Twins Video
Game Results:
Monday, 10/10 | Glendale 8, Salt River 3
Tuesday, 10/11 | Glendale 20, Salt River 4
Thursday, 10/13 | Glendale 7, Mesa 9
Friday, 10/14 | Scottsdale 2, Glendale 0
Saturday, 10/15 | Mesa 1, Glendale 1
The Glendale Desert Dogs again went .500 on the week, which is odd as they played five total games. That’s the nature of the Arizona Fall League, as they blew out the Salt River Rafters, outsourcing them 28-7 in their two games to start the week’s action, but then fell to Mesa and Scottsdale in close contests before a game with Mesa was called with the score tied 1-1 after eight innings. They’ll enter Week 3 with a record of 5-5-1 and a game and a half behind the league-leading Surprise Saguaros.
How did all of the Minnesota Twins prospects fare for the Desert Dogs in week two of the 2022 AFL season?
IF Austin Martin
Week: 11-for-18, 2 R, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 SB (4 games)
Overall: .500/.575/.656 (1.231 OPS)
Martin played in four of the Desert Dogs' five games this week and batted leadoff in each. He played two games at shortstop, one in center field, and DH-ed in the other. He was on fire all week, collecting three or more hits in three of those games, and is now batting .500 going into Week 3.
In Monday’s 8-3 win over Salt River, he was 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base. He followed that up with a 4-for-6 effort in the Desert Dogs' destruction of the Rafters on Tuesday, where he scored two runs and drove in five. He fell a triple shy of the cycle and hit the first pitch of the game out to left-center for his first AFL home run.
His quietest game of the week came in Thursday’s loss to Mesa, but he still reached base multiple times with a single and a walk.
After a day off on Friday, he closed out his week with three more hits in four at-bats in their tie with the Solar Sox. He also drove in their only run with his single in the eighth inning.
After two weeks, Martin leads the AFL in hits with 16, is third with five stolen bases (has been caught once), and is fifth in OPS with a 1.231 mark. Martin will look to continue his scorching hot hitting in Week 3, but Twins fans should be ecstatic about what he’s showing in the AFL so far.
IF Edouard Julien
Week: 3-for-6, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K (2 games)
Overall: .300/.500/.300 (.800 OPS).
Julien got the start in just two games on the week, serving as the DH in the blowout of Salt River, and playing second base in Friday’s 2-0 loss against Scottsdale.
He batted seventh in the lineup in the 20-4 win and finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and keeping with his professional theme, drew three walks to reach base in five-of-six trips.
On Friday, he knocked one base hit in three at-bats, batting second in the lineup. His hit came in the bottom of the first inning, and he reached third base before their early rally got stalled. They then went on to be shut out as the Desert Dogs managed just three hits total in the game.
While Julien is still looking for his first extra-base-hit of the AFL season, he has reached base in half his plate appearances and trails only teammate Matt McLain in walks drawn overall, with eight in six games.
C/1B Alex Isola
Week: 1-for-5, 1 RBI (1 game)
Overall: .133/.235/.133 (.368 OPS)
Alex Isola got into only one game during the week, and that came in Monday’s 8-3 win over the Salt River Rafters. He batted ninth in the lineup, played first base, and finished 1-for-5 with an RBI.
His single in the top of the sixth inning drove in the Desert Dogs' third and final run of the inning, putting them out front in the game 3-1 at the time.
While it has to be disappointing to play in only one game during the week, the player rotation hopefully gets him more time in Week 3.
RHP Jon Olsen
Week: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (1 appearance)
Overall: 12.27 ERA, 3.82 WHIP (3 2/3 IP)
The right-hander made one appearance on the week, as the first reliever summoned in Friday’s 2-0 loss to the Scottsdale Scorpions.
He came on to start the fourth inning and after a leadoff walk got the next hitter to line into a double play. He allowed a single and hit a batter before getting a groundout for a scoreless frame. Back out for the fifth, he got a strikeout before a walk and a triple led to an earned run, but he finished off the final two hitters with two more strikeouts to end his outing on a high note.
Olsen’s numbers in the AFL likely aren’t going to ever look great after his first outing of the season last week, but he can be encouraged by the strikeouts that came late in this one moving forward. And he only had a couple of rehab outings during the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery a year ago.
LHP Denny Bentley
Week: 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (1 appearance)
Overall: 4.15 ERA, 1.62 WHIP (4 1/3 IP).
Bentley came out of the bullpen for just one appearance during the week. He entered the blowout game against Salt River in the seventh inning with the game already well out of hand.
His predecessor had loaded the bases with one out, and after a sac fly made it 19-2, Bentley entered the game to try and keep it moving. He gave up a single that made it 19-4 but was not charged with either of those runs. He then got a pop-out to end the inning before coming back out for the eighth with a clean slate. He walked one batter but retired all three others, including a strikeout. In a positive change from week one, 14 of his 24 pitches in this one went for strikes (58%) as he looks to keep his pitches in the zone better.
RHP Ryan Shreve
Week: 3 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 2 K (2 appearances)
Overall: 2.84 ERA, 1.74 WHIP (6 1/3 IP).
Shreve made two appearances on the week, going more than one inning in both of them.
In Monday’s win over the Rafters, he was the first reliever summoned. He came into the game to start the fourth inning. He promptly gave up a solo home run but got some help from his defense to keep that run as his only one allowed during the week. After a walk to the next hitter, he got a pair of flyouts before his defense executed a nice relay throw to catch the runner trying to stretch a single into a double. Back out for the fifth, he picked up a strikeout but then loaded the bases before he was removed from the game. His pitching counterpart Ben Harris picked him up by getting a double-play grounder.
In Friday’s loss to Scottsdale, Shreve finished the game for Glendale, pitching two shutout innings. He gave up two walks, but no hits and struck out one to keep the game close in the final two innings.
RHP Francis Peguero
Week: 2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K (2 appearances)
Overall: 0.00 ERA, 1.62 WHIP (4 1/3 IP).
The little-known right-hander made two appearances. He finished the game for Glendale in both of them.
In Tuesday’s big win over the Salt River Rafters, he walked the first batter of the ninth inning but proceeded to strike out two of the next three to close it out.
In Saturday’s tie with the Mesa Solar Sox, he took over for the “extra” eighth inning with the score still 0-0, and a runner starting on second base. He gave up his first hit of the season to put runners on the corners before a double-play ball allowed the first run of the game to score. As it was the “ghost” runner, it was of the unearned variety. Another batter reached due to an error before giving up a walk, but he then got a lineout to keep his team in it, and Austin Martin was able to tie it with his RBI single before it was called.
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the prospects playing in the AFL this week!
(Another Austin Martin highlight for tax)
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