Mexican Pacific League Preview

The Mexican Pacific League starts today.  The season is played in two halves, with the first half ending November 20 and the regular season ending December 29, followed by playoffs.  Here's a quick look at the teams and players.  Once again, half the teams' rosters are not available on mlb.com.

AGUILAS DE MEXICALI

Manager:  Juan Castro

Notables:  Francisco Rodriguez, Anthony Slama, Javier Solano, Xorge Carillo, Gil Velazquez, Luke Montz, Brock Peterson

ALGODONEROS DE GUASAVE

Manager:  Juan Navarrete

Notables:  Juan Delgadillo, Orlando Lara, Marco Tovar, Japhet Amador, Fernando Valenzuela, Eduardo Arredondo, Jesus Cota

CANEROS DE LOS MOCHIS

No roster available.

MAYOS DE NAVOJOA

No roster available.

NARANJEROS DE HERMOSILLO

No roster available.

TOMATEROS DE CULIACAN

Manager:  Benji Gil

Notables:  Francisco Campos, Robert Coello, Gonzalo Sanudo, Oscar Villareal, Ali Solis

VENADOS DE MAZATLAN

Manager:  Miguel Ojeda

Notables:  Collin Balester, Jose Contreras, Erick Rodriguez, Stetson Allie, Ryan Schimpf, Derrick Robinson

YAQUIS DE OBREGON

No roster available.

Venezuelan Winter League: Games of October 9

A walk-off infield single for Zulia.  Choi is the Ji-Man for Aragua.  A Berger and Margarita proves to be a good combination.

ZULIA 5, LARA 4 IN ZULIA

Twins:  Ryan O'Rourke pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up one run on one hit with one strikeout.

Lara:  Guilder Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.  Hernan Iribarren was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Raul Rivero struck out eight in five innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks.

Zulia:  Aaron Altherr was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in one.  Mark Minicozzi was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Arcenio Leon pitched a scoreless inning with one hit batsman.

The game:  Giovanny Urshela's infield single with the bases loaded brought home the winning run with one out in the ninth.

ANZOATEGUI 3, LA GUAIRA 2 IN ANZOATEGUI

La Guaira:  Miguel Gonzalez was 1-for-1 with a walk.  Jose Martinez was 1-for-3 with a walk.  Junior Guerra struck out five in 5.1 innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits and two walks.

Anzoategui:  Jackson Melian was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.  Gorkys Hernandez was 1-for-2 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Mayckol Guiape pitched two shutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk.

The game:  Anzoategui overcame a 2-1 deficit, scoring once in the seventh to tie it and once in the eighth to take the lead.  The go-ahead run scored on an error.

ARAGUA 4, CARACAS 1 IN CARACAS

Aragua:  Ji-Man Choi was 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk, scoring twice.  Alex Romero was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run.  Manuel Olivares struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up only a hit batsman.

Caracas:  Henry Alejandro Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI.  Josh Whitesell was 0-for-2 with two walks.  Yoimer Camacho struck out four in two shutout innings, allowing only a walk.

The game:  Aragua scored two in the first, with both runs scoring on wild pitches, and led all the way.  Caracas had only two hits, both by Rodriguez.

MARGARITA 7, MAGALLANES 0 IN MAGALLANES

Margarita:  Taylor Motter was 2-for-5 with a triple and a double, scoring twice and driving in one.  Andy Burns was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.  Eric Berger pitched five shutout innings, giving up two hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

Magallanes:  Gabriel Garcia pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.  Alejandro Chacin pitched a scoreless inning, allowing only a hit batsman with one strikeout.

The game:  Mario Martinez had a two-run single to put Margarita up 2-0 in the third.  Margarita added two in the fourth and single runs in each of the next three innings.

TODAY'S TILTS

Margarita at Caracas

Lara at Zulia

La Guaira at Anzoategui

Aragua at Magallanes

Arizona Fall League: Games of October 9

Good days for Eddie Rosario and Zack Jones.  Three errors lead to a pleasant Surprise.  Peoria doubles its pleasure.

SALT RIVER 7, MESA 3 IN MESA

Twins:  Eddie Rosario was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI.  Max Kepler was 1-for-5 with a run.  Taylor Rogers struck out three in 2.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks.  Zack Jones struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Salt River:  Ryan Casteel (Colorado) was 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.  Brandon Drury (Arizona) was 2-for-5 with a home run.  Nelson Gonzalez (Colorado) pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with one walk and one strikeout.

Mesa:  Jon Berti (Toronto) was 1-for-3 with two walks and a run.  Chad Hinshaw (Angels) was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Sean Nolin (Toronto) struck out two in two shutout innings, allowing only a walk.

The game:  A six-run fourth gave Salt River all the runs it would need.  Casteel had a two-run double in the inning.

