Ben Ross, Kade Bragg, and Jack Noble Stand Out in Week 4 of Arizona Fall League

Game Results:
Monday, 10/28 | Salt River 3, Scottsdale 1
Tuesday, 10/29 | Glendale 7, Salt River 11
Wednesday, 10/30 | Peoria 5, Salt River 6
Thursday, 10/31 | Salt River 4, Mesa 17
Friday, 11/1 | Scottsdale 4, Salt River 1
Saturday, 10/26 | Mesa 3, Salt River 8

The Salt River Rafters went 4-2 on the week and sit at 12-10 overall on the season. This is tied for third in the Arizona Fall League standings, and they are a half-game out of second place heading into the season's penultimate week. One Twins prospect extended a hitting streak to five games, while another launched his first home run of the fall. On the pitching side a pair of hurlers combined to allow one earned run over 9 2/3 innings pitched between them.

OF Kala’i Rosario
Week: 3-for-15, 2 R, RBI, BB, 6 K (4 games)
Overall: .295/.366/.426 (.792 OPS)
Rosario continued to bat in the heart of the Rafters lineup while making appearances in each of the outfield corners and at designated hitter.

His first action of the week was in Tuesday’s win over the Glendale Desert Dogs. The Rafters got on the scoreboard first thanks to his RBI single, their third in a row, in the bottom of the first. In the fifth he was hit by a pitch, and then was immediately driven in by his Twins teammate to make the score 5-4 Glendale. Rosario would not reach base again in this one, but Salt River got a big grand slam in the bottom of the seventh that put this one in the victory column.

Rosario’s five-game hitting streak came to an end on Wednesday against the Peoria Javelinas, as he finished 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts, but he did reach base via a walk. The Rafters won this one in the bottom of the ninth courtesy of a Ryan Ritter walk-off home run.

Thursday’s game against Mesa was over almost as quickly as it started, as the Solar Sox scored 11 runs in the bottom of the first inning. Despite that, Rosario did his best to start a new hitting streak with a single in a three-run eighth for the Rafters. Just like on Tuesday, his Twins teammate was able to bring him around to score as the next batter. Unfortunately, Rosario struck out in each of his three other plate appearances.

Rosario closed his week with another 1-for-4 effort in Friday’s loss to the Scottsdale Scorpions. He singled in his first plate appearance but did not reach base again as the Rafters managed just three hits and two walks as a team.

IF Ben Ross
Week: 5-for-20, 4 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, BB, 4 K (5 games)
Overall: .203/.329/.344 (.673 OPS)
Ross collected a hit in four of his five games on the week, and as alluded to was responsible for bringing in Rosario on multiple occasions. He played shortstop in all four of his starts, and came in as an injury replacement to play third base in the other.

In Monday’s win over the Scottsdale Scorpions he led off the fifth inning with a single. He scored all the way from first on a double from the next batter to put the Rafters up 1-0.

Against Glendale on Tuesday Ross put together his second multi-hit game of the season, finishing 2-for-4 with a double, walk, run scored, and RBI. He drew his walk in the third inning to load the bases, and the Rafters would score two in the frame to make it 4-3 after three. In the fifth his two-out double scored Rosario and pulled the Rafters within one after five. Leading off the seventh inning Ross lined a single up the middle and would come around to score before Caleb Durbin put the Rafters in front for good with a grand slam.

After a day off Ross was back in the lineup against Mesa on Thursday, and was responsible for 75% of the Rafters offense in the loss. Down 14-1 in the eighth inning, Ross came to bat after a walk and a single from Rosario put two runners on base. He hammered an 0-1 pitch over the wall in center for his first home run of the AFL campaign. He also reached base in the first inning on a fielder’s choice.

Ross entered Friday’s game in the third inning for starter Gino Groover, playing third base. He finished 0-for-3 and struck out to end the game, but there wasn't much to talk about for any of the Rafters in the 4-1 loss to the Scorpions.

He finished his week with a 1-for-5 effort in Saturday’s win over the Solar Sox, helping the Rafters get back at them for the big loss earlier in the week. He led off the bottom of the fourth with a single and promptly stole second base. With the bases loaded a few batters later, he was brought home with a sacrifice fly for the home team's eighth and final run.

