Arizona Fall League Preview – Mesa Solar Sox
Some of the best young talent in the game of baseball will descend upon Arizona, starting Tuesday October 13th for the start of the Arizona Fall League.
Today, we preview the Mesa Solar Sox, who finished the 2014 season with a record of 15-14-2, good for second place in the AFL East. The Mesa Solar Sox are comprised of players from the following teams: Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Baseball Factory Alumni
Sean Manaea – Parent Club: Oakland Athletics
Manaea was a former first round supplemental selection by the Kansas City Royals (34th overall) out of Indiana State University in the 2013 MLB Draft but was part of the trade at this year’s deadline to the Oakland Athletics that brought Ben Zobrist to the Royals. Manaea is a left-handed starter with incredible size (6’5″, 235), a great fastball (95 mph) and a plus change-up and slider in his repertoire.
After the trade to Oakland’s organization, Manaea went 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA in seven starts with Double-A Midland. He struck out 51 batters in just 42 2/3 innings pitched, holding batters to a .218 average. Overall, he finished the 2015 season with a 2.66 ERA, 90 strikeouts and a .243 opponent batting average.
Manaea, from Wanatah, IN, participated in an Under Armour Baseball Factory College PREP event in Indianapolis, Indiana back in September of 2009.
Trevor Williams – Parent Club: Miami Marlins
Williams began his Baseball Factory journey with an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Cathedral City, CA way back in November of 2007 and was selected to be a participant a few months later at the 2008 Under Armour Pre-Season All-America Tournament. He was also a member of the 2008 16U Championships in Arizona and a Team One West participant in June of 2009.
Drafted in the second round of the ’13 Draft by the Miami Marlins after a collegiate career at Arizona State University, Williams climbed as high as Triple-A New Orleans at season’s end after making 21 starts (22 appearances) for Double-A Jacksonville. Overall, the right-hander finished 2015 with a 7-10 record and an ERA of 3.85 with 101 strikeouts in 131 innings pitched.
Cael Brockmeyer – Parent Club: Chicago Cubs
Brockmeyer has quickly moved through the Cubs system as one of their top catching and overall prospects after being drafted in the 16th round of the 2013 Draft, starting the season with Single-A South Bend and finishing 2015 with at-bats at Triple-A Iowa. In total, he played 111 games, hitting .251 with 24 doubles, one triple, nine homers and 61 RBI.
Brockmeyer attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Worcester, MA in June of 2008, a Dodgertown World Series in August of 2008 and a Team One West showing in 2009.
Stephen McGee – Parent Club: Los Angeles Angels
McGee was the Angels ninth round selection (277th overall) in the 2013 MLB Draft out of Florida State and at 24 years old, made it to Triple-A Salt Lake to end the 2015 season and played well, collecting 11 hits in 28 at-bats, with two doubles, a home run and eight RBI. He is a defensive-minded catcher highly regarded in the Angels organization after receiving an invite to big league camp this past spring.
Back in December of 2007, McGee, then a sophomore at Port St. Lucie High in Florida, took part in a Team One Preview showcase event in Jupiter, Florida.
Jake Bauers – Parent Club: Tampa Bay Rays
Bauers, who celebrated his 20th birthday yesterday, was originally a seventh round selection by the San Diego Padres in 2013 before being traded to the Rays in a three-team deal for Wil Myers in December of 2014. He participated in the 2013 Ryan Lemmon Invitational in March of that year.
He began the 2015 season at High-A Charlotte, playing 59 games, hitting .267 before being quickly promoted to Double-A Montgomery at 19 years-old where he hit .276 with 18 doubles, five homers and 36 RBI in 69 games. Overall, he hit .276 with 45 extra-base hits with 50 walks and 69 runs scored in 128 total games.