Former WPIAL sluggers Alex Kirilloff and JJ Matijevic will stay baseball busy in the coming months.
The pair, who play for different Class AA minor league teams — Kirilloff the Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the Southern League; Matijevic the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Texas League — have been invited to the Arizona Fall League, which runs from Sept. 18 to Oct. 26.
Kirilloff, a former Plum star and first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins in 2016, will join the Salt River Rafters in the fall league, which features some of the top prospects in the minors.
Top-ranked prospects in @MLBazFallLeague:
4. Jo Adell, #Angels
7. Royce Lewis, #MNTwins
16. Alex Kirilloff, #MNTwins
17. Forrest Whitley, #Astros
20. Joey Bart, #SFGiants
23. Jarred Kelenic, #Mariners
35. Alec Bohm, #Phillies
38. Nolan Jones, #Indians https://t.co/3cOKZHCuyy— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 29, 2019
Matijevic, of Norwin and Arizona fame and a prospect of the Houston Astros, will play for the Peoria Javelinas.
A 21-year-old, power-hitting outfielder, Kirilloff is the Twins’ second-rated prospect and the No. 16 overall prospect by MLB.com.
He is hitting .281 with nine home runs and 41 RBIs in 91 games this season. He has scored 45 runs and has been heating up of late.
Matijevic, 23, who came back strong after serving a 50-game suspension for failing a second test for a drug of abuse, has played in 69 games for the Hooks. He has a .244 average, nine homers, 35 RBIs — to go with 20 doubles and 38 runs.
The 2017 second-round draft pick is listed as a first baseman but has played a variety of positions — the outfield and DH among them — in his time in the minors.
He made the MLB Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week earlier this season. He spent five games in the Class A-Advanced league.
JJ Matijevic (@TweetinJ_23) with a solo HR for @cchooks his 10th HR of the season #Astros pic.twitter.com/iI5BAPayKp
— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) August 4, 2019
Matijevic said he was humbled by the suspension.
Baseball America has the full fall league rosters here.
