By PAUL GOTHAM
Danny Mendick highlighted a break-out week with his first home run of the fall season to pace the Glendale Desert Dogs to a 10-5 come-from-behind victory in recent Arizona Fall League (AFL) action.
Mendick erased a two-run deficit with a three-run shot during the fifth inning in a 10-5 Glendale win last Thursday, October 26th. He finished the game 2-for-4.
#WhiteSox Danny Mendick put Glendale on the board with a three-run HR (105 mph exit velocity) in #AFL pic.twitter.com/kxY2FsrLjl
— William Boor (@wboor) October 26, 2017
The former Monroe Community College Tribune and Pittsford Mendon Viking hit .429 during four games last week with two doubles to go with the home run, six RBI and two walks.
Mendick collected his first multi-hit game of the season two days earlier when he finished 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a walk in a 14-7 Glendale loss to Peoria.
Mendick is hitting .270 over 10 games during the season.
A 22nd round pick of the Chicago White Sox in the 2015 MLB draft, Mendick hit .256 with 37 extra-base hits including career highs of 10 home runs, 23 doubles and four triples in 2017 playing for Winston-Salem (Advanced-A Carolina League) and Birmingham (Double-A Southern League). He earned mid-season Carolina League all-star honors.
Mendick hit .364 and scored 42 runs for Monroe CC during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. He finished with a fielding percentage of .981. He went on to play two years UMass-Lowell. During his senior season, Mendick led the River Hawks in RBI (30), doubles (16), total bases (71) and slugging percentage (.455). He tied for the team lead with 50 hits, was a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award and was named first team All-America East.
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The AFL has been the off-season home for Major League Baseball greats such as Andrew McCutchen, Dustin Pedroia, Max Scherzer and Mike Trout. Per the AFL website, the league’s alums include 12 MLB MVPs, four Cy Young winners and 25 Rookies of the Year.
Each MLB organization selects six of their best prospects to fill out the rosters of six AFL teams. All-time league rosters can be found here and here.
The AFL season continues through November 16th with the championship game scheduled for November 18th. Glendale is currently 7-9 and in second place three games behind Peoria in the AFL West.
Mendick is one of two MCC Tribunes in minor league baseball. Mathew Brooks played with Miami Marlins affiliate the Batavia Muckdogs in the Class A (short) New York-Penn League.
Mendick is one of eight former Section V athletes currently playing professional baseball at the major and/or minor league levels including Christopher Bostick (Aquinas), Ernie Clement (Brighton), Cito Culver (Irondequoit), Logan Harasta (Webster Thomas), Grant Heyman (Pittsford Sutherland), Steven Klimek (Greece Arcadia) and Jonathan Schwind (Hilton).
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