Cubs Minor League News: Shaw shines in USA win, AFL season finishes up

by Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - Fri Nov 15 08:29:48 GMT-04:00 2024

Another season of the Arizona Fall League has come and gone, and the Mesa Solar Sox's season ended disappointingly. After being one of the best teams in the league for most of the season, Mesa fell into a massive slump over the final three weeks, playing themselves out of playoff contention.

Sitting one game under .500 and entering their season finale against the Peoria Javelinas, the Solar Sox had a chance to end the season in style as they looked to send the Sloan Park fans home happy one last time. Despite the pitching setting the tone early, with Mesa holding a 2-1 lead, it was the bullpen that let things get away. A three-run seventh inning was the difference in this one, as the Solar Sox fell to the Javelinas 5-2.

When it comes to the Cubs and their prospects, only two of the eight prospects they sent to Mesa saw action, and both of them were in the starting lineup for the season finale. That all started with Moises Ballesteros, who was looking to end what has been an impressive season for the young catcher.

His season can be defined as two seasons in one, as he was one of the league's best hitters in the first half before struggling in the second half. He still finished the season with a .316 average, five homers, and 16 RBIs. His season concluded with a 1-4 showing on Thursday, as he also struck out two more times in the loss.

As was the case earlier in the season, Ballesteros made sure to do some damage when in the lineup as he picked up a sacrifice fly to go with his one hit. The second and final Cub in the lineup was David Avitia, who was seeing the field for the second consecutive day. Avitia was added to this roster with less than three weeks in the season and has had difficulty seeing the field consistently.

Avitia started his season with a 4-5 debut but has been held to just two hits since. Today was one of those days where he made some solid contact but had nothing to show for it, going 0-3 at the plate to go with a walk. He finishes off his brief time in Arizona with a .263 average and will now focus on getting his offseason underway.

USA Pounds Mexico to Advance to Knockout Round

In a do-or-die final game of the Group Stage of the Premiere 12 Tournament, Team USA squared up against Mexico. In what was expected to be one of the more highly anticipated matchups of the week, this was anything but that, as USA pounded Mexico from start to finish 12-2.

As has been the case for most of the tournament, Matt Shaw continued to leave a lasting impression. His start to the tournament has been nothing short of impressive. Not only is Shaw hitting north of .570 for the season, but he ranks near the top, if not at the top, of every offensive category thus far. Although he only had one hit in this one, he made that hit count as he connected for a bases-loaded triple to finish with three RBIs.