The Boys of Autumn are in the home stretch as the Mesa Solar Sox fight for a playoff spot.
It’s Monday, so it’s a good time to check in on the Cubs Boys of Autumn playing for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League.
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 strong week 3, the Solar Sox had a tougher go of things in week 4, winning just two of six games. That drops them into a tie for third place with an overall record of 12-10. The second and third place teams will face off against each other in the first playoff game and then the winner of that first game will play the first-place team for the league title. The regular season ends on November 14 with the two playoff games happening on November 15 and 16.
Also, as a reminder, the “Fall Stars” game will take place this upcoming Saturday, November 9 at Sloan Park.
Here are all six games the Solar Sox played this past week. The home team is listed last.
Monday, October 28: Solar Sox 13, Surprise Saguaros 7
Tuesday, October 29: Saguaros 14, Solar Sox 4
Wednesday, October 30: Scottsdale Scorpions 10, Solar Sox 6
Thursday, October 31: Salt River Rafters 4, Solar Sox 17
Friday, November 1: Solar Sox 2, Glendale Desert Dogs 5
Saturday, November 2: Solar Sox 3, Rafters 8
Site manager Al Yellon attended Thursday’s win and wrote up what he saw here.
Here’s how the Cubs prospects did this past week.
Catcher Moisés Ballesteros
Ballesteros played in four games this past week, three as a catcher and one as the DH. On Monday, he homered in his third straight game. The rest of his week wasn’t as strong as he finished the week going 2 for 14 with five walks and a sacrifice fly. He scored twice and drove in three runs.
For the AFL season, Ballesteros is hitting .333/.408/.633 with three doubles and five home runs. He’s scored 13 runs and has 14 RBI.
Here’s Ballesteros’ home run on Monday [VIDEO].
And here’s an article on milb dot com about Ballesteros.
Corner infielder Jonathon Long
Long played three games this past week. He was the DH on Tuesday and the third baseman on Wednesday and Friday. He homered on Tuesday and had at least one hit in all three games. Long went 4 for 10 with four walks. He scored three times and had one RBI.
On the AFL campaign, Long is hitting .333/.417/.608 with two doubles and four RBI. He’s scored ten times and has 14 RBI.
Long’s home run on Tuesday [VIDEO].
Infielder Benjamin Cowles
Cowles played four games this past week: two games and second base and two games at shortstop. He went 3 for 18 with two walks and a steal.
For the AFL season, Cowles has a line of .220/.324/.339 with five doubles and a triple. Cowles has scored six times and driven in six runs.
Catcher David Avitia
As Al noted in his recap of Thursday’s game, Avitia got added to the Solar Sox roster when A’s catcher Daniel Susac withdrew. He played just that one game on Thursday and had a really good game, going 4 for 5 with a double.
Al’s recap has more on Avitia.
Right-hander Grant Kipp
Kipp started Wednesday’s loss to Scottsdale and ended up taking the loss after he allowed four runs on two hits and six walks over two innings. So yeah, control was an issue. Kipp struck out two.
Kipp has now made four starts in the AFL and sports a record of 1-2 with an ERA of 4.91. Over 11 innings, he’s struck out 14 and walked nine. He’s also hit two batters.
Right-hander Shane Marshall
Marshall pitched two innings of mop-up duty in Tuesday’s 14-4 loss to Surprise. He retired the side in order in the eighth, but got touched for two runs in the ninth. Marshall’s line on the day was two runs on four hits over two innings. He neither walked nor struck anyone out.
Marshall is having a rough AFL season, as he’s pitched six innings over five relief appearances and has allowed 15 hits and 11 runs. That works out to an ERA of 16.50. He’s struck out four and walked three.
Right-hander Vince Reilly
Reilly pitched the final 1⅓ innings in Wednesday’s 10-6 loss to Scottsdale that Kipp started. He faced four batters and retired all four of them. He struck out two of them.
Reilly has now pitched 6.2 innings over six appearances and has a record of 1-0 with two saves and a 2.70 ERA. He’s walked four and struck out five.
Right-hander Luis Rujano
Rujano started Thursday’s 17-4 victory over Salt River and got the win after allowing one run on two hits over two innings. He walked one, hit one batter and struck out three.
Rujano has pitched in three games in the AFL — two as a starter and one in relief—and he’s won all three games, going 3-0 with a 3.86 ERA. He’s only allowed three hits over seven innings, but he has walked five while striking out eleven.
Right-hander Sam Thoresen
Thoresen pitched the sixth inning of Wednesday’s loss to Scottsdale, allowing a one-out double to Royals prospect Carter Jensen but no other baserunners and no runs. He did not strike anyone out.
Thoresen has pitched five innings over five appearances and is 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA. He’s struck out five, which is good, and walked ten, which leaves something to be desired.