Vilade busts loose in perfect day at the plate

Salt River 12, Surprise 5
The final week of the AFL season offered Ryan Vilade an opportunity to clear away a 2-for-20 skid that had dropped his average and OPS down to .215 and .578 respectively.

The No. 5 Rockies prospect took full advantage of that on Monday. Vilade reached safely in all four plate appearances and drove in four runs on three singles to pace the Rafters' 13-hit onslaught. The 22-year-old bumped his AFL slash line back up to .250/.338/.309 with his third multihit effort of the campaign.

Vilade capped Salt River's three-run opening frame with an RBI single and added another in the third. He chipped in two more RBIs with his third single the next inning before earning a free pass in his final plate appearance in the sixth. Despite his recent slump, the Texas native has found his way on base at a decent clip. Vilade has walked eight times in 77 plate appearances, getting aboard in 16 of the 18 games in which he's had a plate appearance.

But Vilade wasn't the only Colorado prospect with a hot bat. Ezequiel Tovar (No. 11) broke the game open with a three-run homer and Michael Toglia (No. 9) singled twice, scored once and drove in a run. D-backs prospect Dominic Canzone belted a two-run jack, his second Fall League homer, and scored three times as part of a 3-for-4 day to increase his OPS to .901.

Justin Foscue (TEX 4) left the yard in his second consecutive game and for the fifth time this fall for Surprise, which kicked off the scoring six pitches into the game on a 425-foot leadoff homer by Ezequiel Duran (TEX 7).

The centerpiece of the Joey Gallo trade earlier this summer, #TexasRangers No. 7 prospect Ezequiel Duran opened play for Surprise today with this 425-foot blast. pic.twitter.com/oZavaOBeIk

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) November 15, 2021

Elijah Dunham tripled and doubled for the Saguaros. The No. 24 Yankees prospect, who has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games, is batting .356/.472/.603 with 11 extra-base hits, 11 RBIs and is tied for the AFL lead in stolen bases with 10. More »

Glendale 2, Peoria 1
Brendan Donovan made sure the seven-inning matinee would not see the eighth. The No. 17 Cardinals prospect dropped a broken-bat single into center field with two outs to send the Desert Dogs home winners. Donovan has a hit in all but two of his 13 games and has driven in runs in three straight contests, tallying four of his eight RBIs in that span.

After batting .304 with a .854 OPS across three Minor League levels over the summer, the 24-year-old hasn't missed a beat in the fall. Donovan has put together a .364/.472/.614 slash line with 10 runs, seven extra-base hits and nine walks in 44 at-bats. His average would be third-best in the AFL if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.

Here’s Brendan Donovan (Cardinals, #17) with a single up the middle in bottom third for Glendale’s first hit of the game. @MLBPipeline @MLBazFallLeague pic.twitter.com/pxWpye1agH

— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) November 15, 2021

Pedro Leon (HOU 2) tallied two hits, including an RBI single in the fourth, swiped his third base and scored the game-winning tally.

Andre Pallante (STL 30) allowed one hit over four shutout innings in the start for Glendale. The 23-year-old walked two, and although he did not register a strikeout, he stretched his scoreless streak to 13 innings. Pallante has surrendered one run in his last 18 frames to lower his ERA to 1.29.

Phillies right-handerJames McArthur twirled his best start since his AFL debut, allowing a run on three hits and two walks. The 24-year-old fanned four and tossed 47 of his 72 pitches for strikes. More »