SURPRISE 7, GLENDALE 4 IN GLENDALE

Surprise:  Hunter Renfroe (San Diego) was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer.  Jesse Winker (Cincinnati) was 1-for-4 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Ryan Dennick (Cincinnati) struck out two in a perfect inning.

Glendale:  Daniel Fields (Detroit) was 1-for-3 with a home run and two walks, driving in two.  Steven Moya (Detroit) was 3-for-5 with a double and a run.  Scott Snodgress (White Sox) pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.

The game:  Trailing 3-2 after three, Surprise scored three in the fourth to take the lead, aided by three Glendale errors.  Renfroe's two-run homer in the seventh put the game out of reach.

PEORIA 11, SCOTTSDALE 2 IN PEORIA

Scottsdale:  Greg Bird (Yankees) was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Dan Gamache (Pittsburgh) was 1-for-3 with a home run.  Steven Okert (San Francisco) struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Peoria:  Francisco Lindor (Cleveland) was 4-for-6 with a home run and a double, scoring twice and driving in three.  Justin O'Conner (Tampa Bay) was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in one.  Aaron Northcraft (Atlanta) pitched three shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts.

The game:  Peoria scored four in the first on five doubles.  Five more runs in the third put the game out of reach early.

TODAY'S TILTS

Salt River (J Aquino, Colorado) at Peoria (Jenkins, St. Louis)

Glendale (R Ray, Detroit) at Scottsdale (Harlan, PIttsburgh)

Surprise (Howard, Cincinnati) at Mesa (Edwards, Cubs)

Venezuelan League Preview

The Venezuelan Winter League starts today.  The regular season runs through December 30, followed by playoffs.  Here's a quick look at the teams.  Be aware that the fact that a player is listed on someone's roster does not mean that he'll actually play much, if at all.  Also, mlb.com does not list rosters for half the teams.  This either means that the league is even less organized than usual or that mlb.com is asleep at the switch.

AGUILAS DE ZULIA

No roster available.

BRAVOS DE MARGARITA

Manager:  Henry Blanco

Twins:  Alexis Tapia

Notables:  Frank Mata, Carlos Monasterios, Eliezer Alfonzo, Carlos Perdomo, Wilfredo Tovar

CARDENALES DE LARA

No roster available.

CARIBES DE ANZOATEGUI

No roster available.

LEONES DEL CARACAS

Notables:  Yoanner Negrin, Kyler Newby, Luis Angel Sanz, Miguel Socolovich, Yorvit Torrealba, Daniel Mayora, Ronald Bermudez

NAVAGANTES DEL MAGALLANES

Twins:  Deolis Guerra

Notables:  Felix Doubront, Pedro Guerra, Pedro Hernandez, Bobby Korecky, Jose Mijares, Johan Santana, Carlos Zambrano, Francisco Cervelli, Jose Altuve, Elvis Andrus, Mario Lisson, Rougned Odor, Endy Chavez, Lew Ford

TIBURONES DE LA GUAIRA

No roster available.

TIGRES DE ARAGUA

Notables:  Yorman Bazardo, Jason Lane, Wil Ledesma, Wilson Contreras, Luis Maza, Ji-Man Choi, Alex Romero

Arizona Fall League: Games of October 8

A solid day for Byron Buxton.  Mark Appel polishes off opposing batters.  Jesse Winker sees the ball just fine.

SALT RIVER 6, SCOTTSDALE 3 IN SCOTTSDALE

Twins:  Byron Buxton was 2-for-5 with a run.  Max Kepler was 1-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch.  Jake Reed retired all six men he faced, four by strikeout.

Salt River:  Peter O'Brien (Arizona) was 1-for-2 with a home run (his second) and two walks.  Brandon Drury (Arizona) was 1-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs.  Mark Appel (Houston) pitched three shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts.

Surprise:  Tyler Austin (Yankees) was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Kyle Haynes (Yankees) pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing two walks with one strikeout.

The game:  Scottsdale scored three in the fourth to take a 3-1 leda, but Salt River came back with single runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh and put the game out of reach with a two-run eighth.

SURPRISE 8, PEORIA 2 IN PEORIA

Surprise:  Jesse Winker (Cincinnati) was 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, and two walks, scoring twice and driving in two.  Kyle Waldrop (Cincinnati) was 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs.  Aaron Kurcz (Boston) struck out all three batters he faced.

Peoria:  Raul Mondesi (Kansas City) was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Jordan Smith (Cleveland) was 1-for-4 with a home run.  Ali Williams (Kansas City) pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.

The game:  A walk, two wild pitches, and a passed ball led to a three-run first for Surprise.  A walk, a hit batsman, and an error helped Surprise add two more in the second and the game was not close after that.

GLENDALE AT MESA

Rained out.

