Arizona Fall League Prospect Report — October 26, 2021

Jeter Downs, SS, Red Sox — The Jeter Downs Redemption Tour (with dates at Salt River, Scottsdale, Peoria, Surprise, Glendale and Mesa) hasn't lost a step through three weeks. Downs, who struggled through his regular season at Triple-A, connected on a grand slam in the eighth inning of his team's loss on Monday. Result aside, Downs has been fabulous in his time in the desert. The home run, his fifth of the year, leads the AFL in that category. Boston's system has been rejuvenated by the addition of Marcelo Mayer, the ascension of Nick Yorke and the continued brilliance of Triston Casas. It would become a lot better if Downs can use the Fall League as a springboard to a strong 2022.

Ezequiel Duran, 2B, Rangers — Twice this Fall League, Duran has come up one hit short of the cycle. On Monday, he lacked the home run, but still had the other three legs before the game was half over. The outing was yet another highlight in what so far has been an excellent AFL for the jewel of the trade that sent slugger Joey Gallo to New York. Duran has played in just six games this AFL, but his last four have been spectacular. During that stretch he's gone a scorching 11-for-18 with four doubles, two triples and a home run while playing all around the diamond.

Gabriel Moreno, C, Blue Jays — A broken thumb was the only thing that stopped Moreno this season. The injury cut short what had been a breakout campaign and put him on the injured list for most of the rest of the season. Moreno didn't get into a Fall League game until the second week of the season, but on Monday put together a signature performance. The dual-threat backstop went a perfect 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a walk in his team's one-run (the score was 16-15!) loss to Surprise. The game was Moreno's second four-hit effort of the year, with the last coming on June 11 against Double-A Portland.

Andres Chaparro, 1B, Yankees — Surrounded by bigger names like Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza, Chaparro quietly had an excellent season. Between both levels of Class A, the 22-year-old corner infielder hit .267/.381/.468 with 21 doubles and 15 homers. Impressive under any context, the 15 homers were just two shy of the total he'd amassed in his previous four minor league seasons, which were spent at short-season or lower. On Monday, Chaparro was 4-for-4 with a double and his first longball of the fall.

Mike Siani, OF, Reds — Siani has earned a reputation throughout his career as a player with a table setter's skill set. He's swiped 75 bags in 100 tries over two pro seasons. Ninety-six of his 118 career hits are singles. On Monday, however, he provided those same attributes at the bottom of the order for Surprise, which edged Mesa in a 16-15 slugfest. Siani went 4-for-5 with a double in the contest, scored once and drove in three more runs. He and Andres Chaparro combined for eight of the Saguaro's 17 hits.

JJ Bleday, OF, Marlins — It's no secret that Bleday, the fourth overall pick in 2019 out of Vanderbilt, had a rough first full season as a pro. He scuffled in Double-A, but the Marlins were heartened by the way Bleday scored on some of their internal metrics as the year wore on. Specifically, he was putting the barrel on the kinds of pitches he could damage. Early in the season, those were swings and misses or mishits. On Monday, he made some impact. The 23-year-old Bleday was 3-for-4 with his first AFL longball, scored twice, walked twice and drove in two runs. The game brought his AFL line to 11-for-30 with a slash line of .367/.525/.533.

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