Steve Lein

Game Results: Monday, 11/2 | Scottsdale 12, Salt River 10 Tuesday, 11/3 | Salt River 10, Peoria 11 (10 innings) Wednesday, 11/4 | Salt River 9, Scottsdale 8 Thursday, 11/5 | Salt River 3, Peoria 5 Friday, 11/6 | Salt River 7, Surprise 8 Sunday, 11/8, Fall Stars Game | AL Fall Stars 4, NL Fall Stars 7 The Salt River Rafters won only one of their five games during the week to fall below .500 on the season. The Fall Stars game also occurred on Sunday, with one of the Twins prospects standing out in the game. There again were no Twins players who received mention as a top performer for the week, and Yasser Mercedes did not play, but Kyle DeBarge continues to pace the Rafters roster. He leads the league in runs scored and carries an OPS above 1.000. OF Yasser Mercedes Week (did not play) Overall (through 11/9): .302/.389/.488 (.877 OPS) Mercedes only played in one game last week, and did not take the field at all during this one. Hopefully he is able to get back into games before the season is over, but if not he will still have made a good impression! IF Kyle DeBarge Week (5 games): 6-for-19, 7 R, 2 2B, 3B, HR (4), 5 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K, SB (8) Overall (through 11/9): .347/.473/.625 (1.098 OPS) DeBarge continues to be a force in the middle of the Rafters lineup. He played second base, third base, and centerfield during the week, batting leadoff three times, second once, and third once. He had multi-hit efforts in two games, clubbing a pair of doubles against the Scottsdale Scorpions on Monday, then a triple and his fourth home run against the Saguaros on Friday. In Sunday’s Fall Stars game, DeBarge started the game and batted third in the American League lineup. He finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored, a double, walk, and two stolen bases. While he didn’t take home the MVP award, he would have been a worthy candidate! LHP Cesar Lares Week (1 appearance): 1 IP, 0 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 1 K Overall (through 11/9): 0-0, 12.91 ERA, 12 BB, 7 K, 2.87 WHIP, .313 BAA (7 2/3 IP) Lares pitched in Thursday’s loss to Peoria, coming into the game for the eighth inning with the score tied at three. He walked the first two hitters of the inning, and thanks to an error gave the Javelinas the lead and was saddled with the loss. He struck out one, but another run was able to score to make the final of 5-3. LHP Ross Dunn Week (1 start): 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Overall (through 11/9): 0-2, 16.34 ERA, 11 BB, 15 K, 2.76 WHIP, .407 BAA (12 2/3 IP) The left-handed Dunn made the start in Thursday’s loss to Peoria. He gave up two runs in the first thanks to a pair of singles, a walk, and a hit batter, but recovered to complete nearly four innings. He struck out three in the second inning and two more in the fourth before being relieved. He left the game with the Rafters leading 3-2. LHP Cleiber Maldonado Week (1 appearances): 1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 1 K Overall (through 11/9): 0-1, 9.45 ERA, 3 BB, 9 K, 2.40 WHIP, .406 BAA (6 2/3 IP) Maldonado pitched in Tuesday’s extra-innings loss to Peoria, and was on the mound to end the game. He came into the game in the bottom of the ninth with the Rafters up by two and a runner on base after a leadoff walk. Maldonado proceeded to walk the first hitter he faced before getting the first out of the inning. He then threw a wild pitch that put both runners in scoring position, then gave up the game-tying single to send it to extra innings. The Rafters were able to score one in the top of the 10th, but Maldonado gave up a leadoff double and RBI single to end the game in the bottom half. He struck out one. LHP Jake Murray Week (1 appearance): 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K Overall (through 11/9): 1-0, 7.36 ERA, 8 BB, 4 K, 3.00 WHIP, .250 BAA (3 2/3 IP) Murray made his lone appearance of the week in the Rafters win over Scottsdale on Wednesday. He came into the game to begin the bottom of the sixth inning and walked the leadoff man. The next batter clubbed a double to make the score 7-5 Salt River. He picked up a strikeout but a single, another walk, and sac fly tied the game at seven and he was removed before he could finish a full inning. RHP Brian Zeldin Week (2 appearances): 1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K Overall (through 11/9): 1-0, 1.69 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .250 BAA, 2 BB, 4 K (5 1/3 IP) Zeldin appeared in another two games during the week, including Monday against the Scorpions and Thursday against the Javelinas. On Monday, his appearance was brief as he was called upon to get the final out of the top of the second inning. He walked one batter and got a groundout. On Thursday, he came into the game in the bottom of the fifth to get the final out, then also pitched the sixth inning, working around a walk and a one-out single to keep his outing scoreless. OF Jacob McCombs Week (did not play): McCombs has yet to see the field for the Salt River Rafters this season, but the hope is that he will be able to take the field soon with his fellow prospects! C Enrique Jimenez Week (1 game): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K Overall (through 11/9): .150/.320/.250 (.570 OPS) Jimenez played in Wednesday’s win over Scottsdale, serving as the DH and batting ninth in the lineup. He drew a walk leading off the top of the fifth inning, but would end up stranded on third base. In the top of the sixth, he added a single and came around to score on a triple that gave the Rafters a 7-5 lead. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the Twins prospects playing in the AFL this week! Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Kyle DeBarge) View full article

