The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Lucius Fox continues to earn accolades at each step of his minor league progression with the latest coming in the form of recognition by the Arizona Fall League.

Fox was named to the West roster of the league's 13th Annual "Fall Stars" game, a showcase for several of the game's top prospects.

The Fall Stars game will be hosted Saturday at Surprise Stadium in Arizona, the spring training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. MLB Network will broadcast the game live at 8pm local time and MLB.com will stream the contest live.

The game will feature 12 of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects and seven, including Fox, also played in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.

The 21-year-old shortstop is hitting .327 for the Peoria Javelinas with a .439 OBP, an .839 OPS in 13 games. Fox has 18 hits including one double, one home run, collected nine RBIs, six stolen bases and 12 runs scored - tied for third in the league.

Fox advanced to the Double-A level for the first time when the Rays assigned him to the Montgomery Biscuits this season.

In 27 games with the Biscuits, Fox hit .221 with a .284 OBP, four stolen bases, 23 hits, three doubles, one triple, nine RBI and 14 runs scored.

He previously spent 91 games with the Charlotte Stone Crabs of Single-A Advanced of the Florida State League. He hit .282 with a .724 OPS, .371 OBP, 23 stolen bases, 99 hits, 17 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 30 RBI and 54 runs scored. He was named to the Florida State League's Southern Division All-Star Team at the midseason classic.

"Going to Double-A in August, for that one month,you learn a lot, and it's not the ability anymore, it's about the mental part of the game. I was able to see that for a month, and that helped me," Fox told MLB.com. "This opportunity has blessed me with the teammates that have been in Double-A and Triple-A and being able to see what they do before the game, how they prepare, what they think about pitchers, how they think about the game, it all makes me a better player. I'm taking it all in and learning something new every day."

Fox said the AFL is serving as a proving ground to sharpen his skills and improvement as he looks to further progress in the Rays organisation.

"Being closer to the big leagues, you want to almost be perfect with your throwing -- you don't have time to figure it out up there," he said. "Just working on stealing more bases and hitting -- working counts better, taking pitcher's pitches, swinging at my pitches and being more disciplined."

The rosters have been announced for the game, but Jazz Chisholm was also listed on a special online ballot with the opportunity to be named as one of two additional players.

The Final 2 Fan Vote, presented by Bowman Baseball Cards, concluded voting yesterday with the announcement of the winning players still pending.