Twins 2017 Arizona Fall League review

I regret to inform you that the Arizona Fall League is now over, and baseball is now totally dead for the year. Seven Twins prospects participate this year, playing for the Surprise Saguaros. The Saguaros ended up with a 13-17 record, which put them in fifth place in the six-team league. Not last place! Woo!

Let’s take a look at how each of the seven Twins prospects did this fall.

Tyler Jay - LHP

9.2 IP, 5.59 ERA, 11 K, 5 BB, 1.86 WHIP

As the sixth overall pick in the 2015 MLB draft, Tyler Jay was the biggest name the Twins sent down to Arizona this year. He was limited to just 11.2 innings during the regular season due to injury, so the AFL was a way for him to play catch up.

Though his numbers aren’t the prettiest, it sounds like Jay had a successful fall. Several writers and scouts were impressed by Jay, with Keith Law noting that his stuff looked “electric” and one former major league pitcher being particularly impressed with his slider. He was the only Twins prospect to make the AFL All-Star team, and towards the end of the AFL season, he told Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press that he felt something “click” (in a good way).

LaMonte Wade - CF

.238/.351/.413, 2 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B, 10 SO, 9 BB

LaMonte Wade did well this fall at what he does best — get on base. His nine walks tied him for second on the Saguaros, even though Wade didn’t play at all the final week after suffering a concussion in an on-field collision on November 11th.

Chris Paul - 1B/3B

.292/.329/.444, 2 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B, 20 SO, 3 BB

Not a bad fall for our friend Chris Paul! Paul proved he could hit a bit, winning the Bowman Hitting Challenge (a real thing) and posting the seventh highest batting average on the Saguaros. The main struggle for our two first-name friend was those strikeouts. His 20 were the third most on the team.

Andrew Vasquez - LHP

12.2 IP, 1.42 ERA, 14 K, 5 BB, 1.11 WHIP

Andrew Vasquez is a strikeout machine! Look at that: 14 strikeouts, averaging more than one per inning. Though he did end up hitting three batters, tying him for the most of any pitcher on the Saguaros, you have to admit those strikeouts are impressive — especially for a pitcher who hasn’t played above High-A, as most of the competition in the AFL has.

Ryan Eades - RHP

13.2 IP, 0.66 ERA, 13 K, 3 BB, 1.24 WHIP

Ryan Eades had a pretty successful fall (though it wasn’t enough for him to make the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft). He gave up only one earned run the entire fall on a solo home run to Dodgers prospect DJ Peters.

Tom Hackimer - RHP

11.2 IP, 2.31 ERA, 10 K, 7 BB, 1.29 WHIP

The side-arming righty got off to a little bit of a rocky start before settling down and finishing the AFL on a high note. Like Vasquez, Hackimer hit three batters and also issued a lot of walks, which he needs to work on limiting next season.

Sean Miller - SS/2B

.255/.293/.273, 0 HR, 0 3B, 1 2B, 10 SO, 3 BB

Though he had a week or so this fall where he got a bunch of hits, Sean Miller otherwise had a pretty uneventful fall. He only played in 15 games, which is the fewest of all the Twins batters this year.