Twins AFL Report, Week 1: Martin Shines in First Week of Action

[Steve Lein]

While the pair of on-base specialists the Minnesota Twins sent to the Arizona Fall continued that trend in the season's first week, their pitchers left a little bit to be desired. Austin Martin had a big game at the end of the week and was one of the top performers across the board for the Glendale Desert Dogs in Week 1.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Austin Martin)

 

Game Results:
Monday, 10/3 | Peoria 5, Glendale 3
Tuesday, 10/4 | Glendale 11, Salt River 9
Wednesday, 10/5 | Glendale 5, Surprise 6
Thursday, 10/6 | Glendale 8, Peoria 9
Friday, 10/7 | Scottsdale 6, Glendale 10
Saturday, 10/8 | Glendale 13, Scottsdale 11

As a team, the Glendale Desert Dogs racked up a ton of runs on the week, averaging more than eight per game. They also gave up runs in bunches, however, and because of that finished an even 3-3 on the week.

Twins Daily's Seth Stohs also caught up with a few of the prospects before their seasons began, and you'll find some quotes below.

How did all of the Minnesota Twins prospects fare for the Desert Dogs in Week 1 of the 2022 AFL season?

IF Austin Martin: 4 games - 5-for-14, 6 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K, 3 SB; .357/.526/.357 (.883 OPS) overall.

Martin played four games on the week, playing shortstop in three of them, and DH-ing in the other. He batted in the sixth spot in the lineup in each game and scored at least one run in all of them.

While he didn’t pick up any extra-base hits on the week, he was on base over half the time and active while there, stealing three bases and leading the team with six runs scored. As their primary shortstop on the week, he committed one throwing error, but otherwise made all the plays that came his way.

He ended the week with a big game on Saturday, finishing 3-for-5, with two runs scored, two RBI, and two stolen bases in Glendale’s 13-11 win over Scottsdale.

IF Edouard Julien: 4 games - 3-for-14, 3 R, 1 RBI, 5 BB, 5 K, 1 SB; .214/.421/.214 (.635 OPS) overall.

Julien also saw action in four games, splitting his time with two games at second base, and two as the designated hitter. In the first game of the week, he was in the cleanup spot but batted seventh in his three other contests.

Despite only three singles on the week, Julien did reach base in each game, and at least twice in three of his four games, as he continued to control the strike zone, drawing five walks total.

His best game of the week came in Thursday’s 9-8 loss to Peoria, in which he finished 1-for-2, scored a run, stole a base, and drew two walks.

C Alex Isola: 3 games - 1-for-10, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K; .100/.250/.100 (.350 OPS) overall.

Isola played in three games during the week, getting the start at first base in all of them and hitting at the bottom of the Desert Dogs' batting order.

He was responsible for the second RBI of the season in Monday’s opener, as he reached base via an error but his ball in play would have scored the run either way. He also picked up his only hit of the week in this one, a single in the ninth inning, and also reached base a third time thanks to another error. His second RBI of his season came in the same fashion as the first, as a ground ball to third allowed Austin Martin to score in Friday’s 10-6 win. 

While he didn’t catch any games on the week, I do expect we’ll see a few of those as the season goes on, and it's one of the things he is looking forward to working on in the AFL. When asked what he wanted to work on, he told Seth, "I'm really trying to focus on my defense and show that I can catch and play first at a high level." He added, "Looking forward to the experience and competition of playing against some of the best players in the minor leagues."

He was also excited to be playing in the league, saying "I actually went (while in) high school and watched Francisco Lindor play here. It was for a tournament and we happened to go. I remember being very impressed. It's amazing to think I'm actually here now!"

RHP Jon Olsen: 1 start - 1 2/3 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K; 21.60 ERA, 6.00 WHIP (1 2/3 IP) overall.

Olsen made the start in Friday’s 10-6 win over the Scottsdale Scorpions, but he needed some help from his offense as he wasn’t as sharp as he would like to be in his first game.

The first batter he faced doubled, then a pair of walks and singles led to a 3-0 lead for the Scorpions. Back out for the second inning, he allowed one run before loading the bases with two outs, putting an end to his outing after 1 2/3 innings. He threw 49 pitches, with 25 of them going for strikes (51%).

Thankfully, his offense let him off the hook, scoring ten runs over the next three innings and the bullpen held up for the win.

LHP Denny Bentley: 2 appearances - 3 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 2 K; 6.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP (3 IP) overall.

Bentley made two appearances on the week, picking up the win in Tuesday’s game against Salt River.

In that one, Bentley was the first reliever out of the bullpen after Glendale fell behind 6-1 after the first inning. He delivered two scoreless frames as his team stormed back, scoring eight runs in the fourth inning that put them in front before he was replaced. He allowed no hits, walked two, and struck out one. 

In Friday’s 10-6 win over Scottsdale, Bentley came on for the fifth inning and despite making it through the frame and not allowing a hit, gave up two runs thanks to three walks and a couple of wild pitches.

He’ll look to keep it in the zone better in week two of the AFL season, as just 21 of his 52 pitches (40%) thus far have gone for strikes.

When asked what he looking forward to while playing in the AFL, Bentley answered "To play at Chase Field. Having never played in a major league stadium before, I can't wait to see what it's like being on the field at night and want to try to hit the pool out in right-center, LOL!"

He also has plenty he wants to work on, saying "I'm going to be working on commanding my off-speed in the zone at the higher levels. It's good to have [those pitches] that you can land in the zone early. Always working on control in the zone. Out of the bullpen is huge because you usually come into the game with runners on. I'm honored to represent the Twins and I'm really thankful to be here."

