Cardinals Arizona Fall League Notebook – November 12, 2021

photo: Brendan Donovan (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

Glendale’s bullpen faltered in Thursday’s AFL loss. St. Louis Cardinals prospect Brendan Donovan hit his second home run of the week, walked three times, plated two and scored twice. Teammate Lars Nootbaar singled twice and drew a free pass.



Results from the Arizona Fall League game played Thursday, November 11, 2021.

Desert Dogs 7 vs. Saguaros 11

A seven-run seventh by Surprise transformed a Glendale lead into a loss as the Desert Dogs (15-10) fell to the Saguaros (15-9), 11-7, at home.

Glendale led 4-2 at the seventh’s onset but Surprise’s big inning flipped the score to 9-4.  The White Sox’ J.B. Olson (L, 2-2) began his third inning of work sandwiching a double between two home runs.

The latter bomb brought Jeff Belge (LAD) into the contest, but the lefty had difficulty finding the strike zone.  Belge issued four free passes along with a lead-off double plus a hit batsman, resulting in four more scores in 2/3 of an inning.

Chad Donato (HOU) tossed the initial four frames, yielding single tallies in his first two innings.  The righty fanned four, giving up four hits and a base-on-balls.

Nathan Burns (LAA) recorded four outs, walking two and stranding Belge’s final two runners.  But St. Louis’ Jake Walsh’s Arizona Fall League struggles continued in the ninth.  The right-hander intermingled two K’s with three singles generating two tallies.

Brendan Donovan

Brendan Donovan led a trio of Cardinals’ prospects at the plate.  The third baseman launched his second AFL rocket in the sixth, a two-run shot with shortstop Grae Kessinger (hit-by-pitch) (HOU) aboard.  Donovan reached base four times, going 1-for-2 with three walks, two runs scored and two driven in out of the six hole.

Lars Nootbaar was at the top of the order as the Dogs’ designated hitter and he did exactly what a lead-off hitter is supposed to do – get on base.  Nootbaar worked a free pass in addition to two singles in four at bats, touching home once.

Juan Yepez was hitless in three at bats but did work two walkss and drive in a run.

Friday’s game:  vs. Scorpions (10-15), 12:35 pm MST/1:35 CT, RHP Johan Dominguez (CWS)


Exclusively for members of The Cardinal Nation

One New Cardinals Minor Leaguer Added with Three Returning


Now 20% Off – 2021 Cardinals Prospect Guide

Now available, The Cardinal Nation 2021 Prospect Guide is back for a fourth year. It includes over 250 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of color photos.

20% off Blowout Sale now underway on the spiral-bound, printed version.

TCN’s 2021 Cardinals Prospect Guide – 20% Off Blowout Sale


Not yet a member?

Join The Cardinal Nation for the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.

© 2021 The Cardinal Nation, thecardinalnation.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.