NEWS

Release Courtesy of Newport Gulls

NEWPORT, RI- Thursday, September 22 marks the last day of summer, but it does not mean the end of the 2022 season for some of Minor League Baseball’s most promising young talent. Although most pro prospects will enjoy a little bit of time off after the long year, for 180 aspiring Major Leaguers, they will get to showcase their skills from October 3- November 12 before hanging up the cleats for 2022.

Since 1992, each Major League organization has selected seven prospects from their farm system to play in the Arizona Fall League. Players that have demonstrated excellence throughout the season and have the potential to reach the Major Leagues are assembled to fill six teams that compete in 90 total games. A mix of five MLB organizations make up the six teams:

Glendale Desert Dogs: Brewers, Dodgers, Reds, Twins, White Sox
Mesa Solar Sox: Athletics, Cubs, Marlins, Rays, Yankees
Peoria Javelinas: Guardians, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Padres
Salt River Rafters: Blue Jays, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Tigers
Scottsdale Scorpions: Angels, Braves, Giants, Orioles, Red Sox
Surprise Saguaros: Astros, Phillies, Pirates, Rangers, Royals

Playing in the Arizona Fall League is a good indication of the potential each organization sees in its rising stars, with 300+ AFL Alumni becoming Major League All-Stars. Some of these alumni include Dustin Pedroia (2004), NECBL Alumni Andre Ethier (2005), Bryce Harper (2010-2011), Mike Trout (2011), Mookie Betts (2013), and Aaron Judge (2014). A couple of other notable individuals to play in the league was Michael Jordan in 1994 during his time away from basketball and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow in 2016. 

This year, seven former Gulls were chosen to represent their MLB franchises in the AFL, two more than in 2021. 

Russell Smith will be playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs after wrapping up his first professional season in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. He was the 51st Overall Pick in the 2021 MLB Draft after an extremely successful career at Texas Christian University, which ended with a Second-Team All-Big 12 selection in 2021, going 7-3 on the year. Smith is a 6’ 7” left-handed pitcher that played for Newport in the summer of 2018. A workhorse during that summer, Smith pitched the second-most innings of any Gull, starting eight games and appearing in nine total. He hurled 39 innings and amassed 45 strikeouts which ranked 9th in the NECBL. On June 18, 2018, Smith turned in his most impressive performance of the year, striking out 10 Danbury Westererners over 5.1 innings of work, not allowing an earned run. All 15 appearances he has made as a professional have been starts, striking out 62 batters in 68.1 innings. He will look to build on his status as the Brewers 20th Ranked Prospect.

Smith is joined by two of his teammates from the 2018 Gulls in the Arizona Fall League, RHP Tyler Mattison (Bryant) and OF Zach Britton (Louisville). Mattison was also drafted in 2021, selected by the Detroit Tigers with the 104thOverall Pick in the 4th Round. The Tigers 26th Ranked Prospect has hit the ground running in professional baseball. He ranks 5th in Bryant University history with 233 career strikeouts and is continuing where he left off. Mattison finished the season with a 7-1 record in 27 games and 39.2 innings pitched, fanning 54 opposing batters. Although he has just one start as a pro, Mattison was a key member of the 2018 Gulls rotation, starting all seven games he appeared in, going 2-2 with 33 strikeouts and just 14 walks in 31.2 innings pitched. 

Joining the Gulls a few weeks into the season after the Louisville Cardinals finished their postseason run, Zach Britton provided a spark to Newport’s lineup, ultimately leading the team in batting average at a mark of .361. The lefthand-hitting Britton was ranked among the nation’s best catchers prior to committing to Louisville but began playing first base and outfield as a freshman. He continued to work at his new positions during the summer of 2018 with Newport and is now ranked as the Blue Jays 37th Best Prospect, playing the outfield. He was drafted in the 5th Round of the 2020 MLB Draft and has 17 home runs thus far as a professional to go along with 68 RBI in two Minor League Seasons. 

A pair of alumni from both the Newport Gulls and the Vanderbilt Commodores will reunite as teammates for the Scottsdale Scorpions this fall. C/OF Stephen Scott and 1B/3B Justyn Henry-Malloy won a National Championship with Vanderbilt in 2019 and both played for Newport after their freshman campaign in the black and gold. Scott joined the Gulls during the summer of 2016 and was a Southern Division All-Star who was later named the NECBL Rookie of the Year and 2nd Team All-NECBL after blasting 10 home runs, 11 doubles, and driving in 32 runs over the course of the season. A veteran leader for Tim Corbin’s Commodores, Scott decided to return to school after being drafted following his junior year. The decision paid off, helping lead Vanderbilt to a College World Series victory and getting drafted 21 rounds higher than he had been the previous year when the Boston Red Sox selected Scott in the 10th Round of the 2019 Draft. 

Only a freshman on that 2019 National Champion Vanderbilt team, Henry-Malloy later transferred to Georgia Tech after spending the summer as a member of the Newport Gulls. He was a vital part of the Gulls lineup that reached the Southern Division Championship, leading the team in home runs (6) and tying for second-most RBI (24), while finishing the season with a .324 batting average. Immediately beginning his Minor League career after being drafted in the 6th Round of the 2021 Draft by the Atlanta Braves, Henry-Malloy already has nearly 600 pro at-bats, blasting 21 home runs, including six in Double-A where he finished this season. He has certainly impressed scouts in his short time in the Atlanta Braves organization, jumping up to being ranked as their 13th Best Prospect. 

2016 Gull Jackson Goddard will get the opportunity to compete in the AFL after injuries have been a nuisance since being drafted in the 3rd Round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Goddard, who attended the University of Kansas, pitched in six games for Newport in 2016. He finished the summer with a 1-1 record and 24 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. Currently, Goddard’s career ERA is 3.26 in 61 total games. 

The most senior Gulls alum to participate in this year’s Arizona Fall League is another Vanderbilt Commodore, Matt Ruppenthal. Pitching in the Houston Astros organization, Ruppenthal completed this past season in Triple- A, knocking on the door of the MLB. He pitched for Newport in 2015, starting three games and appearing in five. Over a stretch of two starts, Ruppenthal completed 13 innings of work, striking out 18 and only allowing one earned run. Houston drafted the righthanded pitcher from Bloomfield Hills, MI in the 17th Round of the 2017 MLB Draft. He has pitched in 45 games this season, allowing hitters to bat under .200 against him while in Double- A for much of the year. 

These seven Gulls follow in the footsteps of many alumni before them on their way to the MLB, including JJ Bleday(Vanderbilt) who played in the AFL in 2021 and made his MLB Debut this past July.