Twins AFL Report - Week 5: Wallner, Funderburk, and Sisk Continue to Surge

Week 5 was the first of the season where the Scottsdale Scorpions put together a winning record, with three wins compared to two losses. Going into the last week of play their record sits at 11-16, good for second in the East division standing, 3.5 games behind Mesa.

Matt Wallner: 4 games, 5-for-13, 2 R, 2B, HR (5), 2 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K; .276/.386/.569 (.955 OPS, leads team) overall.
The power hitting lefty was back to full participation in Week 5, getting the start in four games. 

He came out hot in Monday’s 11-10 loss against the Mesa Solar Sox, getting the nod at designated hitter and batting sixth. He drew a walk in the first inning that loaded the bases, and the hitter after him delivered a two-run single for an early 3-0 lead for the Scorpions. Leading off the third, Wallner clubbed his fifth home run of the AFL season the opposite way into left-center to kick start an inning where his team batted around.

That of course means Wallner came up again, and in addition to starting it, he also finished the scoring in their six-run barrage with an RBI double that made it 10-0 Scottsdale. Unfortunately for them, that was the end of their scoring on the game, and the Solar Sox came scorching back with 11 runs of their own the rest of the way to steal a victory. Wallner was also hit by another pitch in the 5th inning, meaning he reached base four times on the day in six plate appearances.

He was back in action for Tuesday’s 2-1 victory at home versus the Surprise Saguaros, taking left field and again batting sixth. With his team down 1-0 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, Wallner led off their last at-bat with a line drive single into right field on the first pitch he saw. Teammate Kole Cottam followed his lead, and took the very next pitch deep to right center, giving the Scorpions a walk-off win after being held to just three hits as a team before the ninth. 

After a day off Wallner was moved up in the lineup for Thursday’s 4-0 loss to the Peoria Javelinas, batting third and playing in right field. His team again had some trouble collecting hits, but he had one of their four on the game with a single in the sixth inning. He also drew a walk in this one, and had two strikeouts in his other plate appearance to finish 1-for-3.

In the team's final game of the week on Friday, Wallner was again in right field and batting fifth for their 4-2 win over the Glendale Desert Dogs in a seven inning affair. He extended his hitting streak to five games with a single in the third inning but ended up stranded at second base. His team was already up 4-0 and was more than enough the rest of the way for the Scorpions. He ended the game 1-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts, but otherwise had another strong week and currently tied for the team lead with five home runs, and leads the squad with 14 RBI and a .955 OPS on the AFL season.

Zach Featherstone: 2 appearances, 1.2 IP, H, ER, 3 BB, K; 9.00 ERA, 2.44 WHIP, 12 K, 9 BB, 9 2/3 IP overall.
Featherstone made his first appearance of the week to start the fifth inning in Wednesday’s 6-1 win over the Salt River Rafters. He was credited with his second hold of the AFL season as he delivered a scoreless frame. He struck out the first hitter he faced before allowing a walk, but a groundout and caught stealing attempt erased any threat. 12 of his 21 pitches in the inning went for strikes, including four swinging.

In their win against Glendale on Friday, Featherstone was brought into the game with one out in the sixth inning and a runner on second base. A walk to the first hitter he faced this time came back to bite him. With two runners on and two outs a batter later, he had an epic 12-pitch battle he ultimately ended up losing after the hitter fouled off six different pitches. The two-run double that resulted made the final score of 4-2. After another walk triggered a mound visit, Featherstone finally put an end to the threat by getting a pop out to the infield to keep his team in front.  

Andrew Bechtold: 2 games, 1-for-9, R, 6 K; .214/.313/.286 (.598 OPS) overall.
Bechtold was the catcher for the first game of the week for Scottsdale on Monday, and batting eighth in the lineup. In their six-run third inning that Wallner led off with a bomb, Bechtold later delivered a loud and long single before trotting around the bases on another home run from teammate Jordan Qasar. He’d finish the game 1-for-5 with three strikeouts as the Scorpions collapsed after jumping out to a big lead early.

In their shutout loss to the Peoria Javelinas on Thursday, Bechtold batted cleanup playing first base, and finished 0-for-4 with another three strikeouts. In a game where his team had just four hits it’s a little hard to feel bad about such a performance, then you also take a look at how other players did and come to the conclusion it was just one of those days. Maybe there was a bad glare around the batter's eye as despite the win, Peoria’s leadoff hitter was 0-for-5 with five K’s for the infamous “platinum sombrero,” another who was 0-for-4 with the “golden” variety (4 K’s), and finally another who matched Bechtold with the boring regular sombrero. All in all the teams combined to strike out 27 times in the game, or exactly half the outs recorded. Yikes.

