Arizona Fall League recap: Justyn-Henry Malloy hits first home run

The Arizona Fall League closed out its final games this past week to cap off the season. The Scottsdale Scorpions started the week in prime position to earn a playoff spot but went 0-3 down the stretch to finish in fifth place. It wasn’t a prime week for the Atlanta Braves prospects, but Justyn-Henry Malloy capped off his season by hitting a home run in the final game.

Justyn-Henry Malloy

Stats: 2-6, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K

Season stats: 89 PA, .306/.438/.444, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 15 BB, 18 K

Malloy started two games this week and they went in opposite directions. Wednesday’s 4-2 loss to Salt River officially eliminated them from the playoffs, and the struggled of Malloy and Cal Conley were readily apparent as the Scorpions only scored two runs. For Malloy’s part, he struck out with a runner on third to end the inning and in his final two outs had runners on base where a hit would have made a big difference in the game. Malloy finished 0-4 with two strikeouts. Malloy’s last game was much better as he reached base in each of his three plate appearances. He cranked a home run in the fourth inning to put the Scorpions on the board, but that had no impact on the outcome as Scottsdale fell 8-2. Malloy provided half of the teams hits and scored both runs finishing 2-2 with a walk.

Cade Bunnell

Stats: 1-5, 2 BB, 3 K

Season stats: 46 PA, .167/.326/.167, 4 RBI, 9 BB, 21 K

Bunnell finished out his season as he has all year with seven of his plate appearances ending in a walk or strikeout. This was a better week for Bunnell as he had a big game on Tuesday with a single and a walk. Bunnell also drew a walk in the finale, but made his third error in his limited playing time this fall. Overall Bunnell struck out or walked in 30 of his 46 plate appearances this fall and didn’t have an extra base hit to add to his resume.

Cal Conley

Stats: 2-13, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K

Season stats: 101 PA, .267/.376/.465, 5 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 13 BB, 21 K, 9 SB

It was a fantastic fall showing for Cal Conley, but an unfortunate end as he struggled to do anything in the past week. Conley had a nice showing with a 2-5 game on Tuesday but got very aggressive in his second game seeing seven total pitches in four plate appearances. He went 0-4 in that game then finished with an 0-4 performance in the final game of the season. Conley earned a lot of playing time and the leadoff spot in the lineup this fall but unfortunately didn’t end on a great note in those final games.

Alex Segal

Stats: 1 G, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA

Season stats: 8 G, 9.2 IP, 5 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 12 BB, 13 K, 8.38 ERA

Segal came in to pitch in Wednesday’s loss, but did his job as he was responsible for holding a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning. Segal was very efficient, forcing two routine outs in the field and recording a strikeout on just nine pitches. Overall it was a rough fall showing for Segal, but his last two outings were scoreless.

Austin Smith

Stats: 1 G, 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 9.00 ERA

Season stats: 10 G, 10 2⁄3 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 14 K, 3.38 ERA

Smith has been the Braves best pitcher in the fall league though he ended his season with a poor outing. Command was an issue as Smith threw two wild pitches and allowed two hits to score a run. Smith also allowed a walk though it was no consequence to the scoring. While he did give up a run it is fair to say that both hits came with a bit of bad luck. The first hit coming on a week liner into no man’s land to the left of the second baseman and the RBI hit was a hard hit grounder that skipped off of the third baseman’s glove down the line.

Allan Winans

Stats: DNP

Season stats: 6 G, 20.1 IP, 24 H, 15 R, 11 ER, 7 BB, 19 K, 4.87 ERA

Did Not Play

William Woods

Stats: 1 G, 1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 45.00 ERA

Season stats: 9 G, 12 ²⁄₃ IP, 19 H, 12 R, 12 ER, 4 BB, 13 K, 8.53 ERA

William Woods finished his season about as poorly as one can, with a blow up inning that put the Scorpions in a deficit they never threatened to climb out of. Woods got a fly out from the first hitter in the inning, but allowed two hits to score a run immediately after. Woods then allowed a walk and another RBI double before hitting a batter with a pitch to load the bases. Woods allowed his third run on an infield single before finally battling to get a strikeout for the second out. This ended his day on the mound and his replacement couldn’t help him out much and allowed two runs to score on a base hit. The two doubles in the inning underscored Woods’s weakness this entire fall as he just has not been able to avoid the barrels of bats.