Kyle Freeland, Raimel Tapia continue setting the pace for Rockies prospects in the AFL

The Arizona Fall League is beginning to wrap up; the league's championship game will be this Saturday, Nov. 21 and the Salt River Rafters are locked in a tight race with Scottsdale to represent the East in that game. Wins and losses mean nothing in fall ball, but it would be cool to see a (kind of) Rockies championship this year anyways, right?

Before we get there, though, let's take a look at how the Rockies' prospects fared this week in the AFL, starting with the hurlers.

Kyle Freeland showed he doesn't believe in superstition, putting up another strong outing on Friday the 13th. He got a win for his effort in 5⅔ innings of four-hit, one-run ball, while striking out three and walking one in a victory over Surprise. He is now 3-1 on the year with a 3.54 ERA through 20⅔ innings pitched with 12 strikeouts. Following his worst start of the fall on Oct. 14, he hasn't allowed more than one run in a game and seems to have settled in to a nice groove.

Carlos Estevez regained his form following a rough outing last Monday, when he allowed four runs in a third of an inning. This week saw him throw two innings of one-hit ball on Saturday, in a game he took the loss on an unearned run during a strange sequence where he was charged with an error after he overthrew first base on a throw to challenge whether a runner had missed touching the base on a double. The overthrow sailed into the stands, and the runner (at second) was awarded two bases and came around to score. That run proved to be the difference in a 6-5 loss for Salt River. Estevez is now 1-2 with four saves and a 4.82 ERA in nine appearances.

Matt Carasiti also rebounded from a rough outing last week, throwing one scoreless inning this week with a strikeout in Friday's game against Surprise. He has yet to receive a decision and has a 5.40 ERA and seven strikeouts in his eight appearances. Sam Moll had a pair of one run appearances this week, both one inning long. He is also without a decision, having pitched seven innings in six appearances with a 5.14 earned run average and nine strikeouts.

As for the bats, Raimel Tapia continues to remind us why he is considered one of the top ten prospects in the organization (No. 6 PuRP of the summer class), going 10-for-21 with two RBI. He is now slashing a scorching hot .338/.349/.488 with one home run, seven RBI, and five stolen bases for the fall.

Jordan Patterson continues to struggle, though, which makes me sound like a broken record in these fall league updates. He brought his average up this week to a slightly less depressing .133 and is now slashing .133/.304/.156 with two RBI through 15 games. He doesn't have a whole lot of time left to turn things around, but hopefully he can get something worked out. It's surprising to see someone who did so well at both Modesto and New Britain struggle with what is, for the most part, a similar talent level.

Finally, catcher Chris Rabago made two appearances, recording one hit. He is hitting .231/.310/.580 on the fall through his seven appearances.

Across the pond in the ABL, Correlle Prime has come back down from a red-hot start. He has just one hit since last week and is now hitting .258/.292/.403 through 16 games with the Perth Heat. He's playing alongside fellow Rockie Michael Benjamin, who is hitting .200/.328/.300 in his 16 appearances.

Australia native Robbie Perkins' struggles with Canberra continued, as he's slashing just .163/.250.163 through 15 games with his hometown ABL club. Alex Balog was roughed up a bit this week, taking his first loss of the year against Adelaide. He pitched four innings, allowed six hits, two runs, walking two and striking out three. Nevertheless, he is still a stellar 2-1 with a 1.45 ERA through 18.2 innings in four games.

Some cool news for the end of the fall season and for those generally interested in prospects: we will be bringing you live coverage of the championship this Saturday! I will be in the press box in Scottsdale to cover the game as the AFL season wraps up, so if you've got questions for the minor leaguers in attendance, let me know below or send me a tweet.