masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgTwo Orioles prospects have been chosen to participate in the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game, which airs Saturday night on MLB Network.
Left-hander Tanner Scott and infielder Ryan Mountcastle are included on the East Team. They’re playing for the Salt River Rafters in the AFL.
Scott is 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in three starts with the Rafters. He’s allowed six earned runs (seven total) and eight hits in seven innings, with six walks and five strikeouts.
Mountcastle, playing third base as he…

Two Orioles prospects have been chosen to participate in the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game, which airs Saturday night on MLB Network.

Left-hander Tanner Scott and infielder Ryan Mountcastle are included on the East Team. They’re playing for the Salt River Rafters in the AFL.

Scott is 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in three starts with the Rafters. He’s allowed six earned runs (seven total) and eight hits in seven innings, with six walks and five strikeouts.

Mountcastle-Throws-Keys-Sidebar.jpgMountcastle, playing third base as he did after moving up to Double-A Bowie, is batting .220/.264/.400 (11-for-50) with three doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs, two stolen bases, two walks and 15 strikeouts.

A 1-for-15 stretch in the last four games has lowered Mountcastle’s average. He was 5-for-9 with two doubles and a home run in his two previous games before the slump.

Mountcastle, 20, batted .314/.343/.542 with 35 doubles, one triple, 15 home runs and 47 RBIs in 88 games at Single-A Frederick. He earned a promotion and a position change at Bowie, where he hit .222/.239/.366 with 13 doubles, three home runs and 15 RBIs in 39 games.

Scouts like Mountcastle’s offensive skills, but are trying to figure out where he fits on the field. The Orioles drafted him as a shortstop in 2015, using the 36th-overall pick, before shifting him to the hot corner this summer.

They’re deciding whether he can stay at third, move across the diamond or go to the outfield. Whatever it takes to get his bat in the lineup.

Scott, 23, made his major league debut on Sept. 20 against the Red Sox and allowed two runs in two appearances over 1 2/3 innings. He posted a 2.22 ERA in 24 starts with the Baysox, his innings limited to 69 as he made the transition from reliever.

Scott averaged six walks per nine innings, but he also struck out 87 batters and allowed only two home runs to raise his professional total to three in 95 games.

Infielder Steve Wilkerson is batting .300/.383/.500 with two doubles, three triples and five RBIs in 40 at-bats with Salt River, but he wasn’t chosen to the Fall Stars Game. The Orioles must put him on the 40-man roster or risk losing him in the Rule 5 draft.

Wilkerson is a candidate for the utility job that’s expected to be vacated by Ryan Flaherty as he approaches free agency.

Note: The Orioles announced that their annual FanFest will be held on Jan. 27, 2018 at the Baltimore Convention Center.

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