Padres On Deck: Eguy Rosario gets hot in the Arizona Fall League
Third baseman Eguy Rosario got off to a very slow start in the Arizona Fall League, going 3-for-19 in the first week-plus.
But the Padres’ №15 prospect got hot this past week, going 8-for-23 with a double, a home run, two walks, two stolen bases, five runs scored and eight RBIs — including a six-RBI game when he had both the double and the homer.
The 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic hit .348 for the week with a .400 on-base percentage and a .522 slugging percentage for a .922 OPS.
Already drawing attention for his fielding and strong arm before he started hitting, Rosario is now hitting .262 in 42 AFL at-bats with two doubles, a home run and nine RBIs.
Rosario, who signed with the Padres in 2015, has made strides since missing the 2020 minor league season due to the pandemic. He hit .327 in the Venezuelan Winter League last year before batting .281 with Double-A San Antonio this year. The 5-foot-9, 205-pound, line-drive hitter also hit a career-high 12 homers while posting a .360 on-base percentage and a .455 slugging percentage for a .815 OPS in 114 games.
Peoria Javelinas teammate Matthew Batten is hitting .286 in the AFL after a 5-for-16 week that included a double, three walks, two stolen bases, two RBIs and five runs scored. The first baseman is 12-for-42.
Backup Peoria catcher Chandler Seagle was 2-for-9 last week with an RBI and is hitting .267 on the season.
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits with five strikeouts in five innings in his only start last week and sports a 6.35 earned run average over 11 1/3 innings in three AFL starts. He has eight strikeouts and six walks after issuing no free passes in his most recent outing.
Right-handed reliever Jose Quezada gave up an unearned run on two hits and no walks with three strikeouts over three innings in two appearances last week to lower his AFL ERA to 4.50 after five appearances. Right-hander Jesse Scholtens has a 4.26 ERA after giving up two runs on six hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings over three appearances last week.
Right-hander Matt Waldron (5.40 ERA) gave up two runs on four hits with a strikeout over two innings in his only appearance of the week. Left-hander Tom Cosgrove (9.82) allowed four runs on four hits in two innings in two appearances.
