Arizona Fall League Prospect Report — October 21, 2021

Image credit: (Photo by Bill Mitchell)

Sam Huff, C, Rangers — Texas’ massive catching prospect played first base on Wednesday but still showed the same hard impact at the plate that helped him get to the big leagues. He missed most of the season with injury, so he’s using the Fall League to make up for lost time. Against Surprise, the hulking Huff went 3-for-4 with a trio of singles. All three of the hits were scorched, each registering exit velocities between 107-108 mph. 

Michael Toglia, 1B, Rockies — The Colorado kid keeps on hitting. Toglia’s started his AFL season on a tear, with hits in five of his first six games and two hits apiece in two of his last three games, including a pair on Wednesday afternoon. He’s also gone deep twice already. Both of his singles on Wednesday went to the opposite field, one a nice piece of hitting against a 95 mph fastball and the other a Baltimore Chop into no man’s land on the infield. 

Gabriel Moreno, C, Blue Jays — Moreno was one of the biggest breakout prospects of the season before a broken thumb sidelined him for nearly the remainder of the season. He didn’t make his AFL debut until Tuesday, when he went 0-for-2 with three walks. At his best, he showed a combination of offensive and defensive skills to make him a potential frontline catcher in the big leagues for years to come.

Nelson Velazquez, OF, Cubs — Velazquez has always had potential bubbling below the surface. He started to show it in the regular season, when he produced a career-best 20 homers between High-A and Double-A, accompanied by an .829 OPS. He put together an excellent game on Wednesday as well, going 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI and four runs. 

Jeter Downs, SS, Red Sox — After a trying regular season at Triple-A Worcester, Downs’ prospect stock took a tumble. Now, he’s trying to make up that ground with a reset in the AFL. So far, so good. Downs has been on fire to open the season, including a 2-for-4 day with his third home run, tied for the most in the league. He’s 5-for-14 with the three homers to begin his season, and has walked six times while striking out just three times. 

Logan O’Hoppe, C, Phillies — Though he has flown below the spotlight in a system with higher profile players like Mick Abel and Bryson Stott, O’Hoppe put together an excellent season of his own. He produced a .789 OPS with 19 doubles and 17 homers while jumping from High-A Jersey Shore to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He’s opened the AFL on a hot streak, too, including a 3-for-4 effort on Wednesday that included a pair of doubles. 

MacKenzie Gore, LHP, Padres — After a scintillating outing in his first AFL start, the wheels fell of in Gore’s second outing. He threw just 42% of his pitches for strikes (compared to 64% his first outing) and walked five of the 11 hitters he faced in 1.1 innings without striking out a hitter. Command and control were problematic all season for Gore, to the point he had to go back to the Padres’ spring training complex to re-tool. He made it back to Double-A in the regular season and showed flashes of dominance but still with work to do to get all the way back. His fastball still got to the mid 90s on Wednesday and he showed flashes of a plus changeup, but there’s still work to be done. 

HITTERS

ORG	CLASS	RANK	PLAYER	AB	R	H	RBI	AVG	NOTES
ARI	AFL		Dominic Canzone, RF	4	0	0	0	.250
ATL	AFL		Jesse Franklin, OF	1	0	0	0	.071	2 BB (2),
BAL	AFL		Yusniel Diaz, RF	5	1	0	0	.200
BAL	AFL		Greg Cullen, 2B	4	1	1	3	.143	HR (1), BB (3),
BOS	AFL		Christian Koss, SS	5	1	2	3	.286
BOS	AFL		Jeter Downs, SS	4	2	2	1	.357	HR (3), BB (6),
BOS	AFL		Kole Cottam, C	3	1	1	0	.250	2B (1), BB (2),
CHC	AFL		Nelson Velazquez, LF	4	4	2	1	.333	2B (3), BB (1),
CHC	AFL		Andy Weber, SS	4	0	2	2	.200	2 BB (5),
CIN	AFL		Drew Mount, OF	4	1	0	0	.091	BB (1), E (1),
CIN	AFL		Mike Siani, CF	3	1	0	0	.000	2 BB (5), SB (2),
CIN	AFL		Ivan Johnson, 2B	4	0	1	0	.286	2B (1),
COL	AFL		Ezequiel Tovar, SS	4	0	0	0	.136
COL	AFL		Michael Toglia, 1B	4	0	2	0	.318
COL	AFL		Ryan Vilade, LF	4	0	1	2	.176
CWS	AFL		Jose Rodriguez, IF	3	0	1	1	.250	BB (1),
DET	AFL		Spencer Torkelson, 3B	1	0	0	0	.450	BB (8),
HOU	AFL		Grae Kessinger, SS	4	1	1	0	.238
HOU	AFL		Korey Lee, C	3	0	0	0	.143	BB (4), E (3),
KC	AFL		Nathan Eaton, 2B	4	1	2	0	.333	2B (1),
KC	AFL		Seuly Matias, OF	5	0	0	1	.167
LAA	AFL		Jeremiah Jackson, SS	2	1	0	1	.000
LAA	AFL		Orlando Martinez, RF	4	0	0	0	.238
LAD	AFL		Jacob Amaya, SS	2	1	1	0	.375	BB (5),
MIL	AFL		Joe Gray, OF	3	0	0	0	.059
MIL	AFL		Joey Wiemer, OF	4	1	1	0	.214	2B (1), BB (2),
MIN	AFL		Andrew Bechtold, 3B	5	1	2	0	.353	E (3),
MIN	AFL		Matt Wallner, RF	5	1	1	0	.333
MIN	AFL		Michael Helman, 2B	5	1	2	1	.455	2 E (2),
NYM	AFL		Wilmer Reyes, SS	2	0	0	0	.267	2 BB (6), E (2),
NYM	AFL		Brett Baty, 3B	3	1	0	0	.381	2 BB (6),
NYM	AFL		Hayden Senger, C	3	0	1	0	.273	BB (1),
NYY	AFL		Andres Chaparro, 3B	4	0	0	0	.071
OAK	AFL		Jonah Bride, 3B	3	0	0	0	.375	2 BB (2),
OAK	AFL		Austin Beck, OF	4	2	1	2	.400	2B (1), BB (2),
OAK	AFL		Logan Davidson, SS	4	0	0	0	.133	BB (8),
PHI	AFL		Logan O’Hoppe, C	4	1	3	2	.300	2 2B (3),
PHI	AFL		Simon Muzziotti, CF	4	0	1	2	.133
PHI	AFL		Bryson Stott, SS	4	2	2	0	.421	SB (3), CS (1),
PIT	AFL		Nick Gonzales, SS	3	1	0	0	.238	BB (2),
PIT	AFL		Canaan Smith-Njigba, LF	2	1	0	0	.231	2 BB (6), SB (2),
SD	AFL		Eguy Rosario, 2B	3	0	0	0	.158	BB (2),
SD	AFL		Matt Batten, 2B	2	0	1	0	.269	2 BB (4), SB (2),
SEA	AFL		Cade Marlowe, LF	3	0	0	0	.111	BB (4),
SF	AFL		Will Wilson, SS	3	1	0	0	.154	2 BB (3),
SF	AFL		Patrick Bailey, C	4	1	1	1	.333	HR (1), BB (2),
STL	AFL		Brendan Donovan, 3B	2	1	1	0	.385	2B (3), BB (1),
STL	AFL		Juan Yepez, 1B	3	0	1	1	.313	BB (4),
STL	AFL		Lars Nootbaar, RF	2	0	0	0	.222	2 BB (4),
TB	AFL		Matthew Dyer, C	5	0	1	1	.176	2B (1),
TEX	AFL		Sam Huff, C	4	0	3	1	.200	BB (4),
TOR	AFL		Gabriel Moreno, C	2	3	0	0	.000	3 BB (3), E (1),
TOR	AFL		Spencer Horwitz, 1B	5	0	2	3	.375
WAS	AFL		Donovan Casey, RF	4	1	1	0	.143	SB (1),
WAS	AFL		Drew Millas, C	3	0	0	0	.100	BB (1),

