SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- It¡¯s been a year of learning for Jeter Downs?to say the least.

The 23-year-old middle infielder, who was acquired by the Red Sox from the Dodgers in the February 2020 trade involving Mookie Betts, finally got to suit up for a Boston affiliate this summer, only to hit .190/.272/.333 with 14 homers in 99 games with Triple-A Worcester. The Sox extended that hard education with an assignment to the Arizona Fall League starting this month, and it¡¯s in the showcase circuit that Downs looks like he¡¯s passing his final big test of 2021.

The No. 5 Red Sox prospect lifted a three-run homer Friday in Scottsdale¡¯s 10-8 loss to Peoria at Scottsdale Stadium. The dinger tied him atop the AFL leaderboard in the category, alongside Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar -- a player with 124 Major League plate appearances under his belt.

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¡°It¡¯s definitely a relief in a sense,¡± Downs said, ¡°that all of the hard work we put in during the year is starting to show.¡±

The right-handed slugger certainly exhibited offensive development in the homer at-bat in the third inning Friday.

¡°It¡¯s definitely a relief in a sense,¡± Downs said, ¡°that all of the hard work we put in during the year is starting to show.¡±

The right-handed slugger certainly exhibited offensive development in the homer at-bat in the third inning Friday.

Peoria/Philadelphia right-handed starter Hans Crouse looked dominant on the hill early in the contest, fanning the first five batters he faced (including Downs) and striking out six total in the first two frames. The 6-foot-4 hurler -- another Fall Leaguer with MLB experience -- was especially dominant with his off-speed pitches, eliciting several whiffs with his slider and changeup. When Michael Helman walked and Matthew Dyer singled in front of Downs, the Scorpions DH saw an opportunity to let Crouse come to him.

¡°I don¡¯t see him well,¡± Downs said. ¡°He¡¯s kind of funky, so I was trying to get something up and put a good swing on it. He hung a 3-2 slider. That¡¯s pretty much what I tried to do. I¡¯m not trying to do too much. Just find the barrel and let everything else take care of itself.¡±

The result: Downs struck the payoff pitch with a 104 mph exit velocity, sending it an estimated 425 feet to left-center (per TrackMan) and giving Scottsdale an early 3-1 lead. Those were the only three runs surrendered by Crouse, who exited with eight strikeouts in three innings.

Guessing how Downs would have handled that at-bat during his rougher days in Worcester is a difficult exercise, but it was certainly telling that he was looking slider up and punished the Peoria starter when that¡¯s what he got. The fact that Downs even worked the count full would have been a promising adjustment, considering he fanned in 32.3 percent of his plate appearances in Triple-A.

But despite the outcome of his swing, the hitter swears this was a time when he wasn¡¯t trying to force himself on the game, a trap he sometimes fell into with Worcester.

¡°[I was] not too swing-happy, but I was trying to hit everything instead of zoning in on what I can hit and what I know I can hit,¡± he said. ¡°[Now, I¡¯m] not swinging at their pitches. Working the count. In a sense, [I was] being too aggressive at some points during the season. I¡¯ve been taking it day by day, putting the work in and letting everything take care of itself.¡±

The results certainly speak volumes in the early days of the Fall League. Downs is 6-for-18 (.333) with more walks (seven) than strikeouts (five) over five games with Scottsdale. Four of those six hits have gone over the fence. His 1.520 OPS leads all qualifiers in the small sample.

Those are loud results, of course, but not too crazy for a player who is two years removed from a 24-homer season in the LA system and was a Top 100 prospect to begin the 2021 campaign. That said, Red Sox fans, who just watched the team fall to the Astros in the ALCS in part because of a lack of offensive firepower, shouldn¡¯t expect to see Jeter Downs, Power Slugger in Fenway someday. He¡¯s working on a different version of himself here in the Fall League.

¡°I don¡¯t really see myself as a power guy,¡± he said. ¡°I see myself as a hitter, an all-around hitter. I just try to swing at good pitches, hit the ball hard. I¡¯m not the type of guy in BP to put on an absolute show. The home runs come on their own.¡±

No. 15 Giants prospect Will Wilson?clubbed his first AFL homer and finished 2-for-4 alongside Downs in the Scottsdale loss.

Pirates No. 27 prospect Canaan Smith-Njigba went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and two runs scored for the victorious Peoria visitors. Ji-Hwan Bae (Pirates), Eguy Rosario?(Padres) and Chandler Seagle (Padres) also picked up a pair of hits each.