Arizona Fall League Prospect Report — November 3, 2021

Image credit: Nick Gonzales (Photo by Bill Mitchell)

Kole Cottam, C, Red Sox — Boston’s fourth-round pick out of Kentucky in 2018 looked like he was having a career year following the lost 2020 season. Between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland, the 24-year-old slashed .278/.371/.500 and slammed a career-best 10 homers (he entered the year with just 11 to his name). His season didn’t begin until July 29, however, so he’s using the Arizona Fall League to make up for lost time. He’s played three seasons in the minors, but on Tuesday he achieved a pair of career-bests when he collected his first four-hit game and first multi-homer game in Scottsdale’s walk-off win over Salt River. Even better? Cottam’s last hit—a 10th-inning single—brought home the game-winning run. 

Richie Palacios, OF, Guardians — Very quietly, Palacios—the brother of Josh and nephew of Rey—put together an excellent season in the Cleveland system. He struck out just 70 times while drawing 58 walks over the course of 428 plate appearances spent between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus, and posted an .874 OPS in the process. He had a big day on Tuesday in AFL action, collecting three hits—including his third home run of the AFL—and scoring three times in his team’s win over Salt River. 

Nick Gonzales, 2B, Pirates — The man can flat-out hit. Gonzales, the Pirates’ first-rounder from the 2020 draft, spent his first year as a pro at High-A Greensboro, where he raked consistently but missed time with a broken finger. When he was on the field, he showed a quick, twitchy stroke geared for slicing line drives all over the yard. He has power, too, and on Tuesday connected on his first home run of the AFL. Most of his home run power came during games at hitter-friendly Greensboro, but he’s a fine complement to Oneil Cruz in the resurgent Pirates system. 

Roansy Contreras, RHP, Pirates — The man can flat-out pitch. Contreras, acquired from the Yankees in the Jameson Taillon deal (Peoria teammate Canaan Smith-Njigba came along with him), was one of the biggest revelations of the early season, which he spent flaming hitters in the Double-A Northeast. His entire arsenal was boosted a tick from its pre-pandemic state, and the pitcher who was formerly known as a high-floor, low-ceiling kind of arm showed wipeout stuff. He dealt with forearm soreness this year, but recovered in time to make a big league cameo at season’s end. On Tuesday, he spun three perfect innings with five punchouts in Peoria’s win over Surprise.

Gabriel Moreno, C, Blue Jays — With Riley Greene pulled before Opening Day, Spencer Torkelson gone with an ankle injury and C.J. Abrams having yet to debut, Moreno is the highest-ranking prospect in the Fall League. Lately, he’s been showing everyone exactly why he’s earned that reputation. He lashed a pair of doubles on Tuesday, one on a 97 mph fastball that he shot the opposite way down the first-base line and another he pulled into the left-field corner. His at-bats were impressive, too. The Blue Jays backstop worked counts all afternoon until he picked pitches he could impact. He saw 26 pitches in his five trips to the plate. 

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