Baseball's best prospects return to the desert

Glendale 4, Scottsdale 3

It's no secret that Nolan Gorman can hit for power. The 21-year-old has long been considered a slugger, but he was sent to the Arizona Fall League to get more defensive reps at second base and to further refine his overall offensive approach.

Through one night, everything seems to be trending in the right direction. Gorman took away a hit and fared well at the keystone and hit a three-run homer in Glendale’s 4-3 win over Scottsdale on opening night of the Arizona Fall League.

Gorman, who grew up and went to high school roughly a half hour away from Scottsdale Stadium, made a nice defensive play to end the second inning as he picked a short hop and took a hit away from Michael Amditis to end the frame.

“I like diving for balls and picking balls,” said Gorman, who had several friends and family members in attendance. “It’s always fun to be out there and be able to help the pitcher out.”

In the top of the third, just a few minutes after helping his pitcher defensively, Gorman did so with his bat. The Cardinals’ No. 1 prospect delivered the game’s decisive blow, a three-run homer over the right-field wall. More »

Salt River 6, Peoria 5
An Opening Day start is an Opening Day start, even if it comes in October. No one may have anticipated his own more than MacKenzie Gore, who bounced around four levels in 2021 while trying to hone his command.

“There were some jitters, some pre-game jitters like always,” Gore said. “It was 12:30 [at first pitch], so we didn’t have to sit around and wait like usual. But it was a lot of fun.”

The No. 56 overall prospect certainly found his footing in his first Arizona Fall League start for Peoria, scattering two earned runs on six hits and a walk over five strong innings in the Javelinas’ 6-5 loss at Salt River on Wednesday.

Gore threw 88 pitches -- 56 for strikes -- including 11 swings-and-misses. That ability to find the zone consistently may have brought a sigh of relief to the Padres and their fans. More »

Surprise 5, Mesa 0
Seven pitches, seven strikes and less than 10 minutes.

That’s all it took for Royals No. 3 prospect Asa Lacy to make his point in the first inning of his Arizona Fall League debut for the Surprise Saguaros on Wednesday at Sloan Park.

The lefty powered his way through two impressive innings in the 5-0 victory against the Mesa Solar Sox, curtailing any questions about his command and health along the way.

“I was very motivated just considering how the season went,” Lacy said. “I knew I was a lot better than that. It’s been fun so far, and I look to keep building on it. They told me we are going into 2022 and we want to end ['21] on a good note.”

Lacy, who was drafted in the first round (fourth overall) in 2020, comes in at No. 66 on MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects list. More »