Correct. The rules used to be such that it was basically all Triple-A and Double-A players, with the few "exception" A-ball level guys. Not the case anymore. I would say the spread averages around double-A for hitters now, and High-A for pitchers. But they can come from anywhere as far as levels a guy is at is concerned.

I'm all over the Tinney to 1st bandwagon, too. See if we can turn him into a poor-mans Pete Alonso. I think their profiles are similar. Tinney might hit more like .200-.220 than .250-.270, but could draw more walks to offset it some. Lot of development to be done there, of course, He will need to make more contact. But Tinney actually surprised me a bit after being drafted, in a good way, despite the low batting-average. Ultimate three-outcome guy in his first taste of pro-ball.

Game Results: Monday, 10/26 | Surprise 4, Salt River 20 Tuesday, 10/27 | Salt River 0, Glendale 1 Wednesday, 10/28 | Salt River 4, Scottsdale 0 Thursday, 10/29 | Mesa 21, Salt River 5 Saturday, 10/31 | Salt River 11, Surprise 2 (6 innings) The Salt River Rafters went 3-2 in their five games during week four of the Arizona Fall League season, and sit in third place in the overall standings, one game out of first. During the week they both won and lost a game where a team scored 20 or more runs, as well as being on both sides of shutouts. A weather shortened game resulted in another big win. The top performers on the week again included multiple players from the Rafters roster, but again did not include any of the Twins prospects, despite one of them continuing to sit near the top of several offensive categories. OF Yasser Mercedes Week (1 game): 0-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 SB (4) Overall (through 11/1): .302/.389/.488 (.877 OPS) Mercedes played in only one game on the week, with that coming in Monday’s 20-4 blowout against the Surprise Saguaros. He batted third in the lineup and played center field. He did reach base multiple times in the game, but finished 0-for-3 with a run scored, walk, and stolen base, before being substituted in the seventh inning. He did not see action again during the week, but hopefully he’ll be back at some point in week five. IF Kyle DeBarge Week (3 games): 4-for-12, 3 R, HR (3), 1 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 SB (7) Overall (through 11/1): .358/.485/.604 (1.089 OPS) DeBarge continued to be a standout for the Rafters in week four, collecting at least one hit in all three of his games. He played one game each at second base, third base, and in center field, batting second in the lineup twice, and third once. He was a quiet 1-for-4 with three strikeouts in Tuesday’s shutout loss against Glendale, but was a strong contributor in Wednesday’s 4-0 win over Scottsdale as the only Rafters hitter with multiple knocks. In the top of the fifth inning he led off with a single, reached second base on a wild pitch, and scored a run on a single from teammate Jared Thomas to make the final score. He again led off the ninth with a single and although he ended up stranded, did steal both second and third base. On Halloween DeBarge got the scoring started for the Rafters by hitting his third home run of the AFL season in the top of the first for the early 1-0 lead. In the third he led off by reaching base on an error, and scored on a triple from the next batter that made it 4-1 Salt River, and they wouldn’t look back. LHP Cesar Lares Week (did not pitch): Overall (through 11/1): 0-0, 13.50 ERA, 10 BB, 6 K, 3.00 WHIP, .345 BAA (6 2/3 IP) Lares did not make an appearance in week four after having a bit of a rough go his last time out. He’ll look to rebound in week five. LHP Ross Dunn Week (1 start): 2 1/3 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K Overall (through 11/1): 0-2, 21.00 ERA, 9 BB, 9 K, 3.33 WHIP, .457 BAA (9 IP) Dunn got the starting nod in Thursday’s blowout loss to the Mesa Solar Sox, but it didn’t begin that badly for the southpaw. He worked around a pair of singles in the top of the first by picking up a strikeout. In the second he set the Solar Sox down one-two-three, ending the frame with another K. With the score 1-0 Rafters he was back out for the third inning, and that’s where things went pear-shaped. He got the first batter on a groundout, but the next reached base on a single before a two-run homer put Mesa out front for good. A walk, single, double, and another walk spelled the end of his outing, and all four of those runners