RHP Ryan Shreve: 2 appearances - 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K; 3.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP (3 IP) overall.

Shreve’s first appearance of the week came in the season opener, where he was the first reliever summoned for the fourth inning. He pitched two scoreless frames, allowing one hit and striking out one as he kept the game scoreless to that point. He needed just 17 pitches to finish those two innings, with 12 of them going for strikes (71%).

He came on for the sixth inning in Thursday’s 9-8 loss to Peoria, with the score 2-1 Javelinas at the time. He picked up a strikeout to start the frame, but a walk was followed by a double and a sac fly that made the score 3-1 before it was over. He threw 25 pitches in this one, with 13 of them going for strikes (52%).

Asked what he was looking forward to most in the AFL, Shreve responded "Competing on a big stage against high-level competition and continuing to learn from it." He also has a plan for his time there, saying "I'd like to continue developing my pitches and stay comfortable in my mechanics."

RHP Francis Peguero: 2 appearances - 2 1/3 IP, 0 H, 4 BB, 1 K; 0.00 ERA, 1.71 WHIP (2 1/3 IP) overall.

Like his other two reliever teammates, Peguero also made two appearances on the week, finishing the game in Wednesday’s 6-5 loss to Surprise, and pitching the sixth inning in Friday’s 10-6 win over Scottsdale.

He entered the game on Wednesday in the seventh inning after Surprise had extended their lead to 6-2, and got a lineout to end the threat. In the eighth, he walked the leadoff man and was called for a balk, but recovered to get a pair of groundouts and a flyout to give his team a chance. They almost accomplished that task with three runs in the top of the ninth but fell one short of tying the game.

In Friday’s contest, Peguero had to work to finish his lone inning, as he walked the bases loaded, but mixed in a strikeout and was able to escape without allowing a run. 

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the prospects playing in the AFL this week!

 

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[ashbury]

Keep these reports coming!

[Game7-91]

Interesting they have Martin at SS.

And seems we're not the only ones with struggling pitching so far.

Will be great to see how they do.

[Mike Sixel]

40 minutes ago, Game7-91 said:

Interesting they have Martin at SS.

And seems we're not the only ones with struggling pitching so far.

Will be great to see how they do.

Very few top pitchers go to the AFL, IIRC 

[mikelink45]

Could Martin the fill in for Lewis in the beginning of the season?  Isola not catching and not hitting is too bad for a team that needs a second C.  Other than Lewis and Julien this AFL group does not seem as good as some of the past selections. 

[jmlease1]

Glad to see Martin get time in the AFL. He needs reps and consistency. Matt Wallner went to the AFL and it may have helped him launch into a stellar minor league season that had him get promoted all the way to MLB. Hope it goes as well for Martin, who had a very uneven season.

[Doctor Gast]

Good to see Martin do so well,if he'd hit some HRs he'd really turn some heads. But I'm surprised to see him at SS. I was expecting more competition there so they'd play him in CF like they did to Lewis. Julien was good, I was disappointed with Isola's hitting and him not catching, I don't see him backing up catching at MLB anytime soon.

[DJL44]

12 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Very few top pitchers go to the AFL, IIRC 

Keep that in mind when looking at Martin and Julien's statlines. The pitching they saw in AA was at least as good.

[Steve Lein]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

Good to see Martin do so well,if he'd hit some HRs he'd really turn some heads. But I'm surprised to see him at SS. I was expecting more competition there so they'd play him in CF like they did to Lewis. 

Bit surprising for me as well, with the rest of their roster.

Noelvi Marte is a top 20 prospect in all of baseball, and Matt McLain is top 100, both as shortstops. 

Marte has played strictly third base so far, while McLain was the other shortstop, so it appears the Twins and Reds got the priority position picks for SS on the roster. We'll see what happens the rest of the season, though!

[roger]

Thanks for getting us these reports, Steve.  Love following our kids playing in the AFL.

Could Austin Martin repeat what Royce Lewis did in the AFL however many years ago?  Can he get back on track as a TOP Prospect?

[Steve Lein]

2 hours ago, roger said:

Thanks for getting us these reports, Steve.  Love following our kids playing in the AFL.

Could Austin Martin repeat what Royce Lewis did in the AFL however many years ago?  Can he get back on track as a TOP Prospect?

Exactly what I envisioned when Martin's name was announced to play in the league!

From the roster announcement article: 

"Martin missed over a month this season with a wrist injury, so he’s in the AFL both looking to make up for lost time, and attempting to recapture some of that “top prospect” status.

His inclusion reminds me a lot of Royce Lewis’ during the 2019 season, where he had struggled in High-A and Double-A, but went on to win the AFL’s Most Valuable Player award while playing all over the diamond."

[Doctor Gast]

On 10/10/2022 at 11:23 AM, Doctor Gast said:

Good to see Martin do so well,if he'd hit some HRs he'd really turn some heads. But I'm surprised to see him at SS. I was expecting more competition there so they'd play him in CF like they did to Lewis. Julien was good, I was disappointed with Isola's hitting and him not catching, I don't see him backing up catching at MLB anytime soon.

Martin has already hit his 1st AFL HR. heads are turning

[Major League Ready]

The grade on that trade has been trending upward over the last month.  Man, it sure would be nice to see him repeat what Lewis did last year.  By this I mean in the AFL and then the major league level minus the getting injured part.  

[SteveLV]

Martin tearing up the AFL so far.  Batting .500 with a 1231 OPS and 4 SB's too.  Wow.  If he breaks out, huge shot in the arm for the Twins O and makes the Berrios trade look very good for the home town squad....