Boston's Cottam plays hero for Scottsdale

Scottsdale 10, Salt River 9

The Scorpions rallied for four runs in the eighth before walking off in the 10th inning Tuesday. Boston catching prospect Kole Cottam did the heavy lifting. The 24-year-old belted his first two homers of the Arizona Fall League campaign during a 4-for-5, four-RBI day that included a walk-off single to right field in the 10th inning.

After singling to right in the third, the Kentucky product lofted long balls to right-center in the seventh and eighth. With one out in the 10th, he lined the walk-off single to right.

Cottam had just six hits in his first 10 AFL games this season before his big afternoon. The catcher/first baseman boosted his Fall League slash line to .294/.405/.529 in the victory.

Cleveland’s No. 14 prospect Richie Palacios also stood out at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a homer, three runs scored and two RBIs. MLB.com’s No. 5 overall prospect Marco Luciano added two singles out of the No. 9 spot in the Surprise lineup.

Despite tallying 12 hits in the loss – one more than Scottsdale – Salt River had just two for extra bases: a two-run homer by Buddy Kennedy (D-backs) in the seventh and a three-run double by ninth-ranked Brewers prospect Joe Gray Jr. in the fifth.

#Brewers prospect Joe Gray Jr. drives home three with this double to right. pic.twitter.com/U9s5C1XaWO

— William Boor (@wboor) November 2, 2021

Milwaukee’s No. 16 prospect David Hamilton added two singles after pinch-hitting for sixth-ranked Colorado prospect Michael Toglia. Wilmer Reyes (Mets) chipped in a pair of singles. More »

Peoria 10, Surprise 5

Sixth-ranked Pirates prospect Roansy Contreras put his team on the right track with three dominant innings in his start for the Javelinas on Tuesday. The right-hander retired all nine batters he faced, five via strikeouts. It was Contreras’ first scoreless outing in his three AFL starts as the 21-year-old threw just 37 pitches, 25 for strikes.

Contreras’ Pirates organization mate Nick Gonzales led the way for Peoria at the plate, going 2-for-4 with his first Fall League homer, two runs scored and a walk. Gonzales’ fifth two-hit showing of the fall boosted the No. 62 overall prospect’s slash line to .345/.455/.491. Canaan Smith-Njigba went 3-for-5 with a trio of doubles and a run scored. Matt Batten (Padres) added three more hits, including a double and an RBI out of the No. 9 spot in the Javelinas order.

Nathan Eaton (Royals) was the only multihit performer for the Saguaros, going 2-for-4 with a three-run homer. More »

Mesa 7, Glendale 4

Caleb Kilian accepted AFL Pitcher of the Week honors pregame, then stood out again once things were underway. The No. 14 Cubs prospect twirled four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four without a walk for the Solar Sox. Kilian touched 98 mph with his fastball and threw just 50 pitches, 38 for strikes.

In support of the right-hander, Mesa catcher and No. 32 overall prospect Gabriel Moreno went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs.

Top @BlueJays prospect Gabriel Moreno boosts his Fall League OPS to 1.045. pic.twitter.com/vCruoAK64X

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) November 2, 2021

Kilian’s Cubs organization mate Nelson Velazquez belted his league-leading sixth home run. Chicago’s No. 29 prospect also was honored before the start of the game as the AFL Hitter of the Week.

On the other side, Glendale starting pitcher Landon Knack also worked three scoreless innings. The No. 8 Dodgers prospect gave up one hit and three walks, striking out one. Second-ranked White Sox prospect Yoelqui Cespedes posted his second multihit showing of the AFL season with two singles and a run scored. More »