Pirates Prospect Watch: Blake Sabol’s Grand Slam Caps Off Comeback Win

Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Blake Sabol had a big hand in the Surprise Saguaros’ come-from-behind victory over the Peoria Javelinas on Tuesday.

Facing a five-run deficit in the fourth inning, the Saguaros put up five runs in the home half of the frame en route to their 7-5 victory.

Four of those runs came on one swing of the bat for Sabol, whose first home run of the AFL season was a grand slam to right field.

In all, Sabol drove in five runs for Surprise in the win. He finished the game 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Through six games in the AFL, Sabol now owns an OPS of .825.

His strong performance in the AFL on Tuesday comes on the heels of a solid season at the plate in the Pirates’ minor league system

The Pirates’ prospect split the season between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis and turned in strong performances at both levels.

In 98 games with Altoona, Sabol hit .281 with 23 doubles, 14 home runs and 60 runs driven in.

After his promotion to Indianapolis, the 24-year-old continued to perform. Sabol spent 25 games at Triple-A. He hit .296 with a .969 OPS and five home runs.

Pirates’ prospect Jacob Gonzalez picked up his first hit of the AFL season and it was a big one. His solo homer in the eighth inning gave Surprise a little bit of breathing room.

Also in the game for the Saguaros, Nick Gonzales again played third base for Surprise for the third time. Gonzales finished the game 1 for 4 with a run scored.

Pitching prospect Colin Selby picked up the save, his first of the fall, with a scoreless ninth inning which was capped off with a strikeout. Selby has a 3.60 ERA through his first five appearances.