Mesa Solar Sox Preview
This year for the Mexican Baseball Fiesta, one of the headlining teams is Arizona Fall League’s Mesa Solar Sox. The Mesa team plays in the first game against the Aguilas de Mexicali at 5:30 at Kino Stadium. The manager of the Solar Sox is former Detroit Tigers and Florida Marlins catcher Mike Rabelo. The Solar Sox have some notable alumni who are now or were superstars in the MLB. Some of the notable alumni are 2016 National League MVP Kris Bryant and current third baseman/outfielder for the Chicago Cubs. Hall of Famer Mike Piazza and future hall of famer Paul Konerko also played for the Solar Sox. MLB Pipeline’s number fourprospect in all of baseball, Jo Adell, also plays for the Solar Sox. Adell is the #1 prospect in the Angels farm system and could in the near future join superstar Mike Trout in the outfield. The Solar Sox are comprised of prospects from the Angels, Cubs, Athletics, Tigers, and Indians.
The team also features former University of Arizona alumni and a 4th round pick of the Oakland Athletics Alfonso Rivas within its stacked lineup of other top prospects. Rivas, a first baseman, was the No. 113 overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft as a junior. The left-handed-batting Rivas hit .342/.425/.529 with seven homers, 15 doubles, three triples, and 52 RBI in 2018, proving to be one of the best hitters in the Pac-12.
Other Mexican Baseball Fiesta Team Notes
Two MBF Liga Mexicana Del Pacifico managers had nice MLB careers – Vinny Castilla (Hermosillo) is a Mexico-born former Major League Baseball third baseman who played his best years with the Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves. Castilla is Mexico’s career home-run leader in the majors, with 320 homers in 16 seasons with Atlanta, Colorado, Tampa Bay, Houston, Washington and San Diego.He won three Silver Slugger Awards (’95, ’97 and ’98). He hit 30+ home runs six times (including three 40-homer seasons) and drove in 100+ runs five times. At the peak of his career (1995 to 1999) he averaged 38 home runs and 112 RBIs. The other LMP manager is Benji Gil (Culiacan). He played 8 years in the majors with the Rangers and Angels. Gil played for the Tomateros de Culiacán in the Mexican Pacific League for 13 seasons throughout his career. He later became manager of the club, winning two championships during the 2014-15 and 2017-18 seasons.
Two of the coaches on the current Aguilas de Mexicali staff played for the Tucson Toros. Trent (Trenidad) Hubbard played in Tucson from 1989 – 1992. He also played parts of 10 seasons with the Rockies, Giants, Indians, Dodgers, Braves, Orioles, Royals, Padres and Cubs.The second Toros player was pitcher Bronswell Patrick. He pitched in Tucson in 1995 & 1996 where he compiled a 12-4 record. Patrick managed Hermosillo last season.
Courtesy of Mike Feder – Mexican Baseball Fiesta Chairman
