A look at how Athletics prospects faring in Arizona Fall League
Just a quick drive south, some of Major League Baseball’s brightest young talents are fanned out across the Phoenix area, competing in the six-week Arizona Fall League.
Count MLB’s top prospect, third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. among them, as well as former 51s first baseman Peter Alonso and seven Athletics prospects — some who could be playing in Las Vegas sooner rather than later.
Here’s an update of Athletics prospects participating in the AFL as of Saturday morning:
Eli White, INF
White, 24, is the highest-ranked prospect the Athletics sent to the AFL this year, coming in at No. 18 on the MLBPipeline list.
The infielder, who could be ticketed for Triple-A next season, is hitting .303/.410/.394 in eight games with the Mesa Solar Sox.
In 130 games at Double-A last year, White hit .306/.388/.450 with nine home runs and 55 RBIs.
Skye Bolt, OF
Bolt, a 24-year-old outfielder, is the team’s No. 30 prospect and played in 78 games for Double-A Midland to finish off last season.
Bolt, who was a star at North Carolina, got off to a hot start at the AFL, going 8-for-24 in his first six games.
He currently is hitting with .250 with a pair of home runs and two triples in nine games.
Luis Barrera, OF
Barrera, another outfielder, also cracked Double-A Midland a year ago. While there, Berrera hit .328/.378/.450 in 36 games last season.
In Fall League, Barrera is hitting 5-for-30 (.167) in eight games.
Angel Duno, RHP
Duno, a 24-year-old righty, spent the whole season in the bullpen at Class-A Advanced after starting during his previous professional seasons.
He went 5-4 with a 2.62 ERA in 48 appearances, which spanned 65.1 innings. He struck out 66 and walked 17.
He currently has a 9.64 ERA through four games and 4 2/3 innings, giving up five runs, though two of his four appearances have been scoreless.
Jake Bray, RHP
Bray spent most of the season at Class-A Advanced, though he appeared in just 17 games all season, missing more than two months with an injury.
He made eight starts this year after working mostly as a reliever throughout the minors.
Bray posted a 4.62 ERA across two levels last season but a year before, posted a 3.88 ERA and struck out an impressive 82 batters in 51.0 innings.
At the AFL, he currently has a 1.35 ERA through 6 2/3 innings, allowing just two hits in five appearances.
Sam Sheehan, RHP
Sheehan also spent his season with the Class-A Advanced Stockton Ports, going 3-2 with a 4.32 ERA across 50.0 innings out of the bullpen a year after posting a 2.21 ERA at Single-A.
Sheehan has a 3.00 ERA in four games so far out of the bullpen for the Solar Sox, though he has walked 10 in just six innings pitched.
Calvin Coker, RHP
Coker, a 15th round draft pick in 2018, spent most of his season pitching in rookie ball, though he did make an appearance in the New York-Penn League and two appearances with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds.
Across the three levels, he posted a 3.97 ERA in 16 games — one start. He was a late add to the Fall League roster after fellow pitcher Grant Holmes was sidelined with an injury.
Coker has a 1.23 ERA with eight strikeouts across 7 1/3 innings pitched while in Arizona.
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Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.