would end up crossing home plate. He finished with six earned runs allowed on six hits and a pair of walks in 2 1/3 innings. LHP Cleiber Maldonado Week (2 appearances): 2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Overall (through 11/1): 0-0, 10.13 ERA, 3 BB, 8 K, 2.44 WHIP, .385 BAA (5 1/3 IP) Maldonado made his first appearance of the week in Monday’s win over Surprise, entering the game with two outs in the top of the eighth inning with runners on second and third. He walked the bases loaded and allowed a run to score on a wild pitch, but escaped without any further damage. In the top of the ninth he struck out the leadoff man before allowing a single and an RBI double. He got the next man to ground out before another call to the bullpen. He next pitched in Thursday’s loss to Mesa, coming into the game in the middle of the fourth inning with the score 8-4 Solar Sox. He inherited a pair of runners, who both scored on a double from the first batter he faced. He then picked up a strikeout and flyout to end the inning. Back out for the fifth he hit a batter, got a grounder, and then allowed four straight singles to end his outing with Mesa up 12-4. LHP Jake Murray Week (1 appearance): 2/3 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 1 K Overall (through 11/1): 1-0, 3.00 ERA, 6 BB, 3 K, 2.33 WHIP, .111 BAA (3 IP) Murray was called upon for relief work on Halloween, entering the game to begin the sixth inning against the Surprise Saguaros. He retired the first two hitters he faced, including one via a strikeout, but then walked the next four hitters in a row to put the opposition's second run on the scoreboard and end his appearance one batter before the game was called. RHP Brian Zeldin Week (2 appearances): 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Overall (through 11/1): 1-0, 2.45 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, .278 BAA, 0 BB, 3 K (3 2/3 IP) Zeldin made a pair of appearances during the week, including Monday’s blowout win, and Thursday's blowout loss. He relieved his teammate Maldonado with two outs in the ninth against the Saguaros on Monday, ending the game with a strikeout. He also finished Friday’s game against the Solar Sox with a scoreless ninth inning. He gave up a leadoff double and committed a throwing error, but nonetheless came out unscathed by retiring all three other hitters he faced. OF Jacob McCombs Week (did not play): McCombs has yet to see the field for the Salt River Rafters this season, but the hope is that he will be able to take the field soon with his fellow prospects! C Enrique Jimenez Week (3 games): 2-for-8, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 5 K Overall (through 11/1): .125/.300/.250 (.550 OPS) The Twins catching prospect made it into three games during the week, though two of those appearances came as a pinch hitter. His lone start came on Monday, where he served as the designated hitter and batted ninth in the lineup. He finished 2-for-6 to pick up his first hits of the AFL season, including an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, and bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the eighth to give the Rafters their 20 runs. I hate to have to mention he also struck out four times. On Thursday with the game well out of hand, he pinch hit in the bottom of the seventh inning, and went down swinging. With Salt River leading by 10 on Halloween, he pinch hit for AFL standout Jack O’Dowd in the top of the sixth, flying out to right field. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the Twins prospects playing in the AFL this week! Image courtesy of Jean Pfiefer (photo Kyle DeBarge and Kaelen Culpepper) View full article

I'd give him the qualifying offer, and I don't think it should be that hard of a decision. I think it is more likely he declines it and tests the waters. It's not something the player gets to sit on over the entire offseason while fielding any other offers. He has to accept or decline within 10 days. Then there isn't really anything negative about him accepting it, in my opinion. There are no bad 1-year contracts, as they say.

This version of it is certainly pretty extreme. I've said before that I like the intent, but the execution is way off and it is a major blow to strategy. Professional baseball players should be able to adjust a lot better than they have been made to, IMO. But overall, I don't think this one will gain any legs. Certainly not in this format.

