Fall/Winter League Roundup: Downs has power surge
Now that the minor league season has been completed, the fall and winter league campaigns have begun. The first to get rolling is the Arizona Fall League, which is approaching its third week after Opening Day on October 13. The Red Sox sent four arms and five bats to Arizona, though Connor Wong has yet to debut as he was on the taxi squad for the major league club during its postseason run. The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League had its Opening Day on Saturday, while the Mexican Pacific League started earlier in October. The Dominican Professional Baseball League got underway this week, as well.
Follow along each week with more updates as the remaining winter leagues start their seasons in the coming weeks and months, and follow along daily on our Fall and Winter Leagues page.
Arizona Fall League
Jeter Downs (pictured) has continued his hot streak to end the regular season at Triple-A out West, slashing .333/.515/.958 across 24 at-bats, adding nine walks. His 1.473 OPS and 13 RBIs are each second in the league, while his five home runs leads the Arizona Fall League. He isn't the only one hitting well in the early going, as Triston Casas has started off strongly, hitting .294/.351/.441 over his 34 at-bats, though he has struck out 12 times. Kole Cottam, who has slashed .211/.333/.263 over 19 at-bats, as well as Christian Koss (.143/.250/.143), have earned part-time roles as well.
Connor Seabold has led Scottsdale on the mound, pacing the squad with 9 1/3 innings pitched. However, despite a .222 batting average against, he has pitched to a 5.79 ERA across his three appearances this fall. Despite a similar .240 batting average against, AJ Politi has been better at run prevention, with a 1.35 ERA over 6 2/3 innings. Josh Winckowski (9.53 ERA) and Brendan Cellucci (14.40 ERA) have also each made appearances for Scottsdale.
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
Early on, Pedro Castellanos has appeared in three games for Lara, hitting 2 for 10 with a home run. On the mound, Oddanier Mosqueda has pitched 2/3 of an inning. He surrendered a hit and a walk, but struck out two hitters in his lone appearance, which came on Sunday.
Photo Credit: Jeter Downs by Kelly O'Connor