Every Monday is an off-day in the Arizona Fall League, so it’s an excellent time to check in on how the Cubs Boys of Autumn are doing out in the desert with the Mesa Solar Sox. The Solar Sox had their
best week of the season so far, going 5-1 and currently sport a four-game winning streak.
Just as a reminder, the Arizona Fall League is a postseason minor league where prospects can get in more work before the winter starts. The Mesa Solar Sox are the team that Cubs prospects play for and the team plays their home games at the Cubs Spring Training home of Sloan Park. The other four teams with players on the Solar Sox this year are the Athletics, Yankees, Marlins and Rays.
For more information, check out the week one, week two and week three updates.
One bit of other minor league news before we get to the Solar Sox. Rawlings handed out the Gold Gloves on Sunday and as noted, three major league Cubs won the honors. But Rawlings also hands out minor league Gold Gloves—just one for each position for all of the minor leagues. So the Cubs can claim another Gold Glove as Knoxville Smokies third baseman Pedro Ramirez was awarded a minor league Gold Glove. Congratulations to him.
The Solar Sox went 5-1 this week and improved their overall record to 11-11. That puts them in third place in the AFL with two weeks to go.
Here are how all six Mesa Solar Sox games went this week. The home team is listed second.
Tuesday, October 28: Glendale Desert Dogs 6, Solar Sox 11.
Wednesday, October 29: Solar Sox 4, Desert Dogs 6.
Thursday, October 30: Solar Sox 6, Salt River Rafters 4.
Friday, October 31: Solar Sox 8, Surprise Saguaros 7.
Saturday, November 1: Desert Dogs 9, Solar Sox 10.
Sunday, November 2: Rafters 5, Solar Sox 6.
Here’s how the Cubs on the Solar Sox did this past week.
Catcher Owen Ayers: Ayers has been a key player for the Solar Sox this year and is firmly entrenched in the second or third spot in the lineup. He played five games this week at three different positions. Three times at catcher, once in right field and once at first base.
On Saturday, Ayers batted second and hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. That was his third home run of the AFL campaign. For the week, Ayers went 4-16 with the home run and six walks. He scored four times this past week and had three total runs batted in.
For the AFL season, Ayers is hitting .358/.528/.604 with four doubles and the three home runs. He has scored 13 runs and driven in 13.
Shortstop Ed Howard: Howard had both his best week of the AFL season and his most interesting week. Howard played in four games this week and all four were at different positions: second base, designated hitter shortstop, and on Sunday, he played left field. That is the first time in his professional career Howard has played in the outfield.
Howard also had a better week at the plate, going 5 for 14 with two walks and two steals. He had three RBI and scored two runs.
Overall, Howard is hitting .243/.364/.270 with a double and three steals. Howard has scored four times and drove in three.
First baseman Cole Mathis: Mathis got off to a great start this week when he connected for a three-run home run in the seventh inning on Tuesday. It was Mathis’ second home run for Mesa and he had five total RBI in Tuesday’s contest. The rest of the week didn’t go as well for Mathis. He played in four games, three at first base and one at third. He went 3 for 14 with two walks and a stolen base. He scored four times and had the five RBI.
So far in Mesa, Mathis is hitting .302/.415/.442 with two home runs and one steal. He has 14 RBI and nine runs scored.
Right-hander Luis Martinez-Gomez: Martinez-Gomez pitched twice this past week and got the win in both games, although in the second one the win came only after he blew a save.
On Thursday, Martinez-Gomez came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh inning and retired the side in order, striking out one. He came back on Sunday and pitched two innings, the seventh and eighth innings. He gave up one run in each inning, including a solo home run in the eighth. But as noted above, Martinez-Gomez got the win because Mesa scored twice in the bottom of the seventh. His line on Sunday was two runs on two hits over two innings. He walked three, hit one batter and struck out five.
Overall, Martinez-Gomez went 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA over 7.1 innings. He’s walked five in that time which isn’t good, but he’s also struck out 14 which is, of course, excellent.
Right-hander Koen Moreno: Moreno started Thursday’s win and gave up just one hit over three innings. Unfortunately that one hit was a leadoff home run in the third inning. Still, he put in a strong outing, allowing just one run on one hit and one walk. Moreno struck out four.
For Mesa, Moreno has pitched 13 innings in three starts and one relief appearance. Moreno is 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA. He’s walked six and struck out 17.
Right-hander Mat Peters: Peters pitched in relief on Tuesday and Sunday. Tuesday was another disaster, allowing three runs on four walks in just one-third of an inning. But Peters bounced back on Sunday, pitching the top of the sixth and allowing no runs, no hits and just one walk. He did not have a strikeout, however.
For the season, Peters has pitched six innings in six relief appearances. He has walked ten and struck out just one, which is the opposite of good. Peters has an ERA of 13.50.
Right-hander JP Wheat: Wheat also made two appearances this past week—one disastrous and one at least better. On Wednesday, Wheat entered the game in the bottom of the fourth inning and walked four, threw two wild pitches and allowed one hit while allowing four runs in just a third of an inning. At least the one out he did record was a strikeout.
Wheat pitched the top of the fifth inning on Sunday and gave up a leadoff walk. That runner would come around to score after stealing second, third and scoring on a ground out. But that was the only baserunner Wheat would allow in his inning of work. He did not strike anyone out on Sunday.
Wheat has thrown 4.1 innings over 5 relief appearances. He’s walked 14 and struck out five in that time. His ERA is 29.08 after this week.