Game Results: Tuesday, 10/20 | Salt River 10, Peoria 11 Wednesday, 10/21 | Salt River 7, Scottsdale 5 (7 innings) Thursday, 10/22 | Scottsdale 15, Salt River 8 Saturday, 10/24 | Surprise 5, Salt River 3 The Salt River Rafter won just one of their four games during the week, but remained within a game of first place in the standings after week three. They split a home-and-home series with the Scottsdale Scorpions, and fell in close games with the Peoria Javelinas and Surprise Saguaros in their other contests. Week 3’s top performers per MLB.com again did not feature any of the Twins prospects, but it did include three of their teammates, including one who is on an impressive power binge. One of the Twins hitters does lead the league in runs scored, while also ranking highly in batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. OF Yasser Mercedes Week (3 games): 4-for-11, 1 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 SB (3) Overall (through 10/25): .325/.400/.525 (.925 OPS) Mercedes batted in the heart of the Rafters order in all three of his games on the week, including number three in the lineup on Wednesday against Scottsdale. He played right field in two games, and left field in the other. He had a hit in all three games, and drove in one run in two of them. He finished 2-for-3 with a run scored, RBI, and outfield assist in their win against the Scorpions. In the top of the first he reached base on a two-out single then stole second base. In the top of the fifth he added another single and he would later score on a double to make it 3-1. He tacked on a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth that made it 7-1 Rafters at the time. IF Kyle DeBarge Week (3 games): 4-for-10, 5 R, HR (2), 1 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, SB (5) Overall (through 10/25): .366/.509/.610 (1.119 OPS) DeBarge finished week two with an OPS above 1.000, but managed to increase it even further after week three. He played in three games including two in center field, and one at third base. He batted third in the lineup twice, and second in the other. Like Mercedes, he had at least one hit in each of his games. In Tuesday’s game against the Javelinas he finished 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. In the top of the seventh his second home run of the AFL season tied the game at nine. In Thursday’s loss against the Scorpions he scored three runs by reaching base in four of five trips to the batters box, going 1-for-2 with three walks. He closed his week with a 1-for-4 effort on Saturday, also stealing his fifth base. LHP Cesar Lares Week (1 appearance): 1 1/3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K Overall (through 10/25): 0-0, 13.50 ERA, 10 BB, 6 K, 3.00 WHIP, .345 BAA (6 2/3 IP) Lares lone appearance on the week came in Thursday’s tilt with the Scottsdale Scorpions to begin the top of the sixth inning. The Scorpions were already in front 5-2, but by the time his outing was over they would double their run total. Lares allowed one run in the sixth, and four in the seventh before he was lifted by the manager. He needed 58 pitches (34 for strikes) to record four outs. LHP Ross Dunn Week (1 start): 2 1/3 IP, 5 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, 2 K Overall (through 10/25): 0-1, 20.25 ERA, 7 BB, 7 K, 3.30 WHIP, .455 BAA (6 2/3 IP) Dunn made the start for the Rafters on Tuesday against Peoria and battled into the third inning. A leadoff triple in the first led to a run scored, while a leadoff walk in the second was followed by a home run that tied the game at three. In the third things went fully off the rails as three singles, a walk, and hit-by-pitch resulted in a call to the bullpen. That led into a three-run homer to make it 9-3 Javelinas at the time, with two of those runs counting against Dunn’s stat line. 28 of his 46 pitches went for strikes (61%). LHP Cleiber Maldonado Week (1 appearance): Save (1), 1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K Overall (through 10/25): 0-0, 2.70 ERA, 2 BB, 6 K, 1.50 WHIP, .231 BAA (3 1/3 IP) Maldonado closed out the Rafters lone win on the week, taking over in the seventh inning on Wednesday against Scottsdale. He struck out the first batter of the inning on a 96.3 MPH fastball on the outside corner, before walking the next batter to bring the tying run into the batters box. But he induced a game-ending double-play ball to pick up his first save of the AFL season. LHP Jake Murray Week (1 appearance): 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 K Overall (through 10/25): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 BB, 2 K, 1.29 WHIP, .143 BAA (2 1/3 IP) Murray took the Brian Zeldin mantle for the week, recording just one out in his lone appearance, which came in Tuesday’s battle with Peoria. With two outs and two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh with the game tied at nine, he was brought on to face a fellow lefty. Unfortunately he gave up a RBI double that put the Javelinas in front, but did strike out the next batter to end the inning. RHP Brian Zeldin Week (1 appearance): 1 IP, 4 H, 4 R (1 ER) Overall (through 10/25): 1-0, 3.86 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, .333 BAA, 0 BB, 2 K (2 1/3 IP) Zeldin made his first appearance recording more than one out in Wednesday’s win over the Scorpions. He was tasked with the sixth inning while the Rafters were leading 7-1. He got the first batter on a flyout, but then allowed three consecutive singles to load the bases. Then an error allowed the first two runs of the inning to score, and then an RBI groundout and RBI single cut the Rafters lead to two before he got the final out of the inning. OF Jacob McCombs Week (did not play): McCombs has yet to see the field for the Salt River Rafters this season, but the hope is that he will be able to take the field soon with his fellow prospects! C Enrique Jimenez Week (1 game): 0-for-2, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K Overall (through 10/25): .000/.333/.000 (.333 OPS) Jimenez served as the DH on Thursday against the Scorpions, and batted ninth in the lineup. He didn’t pick up his first hit in AFL play but did draw a pair of walks. The second of those came in the bottom of the eighth inning with the Rafters attempting to mount a comeback. After DeBarge drew a walk two-batters behind him the bases were loaded, and all three runners scored on a bases-clearing triple that made it 12-8 Scorpions. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the Twins prospects playing in the AFL this week! Image courtesy of Colby Gaines, Cedar Rapids Kernels (photo of Kyle DeBarge) View full article

