Wednesday's top AFL prospect performers

October 6th, 2022

Here's a look at Wednesday's top performers in the Arizona Fall League from each team's Top 30 Prospects list.

Giants: Luis Matos, OF (No. 3), Scottsdale Scorpions
No one is off to a hotter start in the Fall League than Matos, who is 5-for-14 (.357) and topping the AFL in home runs (two), extra-base hits (four), total bases (14) and RBI (nine). He went yard for the second straight day and added a double and four RBIs against the Javelinas. His blast off Peoria right-hander Christian Scott (Mets No. 28) traveled 405 feet to left-center. He also displayed solid speed, good baserunning aptitude and the ability to stick in center field. Matos' three-run homer gave Scottsdale a 4-1 lead after three innings. More »

Blue Jays: Addison Barger, 3B/SS (No. 13), Salt River Rafters
Barger brought his flex to the desert with a two-homer game. The 22-year-old clobbered a pair of moonshots at Salt River Fields. Barger’s first long ball was a 415-foot three-run shot that got Salt River on the board in the bottom of the first. He followed that up with a 436-foot rocket in the fifth that left the bat at 105.9 mph. In total, he plated five runs with just two swings of the bat. Across three levels of the Minors in 2022 -- which included an eight-game stent with Triple-A Buffalo to conclude the season -- Barger swatted 26 homers and collected 91 RBIs with a .933 OPS over 124 games. More »

Phillies: Johan Rojas, OF (No. 5), Surprise Saguaros
Rojas is no stranger to being a sparkplug at the top of the lineup, and that's exactly what he did again for the Saguaros. The 22-year-old snapped a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the third with what appeared to be a routine RBI single to center field -- instead he turned that hit into a hustle double. He also started a two-run outburst in the fifth with a perfect bunt that died down the third-base line. This after Rojas stole a base and raced to make a sensational diving catch in the outfield to rob Jordan Walker (Cardinals) of extra bases. Rojas finished eighth in the Minors this season with 62 steals in 67 attempts. Through his first three games with Surprise, he has gone 5-for-13 (.385) with a double. More »

Pirates: Henry Davis, C (MLB No. 19), Surprise Saguaros
Davis opened the scoring with a scorcher down the left-field line for an RBI double in the second inning. He scampered home three batters later on an RBI groundout from Blake Sabol. Davis gave the ball a ride to deep center in the fifth, but it was tracked down just in front of the warning track. The 23-year-old still recorded a sacrifice fly on the play as he drove in the Saguaros' fifth run of the game. It's the second straight game with a double for the top-ranked Pirates prospect, and his first RBIs of the Fall League. Davis was limited to 59 games this season due to injuries.

Rays: Mason Auer, OF (No. 12), Mesa Solar Sox
Auer finished a homer shy of the cycle -- ripping a double to left-center in the fifth and a triple to center to begin the seventh, before coming up again later in the frame. He tied a knot on his outing with a two-RBI single that capped the fourth crooked number for the Solar Sox. But his most impressive contribution of the game came in the opening frame. After legging out a botched play at short to reach first successfully, the 21-year-old turned on the jets to steal second and then third. After dancing off of third with an aggressive lead, Auer scampered home on a wild pitch to score without the ball ever leaving the infield. He swiped 48 bags across two levels of the Minors during the regular season.

A's: Lawrence Butler, 1B/OF (No. 14), Mesa Solar Sox
Butler capped a five-run frame by the Solar Sox in the first with a two-run rocket to the berm in right-center field that traveled 415 feet at 105 mph. It's the first dinger of the Fall League for the 22-year-old, who finished with three knocks -- falling a triple shy of the cycle -- and a team-high four RBIs. Butler smoked a ground-rule double down the left-field line in the fourth, worked a five-pitch walk in the sixth, lifted a sacrifice fly to left in the seventh and went right back up the middle for an RBI knock with two outs in the eighth in his final plate appearance. Butler appeared in 81 games with High-A Lansing this season and posted a .270/.357/.468 slash line with 33 extra-base hits and 41 RBIs.