With a blowout 10-run loss to the AZL Cubs, the AZL Giants fell short of the coveted trophy in the Arizona Rookie League championship Thursday night at the Giants Baseball Complex in Scottsdale, Ariz.
After dropping Game 1 of the three-game series, 10-4, the AZL Giants forced a Game 3 with a 6-5 win by breaking a tie in the ninth inning of Game 2, only to loss 13-3 in the final game of this short season.
Giants third-round pick Seth Corry took the loss on the mound. The 18-year-old started Game 3 and allowed two earned runs over 2.1 innings pitched. He finished his first season of pro ball 0-3 with a 5.84 ERA.
Corry, the highest-drafted prep out of Utah since 2005, struggled with his command the whole season and walked two more batters Thursday night. Over 26.2 innings pitched, the lefty finished with 24 strikeouts as well as 24 walks.
The Giants are one of the best organizations in baseball at developing pitching. Corry is far from a finished prospect and missed most of his junior year in high school on the mound after the All-State safety tore his ACL in football.
At the plate, the Giants were led by second-round pick Jacob Gonzalez. The third baseman went 1-for-4 to finish his first season of pro ball. In the three-game championship series, Gonzalez was the AZL Giants' top hitter, boasting a .417 batting average (5-for-12).
The 19-year-old son of Luis Gonzalez gave the Giants plenty of reasons to be excited with his 50 games in Arizona. Gonzalez was named the Arizona Rookie League Player of the Month in August after hitting .322 to go with his lone home run.
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Including the playoffs, Gonzalez finished with a .346 batting average. He also drove in 26 runs and hit 17 doubles.
The AZL Giants were without their top prospect, center fielder Heliot Ramos. Selected No. 19 overall by the Giants in the 2017 MLB Draft, Ramos missed the rest of the season after suffering a concussion on Aug. 20.
Ramos, seen as a young Yoenis Cespedes by his manager, slugged six home runs in 35 games. The powerful teenager - he just turned 18 on Sept. 7 - batted .348 with a 1.049 OPS.
