Pebble Report: Three Rockies suit up for the AFL Fall Stars Game

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick became the baseball capital of the world on Saturday, November 13. The finest MLB event of the weekend brought 63 of the best prospects in the world onto one playing surface.

MLB Ballpark #31 was in all its glory:

Three of the 63 players had Rockies pinstripes on: Reagan Todd, Ryan Vilade and Michael Toglia.

The Eastern Division Fall Stars (made up of the Salt River Rafters, Scottsdale Scorpions and Mesa Solar Sox) took down their West counterparts (Surprise Saguaros, Peoria Javelinas, Glendale Desert Dogs) by a final score of 6-5 on Saturday night. 18 total pitchers took the hill, while 51 of the 63 players in uniform took part in the action.

Colorado’s prospects didn’t make a ton of noise in the contest, but the honor was there and the Rockies were well-represented by 1. a UCLA product that was touted to be there, 2. a position player with big league service to his name, and 3. a homegrown arm that clawed his way to Triple-A and into Fall Star territory.

It took the “Final Vote” to get Toglia into the contest, but #RockiesTwitter pulled through and got their guy onto the roster:

2021 AFL Fall Stars Game: Rockies Prospects

• Michael Toglia: 0-for-1
• Ryan Vilade: 0-for-0 (Walk in only plate appearance)
• Reagan Todd: DNP (last pitched on Thursday, November 11)

MVP honors for the Fall Stars Game were given to Miami’s J.J. Bleday, courtesy of a 2-for-3 performance with a home run and three RBIs. Bleday drove in exactly half of the East division’s runs.

Colorado Rockies - AFL Week 5 Performance

As the calendar pushes deeper into November, the Rockies representation has admittedly fared a little beneath where they were in October. Colorado bats combined to post a .180 average in AFL Week 5, while Colorado arms posted a collective 7.71 ERA in seven combined innings.

AFL Week 5: Rockies Pitching

• Jake Bird: 3 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K
• Matt Dennis: 3 IP, 4 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 3 K
• Reagan Todd: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K

Combined: 7 IP, 11 H, 7 R (6 ER), 4 BB, 8 K

AFL Week 5: Rockies Hitting

• Michael Toglia: 2-for-15, .133/.235/.200
• Ezequiel Tovar: 3-for-15, .200/.250/.200
• Ryan Vilade: 2-for-13, .154/.154/.154
• Willie MacIver: 2-for-7, .286/.286/.429

Combined: 9-for-50

Salt River Rafters: The Road Ahead

The AFL championship game is this Saturday but the Salt River Rafters (8-17) have been mathematically eliminated as they are 5.5 games behind the East division-leading Mesa Solar Sox with five games to play.

The Rafters are quickly running out of games in this 2021 Fall League slate, but the premise of the Fall League remains the same no matter the standings. The showcase of top prospects will go on, and our final taste of Rockies action this year will be on Friday in the Rafters’ AFL finale.

Arizona Fall League notes

• The AFL championship will be a one-game winner-take-all, televised live on MLB Network. The game will be played at 5 p.m. MST on Saturday at Salt River Fields.
• The Mesa Solar Sox (13-11-1) can clinch a berth in the AFL Championship with a win or a Scottsdale Scorpions (11-16) loss at any point through Friday.
• The AFL West division is separated by two games between the Surprise Saguaros, Glendale Desert Dogs and Peoria Javelinas with five days left in the regular season.