Arizona Fall League 2023

JM3

JM3

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#1 Rosier CF
#5 Hickey DH
#8 McDonough LF

Winning 2-1 in the 4th, but the Red Sox hitters are 0-4.
 
JM3

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Christopher Troye came in with a runner on 1st & 1 out in the 4th. The runner stole 2nd, but then Troye picked up a pop up & a backwards k to get out of the inning. Glendale down 4-3 after 4, though.
 
JM3

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JM3 said:
Christopher Troye came in with a runner on 1st & 1 out in the 4th. The runner stole 2nd, but then Troye picked up a pop up & a backwards k to get out of the inning. Glendale down 4-3 after 4, though.
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1-2-3 5th for Troye. Flyout, popout, groundout.
 
JM3

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Not a good day for Red Sox hitters, but Rosier did walk in the tying run with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th & Glendale won 5-4.

Rosier was 0-4 with a walk & an RBI.

Hickey was 0-3 with a walk & 2 strikeouts.

McDonough was 0-4 with a strikeout & a GIDP.
 
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Glendale is off today & the whole league is off on Saturday. They have an All Star game (AL v NL) at 9 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.
 
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Glendale is back playing today with their normal 930 eastern starting time.

They haven't named a pitcher, yet, but McDonough is leading off & playing 2B.
 
JM3

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I mentioned the Jen McCaffrey Athletic piece in the Minor League Thread, but there was a piece of her interview with Brian Abraham about the AFL, including some of what they were looking to accomplish.

“The Fall League is an interesting balance of talent, of guys that need certain work,” Abraham said. “You give different people different opportunities to expose them to better competition, more innings and at-bats, and I think all the players we sent there represent that in one what or another. Hickey in reps behind the plate with upper-level pitching, Rosier getting to play all outfield positions, McDonough’s versatility. The arms as well, obviously: Mata who was hurt, Troye who was banged up a little bit but gets a chance to face better offensive competition, Olds who missed some time this year and has transitioned to the bullpen.”
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On Mata...

“It’s one thing to talk about how good he can be and another where he has to do that,” Abraham added. “He’s very aware of that and has been out there working with a purpose looking to challenge in the strike zone with the stuff.”
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https://theathletic.com/5018421/2023/11/01/red-sox-prospects-new-era/
 
JM3

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The good:

Glendale won 11-2 last night.

TMac was 1-3 with 2 walks, a double & 2 runs.

The bad:

McDonough had a strikeout, his 3rd error, his 4th caught stealing & a batter pitch timer violation.

No Red Sox pitched.
 
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Little piece on the rarity of MLB players from Idaho & how PENROD started against another Idahoan.

When Zach Penrod and Trystan Vrieling took the mound as the starting pitchers on Oct. 21 in the Arizona Fall League, their presence was notable beyond just a Red Sox and a Yankees hurler squaring off. The duo makes up half of a contingent on the premier prospect circuit that was born in Idaho.
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https://www.mlb.com/news/zach-penrod-trystan-vrieling-representing-idaho-in-fall-league?t=arizona-fall-league-coverage

Apparently Nampa, where Penrod is from is the 3rd biggest city in Idaho. The population is about 111k (almost half of Boise). It's about the same population as Lowell (114k).
 
JM3

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Wyatt Olds is in for the 6th with a 5-3 lead.

The 1st 2 batters hit infield singles toward the 3B...
 
JM3

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JM3 said:
Wyatt Olds is in for the 6th with a 5-3 lead.

The 1st 2 batters hit infield singles toward the 3B...
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Popup
2-run double (hitter thrown out at 3rd)
Groundout

That tied up the game at 5, but Glendale ended up winning 9-5.

Rosier was 2-5 with a double, 2 runs, a steal (8), & 2 strikeouts.

Hickey was 0-3 with 2 walks, a run & a strikeout.

McDonough was 1-4 with a run & a strikeout.
 
JM3

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#1 Rosier CF
#2 McDonough LF

Game starts in 8 minutes.
 
edhand

edhand

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Rosier is going to be a major leaguer. Decent floor imo. He can do a lot of different things at a high level.
 
JM3

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edhand said:
Rosier is going to be a major leaguer. Decent floor imo. He can do a lot of different things at a high level.
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You need to give your SP friends the memo for their end of the year rankings. #44 seems off.

Rosier popped up in the 1st. McDonough walked & stole 2nd.
 
JM3

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JM3 said:
You need to give your SP friends the memo for their end of the year rankings. #44 seems off.

Rosier popped up in the 1st. McDonough walked & stole 2nd.
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In their 2nd PAs Rosier tripled & McDonough struck out.
 
JM3

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Rosier drew a 7-pitch lead off walk his 3rd time up.

McDonough grounded out.
 
JM3

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Mata pitched the 7th.

HBP
Steal 2nd
Advance to 3rd on throwing error
Strikeout
Sac fly
Groundout

Unearned run.
 
JM3

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Cepeda pitched a scoreless 8th with a hit & a strikeout, but Glendale lost 4-2.

