Arizona Fall League + Winter League Thread

Scorpions lose 7-1 with jpx7 officially scouting the game for the Chop Country website. He was one of the 535 rowdies in the stands for the game.

Cal Conley was the only Braves' prospect to see action. Line: 0/2, 2 BB, 1 K. Leads the league in doubles with 4. Has five total hits on the season. Currently striking out at a 32% rate in league action, which one hopes is a function of sample size. K-rate is well above his minor league rates.
 
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50PoundHead said:
Gwinnett's manager for the 2022 season--Matt Tuiasosopo is the Scorpians' manager, so he's probably getting a good assessment on Malloy and how he fits in the big league team's plans. It may be a good idea to give Malloy some time at 1B given the Braves really don't have a decent 1B prospect in the system right now and a little versatility would both help Malloy and provide a reasonable back-up for Olson and give him a breather against some LHPs. I don't go overboard on minor league fielding percentages because the fields and lighting aren't the best. Riley didn't become a consistent > .900 fielding percentage guy until he hit AAA. And I fully realize that fielding percentage provides a very incomplete picture of a guy's capabilities. But if Malloy's development with the bat continue, he'll likely find his way to the major leagues.

In another note, I see Braves' classic minor league three-outcome guy Cade Bunnell has joined the Scottsdale roster.
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Man if Bunnell could cut down on those K's though he'd be a solid UT player. He's Rule 5 eligible and I've wondered if we'd protect him or not.
 
Chico said:
Man if Bunnell could cut down on those K's though he'd be a solid UT player. He's Rule 5 eligible and I've wondered if we'd protect him or not.
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Bunnell is a very interesting story. 40th round draft pick in 2019 out of the University of Indiana. He played his freshman season at Kansas State University, transferred to Madison (WI) Tech College for his sophomore year, and then played two years at the University of Indiana. Only decent statistical season he had was his year in JC ball at Madison Tech, where he had a .988 OPS. His combined OPS at the other two stops was .552. It can sometimes be a puzzle as to why guys with that statistical profile are drafted and my only explanation is that one of the area scouts--probably the guy who watched him at the JC level--really pushed for him.

Interesting pro career. You don't see many guys perform remarkably better as they move up the ladder, but Bunnell's numbers at Mississippi this past summer were much better than the numbers at his previous stops (2019-FCL/2021-Augustra/2022 pre-Mississippi Rome). Small sample size for sure, but maybe something happened. Good power, great walk rate, still Ks a ton. Has played every IF position during his minor league career. Who knows? Not going to call him a longshot out of respect for how difficult baseball is to play, but his performance at Mississippi makes him at least mildly interesting and they are probably trying to determine if his performance at Mississippi is a mirage or the sign of him turning a corner of sorts. All that said, I doubt he'll be on the 40-man roster, but then again, I never thought they'd put Woods on the 40-man after last season.
 
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Just when we comment on Malloy's improving K-rate, he strikes out twice.

Scorpions fall to 3-5 losing to the Javelinas 10-6.

Malloy: 1/4, 1 R, 1 2B (3), 2 Ks. Currently slashing .368/.556/.526/1.082
Conley: 1/2, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB (3), 2 BB, 1 K. Currently slashing .273/.385/.455/.839
Segal: 1/3 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K. ERA jumps to 9.00.
 
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Scorpions' tail-spin continues with a 7-5 loss to the Salt River Rafters. It was the Rafters' first win of the season.

A lot of Braves' participation.

Malloy: 2/5, 1 2B, 1 K.
Bunnell makes his debut (at SS) with a very Bunnellesque line: 1/3, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K.
Winans: 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Woods: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 BS
 
msstate7 said:
Is it time to get excited about Malloy?
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Given his 2022 performance in Rome and Mississippi and that carrying through in an admittedly small sample size in Arizona, he's probably played himself into being a non-roster invite for spring training in 2023. I don't know if that qualifies as excitement, but I think he's put himself in a position to make some noise.
 
Scorpions break their losing skid with a 14-8 win over the Saguaros.

Big night for Cal Conley: 2/4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 3B, 1 SB (4) 2 BB, 1 K
Malloy: 1/3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Bunnell: 0/5, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Smith: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K

In non-Braves AFL news, it's good to see Heston Kjerstad back on the field and playing well for the Scorpions. Kjerstad was the second overall pick by the Orioles in 2020 out of the University of Arkansas, but was diagnosed with myocarditis that kept him out all of 2021 and for the first month-and-a-half of 2022. He's raking in the AFL, leading the league with 3 HRs and 11 RBIs. That's a bit misleading because he's playing every day and a number of other highly-ranked performers are not, but it is a feel-good story and great news for the Orioles.

