was a hitters’ league.)
Ballesteros was the catcher on Wednesday and Friday and the DH on Tuesday.
Here’s Ballesteros’ first home run of the week [VIDEO]
And here is his second one [VIDEO]
Corner infielder Jonathon Long
Al was in Mesa for Long’s home run on Thursday and has all the details there. He was also complimentary of his defense at first base in that game.
Long played in two other games in the past week. On Wednesday he went 1 for 5 with two RBI. On Friday he went 1 for 3 with a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly. So for the week, Long was 3 for 11 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch, 4 RBI and two runs scored.
Long played third base on Wednesday and Friday.
On the season, Long is hitting .317/.370/.585 with two doubles and three home runs. He has scored seven times and leads the Solar Sox with 13 RBI. That’s tied for third in the league.
Infielder Benjamin Cowles
Cowles continues to improve on his poor start to the AFL season with a sold week. Cowles played in four games—three at shortstop and one at second base. He went 4 for 13 with a walk, but all four hits went for extra bases—a triple and three doubles. Cowles went 3 for 5 with three doubles on Friday.
For the season, Cowles is hitting .244/.354/.415 with six RBI and six runs scored.
Cowles’ triple was a “Little League home run” as he scored on the play on a bad throw. [VIDEO].
Right-hander Grant Kipp
Al has all the details on Kipp’s one outing of the week.
For the season, Kipp has made three starts and is 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA. He’s struck out 12 and walked three over nine innings.
Kipp’s five strikeouts [VIDEO].
Right-hander Shane Marshall
Marshall pitched in one game this past week, the bottom of the seventh inning in Friday’s 14-10 win over Peoria. It was an uneventful inning. He walked a batter with one out, but no other baserunners. Marshall struck out one.
Over three weeks, Marshall has pitched four innings in four games. He’s allowed nine runs on 11 hits for an ERA of 20.25. He’s struck out four and walked three.
Right-hander Vince Reilly
Reilly pitched on Tuesday and Saturday this past week. On Tuesday, he was gave the Solar Sox two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk He struck out one.
On Saturday Reilly got the save, but it was one of the ugliest saves you could imagine. Asked to protect a three-run lead in the seventh, Reilly allowed two runs on two hits and three walks before finally closing out the game. He failed to strike anyone out.
On the season, Reilly is 1-0 with two saves and a 3.38 ERA over five appearances. Reilly has walked four and struck out three over 5.1 innings.
Right-hander Luis Rujano
After not pitching last week, Rujano started on Friday and got the win in the 14-10 game. Rujano allowed two runs on two hits over two innings. Both runs came on a first-inning home run by Marlins prospect Andrew Pintar. Rujano walked three and struck out three.
Rujano has pitched twice this season, one start and once in relief. He’s 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA. Over five innings, Rujano has struck out eight and walked four.
Right-hander Sam Thoresen
Thoresen pitched once this past week and it didn’t go well. He was summoned to protect a 14-6 lead in the bottom of the ninth on Friday. Thoresen only lasted two-thirds of an inning, giving up four runs on a hit and five walks. However, none of those four runs were earned after an infield error. He did not strike anyone out.
Thoresen has pitched four innings over four appearances so far, posting a record of 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA. He’s walked 10 and struck out five in the AFL season, which is not a good BB/K ratio.