Considering Victor Reyes ended 2017 with a .298 career average after five professional seasons, his success in the Arizona Fall League hardly comes as a surprise. Arizona's No. 19 prospect continued to swing a hot bat in the desert Wednesday, falling a home run shy of the cycle as the Salt
Considering Victor Reyes ended 2017 with a .298 career average after five professional seasons, his success in the Arizona Fall League hardly comes as a surprise.
Arizona's No. 19 prospect continued to swing a hot bat in the desert Wednesday, falling a home run shy of the cycle as the Salt River Rafters defeated the Scottsdale Scorpions, 8-2. Reyes collected two RBIs, scored once and walked in his third consecutive multi-hit game.
Gameday box score
The 23-year-old walked and scored in the first inning on a double-play grounder by Orioles No. 9 prospectAnthony Santander. His two-out single up the middle in the second and triple to center in the fourth both scored Rockies' outfielder Yonathan Daza (Rockies). Reyes doubled to center to lead off the sixth and looked to complete the cycle in the eighth, but grounded out to first.
"Honestly, it's hard not to think about it," he told MLB.com through interpreter Brian Guzman. "But I just tried to get up there and make good contact. If I hit a homer, I hit a homer. If not, that's fine."
Reyes' 3-for-4 effort boosted his AFL average to .353, the ninth-best mark in the league. Overall, the Venezuela native has produced a .353/.398/.441 slash line while hitting safely in eight of nine games.
"Basically, I just try to go up and think about hitting the ball up the middle and trying to get a good contact," Reyes told MLB.com "That's basically what I'm trying to do.
"It's always a challenge … but I just try to go out there and play my game and do the best I can. That should be good enough."
Peter Mooney (Marlins) went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a walk while Daza recorded three hits, including a double, and two RBIs for the Rafters.
Thairo Estrada collected four hits, a run scored and a stolen base for the Scorpions. The No. 17 Yankees prospect has five multi-hit efforts in nine games and is batting .395.
In other AFL action:
Saguaros 6, Desert Dogs 4
Top Indians prospectFrancisco Mejía homered in his second straight game while No. 19 Tyler Krieger went 3-for-4 with a double in Glendale's loss. Kevin Padlo led Surprise's offense with two RBIs while Rays No. 13 prospectBrandon Lowe, Nick Dini (Royals), Elier Hernandez (Royals) and Michael O'Neill (Rangers) each plated a run to back up Tyler Davis' start. The Rangers righty allowed a run on two hits in two innings. Gameday box score
Solar Sox 6, Javelinas 3
Braves No. 16 prospectAlex Jackson was Peoria's lone bright spot, blasting his league-leading fifth long ball in the ninth inning. Ian Rice (Cubs) cleared the bases with a double to left in the fourth as part and Nationals No. 23 prospectTaylor Gushue went 2-for-4 with a solo homer for Mesa. AFL OPS leader David Bote (Cubs) added two hits and an RBI while Tigers No. 28 prospectSpencer Turnbull earned his first win of the campaign, allowing an unearned run on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in four innings. Gameday box score
