This weekend the Cincinnati Reds had their fingerprints all over the Surprise Saguaros win over the Scottsdale Scorpions. Carson Spiers got the ball as the starting pitcher on the day and he kept doing what he’s been doing while out in the Arizona Fall League, allowing one run in 4.0 innings while not walking anyone and picking up five strikeouts. He then handed the ball over to Bryce Hubbart. The lefty also allowed one run in his 3.0 innings of work, picking up a save in the 7-inning game.
It wasn’t all pitching, though. Austin Callahan put his stamp on the win with a big 2-run home run in the 4th inning. When the inning began the game was tied up at 1-1, but Surprise grabbed a 2-1 lead earlier in the inning. With a runner on for Callahan he turned a 1-run game into a 3-run game with a shot to right field.
The home run was the first of the fall league for Callahan. After beginning the season going 1-25 in the first six games he played in, he’s gone 5-14 in the five since (he only had an at-bat in four of these games).
Carson Spiers time in Arizona has gone well. After his outing on Saturday he’s got a 3.86 ERA. That’s a run-and-a-half lower than the Arizona Fall League average ERA. Without a walk in the game he’s still sitting at one walk in his 14.0 innings. With the five strikeouts he now has 16 of those.
Bryce Hubbart has an ERA of 3.86 as well. The lefty has pitched in relief in all four of his outings and has thrown 3.0 innings in each of the last three, while throwing 2.2 in his first outing. He has struggled a bit with his consistency, walking six batters so far in the fall league to go with just nine strikeouts. He’s limited the hits against him, though, giving up just seven of them and holding batters to a .175 average.
Watching Spiers ar AA a bit this year, I was very impressed with his competitiveness. Guy just doesn’t give in. He’s got a pretty sweet breaking ball and spots his fastball well.
This is one type of arm that has a lot of value, IMO. He’s versatile, tough, and can slide over to the bullpen if needed. Or back into the rotation, when needed.
He may still be a sleeper, but people shouldn’t overlook him. He’s got plenty of tangibles and intangibles to show up on a major league pitching staff for some time.
Very hitter friendly league too
I’ve been quite impressed with our pitchers in the AFL this year. I can see Spiers developing into a quality depth starter, if not more. He’s improved his standing with the Reds considerably this season.
Spiers will join Phillips and Richardson at AAA in 2024. Pretty good trio in the starting rotation providing depth to the major team. We also will keep an eye on Lowder and Floyd how they pan out from low levels in the farm system…Aguiar is also very intriguing starting at AA…