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Major League Baseball announced on Wednesday the rosters for the Arizona Fall League and the Rockies will be sending third baseman Ryan McMahon, shortstop Pat Valaika, outfielder Noel Cuevas, and pitchers Shane Carle, Rayan Gonzalez, Jerry Vasto, and Sam Moll to the Salt River Rafters.
McMahon, the No. 6 PuRP on our midseason update, had an up-and-down year for the Hartford Yard Goats. Entering the season as a top 50 prospect for MLB.com, Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus, expectations were high for the young third baseman. He struggled in April to the tune of a .192/.271/.274 line with no home runs. Here are his lines by month:
May: .279/.379/.453, 2 HR, 21 K, 13 BB
June: .191/.287/.266, 1 HR, 37 K, 13 BB
July: .286/.346/.553, 6 HR, 34 K, 8 BB
August: .231/.320/.363, 2 HR, 35 K, 11 BB
Back in June, McMahon told MiLB.com he was working on some adjustments to try and find more consistency. Sending McMahon to the AFL gives him another month of baseball—against tougher competition—in order to test and refine these adjustments even more.
Also representing the Rockies for Salt River is shortstop Pat Valaika, who has hit .261/.301/.432 in 129 games across Double-A and Triple A this season, and outfielder Noel Cuevas (.298/.332/.417 in 93 games). The Rockies are also sending four pitchers: right handed pitcher Shane Carle (5.65 ERA in 106 2⁄3 innings for Albuquerque), lefty Sam Moll (4.87 ERA in 44 1⁄3 for Albuquerque), righty Rayan Gonzalez (3.14 ERA in 48 2⁄3 innings for Double-A Hartford), and lefty Jerry Vasto (1.38 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 26 innings for Modesto and 2.33 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 27 innings for Hartford).
The AFL serves as a showcase for some of the best prospects across baseball, with each team sending up to six prospects to fill out one of the six rosters. The Rafters feature players from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers and play their home games at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the Spring Training home of the Rockies and Diamondbacks.
Opening Day is scheduled for October 11 and the AFL season runs through the championship game on November 19. The much-anticipated Fall Stars Game, featuring the best players from the league, will be played on November 5 and televised on MLB Network.