Goodwin uses all tools to lead Mesa

With his skill set on display Monday in the Arizona Fall League, Brian Goodwin showed why he is the Nationals' top prospect.

Goodwin homered, plated three runs and stole a base as Mesa rallied past Salt River, 5-4, in a game shortened to 7 1/3 innings due to rain.

With the Solar Sox trailing in the third inning, 3-0, Goodwin smacked a two-run homer.

"I was ready to swing and I didn't miss it," MLB.com's No. 65 prospect said.

He drove in Tyler Collins (Tigers) in the fifth with a groundout. No. 3 Cubs prospect Jorge Soler followed with a two-run double to give Mesa the lead and eventually its 13th victory of the season.

Goodwin singled and stole a base in the eighth, but the game was delayed for a second time and eventually ended with him stranded on second base.

"The skies just opened up," he said. "It came out of nowhere."

No. 8 Washington prospect Matt Purke allowed the Rafters' first three runs on four hits and two walks with one strikeout over four innings, but didn't factor into the decision.

"He battled," Goodwin said of his starter. "He kept throwing strikes and showed a bunch of poise on the mound."

While Goodwin doesn't lead the team statistically, the outfielder has lingered around the top five in several offensive statistics. But after a long year of baseball, he's not pushing for that kind of validation.

"Just (have to) keep my intensity up and stay with the same approach," said the 34th overall pick in the 2011 Draft.

With the playoffs just two weeks away, Goodwin and the Solar Sox sit atop the East Division.

"It's kind of an unspoken thing, but everybody can feel it," he said. "We just show up and take it one day at a time."