JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — We recently reported that four Jews would be playing in the prestigious Arizona Fall League, three of them on the Peoria Javelinas.

Um, we missed one.

OF Ben Guez, a Detroit Tigers prospect, was selected to play for the aptly-named Surprise Rafters. The 23-year-old Houston native hit a combined .249 during the regular season in “A” and “AAA” ball, with 10 HRs, 43 RBIs, 14 stolen bases, and a .341 on-base percentage.

In the Rafters’ season-opener Tuesday (10/12/2010), Guez went 2/4 with a solo HR in an 8-6 victory over the Javelinas.

In the same game, Boston Red Sox prospect Ryan Lavarnway, who is trying to improve his catching skills, went 1/3 with a walk, an RBI, a run scored and a passed ball. The 23-year-old Yale University recruit hit a combined .288 and 22 HRS this year with two minor-league teams, and he led all Red Sox farm hands with 102 RBIs. Baseball America recently listed him among the top 20 prospects from the Carolina League.

On Wednesday (10/13/2010), 2B Jason Kipnis of the Javelinas went 0/4 and struck out twice in a 7-4 win over the Surprise Rafters. Like Lavarnway, Kipnis has been named a top 20 prospect from the Carolina League. A member of the Cleveland Indians franchise, the 23-year-old Arizona State alum split the 2010 season between “A-advanced” and “AA” teams and had a combined batting average of .307 along with 8 triples, 16 HRs, 74 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .878. When the “AAA” Columbus Clippers called him up for the playoffs , Kipnis went 10/22, hitting for the cycle in one game and falling a single short of a cycle in the next.

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