Arizona Fall League 2019: Players to Watch (Part 2)
This is a new approach for me so I hope everyone enjoys it: I’m going to be writing and letting you all know more about which players are making the most noise on a daily basis in the Arizona Fall League. Here goes.
DAY 1 (September 18th)
The hitter that stood out most the first day was Joey Bart of the San Francisco Giants. I thought he would be one to keep an eye on, as I wrote about him in my AFL Players to Watch (Part 1) piece a few weeks ago. Bart had an incredible debut in the AFL hitting 2 home runs and driving in 3 for Scottsdale.
Luis Garcia, a shortstop prospect for the Washington Nationals led the AFL in hits that night going 4 for 5 with a double and a stolen base for Surprise.
One player that seems to be under the radar at this point who had a great first night – who I also got a chance to see earlier in the year – was outfielder Jerar Encarnacion of the Miami Marlins. He went 3 for 5 with a home run for the Salt River Rafters.
One more hitter that is especially intriguing to me was outfielder Trey Harris. A 32nd round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2018, in his first full season this year made it all the way from Low A to AA, hitting .323 over 131 games. He went 2 for 4 and hit a home run in his first AFL game.
Sterling Sharp, a right handed pitching prospect of the Washington Nationals known for being able to change speeds well, had a good night pitching 3 scoreless innings and striking out 4 batters.
DAY 2 (September 19th)
Royce Lewis, a Minnesota Twins prospect and the first overall pick in the 2017 draft, had a big night. Making a start in centerfield (he usually plays shortstop), he made a nice catch in the outfield and went 1 for 2 with a home run for the Salt River Rafters.
The Philadelphia Phillies #1 Prospect Alec Bohm had the most hits on night 2, going 4 for 5 with a double for Scottsdale.
2018 third rounder Jeremy Pena, still somewhat of a lesser known prospect for the Houston Astros, showed up with a 3 for 6 night with 2 doubles. Pena had a great first full season this year starting at Low A and making it up to High A, where he hit .317 over 43 games. He’s also a solid defender at shortstop.
Connor Seabold, a right handed pitching prospect of the Philadelphia Phillies, had the top pitching performance of the night tossing 3 shutout innings to go along with 5 strikeouts.
DAY 3 (September 20th)
Friday Night saw a lot of former college pitchers step up with great performances. Pitching definitely dominated that night, as 8 hurlers threw multiple innings with multiple strikeouts. The top performance came from Chicago Cubs right hander Keegan Thompson, who threw 3 shutout innings striking out 5.
Spencer Howard, another Philadelphia Phillies right handed pitching prospect and one of the top prospects in the AFL also pitched that night, throwing 3 shutout innings and his fastball topped out at 98 mph.
