Denzel Clarke is putting together a terrific fall, building off of a strong second half in Midland
The Mesa Solar Sox are off to a hot start to the Arizona Fall League season, sitting in second place in the division and well within the playoff picture. The Athletics sent a number of interesting position players out to Arizona this season, and two in particular have made standout contributions to the Solar Sox offense.
Tyler Baum
AFL stats: 4 G, 4 IP, 11.25 ERA, 2 BB, 8 K
Tyler Baum spent most of the season putting up mediocre numbers for Midland after a rough start in Triple-A, and so far his inability to get over the hump has carried over into his stint with the Solar Sox. Now in his defense, most of Baum’s poor performance is from one game where he gave up four runs, three coming in his second inning of work where he failed to get an out, and he has put up some impressive strikeout numbers having retired eight of 22 batters on strikes. Baum has shown MLB stuff, averaging 97.5 mph on his fastball in the game where he allowed most of his runs, but his struggles with command have remained a consistent part of his profile. It’s hard to see Baum, who turns 27 in January, ever figuring out the command well enough to have a major league career, but he certainly has enough arm talent for the Athletics to keep giving him shots.
Henry Bolte
AFL stats: 9 G, 41 PA, 1 HR, 2 SB, .222/.317/.389, 5 BB, 15 K
Bolte started his AFL season off with a bang, getting a hanging breaking ball and crushing it for a home run in his second game, but otherwise the story followed many of the same narratives we saw with him in Double-A this season. The strikeouts have piled up quickly for Bolte, and he is still struggling to lock in on an approach that can be successful against higher level pitching. Still, Bolte is young and seems to be improving quickly and a chunk of his strikeouts came from back-to-back game where he had three and then four strikeouts. This follows the pattern of Bolte’s strikeouts tending to come in bunches, and in the three games since he’s limited himself to a total of four strikeouts while going 4-12 with a triple and a walk.
Denzel Clarke
AFL stats: 10 G, 45 PA, 0 HR, 5 SB, .382/.533/.471, 9 BB, 9 K
Denzel Clarke has quickly earned himself a leading role in Mesa’s offense, carrying over an improved approach into the fall season with as many walks as strikeouts through ten games. Clarke is getting an opportunity to make up with the development time he’s lost in past seasons due to injury, and given his strong finish to the 2024 regular season and the performance he has put up in the fall league looks fully ready to take on Triple-A next year. Clarke has had a few notably stellar games, like his October 15th performance where he reached base six times (four walks, two singles) and stole a base. Power production has still lagged since the middle of the season, but given his progression at making contact throughout the zone and laying off of pitches out of the zone it’s a worthwhile trade off for the time and he will likely start to showcase more as he continues to develop. Last Tuesday was another of those stand out performances, where not only did he reach base three times but he had two 100 mph+ extra base hits with a double and a triple in the game. Clarke continues to display at every level just how significant his raw traits are, and flashes of his ability keep seeping into these AFL games.
Micah Dallas
AFL stats: 4 G, 4 IP, 2.25 ERA, 1 BB, 4 K
Micah Dallas had a terrific season in the season after making a full-time move to the bullpen, where he settled in at every level as a reliable arm that could give his team multiple innings when called upon. The AFL has been much the same, as he has put together four solid outings with only one game where he had a blip in his command and gave up a run. Dallas isn’t the most exciting arm with a low-90’s fastball and average movement traits, but his changeup is an MLB-quality pitch and he continues to show he could settle in as a command-first middle relief arm.
Wander Guante
AFL stats: 5 G, 5 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 BB, 2 K
Guante has managed to put up solid numbers in the fall league so far, though he hasn’t done a great job at missing bats with only two strikeouts so far. Guante seems to be toying around a bit with his approach and has been inconsistent, though he continues to showcase a major league fastball-slider combination. Guante has the potential to be an MLB relief arm, but his pitch mix is more suited to an east-west style, which is a struggle for someone who has struggle to command the outside corner with his breaking stuff and tends to miss below the zone.
Nick Kurtz
AFL stats: 1 G, 4 PA, 0 HR, .000/.250/.000, 1 BB, 3 K
It may not have been the prettiest debut for the A’s first round pick, but having Kurtz on the field at all is a win for the rest of the season. The time Kurtz has lost to his hamstring injury doesn’t bode well to him finishing out the season strong, but at this point it’s about getting Kurtz as many healthy reps as possible and building up his timing heading into the offseason. Kurtz struck out three times on Saturday, but also drew a walk and scored a run in the Solar Sox 5-4 win
Mitch Myers
AFL stats: 3 G, 11 1⁄3 IP, 2.38 ERA, 2 BB, 7 K
Myers is in the system, and in this league, more to fill innings than anything else, but he has had some flashes of solid stuff for the Solar Sox. Myers debuted with 3 1⁄3 scoreless innings in Mesa’s opening day win, and has since made two solid, four inning starts. Myers isn’t a top prospect for the system but he can spin pitches at an above average level, with an ability to tunnel north-to-south that could give him swing-man potential if the A’s decide to move him a bit more quickly.
Daniel Susac
AFL stats: 6 G, 30 PA, 2 HR, .286/.467/619, 5 BB, 5 K
Susac’s time in Arizona was impressive, as he not only hit a couple of home runs but drew five walks in six games. Susac’s mechanical changes towards the end of the season allowed him to unlock a new gear, where the ball started flying off of the bat and he hit ten home runs over the past 50 games of the season. That power is Susac’s calling card, and he has showed it off in Arizona, but his continued struggles with laying off of bad pitches was a major red flag that was preventing him from showing a readiness for Triple-A. This is a small sample, and pitches in the AFL often tend to be those who need work on command, but still Susac didn’t have a single six-game span this pasts season with more than three walks. If he can combine that with lifting the ball as well as he did later in the season he could reach new heights next season. Triple-A should be the next step and will certainly be a challenge, but Susac has improved significantly since the beginning of the season.
Jake Walkinshaw
AFL stats: 3 G, 8 IP, 5.63 ERA, 2 BB, 5 K
28 year-olds with two stints in Double-A don’t often do enough to catch anyone’s eye, but Walkinshaw has a solid arm and may just need to get more innings to really shine. With a sinker that sits in the mid-90’s and an above average slider Walkinshaw could find himself in a big league middle relief role next season, and he can also mix in a changeup that is good enough to keep left-handed hitters honest. Walkinshaw has shown solid command at every level, and his one really bad game this fall boiled down to a single inning where the BABIP gods did not find him in favor. Walkinshaw has a steep hill to climb and would be served better by being moved into a multi-inning relief role sooner rather than later, but there’s a surprising amount of helium for a guy this far into his professional career.