Mining Athletics’ prospects during Arizona Fall League
Expect to see these talents in Las Vegas sooner, not later
Just a quick drive south, some of Major League Baseball’s brightest young talents are fanned out across the Phoenix area, competing in the six-week Arizona Fall League.
Count MLB’S top prospect, third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., among them, as well as former 51s first baseman Peter Alonso and seven Athletics prospects, including some who could be playing in Las Vegas sooner rather than later.
Here’s an update of Athletics prospects participating in the AFL as of Saturday:
Eli White, INF
White, 24, is the highest-ranked prospect the Athletics sent to the AFL this year, coming in at No. 18 on the Mlbpipeline list.
The infielder, who could be ticketed for Triple-a next season, is hitting .303/.410/.394 in eight games with the Mesa Solar Sox.
In 130 games at Double-a last year, White hit .306/.388/.450 with nine home runs and 55 RBIS.
Skye Bolt, OF
Bolt, a 24-year-old outfielder, is the team’s No. 30 prospect and played in 78 games for Double-a Midland to finish off last season.
Bolt, who was a collegiate star at North Carolina, got off to a hot start in the AFL, going 8-for-24 in his first six games.
He currently is hitting with .250 with a pair of home runs and two triples in nine games.
Luis Barrera, OF
Barrera, another outfielder, also cracked Double-a Midland a year ago. While there, Berrera hit .328/.378/.450 in 36 games.
In Fall League, Barrera is hitting 5-for-30 (.167) in eight games.
Angel Duno, RHP
Duno, a 24-year-old righty, spent the whole season in the bullpen at Class-a Advanced after starting during his previous professional seasons.
He went 5-4 with a 2.62 ERA in 48 appearances, which spanned 65⅓ innings. He struck out 66 and walked 17.
He currently has a 9.64 ERA through four games and 4⅔ innings, giving up five runs, though two of his four appearances have been scoreless.
Jake Bray, RHP
Bray spent most of the season at Class-a Advanced, though he appeared in just 17 games all season, missing more than two months with an injury.
He made eight starts this year after working mostly as a reliever throughout the minors.
Bray posted a 4.62 ERA across two levels last season but a year before, posted a 3.88 ERA and struck out an impressive 82 batters in 51 innings.
In the AFL, he currently has a 1.35 ERA through 6⅔ innings, allowing just two hits in five appearances.
Sam Sheehan, RHP
Sheehan also spent his season with the Class-a Advanced Stockton Ports, going 3-2 with a 4.32 ERA in 50 innings out of the bullpen a year after posting a 2.21 ERA at Single-a.
Sheehan has a 3.00 ERA in four games so far out of the bullpen for the Solar Sox, though he has walked 10 in just six innings pitched.
Calvin Coker, RHP
Coker, a 15th-round draft pick in 2018, spent most of his season pitching in rookie ball, though he did make an appearance in the New York-penn League and two appearances with the Triple-a Nashville Sounds.
Across the three levels, he posted a 3.97 ERA in 16 games, with one start. He was a late add to the fall league roster after fellow pitcher Grant Holmes was sidelined with an injury.
Coker has a 1.23 ERA with eight strikeouts across 7⅓ innings pitched while in Arizona.
Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal. com. Follow @Betsyhelfand on Twitter.