The Arizona Fall League will have their annual Rising Stars game Saturday evening at 8pm ET on MLB Network and MLB.com. Currently the Cincinnati Reds will only have one representative on the team, right handed reliever Barrett Astin. Infielder Brandon Dixon is up for the “final vote” and you can vote for him for the next two days, here.
Barrett Astin is coming off of a very strong season for the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He made 11 starts and 26 relief appearances, posting a 2.26 ERA along the way. In his 103.1 innings pitched he allowed just 74 hits and 25 walks to go along with 96 strikeouts. He has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for the Peoria Javelinas so far in Arizona. In his six games he’s tossed 8.2 innings and allowed just two runs (2.08 ERA) and has four walks with five strikeouts.
Brandon Dixon will need some help getting into the game as he’s up against two other players in the final fan vote. He’s currently hitting .313/.389/.344 in 32 at-bats for Peoria. He has four walks, 10 strikeouts, a stolen base, a double and four RBI in eight games played.
While the teams aren’t always chosen based on performance, one has to wonder why Zach Vincej isn’t playing. The shortstop is hitting .364/.400/.727 with three home runs and 12 RBI, both of which top the Arizona Fall League. His 1.127 OPS is also tops in the league.