The Mesa Solar Sox kicked off their 30 game Arizona Fall League schedule with an 8-7 loss to the Glendale Desert Dogs on Tuesday. Why is this important? The Solar Sox boast six Rays’ prospects: 1B/OF Jake Bauers; 1B Casey Gillaspie; SS Daniel Robertson (his second stint with the AFL); and RHP’s Buddy Borden, Mike Franco, and Brad Schreiber.
Daniel Robertson BP #rays pic.twitter.com/7KZwC6cEFE
— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) October 13, 2015
Since some of the AFL games will be televised, it might be a good idea to know something about those representing the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Worry not, DRaysBay has your back.
Staff writer Johntown99 wrote a primer on a handful of players including Gillaspie, Bauers, Border, Franco, and Schreiber:
1B Casey Gillaspie
Gillaspie, like Robertson, is coming off an injury this season. Gillaspie broke his finger and missed a month and a half just five games after being promoted to Class A-Advanced Charlotte. He struggled after returning, with a .262 wOBA and 67 wRC+. Unlike Robertson, who was missing just his power, Gillaspie had a poor average .185 as well as poor power with .296 slugging percentage and .111 ISO.
Gillaspie will face tougher competition than he ever has. It makes sense to allow Gillaspie this chance considering the team probably wants him to the majors as quickly as possible. A strong performance in Arizona against mostly Double-A and Triple-A pitchers would justify a promotion to Montgomery even with a lackluster stint in Charlotte.
1B/OF Jake Bauers
Bauers had a strong season cumulatively and especially in his stint in Charlotte to start off the year where he hit 267/.357/.433. He was promoted to Double-A and saw his average rise (.276) but his slugging percentage fall (.405). Even though Bauers is ranked No. 24 by mlb.com, his strong early push prompted Danny and Scott to slot Bauers at Nos. 10 and 11, respectively, in their midseason rankings.
Bauers is caught in the mix of four top-30 mlb.com first base prospects for the Rays, so seeing him listed as an outfielder makes sense. A position change could get Bauers out of the logjam, especially since he has Gillaspie right on his heels in terms of promotions. The Fall League provides a low-stress environment for this kind of experiment. While there is a lot of outfield talent headed to Arizona (five of the 11 top-100 prospects are outfielders), none of them are going to be part of the Solar Sox, so Bauers’ bat is hopefully enough to get him time in the outfield.
Right-Handed Pitchers Galore
While there are no Honeywells or Guerrieris headed to the AFL, the pitchers coming from the Rays’ system are still worth noting.
Buddy Borden spent time in the rotation and in the bullpen for Charlotte this season after coming over in the offseason from the Pirates. He had a 2.97 ERA in 127.1 innings. The time in Arizona gives the opportunity for Borden to work on his walk rate (4.10 per nine innings) which was less than ideal this season. Borden’s arsenal is also criticized for a “lack of movement”, so adding some to his pitches should still be a goal for him going forward.
Mike Franco was drafted in the seventh round in 2014 and always has been a reliever in the Rays system but survived the jump to full-season baseball, starting the year with Class-A Bowling Green but finishing it out with Class A-Advanced Charlotte. Over the full year, he posted a 1.52 ERA, 2.77 FIP, and a 9.63 K/9. Franco works with an average 89-92 fastball and a curve that flashes average. The AFL gives him the chance to log more innings, which is important for a pitcher already committed to the bullpen.
Brad Schreiber split the season between Charlotte and Montgomery and pitched fairly well as another reliever. Over 54 appearances, he had an 8.30 K/9 and a 2.81 ERA. He was named to the Florida State League All-Star Game for Charlotte along with Borden.Schreiber posted 30 saves and led the FSL with 15 at the time of being named to the All-Star Game. Like Franco, he hopes to log more innings considering he came out of the bullpen all year.
Johntown99’s piece can be read in its entirety via the link above (also here).
Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the Chicago Cubs for advancing to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2003. Joe Maddon’s Cubbies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 on Tuesday to close out the series in four games.
The North Siders clubbed their way into the NLCS, hitting nine home runs in the series’ two games at Wrigley Field, which was 14% of the total St. Louis had allowed all season on the road. More over, seven different players hit seven home runs, tying a league division series record (per ESPN Stats and Information). The Cubs hit 10 overall in the four games.
In short, before the Rays, I was a huge Cubs fan. Without a home team to root for back then, afternoons growing up were spent watching hours of baseball on WGN. There were no talent Cubs teams, and then there were ’84, ’89, ’98, and ’03 Cubbies who held so much promise, yet ultimately broke my hears. It’s been over 100 years since a Cubs World Series. Is this their time? Who knows?
While I still have a huge axe to grind with the treatment of former manager Rick Renteria, and though I’m sick of hearing how Joe Maddon is the mad genius who completely changed the culture of the previously 73-89 north side team ― you know, because the $120,337,385 payroll and a stacked lineup has nothing to do with their postseason success ― I’ve got to hand it to Chicago, and what the team has been able to accomplish this year.