1B Chris McGuiness, 1B Jonathan Singleton First 2012 Arizona Fall League Co-Players of the Week
Phoenix, Arizona — A pair of promising first basemen — Surprise Saguaros Chris McGuiness (Rangers) and Mesa Solar Sox Jonathan Singleton (Astros) — have been named the Arizona Fall League’s week one co-players of the week.
McGuiness — The Charleston, SC native hit .389 (7–18) with 2 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 6 RBI and 15 total bases.
His first-week performance ranked him in the league lead for extra-base hits (4) and tied for second in home runs, RBI and total bases.
A 13th-round (408th overall) selection by Boston in the 2009 draft out of The Citadel, McGuiness was traded to Texas in July, 2010 in a package that sent catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2005 Pheonix Desert Dogs, 2006 Peoria Javelinas) to the Red Sox. McGuiness hit .268 with 23 home runs and 77 RBI in 123 games in 2012 at Double-A Frisco.
In his four-year minor-league career, he has hit .260 with 51 homers and 212 RBI.
Singleton — Rated 26th in MLB.com’s current list of Top 100 prospects, Singleton hit .350 (7–20) with 7 runs, 1 double, 1 triples, 2 home runs, 5 RBI and 16 total bases last week.
He finished week one as the Fall League leader in games played and total bases, second in home runs, and fourth in RBI.
The Phillies’ eighth-round (257th overall) selection in the 2009 draft, Singleton was traded to Houston with three other prospects for outfielder Hunter Pence (2006 Mesa Solar Sox) in July, 2011. A 2012 Futures Game participant, Singleton .284 with 21 home runs and 79 RBI in 131 games for Double-A Corpus Christi in 2012.
He owns a .291 career average over four minor-league seasons with 50 homers and 231 RBI.
Arizona Fall League — Known throughout professional baseball as a finishing school for Major League Baseball’s elite prospects, the Arizona Fall League is a six-team league owned and operated by MLB. It plays six days per week (Monday-Saturday) at six spring-training stadiums in the Phoenix metropolitan area — Mesa HoHoKam Stadium (Mesa Solar Sox), Peoria Sports complex (Peoria Javelinas), Phoenix Municipal Stadium (Phoenix Desert Dogs), Salt River Fields at Talking Stick (Salt River Rafters) Scottsdale Stadium (Scottsdale Scorpions) and Surprise Stadium (Surprise Saguaros)
This year’s schedule features the seventh annual Rising Stars Game on Saturday, November 3 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick and the annual championship game on Saturday, November 17 at Scottsdale Stadium.
The Salt River Rafters are the defending champions.