Rays' Honeywell finds Fall League form

When Brent Honeywell was promoted to Class A Advanced Charlotte in 2015, it took him a couple starts to get used to the new level. That marked the only time in three seasons the right-hander seemed to struggle.

That is, until he joined the Arizona Fall League.

But after two shaky starts, Honeywell returned to his usual dominant status. Tampa Bay's No. 2 prospect spun four one-hit innings with two strikeouts and without a walk as Peoria topped Salt River, 8-2, on Monday in Peoria Stadium.

Honeywell (1-0) needed just nine pitches to retire the first four batters before Dawel Lugo slapped a double to left field. After the 21-year-old got Braves' No. 18 prospect Dustin Peterson to line out, his batterymate, 25th-ranked Rays prospect Nick Ciuffo picked off the D-backs' No. 11 prospect to end the inning.

With two more quick frames, Honeywell completed his best start of the young campaign. MLB.com's No. 39 overall prospect threw 30 of his 40 pitches for strikes. Honeywell lowered his AFL ERA to 8.64 after allowing eight runs on five hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings over his first two outings with the Javelinas.

The 2014 first-round Draft pick notched a 2.34 ERA with 117 strikeouts and 25 walks over 115 1/3 innings spanning 20 starts. The Georgia native split his season evenly between Charlotte and Double-A Montgomery.

Throughout Honeywell's career, he has utilized an above-average screwball and a fastball to seemingly retire hitters with ease. The 6-foot-2 hurler sports a career 2.58 ERA in 53 games -- 52 starts -- across four levels.

Backing Honeywell's strong start, Chad Wallach (Reds) slugged a grand slam while second-ranked Mariners prospect Tyler O'Neill, No. 12 Orioles prospect D.J. Stewart and Tyler Marlette (Mariners) each plated a run for Peoria.

Salt River starter Javier Salas (0-1) had trouble getting out of the first inning. The Brewers right-hander allowed six runs on four hits and three walks while recording two outs.

Ninth-ranked prospect JaCoby Jones went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Rafters. His .429 average leads all AFL hitters. Lugo also plated a run for Salt River.

In other Arizona Fall League action:

Desert Dogs 12, Scorpions 4

MLB.com's No. 82 overall prospect Harrison Bader (Cardinals) collected two hits and two RBIs and 10th-ranked Nationals prospect Drew Ward amassed three hits, three runs and an RBI for Glendale. St. Louis' No. 15 prospect Paul DeJong broke the game open in the fourth with a two-run blast to left-center field, the club's 11th-ranked prospect Carson Kelly added two hits, two RBIs and a run and Washington's No. 8 prospect Andrew Stevenson tripled, singled, scored twice and plated one in the victory. Cardinals' No. 19 prospect Austin Gomber (2-0) allowed one run on four hits and struck out five through five innings for the Desert Dogs, while No. 9 Yankees prospect James Kaprielian (0-1) was tagged for five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits in 3 1/3 frames. Greg Bird tripled in two runs for Scottsdale. Box score

Solar Sox 7, Saguaros 2

Toronto's No. 3 prospect Anthony Alford went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double, a walk and three RBIs to lead Mesa. Fellow Blue Jays prospect Justin Shafer (1-1) worked around five hits with three strikeouts in three scoreless innings. Eric Wood (Pirates) homered for the second straight game -- smacking a two-run shot -- for Surprise. Box