Red Sox In The Arizona Fall League: Brooks Brannon Mashes A 468-Foot Homer, Sox Pitchers Throw Zeroes

The Sox had a day off on Monday, and only Brooks Brannon appeared in a game for Mesa before Wednesday. And that was an 0-for-4 start that featured a pair of strikeouts. 

The good news is that things got a bit more exciting, if not altogether busier, for the Red Sox group on Wednesday. Each of infielder Max Ferguson & Caden Rose drew a start, and each recorded at least a hit in the Mesa victory. Ferguson went 2-for-4 with a run scored. More importantly, though, Rose slugged his first home run of the fall season courtesy of an eighth-inning solo shot. 

That particular game also had six innings from Red Sox pitchers. Cooper Adams drew the start, and while his three innings did feature three runs allowed, his four strikeouts were at least encouraging. Danny Kirwin immediately succeeded him with three of his own, which led to a bit more success. He also struck out four but could hold Glendale to just one run. 

On the surface, Thursday was a return to the quiet atmosphere of Tuesday’s game. While the Sox did have a bit more representation than they did when the week kicked off, Ferguson & Rose didn’t experience quite the loud output that they had in their first start. Ferguson was 0-for-2 but did walk twice. Rose was 1-for-4 but did steal a base. Solid, but unspectacular for both. At the same time, Ferguson’s two walks and Rose’s steal speak to things you’d like to see develop in their respective (and similar) games. You’re not going to get a ton of power from either at this point in their development. But you want to see them work on the approach and utilize the wheels. We saw the former from Ferguson on Thursday and the latter from Rose. That’s what makes the AFL exciting; it’s these small bits along the way toward their final form as a player. 

Digression aside, Ferguson drew another start on Friday while each of Zach Fogell & Tyler Uberstine appeared on the mound. Ferguson recorded a hit and a run across five plate appearances for Mesa as the starting shortstop. Fogell was very solid in 2.1 innings of work, allowing just one (unearned) run while striking out four. His appearance came directly in relief of Uberstine, who wasn’t quite as sharp. He allowed eight baserunners (five hits, three walks) in 1.2 innings but navigated it fairly well, only allowing two runs to cross the plate. 

Saturday’s game saw the return of each of Brannon & Rose to the lineup. Brannon’s start was the more notable of the two, as it was his second consecutive appearance behind the plate. Oh yeah, he also hit a 468-foot home run. The position & power are both important components of Brannon’s game. You’d like to see him get the work in behind the plate, given that his positional future is a bit in question. But as long as those questions persist, it’s also not terrible to know that you have a guy with 470-foot power to input into your lineup regardless of position (Rose was 0-for-3). 

It felt like a quieter week for the Red Solar Sox, especially on the mound. But Brannon’s power and the approach/speed trends from each of Ferguson & Rose feel fairly promising, even if they’re not in the mix every single day. While things were a bit more uneven on the mound, the Red Sox have at least two of the four Solar Sox with ERAs at zero as we get closer to the midway point of fall play (Fogell & Conor Steinbaugh).

Mesa gets back underway against Surprise on Monday. 

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