IF Danny De Andrade
Week: Did not play.
The Venezuelan infielder hit .243/.333/.359 in 29 games with the Cedar Rapids Kernels before injuring his ankle back in May. He spent the rest of the season on the injured list and the hope was he would be able to make up a few at-bats in the Arizona Fall League, but that has yet to happen.

RHP Devin Kirby
Week: W, 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB (1 appearance)
Overall: 1-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, .185 BAA, 9 BB, 4 K (8 IP)
The knuckleballer made one appearance on the week, picking up the win in Salt River’s defeat of Glendale on Tuesday.

Kirby was brought in to start the sixth inning with the score 5-4 in favor of the Desert Dogs. He got a pair of groundouts from the first two hitters before giving up a single that was followed by an RBI triple to put the visiting team up by two. His offense tied the game up at six before he came back out for the seventh. Kirby gave up a pair of walks and a passed ball that put Glendale back out front, but his offense took a commanding lead with a five-run bottom of the seventh, putting him in line for the win. He surrendered two earned runs on two hits and a pair of walks in his two innings. Of his 38 pitches, 17 went for strikes (45%) and both of the hits he allowed came on his fastball.

RHP Jack Noble
Week: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K (2 appearances)
Overall: 1-0, 1.64 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, .206 BAA, 6 BB, 9 K (11 IP)
Noble was the first reliever summoned from the bullpen in Tuesday’s comeback win over Glendale, pitching the fourth and fifth innings. He gave up a leadoff single to the first batter he faced, but erased him on a double-play ball, and faced the minimum three hitters as a result in a scoreless frame. With the score 4-3 Desert Dogs in the fifth, Noble walked a pair of hitters and gave up an RBI single, but also picked up a strikeout to close his outing.

In Saturday’s revenge game against Mesa, Noble came on for the fourth inning and dominated the Solar Sox through the sixth. He went one-two-three in each of the fourth and fifth innings, picking up a strikeout in each. He allowed a one-out single in the sixth, but again erased that runner with an inning ending double-play ball. In his three innings he faced the minimum and lowered his ERA to 1.64 on the AFL season. He needed just 35 pitches in this one, with 24 of them going for strikes (69%).

LHP Kade Bragg
Week: 4 2/3 IP, H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K (2 appearances)
Overall: 0-1, 1.86 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, .094 BAA, 7 BB, 10 K (9 2/3 IP)
Like Noble, Bragg also pitched in two games on the week and was even more dominant from a stats perspective.

The left-hander picked up a hold in Monday’s win over Scottsdale, coming out of the bullpen to start the fifth inning. He walked the leadoff man, but promptly picked him off at first base for the innings first out. He then retired the next two hitters for a scoreless frame. Back out for the sixth, he alternated three strikeouts around a walk and a single to complete a scoreless outing.

His second appearance of the week came in Friday’s loss to the Scorpions, entering the game to begin the sixth inning. With his team already down 4-1, he retired the side in order, picking up a strikeout in the process. In the seventh he got two quick outs before a hit-by-pitch and walk put multiple runners on base, but closed it out with another K. Back out for the eighth inning, he picked up his third strikeout before being lifted with two outs.

RHP Jacob King
Week: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 K
Overall: 0-0, 3.38 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, .200 BAA, 1 BB, 5 K (5 1/3 IP)
King made his lone appearance of the week on Wednesday, coming on for the eighth inning against Peoria. The Rafters were leading 5-3 at that point, but before it was over he would be credited with a blown save. He gave up a leadoff single that was followed by an RBI double, then two batters later an RBI single to tie the game at five. He did settle down to strike out the last two hitters he faced, but it meant the Rafters now needed the walk-off home run they got in the bottom of the ninth.

RHP Liam Rocha
Week: 2 2/3 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K (1 appearance)
Overall: 1-0, 3.12 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, .235 BAA, 6 BB, 7 K (8 2/3 IP)
Rocha also had just one outing in week 4 but like Kirby, Noble, and Bragg before him, his was for multiple innings. Unfortunately for him, it came in their blowout loss to Mesa on Thursday. It wasn’t really his fault however, as 11 of the Solar Sox’s 17 runs came in the first inning and he didn’t enter until the fifth. He was summoned after a walk with one out in the fifth, and retired both hitters he faced to keep that frame scoreless. A leadoff double in the sixth led to an earned run on his ledger, but he struck out the final batter of the inning to keep the damage to one. He finished by allowing a walk in the seventh, but otherwise retiring the three other hitters, including a second strikeout to move the game along.

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