AFL Mesa at Scottsdale 10.20.15

Notable Performances:

— Lefthander Adalberto Mejia, the Giants No. 12 prospect, had an up and down start. Right out of the gate Mejia struck out the side in the first inning and looked like he had great stuff.

But then he walked the bases loaded – his only three walks of the evening — and gave up a run in the second.

Overall, there was more good than bad in Mejia’s start as he finished five innings and allowed one run on one hit. He also struck out seven.

Best Plays:

— Jeimer Candelario, the Cubs 20th ranked prospect, is really making a name for himself so far in the Arizona Fall League. The third baseman was named co-player of the week after going 8-for-10 through the first three games, then made a nice play defensively Tuesday night.

Candelario fielded a hot shot behind the bag at third and after an initial bobble, made a strong throw across the diamond for the out. Really impressive arm strength.

— Marlins prospect J.T. Riddle made the play of the night with a diving stop up the middle. The shortstop made a nice stop on a hard-hit ground ball and turned what looked to be a hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

Riddle then homered in the next half inning. Read more about his night on MLBpipeline.com.

Best At-Bat:

— Indians No. 2 prospect Clint Frazier hit a massive opposite-field three-run homer in the third inning. Frazier is off to a great start in the AFL and has hit really well over the first two weeks.

— Candelario didn’t want to be outdone so in the sixth inning he hit a homer of his own. The Chicago farmhand hit a massive two-run shot to out to right that would have been gone in any ballpark.

Worth Mentioning:

— Pierce Johnson, the Cubs No. 7 prospect, had mixed results in his outing, similar to his first AFL start. The right-hander threw four innings and allowed three runs – the Frazier homer – on three hits. In the first inning it appeared Johnson was having trouble picking up the signs from the catcher so that may have been a cause for some of the struggles, but either way his stuff wasn’t crisp.

In the bullpen, Johnson said he didn’t have a good feel for his off-speed pitches and it looked like that carried over into the game.

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