SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Rays No. 17 prospect Joe McCarthy powered the Arizona Fall League's hottest team to another victory on Friday afternoon, with his two-run double in the eighth providing the difference as the Peoria Javelinas defeated the Scottsdale Scorpions 3-1.
• Gameday
2018 Arizona Fall League rosters
A fifth-round pick by the Rays in 2015, when he won a College World Series championship at Virginia, McCarthy went 2-for-4 against the Scorpions to improve his AFL line to .294/.478/.353. A pure hitter with solid power potential and speed to match, he batted .269/.377/.513 with eight homers in 47 games at Triple-A Durham this year but missed 11 weeks with a lower-back injury. He fits best defensively in left field because of his arm, his lone below-average tool.
McCarthy also missed the start of his Draft year following back surgery but says he feels 100 percent healthy now. He said his main concern in the AFL is making up for some of the at-bats he lost and building off a strong finish to his regular season.
"I'm getting a chance to play with a bunch of talented guys from other organizations and pick the brains of these other guys and my teammates, so it's been a cool experience," McCarthy said. "Especially with the time I missed due to injury this season, being able to be out here and get quality at-bats against top competition, it's good for me right now and I'm happy to be here."
In addition to providing him with extra playing time, the Fall League also gave McCarthy a chance to reunite with his younger brother Jake, a supplemental first-round choice by the Diamondbacks out of Virginia in June. Their college careers didn't coincide, but Jake participated in Arizona's instructional league program, which overlapped with the start of the AFL season.
"Before he took off back home, we went out to eat and had a little fun," McCarthy said. "It was good to see him out here.
"The funny thing is, when he was coming up through school and through the Draft process, people would always ask me, 'How good is he?' and I'd be like, 'Hey, I couldn't tell you because we haven't been teammates since we were in high school together.' But it's fun to have him doing this with me. When we go home, I have a workout partner, I've got someone to hang out with and he's also my roommate too now."
Taylor Trammell (Reds), No. 17 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list, provided all of Scottsdale's offense. He tripled in the bottom of the seventh for his first extra-base hit in seven Fall League games, then scored on a wild pitch.
Both starters, Peoria left-hander Anthony Misiewicz (Mariners) and Scottsdale right-hander Tyler Viza (Phillies), opened the game with four scoreless innings of one-hit ball. Along with McCarthy, Lucius Fox (Rays), Keston Hiura (Brewers) and Joe DeCarlo (Mariners) all had two-hit days for the Javelinas, who improved to a league-best 6-3. Scottsdale fell to 5-4 and a half-game behind the Mesa Solar Sox in the East Division race.