Final Arizona Fall League Update

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Salt River over Surprise 9-3
After getting absolutely clobbered (we're talking mercy rule clobbered) by Surprise on Thursday, Salt River came back strong and never trailed Surprise in this game.

The scoring got started in the top of the second.  Jason Castro reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases.  Goebbert was the next batter and drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly RBI.  In the top of the 4th, Castro hit a one-out stand up double down the left field line but was stranded there.  In the top of the 7th, Goebbert singled and came around to score small-ball style with a sac bunt, a single and a fielder's choice bringing him home as he showed off his base-running skills.  David Nick of the Diamondbacks organization was the hero of the day with a bases loaded triple that broke the game wide open.  Josh Zeid pitched 0.1 inning issuing a walk, a single and getting the final out of the 7th on a flyball out.  Surprise threatened in the bottom of the 9th but ultimately left the bases loaded.

Castro - 1 for 4 with a double, a strikeout and a GIDP
Goebbert - 1-3 with a sac fly RBI and a run scored
Zeid - 0.1 IP with one hit and one walk

How did our Astros do overall in the AFL?

Jay Austin - .311/.385/.444/.829 over 11 games
In the games I watched on gameday, Austin seemed to have good plate discipline which showed as he only recorded nine strikeouts to six walks which is a very good sign for him.  Eleven games is a very limited sample size, but it was against some of the best players out there.  My hope is that it will instill confidence in Austin that will help him out next season.

Jason Castro - .289/.404/.316/.720 over 12 games
Castro started out extremely slowly at the plate but he really picked that up his last few games.  But that isn't nearly as important as him knowing that his ACL has healed to the point that he can not only function but excel behind the plate.  Again, it is a confidence thing that should serve him well going into spring training.

Jake Goebbert - .247/.301/.412/.713 over 22 games
From all accounts, Goebbert was well-liked for his defensive abilities in left field.  He started out very slowly at the plate, but was hitting .300 over his last 10 games.  He had six doubles, a triple and two home runs and stole two bases.  His main issue was strikeouts.  He had nineteen strikeouts to only seven walks.

Kody Hinze - .268/.362/.463/.825 over 22 games
Hinze had the opposite problem from Goebbert.  He started out fairly well but seemed to fade over the last few games.  He had only 5 hits in his final 21 at-bats.  He ended up with four doubles, four home-runs and eighteen RBI's

Josh Zeid - 2-0 with an ERA of 5.00 and a WHIP of 1.667 over 15 games
Josh settled down nicely after a terrible start.  In his final 10 appearances he had a 3.46 ERA with a 1.385 WHIP.  Having seen him pitch in a couple of games now, it is apparent that he has the stuff but his control is questionable at times.

Jason Stoffel - 0-1 with a 6.85 ERA and a 2.143 WHIP over 14 games
Jason never really got it together at the fall league.  He gave up far too many walks (21 over 18.1 IP) and just wasn't effective.

Dallas Keuchel - 3-2 with a 5.08 ERA & 1.306 WHIP over 7 games (6 starts)
Keuchel had two bad games and five good games.  In his five good games, he had a 2.70 ERA and a 0.850 WHIP.  And if anyone doubts his control, consider this.  He had 22 strikeouts and one walk.  I think that's all I need to say.