Rosier was 1-4 with a triple, a walk & a strikeout.

McDonough was 0-4 with a walk, a steal (5) & 3 strikeouts.
 
JM3

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Rosier is batting 9th & playing CF in the All Star Game. Which is at 6 tonight MST which I think is 8 pm in Boston?
 
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PENROD pitched a scoreless 2nd inning, allowing a hit & recording a strikeout.

Rosier is 1-2 so far & scored a run. The AL is winning 5-1 in the top of the 5th.
 
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Rosier was taken out prior to batting a 3rd time. No more Red Sox this game.
 
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AL won 6-3.

Games resume on Tuesday. Normal 630 pm Atizona start, but that should now be 830 in Boston.
 
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Some more detail on the Fall Star game in here.

https://bloggingtheredsox.com/2023/11/05/red-sox-prospects-at-the-fall-stars-game-how-did-zach-penrod-corey-rosier-fare-in-afl-showcase/

As well as some end of the season details (3 more games).

With Sunday’s Fall Stars Game in the books, the AFL regular season will pick back up on Tuesday and come to an end on Thursday. As such, Glendale has three games remaining against Surprise, Peoria, and then Surprise again. At 12-15, the Desert Dogs are already out of contention for the top seed in the league. They can, however, still catch up to second-seeded Scottsdale (14-13) and third-seeded Salt River (14-14) for a spot in the play-in semifinals this coming weekend.
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sittingstill

sittingstill

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JM3 said:
Side, side note: his SoxProspects stats at Greenville are wrong. They show him allowing 3 hits & 1 earned run when he allowed 10 hits & 3 earned runs. I think the stats probably just got slid over a spot during data entry because he allowed 10 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs & 1 homer but they show 3 hits, 3 runs, 1 earned run, 0 homers. We'll see if someone really is watching :)

https://soxprospects.com/players/cepeda-felix.htm
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Thanks for noting this! And sorry I wasn't keeping up on this thread as much as the MiLB one. Fixed now.
 
JM3

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sittingstill said:
Thanks for noting this! And sorry I wasn't keeping up on this thread as much as the MiLB one. Fixed now.
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Looks good. Didn't realize you handled that or I wouldn't have said anything in the thread. I could PM you if I see anything in the future?
 
sittingstill

sittingstill

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JM3 said:
Looks good. Didn't realize you handled that or I wouldn't have said anything in the thread. I could PM you if I see anything in the future?
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I don't actually handle it, I can just flag it for the right person--but a PM would be great. I usually take pains to point out that my focus with SP is photos; I don't rank players or assess their curveballs or swings or defensive capabilities, in part because in some parks I'm in the dugout with them. (And because there are many folks who are much better at it than I am!) I get far enough behind editing photos that having me do any website work would be a really bad idea. This is the time of year that I go back over games I shot and ask questions like "Why have I only edited two photos from June 24 in Worcester?!?" (Which I think was the let's-have-a-two-hour-rain-delay-when-it-doesn't-rain game but still.)
 
JM3

JM3

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Dec 14, 2019
15,260
sittingstill said:
I don't actually handle it, I can just flag it for the right person--but a PM would be great. I usually take pains to point out that my focus with SP is photos; I don't rank players or assess their curveballs or swings or defensive capabilities, in part because in some parks I'm in the dugout with them. (And because there are many folks who are much better at it than I am!) I get far enough behind editing photos that having me do any website work would be a really bad idea. This is the time of year that I go back over games I shot and ask questions like "Why have I only edited two photos from June 24 in Worcester?!?" (Which I think was the let's-have-a-two-hour-rain-delay-when-it-doesn't-rain game but still.)
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That was a pretty exciting game. WooSox came back from down 7-3 & won 8-7.

Jake Faria started & got lit up, allowing all 7 runs in 2.1 innings. Taylor Broadway came in & calmed things down, pitching 2.2 scoreless.

Mosqueda (pictured in picture 2 of 2) pitched 2.1 scoreless innings with 0 hits & 0 walks (he did hit a guy), including 4 strikeouts, & picked up the win. Politi came in for the last 1.2 & picked up his longest save of the year & only 1 of 2 that was more than 1 inning.

& yeah, there was a 2 hour 11 minute rain delay on what seems like a nice day (76 & cloudy, 9 mph winds).

https://www.milb.com/gameday/ironpigs-vs-red-sox/2023/06/24/722613/final/box
 
JM3

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PENROD writeup from Chris Clegg.

Zach Penrod, LHP, BOS, 26
Penrod is one of the more fascinating stories in all of baseball as just two months ago, he was still pitching in the Independent League and had not been with an MLB org since 2018 when he signed with the Rangers as an Undrafted Free Agent.

Penrod then underwent Tommy John Surgery in April 2019 and was released by Texas in the summer of 2020 due to the Pandemic. The Red Sox found Penrod and signed him in August of 2023, placing him in Greenville(High-A) where he posted a 2.18 ERA across 20.2 innings(four starts) and struck out 20.

He was then selected to go out to the Arizona Fall League, where he has continued the success, posting a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings.

