Gonzales, Contreras heading to fall league
Seven of the Pirates’ top prospects will represent the franchise in the Arizona Fall League starting later this month, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday.
That group includes Nick Gonzales, Roansy Contreras, Michael Burrows, Carmen Mlodzinski, Ji-Hwan Bae, Miguel Yajure and Canaan Smith-Njigba.
All will suit up for the Peoria Javelinas, which is one of six teams in the league. The Braves, Mariners, Padres and Phillies also contribute players to the Javelinas roster. In addition to those seven, HighA Greensboro manager Kieran Mattison will be part of the coaching staff.
Gonzales, a second baseman drafted in the first round last summer, is the Pirates’ fourth-rated prospect by MLB Pipeline. He recently completed his first full season with the Grasshoppers. Contreras, a right-handed pitcher ranked No. 6, made his MLB debut the last week of the season. He pitched extremely well across two levels — Class AA and Class AAA — this summer.
Yajure, another pitcher who was part of the Jameson Taillon deal, made four appearances with the big club — two early, two late, separated by some issues with his right forearm. Contreras missed time with something similar.
Mlodzinski, a third pitcher, was taken the compensatory round in 2020, the pick after Gonzales. He spent most of the year at High-A Greensboro, although he did come up to Class AAA Indianapolis late. He’s ranked 10th.
Burrows ( pitcher) is ranked 14th by MLB Pipeline and spent the year at High-A Greensboro. Smith-Njigba (outfield) — also in the Taillon deal — spent the bulk of this season with Class AA Altoona and was part of the late-season promotions to Class AAA.
The AFL season opens Wednesday. There’s a Fall Stars Game on Nov. 13 and a championship game scheduled for Nov. 20. Both will be shown on MLB Network and online. Teams play a total of 30 games.
Some experimental rules will occur during the AFL, including a clock for the time between pitches, inning breaks and pitching changes. The defensive team also must have four players on the infield, two on either side of second base.
Bases will be 18 inches square, up from the normal 15, while the Automated BallStrike System (“ABS”) will also be used.
Overall, four of MLB’s top 17 prospects will play in the AFL and 17 of the top 100. Gonzales is the only top 100 entrant for the Pirates — they have five — going to Arizona.
Among the 17 top 100 guys, a league-high five will play for Peoria, which plays its games at Peoria Sports Complex in the Phoenix suburbs.