Ian Happ, Eloy Jimenez in starting lineup for Solar Sox in Arizona Fall League Championship Game
The Mesa Solar Sox take on the Surprise Saguaros at Scottsdale Stadium on Saturday afternoon (2:00pm CST) for the Arizona Fall League Championship. The game will be carried live on MLB Network and MLB.com.
The Solar Sox won the East Division title on the final day of the AFL regular season. Mesa was 16-15-1 on the fall. The Solar Sox feature prospects from the Cubs, Indians, Marlins, A’s and Blue Jays.
The Solar Sox have not won an AFL title since 2003 and are in the championship game for the first time since 2013. Surprise beat Mesa for the title three years ago.
The Mesa Solar Sox features three of the top position-player prospects in the Cubs’ system. Ian Happ, Eloy Jimenez and Victor Caratini have played well this fall. Happ and Jimenez are both in the Sox’s starting lineup.
Mesa’s Starting Lineup
- Franklin Barreto (Athletics) – 2B
- Greg Allen (Indians) – RF
- Ian Happ (Cubs) – LF
- Brian Anderson (Marlins) – 3B
- Bradley Zimmer (Indians) – CF
- Juan Kelly (Blue Jays) – 1B
- Eloy Jimenez (Cubs) – DH
- Danny Jansen (Blue Jays) – C
- Yu-Cheng Chang (Indians) – SS
- Dylan Covey (A’s) – Starting Pitcher
The starting lineups for both teams are tentative and subject to change.
Surprise’s Starting Lineup
- Nick Gordon (Twins) – SS
- Mauricio Dubon (Red Sox) – 2B
- Eric Wood (Pirates) – LF
- Ryan O’Hearn (Royals) – 1B
- Mitch Garver (Twins) – DH
- Jose Trevino (Rangers) – C
- Mauricio Ramos (Royals) – 3B
- Scott Heineman (Rangers) – RF
- Tanner English (Twins) – CF
- Eric Stout (Royals) – Starting Pitcher
Eloy Jimenez hit .255/.323/.491 with four doubles and three home runs for a .813 OPS. In 15 games, Jimenez walked six times with 11 strikeouts in 55 at-bats.
Ian Happ played in 19 games and batted .236/.375/.403 with four doubles, a triple and two home runs for a .778 OPS. Happ was 17-for-72 with 15 walks and 22 strikeouts.
Victor Caratini was 14-for-62 in 19 games with three doubles. Caratini hit .226/.338/.274 for a .612 OPS. Caratini had 10 walks and 14 strikeouts.
On the mound, Ryan McNeil did not have a decision in eight appearances. McNeil allowed 10 runs, all earned, on nine hits with five walks and 13 strikeouts (8.18 ERA, 1.27 WHIP).
James Farris did not allow any runs in eight appearances. Farris was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 0.70 WHIP. Farris had a hold, finished four games and surrendered five hits with two walks and 12 strikeouts in 10 innings. Steve Perakslis was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 0.63 WHIP. Perakslis did not give up any runs and allowed just three hits in 6 1/3 innings with a walk and six strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.
The Cubs added Duane Underwood Jr. to the 40-man roster Friday. Before he was shut down for the fall, Underwood Jr. made two starts (0-1) and gave up six runs, all earned, on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts in six innings (9.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP).