Owen Ayers and Koen Moreno represent Cubs in AFL All-Star Game |
Dustin Riese
· · 3 hours ago
It's hard to believe that one week from Sunday, the Arizona Fall League will be complete and the real MLB offseason can officially get underway. While there is no official starting point to the MLB offseason, the end of the Arizona Fall League marks the end of all the stateside baseball to be played in 2025.
Given that the Arizona Fall League playoffs conclude on Sunday, this past Sunday marked the annual AFL All-Star game, as many prospects received an extra day of rest for the festivities. Although not taken as seriously as some of the All-Star games, it's still an honor to participate in this event, and the Cubs were represented by two of their prospects. Backed by four runs of support in the early innings, it was the AL All-Stars holding off a thunderous ninth-inning rally by the NL All-Stars that saw them score three runs as the AL picked up a 5-4 win. Considering how the ball has been flying out of the yard the past two weeks, this was a much lower-scoring game than anticipated, but credit to the pitching staff for doing what they had to do to get the job done. As expected, Owen Ayers was one of the Cubs' two prospects earning a spot in this game, as he has been one of the league's best hitters since the start of the season. Ayers may not be producing at the level he was earlier in the season, but with a 1-2 showing at the plate, Ayers picked up another hit as he continues to see the ball well. It will be interesting to see where he checks in on the Cubs' top prospect list next season, as he has undoubtedly played like a top-30 prospect this Fall, but will the rest of the experts see it that way? While Ayers was the only one of the Cubs hitting prospects to see time at the plate, another Cubs prospect had an opportunity to play in this game, with right-hander Koen Moreno getting some work on the mound. By far the best pitcher in the Arizona Fall League to start the season, Moreno has encountered some rough patches in his past few outings, but even then, he has pitched exceptionally well for the Mesa Solar Sox this season. Looking to put forth a strong showing in the All-Star Game, Moreno had some troubles on the mound as he walked two and struck out one across his 1/3 inning. As bad as that final line looks, the most important thing was him finishing his outing with no runs allowed, as he should get at least one more inning of work this Fall. Next up for Mesa and the Cubs prospects is the final stretch of the season, as they have three more regular-season games until the postseason.
