Red Sox Arizona Fall League Week In Review: Antonio Anderson Stays Hot in Arizona

The second week of the Arizona Fall League is officially complete. The Mesa Solar Sox played slightly better this time around, going 2-2 on the week along with one game being canceled. Overall, their record now sits at 4-6-1, 3.5 games back of first place.

We're not here to discuss fall league standings, though. Let's check in on how each member of the Boston Red Sox organization did during the second week of the AFL.

Antonio Anderson 1B/3B/DH

Last week, Anderson was one of the best hitters in the AFL, so expectations were high heading into the second week. The corner infielder appeared in three of his team’s four games, making two appearances at first base and one as designated hitter.

While he wasn't quite as hot this time, Anderson still went 3-for-10 with two doubles, two RBIs and three walks. He did strike out five times, however, showcasing a major hole in his game despite the decent showing at the plate.

At the end of two weeks in Arizona, the slugging corner infielder is hitting .345/.486/.655. Anderson currently leads all Mesa batters in several offensive categories such as home runs, RBIs, batting average, slugging and OPS.

Nazzan Zanetello 2B/SS/OF

Zanetello impressed during the first week despite a stat line that would have people wanting more if you just looked at the numbers. That same trend continued into the second week, as the utility player appeared in just two of the team’s games including an appearance at third base alongside his regular position of second base.

In those two games, Zanetello put up mixed results despite going hitless. Overall he would go 0-for-8 with two RBIs, a walk and five strikeouts. In his first game of the week, he went for 0-for-5 but put the ball in play three times while driving in two runs. In the top of the seventh inning, despite flying out, Zanetello managed to take a 93-mph fastball up and away and drive it out to right field at 96.1 mph.

In his final game of the week, Zanetello didn’t fare too well, striking out in all three of his at-bats. After two weeks, he’s batting .143/.314/.321 with seven walks, showing an ability to get on base even if his batted balls aren’t falling in for hits.

Mason White 2B/SS

White, an Arizona native, appeared in three games for Mesa this week and continued his trend of putting the ball in play even if they didn’t fall in for hits. During the week, the middle infielder went 2-for-11 with two walks and four strikeouts.

Offensively, you would like to see a little bit more from White considering he finished the season in Double-A.. Through eight games played, he’s struck out just 12 times, helping to offset it by walking seven times.

Overall, he’s hitting .172/.333/.276.

Harry Blum

Blum managed to get into one game this week, continuing to look well out in Arizona despite some command issues. In his lone appearance, the right-hander tossed one inning, allowing one hit and two walks but preventing the Surprise Saguaros from scoring. He also struck out a batter. He tossed 19 pitches in his lone inning with just eight of them going for strikes.

Velocity-wise, he topped out at 94.9 mph on his four-seam fastball. Overall, he generated two whiffs.

Blum got off to a quick start, retiring the first two batters he faced before he walked the next batter which was followed up by a single and his second walk. He got out of the bases-loaded jam by getting a strikeout with his sinker.

Through two weeks, he has a 0-1 record with a 2.70 ERA in 3 1/3 innings pitched. He’s allowed five walks while striking out four.

Madinson Frias

Frias got the start for Mesa on Saturday and while he provided some length (pitchers don’t tend to go long in the AFL), he struggled at keeping the Salt River Rafters off the board. Tossing 2 2/3 innings, the right-hander allowed three runs on five hits, one being a home run, and a walk. He also struck out two batters while tossing 50 pitches. Of them, 26 went for strikes.

Frias pitched better than his stat line suggested, as the first run of the game he allowed came on a fielding error in the first inning. After that, he didn’t allow another run until the third inning when he began to tire. Notably, his fastball topped out at 96.1 mph and he generated four whiffs.

Overall on the fall season, he has a 0-1 record with a 7.71 ERA in 4 2/3 innings pitched. He’s allowed four runs on seven hits, one being a home run, and three walks while also striking out four batters.

Nicholas Judice

Judice returned to Mesa this week after taking a short leave to get married and pitched in one game where he struggled. Lasting just 2/3 of an inning, Judice allowed three runs on a walk and two hits, including a home run. In his lone outing of the week, the right-hander tossed 28 pitches with only 14 of them for strikes.

Judice was welcomed into the bottom of the first rudely, giving up an RBI single to his first batter before following it up with a bases-loaded walk. He looked ready to limit the damage after a pop-up made it two outs, but then allowed a grand slam to Sebastian Walcott before finally getting out of the inning. Velocity-wise, he topped out at 90.7 mph and generated two whiffs.

Overall on the season, he’s tossed three innings with a 9.00 ERA and allowed three runs on two hits and a walk. He’s also struck out four batters.

Trennor O’Donnell

O’Donnell struggled in his lone inning of work this week. Coming into the game with a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the seventh, he allowed three runs on three hits, one being a home run, while striking out a batter. He would end up with a blown save, but thanks to some extra-inning magic, the Solar Sox wound up winning the game.

O’Donnell needed 22 pitches in the outing but was in the strike zone often with 17 strikes. The outing started off rough as the right-handed allowed a double right away. After a fly-out for the first out, it was followed by a triple and then a home run to make it 8-7. He would settle down after that and get the next two batters out.

His fastball topped out at 92.3 mph and he generated four whiffs. Overall on the season, he has a 6.75 ERA in four innings.

Caden Vire

Vire did not get into a game during the second week of action. Overall, he’s tossed 1 2/3 innings with a 5.40 ERA. He’s allowed one run on one hit and three walks while also striking out one batter.

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