Fall Stars: Gades make impact in Arizona Fall League
Throughout the month of October and November, five players from the 2022 Hudson Valley Renegades have continued playing in the Arizona Fall League. Infielders T.J. Rumfield and Tyler Hardman, outfielder Jasson Dominguez, and pitchers Nelson Alvarez and T.J. Sikkema are all hitting the home stretch of the AFL season, and
Throughout the month of October and November, five players from the 2022 Hudson Valley Renegades have continued playing in the Arizona Fall League. Infielders T.J. Rumfield and Tyler Hardman, outfielder Jasson Dominguez, and pitchers Nelson Alvarez and T.J. Sikkema are all hitting the home stretch of the AFL season, and so we wanted to check in on how they’ve been doing.
T.J. RUMFIELD
Rumfield has been one of the breakout stars of the Arizona Fall League, hitting .400/.477/.582 for Mesa in 17 games. He led the AFL in batting average, finished third in on-base percentage, and seventh in slugging percentage. His 1.059 OPS was third-best in the AFL, and he walked nearly as many times (9) as he struck out (11) – impressive considering he is facing some of the best pitching from across the Minor Leagues. During a hot stretch right out of the gate, Rumfield had four straight games with multiple RBIs from October 5-12, batting 9-for-16 (.563) across those contests. He also finished strong with multiple hits in three of his last six games. Rumfield was acquired by the Yankees in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies in November 2021.
TYLER HARDMAN
Coming off his record-setting 2022 campaign in the Hudson Valley, Hardman continued to rake in Arizona. The 2021 fifth-round pick hit .325/.373/.662 for Mesa, while clubbing a league-leading six home runs 20 games. He finished tied for fifth in doubles (6), third in slugging percentage, fourth in OPS (1.035), second in total bases (51), and 10th in RBIs (15). The third baseman finished with a bang, going 7-for-19 (.368) with four home runs and six RBIs in five games in the month of November, including a two-homer game against Peoria on November 4.
JASSON DOMINGUEZ
The Martian got off to a slow start in the AFL, and never quite got it in gear, finishing with a .159/.250/.217 batting line in 20 games. The highlight for Dominguez was a three-game hitting streak from October 17-21, during which he ripped a pair of doubles. He also finished a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts. Dominguez collected three hits, including a double, in his final three games with Mesa.
NELSON ALVAREZ
Alvarez pitched far better in the AFL than his 8.10 ERA across nine appearances might suggest. He allowed six runs in 0.2 innings in his first appearance on October 4 against Scottsdale, but surrendered just three earned runs in 9.1 innings after (2.89 ERA). Alvarez had five strikeouts and only one walk across his final three Fall League appearances. The right-hander had a breakout season for the Renegades in 2022, appearing in a team-high 35 games and collecting four saves and a 2.85 ERA.
T.J. SIKKEMA
Traded by the Yankees to Kansas City as part of the Andrew Benintendi trade in July, Sikkema has been pitching for Surprise, and is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in three starts. In his last start on October 19 at the Peoria Javelinas, he turned in his best start, allowing one unearned run on four hits in 4.0 innings, walking one and striking out six. He didn’t throw enough innings to qualify, but would have ranked ninth in the league in ERA.
The 2022 Arizona Fall League season finished on Thursday, with the playoffs taking place on Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12. Mesa finished 13-15, one game out of the playoffs.