Two Angels prospects named to Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game

The rosters for the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game were announced on Monday. The AFL is an annual offseason league that some of baseball’s best prospects compete in, and the Fall Stars Game, which features an East vs. West format, is its yearly contest that its best performers are invited to participate in. Two Angels prospects, Jahmai Jones and Brett Hanewich, will be playing for the East team.

Jones is, according to MLB.com, the Angels’ fourth-best prospect. The 2015 second-round pick was once an outfielder, but the Angels moved him to second base last offseason. Jones began the 2018 season at the High-A level, where he batted .235/.338/.383 (99 wRC+, where 100 is average), and was later promoted to Double-A, where he hit .245/.335/.375 (104 wRC+).

Those numbers are considerably worse than the ones he produced in 2017 (.302/.368/.488 (131 wRC+) in High-A), but Jones is still only 21 years old, and he also stole 24 bases in 28 attempts this year. In 11 AFL games, Jones is hitting a sizzling .357/.460/.500 with a home run and three stolen bases.

Hanewich, who the Angels selected in the ninth round of the 2017 draft, is not as highly regarded as Jones, but the 23-year-old relief pitcher posted a 1.90 ERA and a 27.6% strikeout rate in 42 2/3 High-A innings this season. Although, he was certainly not flawless, as he also compiled a bloated 16.8% walk rate during that time. Hanewich has punched out 10, walked five, and permitted three runs in seven AFL innings thus far.

Both Jones and Hanewich are playing their AFL games for the Mesa Solar Sox, where they are joined by five other Angels. Those five include three pitchers—Jesus Castillo, Ryan Clark, and Daniel Procopio—and two infielders—Roberto Baldoquin and David MacKinnon.

Both Fall Stars teams are also stacked with plenty of non-Angels talent, with each touting six of MLB.com’s top-100 prospects. Among others, Jones, Hanewich, and the East team will have the top pitching prospect, the Astros’ Forrest Whitley, on their side, while the West team will be headlined by the number one overall prospect, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays.

The Fall Stars Game will take place on November 3 at 5:00 p.m. PT and can be viewed on MLB Network.

Featured image via MLB.com.