Drey Jameson and Kyle Amendt Rebound as Rafters Beat Glendale

SCOTTSDALE – The Salt River Rafters defeated the Glendale Desert Dogs 5-2 at Salt River Fields. The game featured Diamondbacks prospects Jansel Luis and Kyle Amendt, plus another rehab appearance for Drey Jameson.

Here are my takeaways from Tuesday's performance from the D-backs' Arizona Fall League contingent of players.

Drey Jameson and Kyle Amendt Bounce Back

Drey Jameson and Kyle Amendt were both looking to shake off a rough outing their last time out. Jameson struggled with command, walking three of the five hitters he faced in Peoria.

It may have been a case where the shaky command was a result of the weather, as it rained for five straight days. In ideal conditions at Salt River Fields, Jameson was in his top form again. Pitching the sixth inning, he put up a scoreless inning. He struck out one and allowed an infield hit.

Once again, Jameson was lighting up the radar gun. His four-seamer averaged 98 MPH on the day. The slider was once again his best putaway pitch, generating one whiff and a called third strike. He mixed in some changeups and sinkers, with three of the four hitters he faced being right-handed.

Amendt also rebounded, with a dominant eighth inning. He punched out Travis Honeyman, Nacho Alvarez Jr., and Josh Kasevich. His first strikeout came on a 92.3 MPH fastball that dotted the outer edge. His other two were swinging strikes on sliders down and away, his only two whiffs of the game. Seven of his 15 pitches resulted in a called or swinging strike.

The right-hander struggled with his curveball, with all four missing badly out of the zone. However, the slider turned into a useful offering, generating a called or swinging strike on all four he threw. Amendt mentioned using the slider as a bridge pitch on a day he didn't have good fastball or curveball command back on October 3rd.

The fact that both pitchers shook off a tough outing the way they did portends well for how they can handle life as a major league reliever.

Another Multi-Hit Game for Jansel Luis

Jansel Luis had a rough game against Peoria on Friday and had to sit for four days. Playing at third base once again, the switch-hitting infielder produced his second multi-hit game in his last three. He recorded at least one hit from each side of the plate.

Luis led off the bottom of the first with a slicing fly ball that landed safely down the left field, then scored on a pair of productive groundouts. Following a double play, ground out, and a strikeout, the D-backs infield prospect bounced back in his final at-bat. He ripped a ground ball through the hole in short for his first hit batting right-handed.

The early concern for Luis is his high ground ball rate to start the fall league. 14 of the 18 balls he's put into play have been ground balls. Granted he's been hitting the ball hard, with 11 batted balls classified as "hard-hit". It will be something to monitor, as he gets 4-5 at-bats every game.

More Notes on This Game

• David Hagaman's next scheduled start is Friday, October 17th. Salt River is hosting the Surprise Saguaros, with a first pitch of 1:30 P.M. MST. If you're looking to catch one of the best D-backs pitching prospects, that's a game worth going to.
• Hagaman said the pitch that was classified as a "cutter" by the Pitch Tracking at Salt River Fields is more of a gyro slider. I've classified the pitch as a slider in my database, so I'll need to further scrutinize that.
• Braves prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. had a strong day defensively. He made a spinning play in the hole to deny Red Sox catcher prospect Johanfran Garcia a base hit. He later made a slick scoop on a Luis ground ball to start a 5-4-6-4 double play. He also smashed a ground ball past Luis for an infield single, logging an exit velo of 103.8 MPH.
• One interesting note came on Amendt's penultimate pitch. He spotted a fastball just off the outside black of the zone that was called a ball. Garcia challenged the pitch, which missed the zone by a whopping 0.1". That may end up being the tightest margin for any challenge, regardless of level. It will be interesting if a major league game can match that in 2026.