Mexican Pacific League season is underway. I will try to find rosters to see if any Braves' prospects are participating.
 
50PoundHead said:
Scorpions break their losing skid with a 14-8 win over the Saguaros.

Big night for Cal Conley: 2/4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 3B, 1 SB (4) 2 BB, 1 K
Malloy: 1/3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Bunnell: 0/5, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Smith: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K

In non-Braves AFL news, it's good to see Heston Kjerstad back on the field and playing well for the Scorpions. Kjerstad was the second overall pick by the Orioles in 2020 out of the University of Arkansas, but was diagnosed with myocarditis that kept him out all of 2021 and for the first month-and-a-half of 2022. He's raking in the AFL, leading the league with 3 HRs and 11 RBIs. That's a bit misleading because he's playing every day and a number of other highly-ranked performers are not, but it is a feel-good story and great news for the Orioles.

Mexican Pacific League season is underway. I will try to find rosters to see if any Braves' prospects are participating.
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Thanks for the updates 50.
 
Scorpions get the second straight win with a 2-0 victory over the Desert Dogs in a 7-inning tilt.

Conley the only Braves' prospect to see action today. 0/2, 1 BB, 1 HBP.
 
Break up the Scorpions! They win their third straight with a 10-6 over the Javelinas.

Five Braves' prospects get in the game.

Malloy (starting at DH): 1/4, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Bunnell (starting at SS): 1/2, 3 RBI, 1 SF, 1 K
Conley (mid-game sub at SS): 0/0, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SB (6)
Segal: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 K 25 pitches, 11 strikes
Smith: 1 IP, 2 K
 
Scorpions sting Peoria 6-4 for their 4th straight win.

Big, big, big day for Cal Conley: 3/5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 HR (1), 1 SB (7), 1 CS (1), 1 K. Now at .333 BA with 1.094 OPS.
Malloy entered game as defensive replacement in LF after starter got ejected. No stat line.
Woods: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HRA, 2 K. ERA now sits at 9.00 after being slightly higher in the stratosphere.
 
From Keith Law on Malloy

showing better off-speed recognition and ridiculous strength, driving a slider from a right-hander (so he didn’t have the platoon advantage) to right-center for a hard-hit double and turning on average velocity whenever he saw it. I didn’t get him against plus velocity, but didn’t see any issues with his bat speed. I’m surprised he only hit 16 homers this year because everything I saw him hit was loud.
 
Chico said:
From Keith Law on Malloy

showing better off-speed recognition and ridiculous strength, driving a slider from a right-hander (so he didn’t have the platoon advantage) to right-center for a hard-hit double and turning on average velocity whenever he saw it. I didn’t get him against plus velocity, but didn’t see any issues with his bat speed. I’m surprised he only hit 16 homers this year because everything I saw him hit was loud.
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It’d be insane if we hit on Malloy too.
 
How do you spank a Scorpion? Very carefully, but obviously thoroughly as the Salt River Rafters clobber the Scorpions 9-1.

The good days for the Braves on Monday turned sour on Tuesday with a cavalcade of strikeouts.

Conley: 0/4, 3 K, 1 E (4)
Bunnell: 0/3, 3 K
Malloy: 0/4, 2 K
Winans was the tough luck loser: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HRA.

They broadcast the game at milb.com, but it was only a two camera broadcast (cf and home plate press box views), so it was nigh on impossible to really get an idea of what was happening on the field. They did have a radar gun and Winans was usually sitting high-80s with a couple of low-90s thrown in. Pitch clock was in play, so it was "chuck and duck."
 
Scorpions and Solar Sox fight to the end in an 8-8 10-inning tie.

Malloy only Braves' player in the starting line-up. 1/5, 2 K
Two Braves' pitchers see action. Smith, 1 IP, 2 BB, 1 K and Segal, 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP. Big improvement for Segal was throwing more strikes than balls. 35 pitches, 22 strikes.

PS--Former Braves' first-round draft pick Ryan Cusick who went to the A's in the Olson deal was the starter for the Solar Sox. 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. He's shaking off the rust after an injury-hampered year and this was his worst outing of the three he's had in the AFL. Has obvious control issues, but when you hit 100 on the gun, there's something to work with.
 
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