10/28 Diamondbacks Arizona Fall League Report

In the shadow of the World Series, the Arizona Fall League rolls on. The league is about to enter its fourth week of play with the Salt River Rafters sporting a 7-9 record, 3 1/2 games back of the division-leading Mesa Solar Sox. The Rafters, with seven members of the Arizona Diamondbacks farm system on the team, defeated the Peoria Javelinas 20-0 on Saturday.  Ouch.

Nick Ahmed:  The smooth-fielding shortstop contributed a home run in the above-mentioned rout and has started to pick it up a little bit with the bat. He has hit in five of his past seven games with two of them being the multi-hit variety.  Ahmed’s line is now .242/.359/.333 in 33 at-bats with eight runs scored.

Matt Stites has pitched well lately during Arizona Fall League play. Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Jake Barrett:  Perhaps the D-Backs’ future closer, Barrett got into one game over the past week, picking up the save with a scoreless ninth inning against the Surprise Saguaros. On the season, he has appeared in four games allowing one earned run on three hits while walking four and striking out four.

Mike Freeman: It was deuces wild for the second baseman as he had two hits with two runs scored and two RBI’s in the big win over Peoria. Freeman has 24 at-bats on the season with a line of .250/.367/.333 with four runs batted in. Like Ahmed, he has hit in five out of his last seven games.

Henry Garcia: The replacement on the roster for Andrew Chafin, Garcia has been impressive during his first two outings. In 2 2/3 innings, he has allowed no runs on three hits with five strikeouts and no walks. Both outings came against Peoria so a little change of opponent will be nice for the lefty.

Jake Lamb: Third baseman Lamb has a ten game hitting streak. In 41 at-bats, his line reads .268/.388/.317 with two doubles and three runs batted in. The 17 strikeouts are a little on the high side. The only game Lamb did not get a hit was the first contest of the season.

Bo Schultz: The right hander continues to impress. Schultz leads the AFL in strikeouts with 20 and after a shaky first outing has allowed only one earned run over his next three starts. Since our last report, Schultz pitched ten innings allowing one run on seven hits, issuing only one walk and striking out ten. For the season, he has pitched 18 1/3 innings allowing five runs (three earned) on 14 hits allowing only four walks. Schultz will be an interesting guy to watch in Spring Training with a shot to make the team when the regular season starts.

Matt Stites: Here is another guy that has settled down after an initial rocky beginning. He has not allowed a run in his last four outings covering four innings. Stites did pick up the save against the Glendale Desert Dogs on October 25th working a perfect ninth inning throwing 15 pitches, 10 for strikes.

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