Kody Funderburk: 1 start, W, 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K; 6.11 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 22 K, 6 BB, 17 2/3 IP overall.
After a two-win Week 4 Funderburk continued his rebound from a bit of a rough start with another win in his lone start of Week 5.

He got the nod in Friday’s scheduled seven inning game, and completed a perfect first three innings, retiring all nine hitters he faced. He picked up a strikeout in each inning and needed just forty pitches in his time on the mound. 26 of those pitches went for strikes, and included five of the swinging variety. That’s three straight wins for the left-handed starting pitcher and in that time he’s allowed four runs on eleven hits, walked only one, and struck out 15 batters in 10 2/3 IP. His ERA is down from above 10 to 6.11, and his WHIP down nearly a whole point to 1.75, in that timeframe, coming on strong for the Scorpions starting staff as the end of the season approaches. He is second on the team in innings pitched and strikeouts in AFL play.

Michael Helman: 2 games, 0-for-4, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 SB; .234/.368/.277 (.649 OPS) overall.
Like Bechtold, Helman saw action in only two of the five games one week, getting the start in Wednesday’s and Friday’s wins.

Batting leadoff and playing center field in their 6-1 win over Salt River, Helman reached base in three of five plate appearances. He picked up an RBI in the second inning when his bases loaded ground ball to short ended with no out being recorded for a fielder’s choice play. He drew a walk in the fifth inning and came around to score on a single that gave the Scorpions a 2-0 lead. He added another base on balls in the sixth and finished the game 0-for-3 with a run scored.

In Friday’s win over Glendale, Helman was inverted to ninth in the lineup, and this time playing left field. He was hit by a pitch in his first plate appearance, and subsequently stole second base, ending up on third when the throw went into center field. He scored on a sacrifice fly from the next batter to give them a 4-0 lead at the time. He led off the fourth inning with a walk and as he has done so far in the season, took off for second base again, picking up another stolen base. This is the third time in AFL play he has stolen two bases in a game and his six total steals lead the team and is tied for third in the league. He’d end this game 0-for-1 with a run scored, walk, and strikeout.

Cody Laweryson: 2 appearances (including Fall Stars Game), 2 1/3 IP, 3 H, 5 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 2 K; 4.15 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 17 K, 7 BB, 13 IP overall.
Laweryson pitched in two games on the week, though only one of those was with the rest of his Twins teammates as he was their only selection to play in the Fall Stars Game on Saturday.

In Monday’s game where Scottsdale blew a 10-run lead, Laweryson unfortunately got charged with the loss. He began his outing in the fifth inning with the score 10-6, and he delivered a scoreless frame on 12 pitches, picking up a strikeout in the process. A leadoff single was erased when he got an inning-ending double play ball. Back out for the sixth inning, it then went downhill for him and the Scorpions. A single and two walks loaded the bases with one out, before he gave up a grand slam that tied the game at 10. Another walk put an end to his day, and that runner later came around to score on an error to complete the epic comeback for the Solar Sox. In 1 1/3 innings pitched, Laweryson was charged with five runs (four earned) on three hits and three walks.

It was a different story in Saturday’s Fall Stars Game, where Laweryson got the invite after piling up strikeouts and in the season’s first half. With his East squad up 5-2, he got the ball to start the fifth inning and set the opposition down in order. He was credited with a hold and punctuated his outing with a swinging strikeout to end the inning. The East team won the game 6-5 powered by home runs from the game’s MVP JJ Bleday of the Miami Marlins, and Hunter Bishop from the San Francisco Giants.

Evan Sisk: 2 appearances, 2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K; 7.45 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 12 K, 7 BB, 9 2/3 IP overall.
The left-handed Sisk made his first appearance of the week in Tuesday’s walk-off win against Surprise, called upon for the seventh inning with his team down 1-0. He delivered a one-two-three outing, striking out one and getting a pair of ground balls on fifteen pitches.

Continuing his surge in AFL play Sisk was next called upon as a fireman in their shutout loss to Peoria on Thursday. After two runs had already scored in the inning, Sisk entered the game with two outs and runners on the corners in the sixth. He ended the rally with a big strikeout to keep the score at 3-0, then also delivered a scoreless seventh, allowing just a single before striking out his last hitter on three pitches.

In his last five appearances, Sisk has pitched a total of 5 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit, walking none, and striking out seven.

Check back every week to see how Minnesota Twins prospects have played during the AFL season, and please feel free to ask questions about the AFL and the players who are there!

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