Wednesday's top AFL prospect performers

Here's a look at Wednesday’s top performers in the Arizona Fall League from each team's Top 30 Prospects list.

Marlins: JJ Bleday, OF (MLB No. 71), Mesa Solar Sox
As small of a sample size as it may be, Bleday’s AFL performance is beginning to line up with his former hype. The 23-year-old collected his third three-hit game of the fall and second in three contests to push his average up to .350 for the Solar Sox. Bleday homered, doubled and drove in five runs to give him 13 RBIs in 10 games, one behind leader Juan Yepez of the Cardinals. The fourth overall pick in the 2019 Draft is batting .350/.480/.575 with five extra-base hits and an AFL-best 13 walks in 50 plate appearances.

A’s: Logan Davidson, SS (No. 12), Mesa Solar Sox
Production-wise, it hasn’t been the most fruitful of Fall League campaigns for Davidson, but a deeper look shows something else. The 23-year-old entered Wednesday 2-for-15, albeit with eight walks, but broke out with three hits and an RBI for Mesa. Drafted 29th overall out of Clemson in 2019, Davidson struggled to a .212/.307/.313 slash line with Double-A Midland but his patience -- he’s walked in seven of his eight AFL games -- is a positive sign heading into the offseason.

Cubs: Caleb Kilian, RHP (No. 14), Mesa Solar Sox
Ryan Jensen, RHP (No. 15), Mesa Solar Sox
Nelson Velazquez (No. 29) Mesa Solar Sox
A solitary bad outing in a handful of opportunities can skew numbers in a negative light. Such is the case for Kilian, who surrendered seven runs on five hits without recording an out in his Fall League debut on Oct. 16. But the 24-year-old looked better in his second outing and found his form in his third appearance for the Solar Sox. Tossing 33 of his 45 pitches for strikes, Kilian allowed one hit and struck out six of the 10 batters he faced across three scoreless frames for Mesa. The 2019 eighth-round Draft pick has whiffed nine in five innings this fall.

The Cubs' arms were strong against Glendale, and Jensen preceded Kilian with four scoreless frames. Chicago’s first-round pick in 2019 (27th overall) struck out five and surrendered two hits in his best AFL outing to date. Like Kilian, Jensen struggled in his first two appearances, yielding seven runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. More ?

While Jensen and Kilian shined on the mound, Velazquez continued his torrid campaign with another multihit game, his sixth in 10 contests. The 22-year-old homered for the second consecutive day, doubled, walked twice and drove in a run for the fifth straight game. Velazquez has hit safely all but two games and is batting .415/.520/.732 with seven extra-base hits, nine RBIs and nine walks in 50 plate appearances.

Yankees: Elijah Dunham, OF (No. 24), Surprise Saguaros
Dunham slugged his first two AFL homers, singled and drove in four runs to pace the Saguaros’ offense. The 23-year-old is 5-for-9 and has collected five of his six RBIs in his last two games. Selected by the Pirates in the 40th round of the 2019 Draft, Dunham enjoyed a solid professional debut in the regular season, hitting 13 homers and swiping 28 bases across two Minor League levels. The Indiana native is batting .333 with a 1.100 OPS in 32 at-bats. More ?

Brewers: Joey Wiemer, OF (No. 23), Salt River Rafters
Making his first appearance since Oct. 23, Wiemer picked up right where he left off. Coming on the heels of four- and three-hit performances, the 22-year-old singled in his first three plate appearances before grounding out in the sixth. Wiemer extended his hitting streak to five games, including a 10-for-12 stretch in his previous three contests. The hot stretch has pushed his slash line to .467/.568/.667 with four extra-base hits, four RBIs and two stolen bases.

Rangers: Owen White, RHP (No. 29), Surprise Saguaros
White has been one of the top pitchers in the AFL to date and that didn’t change in his third appearance. The 22-year-old scattered three hits and two walks while striking out five over five scoreless frames to lower his ERA to 1.20. White tossed 40 of his 68 pitches for strikes and tallied four of his five strikeouts in a six-batter sequence across the second and third innings. The North Carolina native has a 14-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio and an 0.87 WHIP in 15 AFL frames.