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Hitter of the Day: Addison Russell, SS, Athletics (Mesa Solar Sox): 2-5, R, 2B, HR. It would be understandable if Russell was wearing down playing extended games at the end of his first full season. We saw the same thing happen with Mike Trout in his time in the AFL, and it didn’t exactly slow him down. Russell was hitting just .217 before Monday, but he displayed why he is one of the best prospects in baseball with a multi-extra-base hit game.

Pitcher of the Day: Jason Adam, RHP, Royals (Peoria Javelinas): 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K. Adam has now turned in two straight strong starts after a rough first AFL outing, and it Monday’s outing was his most impressive, missing more bats than he typically does.

Seeing it Well

  • Japhet Amador, 1B, Astros (Peoria javelinas): 1-4, R, HR, 2 K. I don’t know how well Amador is actually seeing the ball right now, but the Astros could see a lot of stat lines like his from Monday afternoon, where he connected on a home run but also struck out twice. If he can manage to hit around .250 and run into his home runs, he’ll play for the Astros next season.
  • Delino DeShields, Jr. CF, Astros (Peoria Javelinas): 3-4, R, 2 2B, K. Our Astros rankings will be coming out soon here at BP and we’re not as high on DeShields as most, but he could change some minds if he can continue to be a catalyst like he was on Monday.
  • Kris Bryant, 3B, Cubs (Mesa Solar Sox): 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K. Apparently after a weekend that saw him hit two home runs in one game and get robbed of a third by a bad ground-rule double call, apparently AFL pitchers are going to avoid trying to pitch to Bryant. And you can’t blame them. Bryant must be credited with being willing to take what the pitchers give him, however, especially if he’s going to continue to hit such prodigious blasts.

Finding the Zone

  • Sammy Solis, LHP, Nationals (Mesa Solar Sox): 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K. Solis has been fantastic this fall, giving up one run or less in his third straight outing. This was more on par with his abilities, preventing damage despite allowing some hits and not missing as many bats as his last outing when he struck out eight.
  • Aaron Northcraft, RHP, Braves (Scottsdale Scorpions): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K. Northcraft got back on track after two poor AFL starts to begin the fall. As a sinker/slider guy, it still remains to be seen if he will stick as a starter or end up as a reliever.

Bad Days at the Plate

  • Brian Goodwin, CF, Nationals (Mesa Solar Sox): 0-5, 2 K. The problem with the AFL, and small sample sizes in general, is that one bad day can ruin anything. Goodwin has been good this fall, entering Monday with hits in each of his first six games and a .346 batting average. He’s been more aggressive at the plate this fall than his usual selective approach, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

Forgettable Outings

  • Miguel Pena, LHP, Red Sox (Surprise Saguaros): 4 IP, 7 H, 6 R (5 ER), 1 BB, 2 K. Pena’s best weapon is his changeup, but it wasn’t keeping hitters off-balance on Monday. Pena got hit hard, allowing three doubles and a home run in four innings.
  • Michael Lorenzen, RHP, Reds (Glendale Desert Dogs): 3 2/3 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Perhaps six teams in one baseball season is simply too many. Lorenzen got rocked for the third time in as many AFL starts and just isn’t flashing the power stuff that got him selected 38th overall this past year. After starting the year at Cal State Fullerton and then appearing in the minors at four different levels, I’m inclined to give Lorenzen a bit of a pass at this point in the season, especially since he was a two-way player at Fullerton who has never focused on pitching this much in his life.

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MaineSkin
10/22
I read DeShields issue is insanely bad makeup.
hmamis
10/22

On Oct 15th Parks described Amador as "a quad A type"

harry
Behemoth
10/22
That's not really mutually exclusive with him playing for the Astros next year.