Glendale Desert Dogs Weekly Review (October 10-16, 2022)

Moises Castillo: .545/.583/.818 — 1 BB, 1 K, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB
Adam Hackenberg: .333/.500/.333 — 1 BB, 2 K, 2 R, 1 RBI
Terrell Tatum: Did not play last week
Chase Solesky: 3 IP, 12.00 ERA, 2 BB, 2 K
Sammy Peralta: 2 IP, 4.50 ERA, 1 BB, 0 K
Lane Ramsey: 2 IP, 9.00, 2 BB, 2 K
Declan Cronin: 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0 BB, 1 K

The Glendale Desert Dogs are 5-5-1 — yeah there really was a tie in October 15. Somehow, they have the best run differential in the league so far, but are right at .500. Can they break out this week and take a shot at getting to the championship game? Well, Sox pitchers Lane Ramsey and Chase Solesky are responsible for two of the five losses, so maybe don’t send them out as much, Justin Jirschele. Ramsey and Solesky have had a tough go of it in the AZL. Ramsey did not pitch two weeks ago, and then allowed runs in both stints this past week. Solesky continues to start regularly, but with a 9.00 ERA over seven innings. Homers were his issue in this last start, with two given up in his three-inning start.

On the better end, Sammy Peralta had a couple of outings last week, one of which was scoreless. The two runs he has allowed were from solo shots. Declan Cronin had a better time this past week, with two scoreless appearances.

The better portion of Sox prospects are clearly the bats, even though Terrell Tatum did not get into a game this past week. Adam Hackenberg played twice, still showing a good ability to get on base despite a lack of power. He has a .391 OBP in five games, thanks to four walks and four singles. All of his hits are still just singles.

Moises Castillo is really the guy taking advantage of the extra games, with a team-leading 1.242 OPS in six games played. He should be in line for an AFL All-Star appearance. He has played three games each week, so he is not getting in a full-slate of nine or ten games so far, but he is taking advantage of his at-bats when he gets them. He is tied for the league lead in batting average (.500), fifth in OBP (.560), and fourth in OPS. Though, the big caveat is that he only has 22 at-bats, so all these rankings could change with just one bad game. He hasn’t hit a homer yet, so as expected he is not showing much pop, but he has four doubles in six games to bring up that slugging part of the OPS. A final note, he has played five of the six games at second base and none at shortstop, which is the position he mostly played during the regular season.