Deyvison De Los Santos Walks Twice in Second Fall League Start

The Diamondbacks infield prospect walked twice in four plate appearances in his second start in the Arizona Fall League.

Deyvison De Los Santos once again got the start at first base for the Salt River Rafters in a 19-8 loss to the Mesa Solar Sox. In the two games he's started, both have been at first. Our No. 10 prospect in the Diamondbacks organization has come up as a third baseman, so this is something to note. De Los Santos had 93 starts at third and 23 at first between Low-A and AA in the 2022 minor league season.

His first fielding chance was not pretty, as three players all arrived around the first base bag. De Los Santos and pitcher Finneas Del Bonta-Smith collided, allowing Ronny Simon to reach on an infield single. He was also unable to corral an errant throw from catcher Braxton Fulford, which was close enough to make the catch on, but was able to stop it from getting into the outfield. 

At the plate, De Los Santos had two walks in four plate appearances. It's worth noting that the two pitchers he walked against had difficulty throwing the ball anywhere close to the strike zone. 

In his first plate appearance, he worked a 3-0 count before swinging at a fastball up at his shoulders. He walked on the subsequent pitch. In his next at-bat, he swung at a hanging curve and hit it straight up in the air. The ball was dropped by Mesa third baseman Tyler Hardman after a collision with shortstop Jose Salas. In his third trip to the plate, De Los Santos fell behind 0-2 before hitting a slow roller to third. 

Reliever J.B. Bukauskas came in with two outs in the third inning and struck out the first two hitters he faced. On the second strikeout, Fulford committed a throwing error. Instead of one out and no one on, Bukauskas was immediately in a jam. He gave up a double and an opposite field home run to the next two batters he faced. The balls were hit 95 and 99 MPH. 

His velocity was down a tick, with the fastball averaging 93.1 MPH compared to his 2021 average of 94.5. He threw sliders on 15 of his 28 pitches.

Kyle Backhus entered the game in the seventh. After giving up a bloop single to center, Backhus induced a foul pop fly that Fulford caught near the dugout. His sinker sat 88-92 MPH and a slider around 78-79. He gave up one run on a couple of hard-hit ground balls and a walk, but finished his day with a strikeout.

Addison Barger hit a pair of three-run home runs. The Blue Jays shortstop prospect, ranked 13th in the organization by MLB Pipeline, launched two balls into the right field berm hit at 104 and 106 MPH. Barger hit 26 home runs in the Minor League season between for three different levels. 

Brennan Davis, ranked No. 51 overall by MLB Pipeline, had a double and drew a pair of walks.

Jordan Walker, the No. 6 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline, hit a sharp single to right center. The ball was hit 108 MPH.