Heaney shines as Desert Dogs roll

Considering what Andrew Heaney did during the regular season, his Arizona Fall League debut should come as no surprise.

The Marlins' No. 2 prospect struck out six and gave up two hits over three scoreless innings Friday night as Glendale shut down Scottsdale, 5-1.

Heaney surrendered a leadoff double in the first to Yankees No. 2 prospect Mason Williams (Yankees) and a one-out double in the second to Angel Villalona (Giants) but stranded both runners. MLB.com's No. 48 overall prospect fanned two batters in each inning, throwing 29 of 43 pitches for strikes.

"It was good," Heaney said. "I had all three pitches working tonight, which was nice. It was nice to compete again. I threw a couple good changeups, a couple good sliders and my fastball location was good. Honestly, I had all three of my pitches working well. [Catcher] Pratt [Maynard] did a good job of mixing it up well. It was a solid outing."

Selected ninth overall in last year's Draft, Heaney (1-0) went 9-3 with a 1.60 ERA in 19 games between Class A Advanced Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville. The 22-year-old left-hander recorded 89 strikeouts over 95 1/3 innings and limited opponents to a .211 average. Despite the stellar season, Heaney is looking to improve on a few key areas.

"Really, just holding runners and time to the plate," he said. "I want to pitch well and have all three pitches working, but really holding runners and tempo is the big thing."

Twins' No. 5 prospect Eddie Rosario gave the Desert Dogs an early advantage, singling home a run in the opening inning. He extended the lead to 5-0 with a two-run single in the fourth, finishing 2-for-5 with a stolen base. Byron Buxton, MLB.com's top overall prospect, doubled and scored Glendale's second run.

"It's nice," Heaney said of having a lead before taking the mound. "Obviously, we've got an unbelievable lineup, just like everyone out here. Everyone's liable to get runs early, but it's good."

Brandon Jacobs, the White Sox No. 7 prospect, added a solo homer for the Desert Dogs.

Marlins prospect Nick Wittgren, a candidate for the MiLBY award as best relief pitcher, struck out the side in the sixth for Glendale.

Cory Vaughn tripled in the fourth and scored the Scorpions' lone run. Fellow Mets farmhand Hansel Robles was tagged with the loss after allowing two runs on two hits in one inning.