Prospect Of The Day

Peoria Saguaros DH Leonard Davis (Nationals) has logged a lot of miles this year.

The Nationals’ eighth-round pick in 2004 out of Fresno Community College, Davis split his season between three different teams—Potomac, Harrisburg and Columbus. Although he struggled in Triple A, his final line was a solid .308/.364/.566 over 438 at-bats with 28 doubles and 25 home runs.

Now Davis is in the AFL and yesterday he went 2-for-5 with a double and a home run to help the Saguaros beat the Phoenix Desert Dogs, 14-8.

The performance isn’t an anomaly for Davis, who has been stinging the ball this fall. Over 73 AFL at-bats, he’s hitting .342/.430/.630 with five doubles, two triples, four home runs and two stolen bases.
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Prospect Of The Day

Mesa righthander Tommy Hanson (Braves) is a machine.  There’s no other way around it.

Hanson has dominated in every outing this fall and yesterday was no exception. Over five innings, he gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out 10.

Hanson is now 5-0 with a microscopic 0.64 ERA. Over 28 1/3 innings, he’s given up just 10 hits, walked seven and struck out 49.

To find the last pitcher to record more strikeouts in the AFL, you have to go all the way back to 2002 when Bobby Jenks was still a starting pitcher and struck out 54 (over 42 innings) for Scottsdale.

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Prospect Of The Day

The day just kept getting better and better for Phoenix second baseman Chris Nelson (Rockies). In the second inning, he flied out to right field. When he came up in the four inning, he singled on a line drive to left field and then stole second base. In the sixth inning, Nelson hit a home run out to center field. With his team teeing off against Scottsdale, he came up again in the next frame and laced a triple. For an encore, he stepped to the plate yet again in the eighth inning and hit another home run.

All told, Nelson went 4-for-5 on the day with a single, a triple, two home runs, five RBIs and a stolen base to help the Desert Dogs crush the Scorpions, 15-6.

Nelson mostly played shortstop this season between high Class A Modesto and Double A Tulsa where he hit .230/.315/.342.

In Arizona, Nelson has seen some time at second base and has been stinging the ball. Through 71 at-bats in the AFL, Nelson has hit .352/.407/.676.
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Prospect Of The Day
The last time Mesa catcher Tyler Flowers (Braves) was AFL Prospect Of The Day was in late October when he hit two home runs in a game. This time, he outdid himself.

Flowers went 3-for-4 yesterday with three home runs, leapfrogging two players to put him in the league lead for home runs. His seven RBIs yesterday helped the Solar Sox trample the Surprise Rafters, 16-4.

Flowers was the Braves’ 33rd-round draft pick in 2005 and signed as a draft-and-follow out of Chipola (Fla.) Junior College. Because of some knee problems, he’s played both catcher and first base in the minors, but he’s hit well at every level. This season, playing for High A Myrtle Beach, Flowers hit .288/.427/.494 with 32 doubles, 17 home runs and nearly as many walks (98) as strikeouts (102).

Through 62 AFL at-bats, Flowers is hitting a robust .387/.458/1.000.
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Prospect Of The Day

Scottsdale second baseman Emmanuel Burriss (Giants) doesn’t typically hit home runs. In fact, he has one career minor-league home run and one career major-league home run.

Now, he has one home run in the Arizona Fall League.

Burriss went 4-for-6 last night with the home run as the Scorpions stung the Surprise Rafters, 14-4.

The Giants’ supplemental first-round pick in 2006 out of Kent State, Burriss zipped through the minor leagues, skipping Double A altogether and playing only 14 games in Triple A before finding himself in the big leagues last season.

He held his own, hitting .283/.357/.329 over 240 at-bats. He also stole 13 bases.

In Arizona, Burriss is hitting .352/.403/.423 over 71 at-bats with seven stolen bases.
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Prospect Of The Day
It was a career day for Peoria Javelinas right fielder Lorenzo Cain (Brewers).

The toolsy outfielder was drafted by the Brewers in the 17th round of the 2004 draft and signed as a draft-and-follow after attending Tallahassee (Fla) Community College.

Throughout his professional career, Cain has hit .295/.367/.423 with 24 home runs. Never before had he hit two home runs in the same game … until yesterday.

Cain unloaded for the Javelinas yesterday, going 4-for-4 with a double and two home runs. His five RBIs helped his team defeat the Solar Sox, 13-9.

Over 44 at-bats in the AFL, Cain is now hitting .364/.404/.682.
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Co-Prospects Of The Day
Normally, a player having a perfect day at the plate with two home runs or a pitcher striking out nearly everyone he faces would easily dub them Prospect Of The Day. Yesterday, however, both feats took place.

