The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

LUCIUS Fox’s debut season in Double A baseball came to an end after his Montgomery Biscuits were eliminated in a decisive game five of the Southern League semi-finals.

The Biscuits dropped the final game of the 2018 North Division Championship Series 11-7 to the Jackson Generals on Sunday night at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Generals will take on the Biloxi Shuckers in the 2018 Southern League Championship Series beginning on Tuesday in West Tennessee. Fox finished 1-3 and scored one run in the loss.

After a 0-10 slump through the first three games of the series, Fox went 2-4 and scored one run with two RBI in a 10-7 game four win for the Biscuits.

The Biscuits still finished 2018 with the second-most wins in team history (79-61). Fox advanced to the Double-A level for the first time when the Rays assigned him to the Biscuits in August.

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.

The 21-year-old shortstop was also named to the roster of the Arizona Fall League’s Peoria Javelinas. The Javelinas have MLB affiliations with the Rays, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves.

The Arizona Fall League attracts many of the top prospects in the minor leagues.

The 27th edition of the league begins play on October 9 and ends in mid-November.

In the preliminary rosters, there are 17 players on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list, 10 in the Top 50.

Overall, there are already more than 80 members of team Top 30 lists slated to participate in the six-week league.

Fox notched another career milestone last offseason to receive a Major League call-up during spring training when he was assigned to the Rays’ Grapefruit League roster and saw immediate action on the field against the Minnesota Twins.

Fox entered spring training at No.7 on the prospect list for the Rays among players still listed with rookie eligibility.

“Fox is a top-flight athlete with plus-plus speed and three more tools that should be at least solid. The switch-hitter profiles as a future leadoff-type hitter, as he employs a solid approach, produces line-drive contact from both sides of the plate and knows how to use his impressive wheels once on base.

“Fox won’t offer much in the way of over-the-fence power, but he does have some strength and can drive some balls to the gaps, making him a source of doubles and triples,” MLB Prospect Watch said.

“Fox’s range, quick hands, and arm fit easily at shortstop, though, like any young shortstop, he needs to fine-tune his game and learn the nuances of the position. Some scouts don’t love his middle-infield actions and think he’ll fit better in centre field, though the Rays believe he can stay at short, lauding his super athleticism and ability to learn quickly.”