Reed sparks West to Fall Stars victory
SURPRISE, Arizona -- Down to his final strike, Buddy Reed delivered a game-changer on Saturday night.With his team trailing, 6-5, the Padres' No. 13 prospect turned on a 3-2 fastball and belted a triple deep to left field to score Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with the tying run. Reed scored on
SURPRISE, Arizona -- Down to his final strike,
With his team trailing, 6-5, the Padres' No. 13 prospect turned on a 3-2 fastball and belted a triple deep to left field to score
After Reed missed a 3-1 offering from Rockies No. 17 prospect
Gameday box score
"It was a fastball down and away, but I put a good swing on it," Reed said. "I had to choke up because [facing Lawrence] is a little uncomfortable for me, throwing 98-100 mph with sink."
Reed, who hit .324/.371/.549 for Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore before a promotion to Double-A on July 17, had a .375 average with four doubles in 12 AFL games prior to earning Fall Stars MVP honors.
"The Fall League as a whole is an awesome experience, playing with the top prospects in every organization," Reed said. "Then coming out here to the All-Star Game, you see guys like Vlad, and Justin Lawrence in the bottom of the ninth, just guys that throw hard and guys that can do a lot with the bat. It was awesome."
Blue Jays No. 4 prospect
"The highest I ever hit before today was 102, so it was pretty cool to see new numbers there," MLB.com's No. 90 overall prospect said. "I knew I was only going one inning, so I was just going to let it go, trying to just throw as hard as I can and give those guys my best stuff."
Pearson was limited to one appearance with Class A Advanced Dunedin during the regular season. He was sidelined for a month with a back injury, then suffered a fractured right forearm when he was hit by a line drive in his season debut on May 7.
"I'm very thankful to come out here in Arizona, each lineup is stacked," Pearson said. "I missed the whole year with an injury I couldn't really control, but I'm making the most of my time out here and it's a great opportunity for me."
Peter Alonso gave the East an early 1-0 lead, tagging a 103 mph fastball from Pearson over the wall to the right of center field. The Mets' No 2 prospect belted 36 homers between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas, tying the Reds' Ibandel Isabel for the Minor League lead. Alonso walked twice, scored three times and got the best of the power matchup of Tampa-area prospects in the first.
"I knew he could hit and I was just going to challenge him," Pearson said. "I got one fastball by him, then tried to get another one, but he was ready for it."
Phillies first baseman/outfielder
Indians No. 6 prospect
Astros No. 2 prospect
The AFL season resumes Monday, with the championship game scheduled for Nov. 17 at Scottsdale Stadium.
Kirsten Karbach is a contributor to MiLB.com.