Arizona Fall League Prospect Report

Image credit: Bryson Stott (Photo by Mike Janes/Four Seam)

Greg Cullen, 2B, Orioles—Mesa had already clinched a spot in the Arizona Fall League championship game, but Cullen gave them one more dramatic win for good measure. Cullen hit a walkoff solo home run to give Mesa a 4-3 win over Scottsdale in seven innings. Mesa entered the seventh trailing 3-2 before A’s prospect Jonah Bride homered with one out to tie the score. Two batters later, Cullen took a full-count pitch and drove it the other way over the left-center field fence to win it. The 25-year-old infielder also had an RBI single earlier in the day and finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Bryson Stott, SS, Phillies—Stott hasn’t put up some of the video-game numbers of other players this fall, but his combination of plate discipline, solid defense in the middle infield and knack for contact have made him one of the most impressive players in the AFL this year in scouts’ eyes. Stott went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs to lead Peoria to an 8-0 win over Salt River. His double into the left-center field gap off Pirates reliever J.P. Hintzen left the bat at 103.4 mph and traveled 390 feet, a home run in most other parts of the park. Overall, Stott wrapped up his time in the AFL batting .318/.445/.489 with seven doubles, a triple, two home runs and a league-high 24 walks against just 14 strikeouts.

Victor Vodnik, RHP, Braves – Vodnik had a difficult fall in the AFL but managed to finish on a high note. The 22-year-old righthander pitched five scoreless innings with two hits allowed, no walks and four strikeouts in Peoria’s 8-0 win over Salt River. Vodnik sat 95-98 mph on his fastball and complemented it with an effective mid-80s slider and upper-80s changeup. Most importantly, he found the strike zone. After walking 14 batters in his first 18.2 innings, he threw 41 of 63 pitches for strikes and didn’t issue a single walk in the finale.

Jacob Amaya, SS, Dodgers – Friday was a good day for Amaya. He went 2-for-4 with a pair of hard-hit singles off of Rangers righthander Owen White and made numerous slick plays defensively at shortstop for Glendale in its 5-3 loss for Surprise. Shortly after the game, the Dodgers announced they were adding Amaya to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Amaya has long been the best defensive shortstop in the Dodgers system but slumped badly to a .216/.303/.343 slash line at Double-A this year after he got out of his approach and began chasing power. He reined back in during the AFL and finished his time in the league batting .333 with a 1.018 OPS.