Peoria Saguaros DH Gordon Beckham (White Sox) went 5-for-5 with two home runs and seven RBIs, helping his team crush the Scottsdale Scorpions, 20-9. After a phenomenal junior year at Georgia where Beckham hit .411/.519/.804, the White Sox selected him with the eighth-overall pick. Beckham made his professional debut in the low Class A South Atlantic League with the Kannapolis Intimidators and hit .310/.365/.500 over his first 58 at-bats. In the Arizona Fall League, Beckham has amassed 45 at-bats and is hitting .378/.473/.644.

Mesa righthander Tommy Hanson (Braves), on the other hand, has been a hitter’s worst nightmare. Over five starts, Hanson has pitched 18 2/3 innings in Arizona and is 3-0, 0.48 with only four walks and 30 strikeouts.

Yesterday was actually the first time he gave up a run, but he threw five innings and struck out 11. The stellar performance didn’t earn him a win, as his teammates couldn’t score, and the Solar Sox fell to the Desert Dogs, 4-2.
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Prospect Of The Day

Surprise first baseman Brandon Snyder (Orioles) propelled the Rafters to an 11-4 victory over the Peoria Javelinas. The Orioles’ 13th-overall pick in the 2005 draft, Snyder spent this season in class High A Frederick where he hit .315/.358/.490 for the Keys, earning the ninth spot on the Orioles’ top 10 prospect list released yesterday. His 13 home runs were the most of any season in his career and he’s now showing off his power in the Arizona Fall League.

Yesterday, Snyder went 2-for-5, but both of his hits sailed over the fence for home runs. Over his first 45 AFL at-bats, Snyder is hitting .333/.400/.667
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Prospect Of The Day
Peoria Saguaros righthander Cesar Carrillo (Padres) hasn’t lived up to expectations since being the 18th-overall pick in the 2005 draft. Carrillo, who was drafted out of the University of Miami, missed most of 2006 and 2007 because of Tommy John surgery and spent all of 2008 pitching in the high Class A California League. Shaking off the rust, Carrillo went 3-5, 5.97 over 57 1/3 innings with 33 walks and 32 strikeouts.

Yesterday, however, he was nearly perfect. Carrillo threw two innings for the Saguaros and recorded every out with a K. He did allow a hit, but struck out six over the two frames. During his time in the Arizona Fall League, Carrillo has now thrown nine innings, maintaining a 3.00 ERA with 12 strikeouts and three walks.
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Prospect Of The Day
Peoria Saguaros third baseman Brett Wallace (Cardinals) may have some questions to answer defensively, but there’s no question that he can hit.

At Pac-10 powerhouse Arizona State, Wallace hit .371/.439/.583 as a freshman and then .404/484/.687 as a sophomore, earning Pac-10 Player of the Year Honors. This season, he followed that campaign up by hitting .410/.526/.753 and was selected 13th-overall in the draft.

He hit the ground running as a pro, vaulting himself all the way up to Double A before season’s end. Over his first 202 professional at-bats between class Low A Quad Cities and Double A Springfield, Wallace hit .337/.427/.530 with 13 doubles and eight home runs.

He’s keeping the lumber ringing in the Arizona Fall League. Yesterday, he went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and six RBIs to help the Saguaros defeat the Scottsdale Scorpions, 11-7.
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PEORIA, Ariz. — If Lucas Harrell makes a turn for the better here in the Arizona Fall League, the White Sox’s righthander might look back to two days ago as the turning point.

The 2004 fourth-round pick was working on the side and experimented with a new grip on his slider. Gone is the four-seam fastball-like grip in which Harrell would turn his hand in order to get the necessary spin.

In its place is more of what Harrell called a John Smoltz-like grip for the slider as he handles it on the seams. [...] Continue Reading »

PEORIA, Ariz. — A midweek afternoon in the middle of just another random fall day probably wouldn’t seem like a reason to grin and kick back.

But on Thursday, in the Peoria Saguaros clubhouse, sitting at a round table and thumbing through a deck of playing cards, there was Ross Detwiler.

His hair shaggy, stubble on his face, he appeared at ease, with hardly a worry in the world. [...] Continue Reading »

PEORIA, Ariz. — At first glance, it would look like Cole Armstrong had a fairly decent season, what with a half season spent at Double-A Birmingham before he earned a promotion to Triple-A Charlotte.

But ask Armstrong about it, and the White Sox’s catching prospect thought it could have been a lot better. After all, he was a meager 10-for-65 down the stretch this year.

