Caleb Kilian threw 6 perfect innings last Saturday in the Arizona Fall League Championship Game as the Mesa Solar Sox won 6-0. He induced a stellar 16 swinging strikes on 68 pitches, mixing his five-pitch mix to perfection before handing the game off to the Solar Sox bullpen, which closed out the Solar Sox third AFL title since 2000.

 

Kilian started the AFL with a rough, 7-earned-run outing on October 16, as he adjusted to throwing a major league baseball for the first time (the Double-A level and below in MiLB use a slightly different baseball). Over his next four starts, he threw 14 innings, struck out 18 batters and allowed only 1 earned run en route to an AFL All-Star nod. 

 

His championship performance earned him the game’s MVP award, as he looks to carry his success into his first full season with the Cubs organization come 2022.