PITCHERS

ORG	CLASS	RANK	PLAYER	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA	NOTES
ATL	AFL		Jake Higginbotham, LHP	1	1	1	1	1	0	4.50
BOS	AFL		Andrew Politi, RHP	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
BOS	AFL		Josh Winckowski, RHP	1.2	3	3	3	2	0	5.79
CIN	AFL		Michael Byrne, RHP	1	1	0	0	0	1	0.00
CIN	AFL		Eddy Demurias, RHP	0.2	2	2	2	2	1	10.80
CIN	AFL		Jacques Pucheu, LHP	2.1	0	0	0	1	2	0.00	W (1-0)
CWS	AFL		Caleb Freeman, RHP	1	1	0	0	3	0	0.00
DET	AFL		Chavez Fernander, RHP	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00
KC	AFL		Zach Haake, RHP	3.2	1	0	0	2	3	3.00
LAA	AFL		Zach Linginfelter, RHP	1	3	2	2	1	2	4.91	L (0-1)
LAD	AFL		Kyle Hurt, RHP	2.1	0	0	0	2	2	0.00
MIA	AFL		Justin Evans, RHP	1	3	2	2	1	2	9.00
MIA	AFL		Evan Fitterer, RHP	3	4	2	2	1	4	3.86	W (1-1)
MIL	AFL		Taylor Floyd, RHP	1	2	2	0	0	1	3.38
MIN	AFL		Kody Funderburk, LHP	2	2	3	0	3	1	9.00	L (0-1)
NYM	AFL		Garrison Bryant, RHP	3	1	0	0	1	3	1.80
NYM	AFL		Connor Grey, RHP	3	3	1	1	2	3	1.50	L (1-1)
NYM	AFL		Brian Metoyer, RHP	1	1	1	1	2	2	9.00
OAK	AFL		Bryce Conley, RHP	0.1	1	0	0	0	1	0.00	Sv (1)
OAK	AFL		Pedro Santos, RHP	0.2	2	4	3	2	1	13.50
OAK	AFL		Brock Whittlesey, RHP	2	1	0	0	0	1	11.25
SD	AFL		MacKenzie Gore, LHP	1.1	2	3	3	5	0	7.11
SD	AFL		Jose Quezada, RHP	1	1	0	0	0	1	9.00	Sv (1)
SD	AFL		Matt Waldron, RHP	2	1	0	0	0	1	3.00
SEA	AFL		Devin Sweet, RHP	1.2	0	0	0	1	2	6.00	W (1-0)
STL	AFL		Jordan Hicks, RHP	2.2	3	3	3	3	2	9.64
TB	AFL		Trevor Brigden, RHP	1	1	2	0	1	0	0.00
TB	AFL		Carlos Garcia, RHP	2	0	0	0	1	3	0.00
TB	AFL		Matthew Peguero, RHP	1.1	2	3	3	3	1	8.10
TEX	AFL		Eudrys Manon, RHP	1.1	1	0	0	2	0	0.00	Sv (2)
TOR	AFL		Cre Finfrock, RHP	2	1	1	1	1	3	2.70