The pitching in the AFL used to be a lot better, but teams have basically abandoned the idea that it is to a pitching prospect's benefit to throw any innings there, and it has skewed more towards pitchers currently at lower levels of the minors. The exceptions are starting pitchers who missed a lot of time to injury. Jarlin Susana of the Rafters, for example, hit the disabled list in Spring Training and wasn't back on the mound until August this year. That's why he is there. But don't discount the guys the guys that are sent, either. It's not uncommon for them to be seen in the majors. Kody Funderburk, Cody Laweryson, Evan Sisk, and Jovani Moran are examples from the Twins.

From the summary it looks like Dixon maxed out at 96.8 MPH, while Susana was consistently 100+, topping out at 101.6 MPH

You (and any other readers!) are welcome! This league has been a special interest of mine for a long time and I look forward to doing them every year!

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Kyle DeBarge) Game Results: Tuesday, 10/13 | Salt River 6, Glendale 5 (10 innings) Wednesday, 10/14 | Salt River 3, Mesa 7 Thursday, 10/15 | Mesa 14, Salt River 9 (10 innings) Friday, 10/16 | Peoria 10, Salt River 0 Saturday, 10/17 | Salt River 5, Mesa 0 (7 innings) Monday, 10/19 | Glendale 2, Salt River 7 After a solid opening week where they finished 5-2, the Salt River Rafters cooled down a little in week two, going 3-3 in their six games and sit one game back of the lead in the standings at 8-5. They were on the giving and receiving end of a shutout in two of those games, both won and lost an extra inning affair in two others, and had to reschedule Monday’s contest against Mesa for their off day on Wednesday. The top performers of the week according to MLB.com did not feature any of the Twins prospects, but you would be hard-pressed to find a better single game performance than what one of them did in Thursday’s loss against the Mesa Solar Sox. Two of their hitters also carry OPS’s above 1.000 as of 10/19. OF Yasser Mercedes Week (4 games): 5-for-13, 3 R, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 6 K, 2 SB (2) Overall (through 10/19): .310/.421/.586 (1.007 OPS) Mercedes roamed the outfield for the Rafters in four of their six games included in this week’s report, spending at least one game in each of the three outfield positions. He continued to bat in the top or middle of the lineup as well. In Tuesday’s extra-inning win over Glendale he reached base four times, scored two runs, and stole two bases, finishing 1-for-2 with three walks. In Thursday’s extra-inning affair against Mesa he went 2-for-5 with a triple in the seventh that drove in a run to pull the Rafters within one in the seventh. He followed that up with an RBI single in the eighth to give Salt River the lead at the time. In Monday’s win over Glendale he added another triple in the bottom of the seventh inning that scored his Twins teammate for their seventh and final run of the game. He finished this one 2-for-3 and drove in two. IF Kyle DeBarge Week (4 games): 6-for-14, 6 R, 2B, HR (1), 4 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 SB (4) Overall (through 10/19): .355/.488/.581 (1.069 OPS) DeBarge appears to have earned his coaches’ trust, as he batted third in the lineup in three of his four games, and leadoff in the other. He served as the DH in two of them, then played second base and center field in the others. He put on a hitting clinic on Thursday, reaching base all five times he came to the plate. He drew a walk leading off the bottom of the first for the Rafters. An errant pickoff throw and passed ball put him on third, then he scored their first run on a single. His two-out single in the bottom of the second scored their second run of the game, then another RBI single in the fourth cut the Solar Sox lead to one, before he scored the tying run on a double from the next hitter. He added another single in the sixth before putting a bow on his game with a one-out double in the eighth. He then scored the go-ahead run before Mesa was to pull out the victory in the ninth and tenth innings. On Monday DeBarge again crossed home plate three times, and drove in two. Both of those RBI came in the bottom of the first inning as he hit his first home run in AFL play, it was just of the