TODAY'S TILTS

Scottsdale (Ryan O'Sullivan, Philadelphia) at Peoria (Aaron Northcraft, Atlanta)

Salt River (TBA) at Surprise (Sean Nolin, Toronto)

Surprise (TBA) at Glendale (Matt Magill, Dodgers)

Arizona Fall League: Games of October 7

Eddie Rosario gets off to a good start.  A big eighth inning lifts Peoria.

SCOTTSDALE 7, SALT RIVER 4 AT SALT RIVER

Twins:  Byron Buxton was 0-for-4 with a walk and a run.  Eddie Rosario was 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Jason Adam pitched one inning, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk.

Scottsdale:  Greg Bird (Yankees) was 3-for-5 with a home run and two doubles, scoring three times and driving in four.  Brandon Nimmo (Mets) was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Julian Hilario (Mets) pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk with one strikeout.

Salt River:  Peter O'Brien (Arizona) was 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk, driving in two.  Austin Nola (Miami) was 2-for-4 with a triple and a run.  Tyson Perez (Houston) struck out four in two shutout innings, allowing two hits.

The game:  Bird hit a two-run double in a three-run first.  Scottsdale added three in the fifth to take a 6-1 lead.

PEORIA 5, SURPRISE 4 AT SURPRISE

Peoria:  C. J. McElroy (St. Louis) was 3-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Hunter Dozier (Kansas City) was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Sam Tuivailala (St. Louis) pitched a perfect inning.

Surprise:  Hunter Renfroe (San Diego) was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring twice and driving in one.  Patrick Kivlehan (Seattle) was 1-for-4 with a home run.  Ryan Dennick (Cincinnati) pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit with one strikeout.

The game:  Trailing 4-2 after seven, Peoria scored three in the eighth.  Dozier's two-run double brought home the tying and go-ahead runs.

GLENDALE 9, MESA 3 AT GLENDALE

Mesa:  Addison Russell (Cubs) was 1-for-4 with two RBIs.  Chad Hinshaw (Angels) was 1-for-3 with a double.

Glendale:  Corey Seager (Dodgers) was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two walks, scoring twice and driving in one.  Steven Moya (Detroit) was 3-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in three.  Parker Bridwell (Baltimore) pitched two perfect innings with one strikeout.

The game:  A three-run fifth put Glendale up 6-2.  Moya had a two-run double in the inning.

Arizona Fall League Preview

The Arizona Fall League starts today.  Here's a quick look at the teams.  "Notables" is an attempt to highlight a few players.  In fact, all the players in the AFL are considered notable to their parent clubs, or they wouldn't be there.

The teams play a thirty-two game schedule, with an all-star game and a winner-take-all championship game between the two division winners.  Each team has thirty-six players on its roster.

EASTERN DIVISION

Mesa Solar Sox

Affiliates:  Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

Manager:  Mike Mordecai

Coaches:  Greg Sparks, Ron Villone, Matt Wise, Patrick Anderson

Notables:  Zach Cates, Sean Ochinko, Jon Berti, Addison Russell, Boog Powell

Salt River Rafters

Affiliates:  Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Florida Marlins, Minnesota Twins

Manager:  Andy Haines

Coaches:  Kevin Riggs, Jacob Cruz, Joshua Miller

Notables:  Mark Appel, Anthony DeSclafani, Edgar Olmos, Joe Sclafani, Peter O'Brien

Twins:  Jason Adam, Zack Jones, Jake Reed, Taylor Rogers, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Eddie Rosario

Scottsdale Scorpions

Affiliates:  New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants

Manager:  Jeff Bannister

Coaches:  P. J. Pilittere, Valenino Pascucci, Ray Burris, Mike Couchee

Notables:  Brandon Nimmo, L. J. Mazzilli, Adrian Sampson, Alex Smith, Dante Bichette, Jr.

WEST DIVISION

Glendale Desert Dogs

Affiliates:  Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers

Manager:  Lance Parrish

Coaches:  Andy Tomberlin, Chris Hook, Mike Griffin

Notables:  Zach Davies, Robbie Ray, Wei-Chung Wang, Daniel Fields, Steven Moya

Peoria Javelinas

Affiliates:  Altanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays

Manager:  Vance Wilson

Coaches:  Garey Ingram, R. C. Lichetenstein, Jason Simontacchi, Dave Wallace

Notables:  Tony Wolters, Francisco Lindor, Raul Mondesi, Breyvic Valera, C. J. McElroy

Surprise Saguaros

Affiliates:  Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers

Manager:  Delino DeShields

Coaches:  Jody Davis, Nelson Paulino, Jeff Andrews, Andrew Lorraine

Notables:  Lisalverto Bonilla, Taijuan Walker, Jace Peterson, Kyle Waldrop, Hunter Renfroe