During the Fall Stars game, Penrod tossed a scoreless inning with his fastball sitting 94-96 and showing a curve and changeup in the low-to-mid 80s. It took him just nine pitches to get through his inning of work, but it was an impressive outing, and the stuff played up in a small sample.
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https://www.thedynastydugout.com/p/afl-fall-stars-game-recap-live-looks
 
JM3

JM3

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Glendale lost 8-5.

TMac was 2-4 with a 3-run homer & 4 RBI.

Rosier was 0-5 with 2 strikeouts.
 
JM3

JM3

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The bad news...

Hickey 1-5 with 4 strikeouts
Rosier 0-4 with a walk & a strikeout
McDonough 0-4 with 3 strikeouts & an error

Combined 1-13 with 1 walk & 8 strikeouts in a 2-1 10 inning loss.

The good news...

Troye wasn't the only Red Sox pitcher to make an appearance. All 4 Red Sox relievers got in.

Troye pitched a scoreless 3rd inning. Strikeout, strikeout, single, single, Strikeout.

Cepeda pitched a scoreless 5th with a single & 2 strikeouts.

Olds struck out all 3 batters in the 6th.

Mata pitched a 1-2-3 7th with a strikeout.

Combined pitching...

4 IP
0 runs
3 hits
0 walks
9 strikeouts

61 pitches, 41 strikes
 
JM3

JM3

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sorry for getting sentimental on the TL haha

just incredibly grateful for my 2023 season.

nice to look back on the season. feels like i can finally pick the head up & look around.

always wanting more and better, but from low A all of 2022 to high A, AA (6 weeks later),
@SoxProspects
allstar, and then just now the fall league.

went from home feb 5 to fort myers, to greenville, to portland, back to fort myers, and then arizona.

i miss my family. one day they’ll know why… setting them up is why i do what i do and keeps me going even if i don’t feel like it sometimes.

generational wealth. i want to be the one. not for me, for them.

and, when i take care of business, it’s all ab rings.

at the end of the day, nothing sells better than winning.
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View: https://twitter.com/christophtroye/status/1722417838177272098
 
JM3

JM3

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The last Glendale Desert Dogs game of the season is today at 8:30 p.m. Boston time. The team is 12-17 & has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Seems unlikely any Red Sox pitchers will pitch as the 4 relievers pitched Yesterday & Penrod pitched in the All Star Game on Sunday, but I guess it's at least possible he does. They haven't named a starter, yet.

Here are the Red Sox pitching stats for the AFL (will update if Penrod happens to pitch today). Will do the batters after the game.

PENROD
4 GS
14 IP
2 ER
9 hits
8 walks
14 strikeouts

1.29 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 9 k/9, 5.1 bb/9

Biggest takeaways are:

1) Penrod can hang against higher level hitting &
2) He still needs to work on his control. He walked 4.8 per 9 for Greenville this year.

Wyatt Olds
8 games
11 IP
5 ER
8 hits
3 walks
12 strikeouts

4.09 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 9.8 k/9 2.5 bb/9

The ERA isn't amazing or anything, but the low WHIP, especially the walk rate feels like a win after Olds' regular season where he walked 9.3 per 9 & had a 1.95 WHIP in Portland.

Bryan Mata
9 games
9 IP
8 ER
11 hits
2 walks
11 strikeouts

8.00 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 11 k/9, 2 bb/9

The stat line kind of looks like a disaster...but I think there are a lot of positives to take out of this. The fact that Mata is back & healthy enough to pitch is a nice sign for the off season after he missed from May 9th to September 17th. The 2 walks are also nice after a season where he walked 10 per 9 innings. Some quick, approximate math shows that opponents BABIP'd around .407 against him (11-27 not including any errors, DP, cs or anything that would impact these #s one way or the other).

Chris Troye
8 games
8.2 IP
6 ER
10 hits
6 walks
11 strikeouts

6.23 ERA, 1.85 WHIP, 11.4 k/9, 6.4 bb/9

Honestly not a ton to be excited about here. Yes, most of the damage was done in one outing which obviously skews the statistics, but like in AA when he walked 7.8 per 9 innings, the walk rate is too high, & the strikeout rate is still high, but isn't nearly as gaudy, dropping from 14.5 per 9 (after it was 18.2 per 9 in high-A). Feels like he's going to have to get better at command and control to continue succeed as he moves through the org. Interesting guy & the transparency is awesome...but we shall see what the future holds.

Felix Cepeda
8 games
8 IP
6 ER
11 hits
3 walks
6 strikeouts

6.75 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 6.8 k/9, 3.4 bb/9

Also some mild concerns here - but it's more like a reality check. He's only 23 & had a very successful season, being promoted from Salem to Greenville & dominating upon promotion. However, he greatly over-performed his peripherals both places (3.03 ERA with a 4.59 xFIP in Salem, 1.33 ERA with a 3.87 xFIP in Greenville), & I think as a result he's getting a bit overhyped. But he should be safe from Rule 5 consideration by not dominating the AFL, & hopefully he keeps improving & gets up to Portland soon.
 
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