inside-the-park variety. LHP Cesar Lares Week (1 appearance): 2 IP, 1 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 1 K Overall (through 10/19): 0-0, 8.44 ERA, 7 BB, 5 K, 2.06 WHIP, .211 BAA (5 1/3 IP) Lares made a start for the Rafters in week one, but was used as a long-reliever in his lone appearance of week two. That came in Friday’s shutout loss to Peoria, where he came on to start the fourth inning with the score 4-0 Javelinas. It was 8-0 by the time he got out of the fifth inning. He walked the first three batters he faced, before giving up a two-run double, an RBI groundout, and a sac fly. Back out for the sixth he worked around a two-out walk, the fifth of his outing, by retiring all three other hitters including one on a strikeout. LHP Ross Dunn Week (1 start): 2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K Overall (through 10/19): 0-1, 14.54 ERA, 4 BB, 5 K, 3.23 WHIP, .455 BAA (4 1/3 IP) Dunn’s lone appearance came in Wednesday’s loss to Mesa, and it was as the starting pitcher for Salt River. He worked around multiple baserunners in the first by inducing an inning-ending double-play ball, then picked up a pair of strikeouts in the second. In things that will confuse you if you don’t pay enough attention to the play-by-play or AFL rules, he did not record the final out of the second inning (another Twins pitcher did), but was back on the mound to begin the third inning, where he recorded just one out (on a K) before loading the bases and ending his outing after six total outs. Those three runners would end up charged to him as the Solar Sox took a 4-1 lead after that. LHP Cleiber Maldonado Week (1 appearance): 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Overall (through 10/19): 0-0, 3.86 ERA, 1 BB, 5 K, 1.71 WHIP, .273 BAA (2 1/3 IP) Maldonado saw action in Thursday’s loss to Mesa, inheriting a runner on first with one out in the top of the eighth and the score 8-7 Rafters. Unfortunately, the second pitch he threw was lined over the head of the center fielder for a triple to tie the game at eight, before he picked up a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning. LHP Jake Murray Week (1 appearance): 1 IP, 1 BB Overall (through 10/19): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 BB, 1 K, 1.00 WHIP, .000 BAA (2 IP) Murray also made his one appearance on the week on Thursday, coming in to start the fourth inning with Salt River down 5-2. He walked the first batter he faced, but still pitched to only three hitters as he coaxed an inning-ending double-play ball after a flyout. He threw just nine pitches, with five of them going for strikes. RHP Brian Zeldin Week (2 appearances): 2/3 IP, 1 K Overall (through 10/19): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, .000 BAA, 0 BB, 2 K (1 1/3 IP) In trends I want to see continue just for the weird fun of it, Zeldin again made two pitching appearances on the week, with each of them only lasting for one out. In Wednesday’s loss to Mesa he was summoned in relief of Dunn for the final out of the bottom of the second inning. He got a ground ball out on his second pitch, and Dunn re-entered the game in the third. In Saturday’s revenge win over Mesa, he pitched in the bottom of the first inning, serving in the same exact role as Wednesday. He recorded the final out of the frame, this one via a strikeout, before the starting pitcher then re-entered the game to begin the second inning. OF Jacob McCombs Week (did not play): McCombs has yet to see the field for the Salt River Rafters this season, but it does appear he is with the team. Hopefully that means he will be able to take the field soon with his fellow prospects! C Enrique Jimenez Week (3 games): 0-for-6, RBI, 2 BB, 4 K Overall (through 10/19): .000/.250/.000 (.250 OPS) In the ever-growing category of “odd things that go on during the Arizona Fall League season,” Twins catcher Enrique Jimenez was added to the Rafters roster this week. He appeared in three games, serving as the first baseman, designated hitter, and came in as a substitute for the catcher in the other. While he didn’t pick up any hits, he did drive in a run on Thursday with a groundout and drew a walk in both of his other games. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the Twins prospects playing in the AFL this week! View full article