- Yankees right-handed pitching prospect, Albert Abreu, won Arizona Fall League Pitcher of the Week today after he allowed only two hits and struck out eight over five shutout innings on October 17 against Glendale. He ranks third in the AFL in strikeouts with 15.
- Atlanta Braves Venezuelan outfielder, Ronald Acuna, hit a double and scored twice yesterday.
Last season he hit .325 with 21 home runs, 44 stolen bases and 82 RBI’s across three minor league levels. Keep a close eye on him this spring.
- Baltimore Orioles Ryan Mountcastle has done well playing third base since being moved from shortstop. The move will probably keep him in the minors longer than necessary, as Manny Machado isn’t going anywhere any time soon…or is he?
Mountcastle hits a ton of doubles and could become a nice source for power down the road. He went 3-for-4 with double and a home run yesterday to bring his overall AFL stats to:
- Lenny likes Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis, who went 3-for-4 with a walk and two doubles in his Arizona Fall League debut yesterday.
He missed almost a full year after he suffered a serious knee injury in June 2016 that tore his medial and lateral meniscus as well as required ACL reconstruction.
He ended 2017 with 176 at bats in the minors and if he can show he is healthy, could start 2018 at Double-A. His upside is his power and his ability to hit to all fields.
- Atlanta Braves starting pitcher, Max Fried, is 2-0 with a .69 ERA after three starts and 13 innings. He leads the AFL with 18 strikeouts.
He uses more than just a mid-90s fastball, and his off-speed pitches make for easy swinging strikes. Here is the breakdown for 2017:
| Pitch Type/Velocity | Usage |
| Curveball / 75 mph | 28 % |
| Changeup / 84.4 mph | 8.7 % |
| Fastball / 93 mph | 63.3 % |
Max Fried (@Braves) continues to be insanely good in the AFL
5 IP
1 R
2 H
2 BB
7 K
3 G: 13 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 18 Khttps://t.co/3rOVOo3yTk pic.twitter.com/w1z3EhYnD0— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 23, 2017
A little history:
In February 2014 was shut down for three months due to forearm soreness. He returned in July and made three starts before he was shut down with elbow soreness.
On August 20 he underwent Tommy John surgery and did not pitch again until 2016, when he threw 103 innings.
Before making his major league debut last season, Fried went 2-11 with a 5.54 ERA in 92 innings over 21 starts across two minor league levels.
He also has a career walk rate of 4.15 per nine innings pitched.
I will take great caution with my expectation of Fried in 2018. He has very little experience and is nowhere near ready to pitch a full season. Expect 140 innings max.
Side Note
It is a good feeling when the national anthem plays before the game and everyone stands facing the flag with their hand on their heart and their hats off.
Many of our baseball players weren’t born in this country, and some took drastic measures to flee their home country in order to play baseball in the United States. .
I found the following statement in the A-Z guide for Salt River Field at Talking Stick, the Spring Training home for the Arizona Diamondbacks as well as the Colorado Rockies. Love it:
Anyway, it is nice to see gratitude and feel proud of the flag and the country.
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