“The season was a good learning experience,” Armstrong said. “There were some pretty severe downs and pretty severe highs. There were two or three weeks where I would not square up any balls. And there were times when you don’t sleep because you start looking at your numbers. [...] Continue Reading »

Prospect Of The Day
Peoria Saguaros right fielder Mike Baxter (Padres) may be a member of the team’s taxi squad, but he’s definitely making the most of his time in the Arizona Fall League.

Yesterday against Surprise, Baxter went 5-for-5 with a triple and a home run as the Saguaros throttled the Rafters, 12-6. Through 27 AFL at-bats, Baxter is now hitting .556/.658/.963.

Baxter was the Padres’ fourth-round draft pick in 2005 out of Vanderbilt. This season between class High A Lake Elsinore and Double A San Antonio, Baxter ht .264/.345/.406 with 22 doubles and nine home runs.
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MESA, Ariz. — He could be in Hawaii right now, hanging out on the beach when he isn’t at the ballpark, or maybe even grabbing a surfboard and testing his mettle on the waves as they rolled in from the Pacific.

Instead, Marlins lanky lefthander Sean West passed on the palm trees and postcard-perfect sunsets of the islands and chose to spend a couple of months around the dust, sand and menacing cactus in the desert southwest.

If some think he is nuts, so be it. The Arizona Fall League has proven to be a finishing school for minor leaguers and West, a first-round supplemental pick in 2005, wanted to challenge himself. That despite having spent all this past summer with high Class A Jupiter in the Florida State League. [...] Continue Reading »

MESA, Ariz. — How’s this for getting a pep talk?

Back in April, the season not even three weeks old, Double-A Tennessee (Cubs) infielder Nate Spears got summoned into his manager’s office.

There, Buddy Bailey gave it to him straight.

“He told me I as a lot better player than what I was playing,” Spears said. “After that, I turned my season around.”

Spears’ breakout season in the Southern League earned him a spot in the Arizona Fall League, where, in the words of Mesa Solar Sox manager Rocket Wheeler, “he’s tearing the cover off the ball.”

Or so it seems. [...] Continue Reading »

MESA, Ariz. — One of the great things about baseball is that you’re always bound to find a story, even when it looks as if there is not much to write about.

Here in the Arizona Fall League, you’d think half these guys might doze off in the middle of an at-bat. Only a couple of hundred spectators turn out for games, and a majority are the usual suspects—scouts and front-office executives. Listen closely and at times you might even hear cactus growing on the nearby mountains.

But doze off? Quintin Berry? Not a chance.

The Phillies’ 2006 fifth-round draft pick reached the AFL earlier this month as a taxi squad member, eligible to play only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. And if that sounds like it’s only one measly slot above the water boy’s role on the team, well, it’s not far off. [...] Continue Reading »

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Sift through the stats and this one might stand out: Mark Trumbo has yet to hit a home run.

Trumbo ripped 32 home runs this season combined at high Class A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Arkansas, giving the Angels more reasons to think they got a steal in the 2004 draft when they took Trumbo in the 18th round—as a pitcher.

But the power that Trumbo displayed this year has yet to show in the Arizona Fall League. Through 66 at-bats, he has had only four extra-base hits­—all doubles.

Not that he is overly worried about it.

“I’ve hit a lot of balls real hard,” said Trumbo, playing first base for the Scottsdale Scorpions. “I’m not going up there to hit a home run. When I do that, that’s when things break down mechanically.” [...] Continue Reading »

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — So what’s the secret to Drew Sutton’s success?

Easy. A former golf instructor named Jamie Cevallos, who last offseason encouraged Sutton to use better body control when bringing his bat through the zone.

“It gives you more room for error,” said Sutton, who had a breakout season at Double-A Corpus Christi (Astros) and parlayed his success to the Arizona Fall League. “He had a lot of video on his computer, and it had Ted Williams and Albert Pujols and it showed a lot about positioning yourself in your swing.”

At 25, the switch-hitting Sutton was one of the more experienced hitters in the Texas League this season and finished .317/.408/.523 with 20 home runs, 39 doubles and 69 RBIs. Scouts considered the circuit thinner in big-time talent this year more than in prior seasons, although the South Division had the better prospect pool. [...] Continue Reading »

Prospect Of The Day

What started as a great day has quickly turned into a great week for Desert Dogs catcher Mike McKenry (Rockies). After hitting three home runs on Monday, McKenry left the park again yesterday as part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate that also included a double as the Desert Dogs beat the Surprise Rafters, 12-7. Over the past three games, McKenry has gone 8-for-13 with a double, five home runs and 11 RBIs.
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