Four members of the White Sox minor league system saw action for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the final week of the AFL. The DDs captured two wins and two losses over the stretch and ended the season tied with the Salt River Rafters and Scottsdale Scorpions for second place overall with a 16-14 record.

Eric Adler: The righthander is with Team USA as a member of the Premier12 squad. He’s pitched only once so far, and it wasn’t pretty. The 24-year-old took the L in the squad’s 5-3 defeat by Venezuela. Adler came on with a 2-2 tie in the sixth and surrendered three runs (two earned) on two hits and two walks.

Andrew Dalquist: The 23-year-old appeared in one game and tossed one scoreless frame. He struck out one and allowed a single. After a rough couple of outings to start the AFL, the righty settled in nicely, as this was his fourth straight outing without surrendering a run.

D.J. Gladney: The Oak Park native played in two games and went 2-for-7. It was a tough fall season at the plate for him as he ended with a .196/.250/.250 slash line and a .500 OPS. On a positive note, his defense was impeccable: he made 34 putouts in 34 chances, splitting time between all three outfield positions.

Tim Elko: The Captain is also playing with Team USA. He saw action at designated hitter in last Monday’s loss to Venezuela, where he went 0-for-2 with two Ks. Additionally, skipper Mike Scioscia inserted him as a pinch-hitter in Team USA’s 12-2 stomping of Mexico last Thursday, where he went 0-for-1 as he hit into a fielder’s choice. Elko is still looking for his first hit in tournament play.

Team USA, with a record of 3-2, will travel to Tokyo, Japan, to play in the Premier12 Super Round on November 21 when they take on the undefeated Japanese team (5-0) in the Tokyo Dome.

Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa: AHT hurled two scoreless innings during the Dogs’ 7-3 win against the Solar Sox last Monday. He gave up one hit and struck out three. The 24-year-old finished the AFL with the best stats out of all the Sox’s pitching prospects, appearing in eight games. He ended with a 5.79 ERA and 1.39 WHIP over 9 1/3 innings while walking three and striking out nine. His numbers are a bit deceiving, though, because he was really pretty solid overall, with just a few bad outings.

Michael Turner: Turner served as backstop in two games. The catcher went 1-for-5 with a double and two walks. He completed AFL play, hitting .359/.447/.487 with a .934 OPS. As a reminder, while the stats are impressive, at 26, he is significantly older than his fall peers.

Thanks for following our AFL recaps. I’ll have a final wrap-up of Team USA’s World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 play next week, and that will end our coverage of in-person baseball until Spring Training rolls around, which will be here before we know it!

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Michael Turner Photo/Michael Turner Instagram