Red Wing’s Ryan Boldtwill be one of 34 former Northwoods League players to take part in the Arizona Fall League.
Boldt wrapped up his third professional baseball season in 2018 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays’ farm system. He played Class AA ball for the Montgomery Biscuits this year. The Arizona Fall League consists of six teams and Boldt will play for the Peoria Javelinas. The AFL season begins next week and lasts for two months.
Last season 28 former Northwoods League players participated in the AFL and eight of those players reached in the major leagues in 2018. In the past, nearly 60 percent of AFL players have advanced to the major leagues.
Boldt is going to the AFL after seeing his 2018 season end early due to an injury. The 23-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder was named to the Southern League All-Star team, but saw his season end in late June. Boldt hit .274 with 12 doubles, six triples, seven home runs, 40 runs scored, 34 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 62 games. He had an .809 OPS (.348 on-base percentage, .461 slugging percentage).
Boldt played college ball at Nebraska. He also spent the 2014 summer season with the Rochester Honkers in the Northwoods League. Boldt is one of two former Honkers who will play in the AFL this year. The other is Drew Ellis, who played with the Honkers in 2016. He will play for the Salt River Rafters this fall.
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Most of the players in the AFL are Double-A and Triple-A minor-leaguers. Each team can send one player considered a Class A player.
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Elgin native Carson Walchis on the coaching staff of the Philadelphia Eagles, who hosted and lost to the Minnesota Vikings 23-21 on Sunday.
Walch is in his second stint in the NFL after being an assistant coach with the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL the past two seasons. He is currently an assistant wide receivers coach with the Eagles. Walch was Edmonton’s offensive coordinator in 2017.
This was not the first time Walch had been on the opposing sideline against the Vikings.
He had done so four previous games during his tenure with the division rival Chicago Bears in 2013 and ’14, when he served as an offensive quality control coach, and all of those games were close as well.
The Vikings and Bears were 2-2 in those contests with the games being decided by 1, 3, 4 and 8 points, with one game going to overtime.
This year his duties with the Eagles include coaching wide receivers and helping the offensive staff game-plan for the passing game.
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Two Rochester Community and Technical College football players earned Eastern Division honors for their play in a 46-24 win against Vermilion on Sept. 29.
Sophomore running back Cazz Martinwas named the division’s Offensive Player of the Week while Juan Martinezwas named the Special Teams Player of the Week.
Martin, a John Marshall grad, had a career-high 184 yards rushing with one touchdown. He also caught four passes. Martinez, who hails from Forest Park, Ga., was honored after making two field goals and four extra points.
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Former RCTC quarterback Nick Rooney, now a senior for the Division II Adams State football team in Colorado, has been named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Week.
Rooney was honored after completing 32 of 44 passes for 386 yards and six touchdowns in a wild 65-62 home win over Chadron State on Saturday. Rooney also rushed for 64 yards and a TD on 13 carries.
Rooney, from Minnetonka, broke every major RCTC passing record during his two-year stint with the Yellowjackets in 2014-15. He leads the RMAC in touchdown passes (22), passing yards (1,952) and passing yards per game (325.3). His 1,952 passing yards and 22 passing TDs are the second most in all of Division II, while his 325.3 yards passing per game is third most.
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Adams State (4-2) has won its past four games after starting 0-2.
