Down on the Farm: Peoria Wins First Game 8-7
Credit: Peoria Javelinas
San Diego Padres’ minor league players Hudson Potts and Austin Allen got in their first action of the 2018 Arizona Fall League, as the Peoria Javelinas won a close game, beating the Glendale Desert Dogs 8-7.
In the first game of the Arizona Fall League, the Peoria Javelinas, who host seven members of the San Diego Padres, were able to walk off against the Glendale Desert Dogs thanks to an Ian Miller RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Two Padres started the game, as Hudson Potts (23rd ranked prospect) and Austin Allen (25th ranked prospect) took the field for the Javelinas.
Hudson Potts started at third base for Peoria. He reached on a missed catch error by Glendale first baseman Steven Sensley and picked up his first RBI of the season. Potts singled in the seventh inning, and his walk in the bottom of the ninth extended the inning to help lead to the walk-off win. However, his error in the first inning led to two runs scoring.
Allen had a similar performance to Potts, as he had an RBI single in the sixth inning to extend the lead while walking in the first inning. It is encouraging to see Allen and Potts taking walks and laying off poor pitches as San Diego hopes to see these two continue building their plate discipline skills.
The Padres still had five other players who didn’t make their season debut in the AFL.
Hansel Rodriguez, Dauris Valdez, and Miguel Diaz looked on from the bullpen while Buddy Reed took a seat on the bench. Reed came back down to Earth after a torrent start at Lake Elsinore, which earned him a spot in the MLB Futures Game. Diaz will hone his skills on the mound either as a starter or reliever, and Rodriguez will continue to pitch more innings after an injury wiped out a majority of his 2018 season. The athletic Reed will look to rebuild his stock after struggling at Double-A.
One name that should ring a bell in the minds of San Diego fans is Bubba Derby, the former pitcher at San Diego State who was drafted in the sixth round by the Oakland Athletics in the 2015 MLB Draft. After being traded to Milwaukee in 2016 along with Jacob Nottingham for Khris Davis (a trade that has worked well for the A’s), Derby worked his way up to Triple-A and pitched to a 4.49 ERA with a 1.49 WHIP. His performance caused the Brewers to send him to the AFL and he started the game for Peoria, allowing two unearned runs in two and two-thirds innings while striking out three.
Peoria will take on the Mesa Solar Sox tomorrow.
I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.