Walks would also be an issue for Matt Blackham, who would amazingly only allow three earned runs despite walking nine batters in his 10.0 innings pitched. After that, the walks finally got to him. Speaking of the Reed trade, Stephen Nogosek would start off the AFL season by not allowing an earned run over his first five appearances. In short, this is the type of dominating pitcher many expected him to be when the Mets received in the deal for Addison Reed. His best performance was his October 23, two-inning performance where he earned the win after striking out five of the seven batters he faced. In fact, Bautista would allow just seven hits.
Not so coincidentally, Bautista did not allow one earned run over that span. Over his final six appearances, he would walk none and strike out nine batters over eight innings. After a difficult start to the AFL season, Bautista would finally do just that. After a difficult season, there may have been some who doubted if the young hurler could ever translate his big fastball to domination. On the pitching side, the biggest story was Gerson Bautista. Gimenez also notably played a majority of his time at second base.įor Sanchez’s part, he would impress with his skills behind the plate notably throwing out three would-be basestealers in one. Gimenez would homer in his first game, and he would play in the Fall Star Game. Neither Andres Gimenez nor Ali Sanchez would hit well during AFL play, but both would leave an impression. This type of power display reminds you of what the Mets expected Lindsay to be when he was first drafted. In his eight games played, Lindsay hit three homers. Desmond Lindsay would bring a new swing in the AFL, and it worked in limited time. MLB's Arizona Fall League November 4, 2018Īlonso would not be the only Mets prospect to put on a power display. power! Nate Pearson, throwing 104 mph (!!!), sees Pete Alonso turn one around on him for a first inning homer! /EXSx2oXn0O Just when you thought there was nothing else Alonso could do to surprise you, he hit a 103 MPH fastball for a home run: In the AFL, Alonso would continue his power display tying for he league lead in homers (6) and finishing second in total bases (50). To the consternation of Mets fans, that next level would be the Arizona Fall League and not the Major Leagues. Seeing how well he played, people were wondering how he would do against a higher level of competition. He was setting Statcast records left and right. Whether it was Double-A, Triple-A, or the Future’s Game, Alonso was hitting the ball harder than anyone. The talk of the 2018 season, as far as the Mets minor leaguers were concerned, was the power display of Peter Alonso.