Chris Kline's AFL Road Trip: LaRoche vs. Stewart

By Chris Kline
October 20, 2005

MESA, Ariz.—Check the hot corner in the Arizona Fall League and you're sure to find a hot prospect.

Ian Stewart (Rockies) and Andy LaRoche (Dodgers) entered 2005 as two of the best prospects in the game and did nothing to change that impression during the course of the season. Ryan Zimmerman began the year at Virginia but ended it in the majors for the Nationals. He made his AFL debut Wednesday for the Peoria Saguaros.

“Zimmerman does it all,” a National League scout said. “(He's) one of the best defenders I’ve seen as an amateur, and he could play at either short or third for me every day. (Nationals incumbent shortstop) Cristian Guzman? Give me a break.”

Stewart and LaRoche, both 2003 picks, have yet to reach the majors but have the tools to top Zimmerman's performance once they do. Both offer big raw power and both have the ability to hit for average. However, both are still learning the nuances of the position and neither has gotten off to a hot offensive start in the hitter-friendly AFL.

Stewart is hitting .258-2-9 in 31 at-bats for the Peoria Javelinas, while LaRoche is hitting .275-0-4 in 40 at-bats for Phoenix.

Stewart, 20, started the year in extended spring training with a hamstring injury before joining high Class A Modesto in May, where the 20-year-old finished .274-17-86 in 435 at-bats.

“To me, he’s the class of this league,” a scout with an American League club said. “He just works so hard and you have to love that makeup. No knock on Andy, who’s also a hard worker, but Stewart has better bat speed, a better game plan against pitchers, better actions around the bag, quicker reactions and a plus arm. His footwork needs more work and he doesn’t move to his right very well. Bottom line is Stewart is just more polished than LaRoche right now.”

LaRoche, 22, started the season between high Class A Vero Beach, challenging Angels shortstop Brandon Wood for the minor league home run lead until being promoted to Double-A Jacksonville in mid-June, where his power numbers dropped off significantly. He played a key part of getting the Suns in a position to make their Southern League title run, but wore down late in the year. LaRoche hit just .154 in the postseason, and hasn’t hit a homer since Aug. 20—including the AFL.

“He’s a streaky hitter,” another NL scout said. “You’ll see him not hit anything for weeks and then all of the sudden, it’s four homers in five games. He’s just not consistent—with pitch recognition, discipline at the plate and really just finding his pitch and driving it. The consistency will come though. There’s too much to like.

“His swing gets long at times and there are also times when it lacks good leverage. And that goes with consistency too. Stewart has a better base for attacking pitchers’ weaknesses and not missing when they make a mistake. Both will be big leaguers. How good they’ll be depends on that capacity to make adjustments and put that extra work in. That’s where Stewart is the overachiever. He does anything it takes to get better.”

Miller Down, Out

The Dodgers shut down lefthander Greg Miller on Wednesday, after the first-round pick in 2002 came up with some tenderness in his shoulder. Miller, who began the year in extended spring training and was arguably the comeback story of the year in the minors after posting a 2.08 ERA in 35 innings between three minor league stops, went 0-0, 4.50 in four innings of relief for Phoenix this fall.

Miller established himself as one of the top lefthanded pitching prospects in baseball in 2003, going 11-4, 2.49 at Vero, then finished up that season 1-1, 1.01 with 40 strikeouts in 27 innings in Double-A. But over the next two years, Miller had two shoulder surgeries, the last one coming just eight months ago.

The 20-year-old featured an over-the-top delivery before the initial surgery, and the Dodgers had altered his arm angle to get his release point slightly lower to reduce stress on his shoulder. Miller had two full weeks off after Jacksonville won the Southern League title and came into the Fall League throwing from his old arm slot again, causing an impingement on the top of his shoulder. The injury is considered minor, but the Dodgers are being understandably cautious.

“We pushed him to Double-A this year because his velocity was back and he was throwing pain free,” scouting director Logan White said. “He was pitching at 95 (mph) with good command and the secondary stuff was there. He came up a little tender and we decided to shut it down. We fully expect him to come into (big league) camp competing for a bullpen job along with (lefthander Hong-Chih) Kuo.”

FALL GUYS

• Speaking of shoulder problems, Cubs righthander Angel Guzman started Wednesday for Mesa. Guzman, who had arthroscopic surgery to repair a labrum tear in 2003 and missed most of 2005 with forearm stiffness, allowed two runs on two hits over three innings in the Solar Sox’ 9-3 loss to Surprise. While the velocity on his fastball is back—consistently in the 91-93 mph range, topping out at 95—his command is not. Guzman walked four and struck out one. He showed flashes of a plus curveball, but used it sparingly. His changeup—which was a plus pitch with excellent deception pre-surgery—still needs work to get back to where it once was. “The fastball was impressive, and you expect it out of this kid,” an AL scout said. “There was some command in there, but he’s not locating well. And 95 percent fastballs in this league tells me lack of confidence in the secondary pitches.”

• The best piece of hitting on the day came from Surprise second baseman Howie Kendrick (Angels). Facing Guzman in the second inning with runners on first and third, Kendrick passed on two curveballs in the dirt, then watched a 90 mph outside fastball to work the count to 2-1. Guzman challenged Kendrick inside, burying a 93 mph fastball in and up on his hands, and the Angels’ 10th-round pick in 2002 fought it off and pulled it down the left-field line for an RBI single.

• An AFL position change for Reds infielder Kevin Howard was like reacquainting with an old friend. Howard, a fifth-round pick out of Miami in 2002, is back playing third base, where he spent much of his time in college for the Hurricanes. He moved to second base after the Reds drafted him but has come to the AFL to increase his versatility so the club can use him at any infield position. “I had never played second in my life until I got to pro ball,” Howard said. “But that’s where they projected me as an everyday player in the big leagues. Now, with all the movement in the system, they want me to move around a little bit and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get up there.

“You have to have much better feet to play second. I played three full seasons over there and I’m just now starting to feel comfortable. The first two years I was very uncomfortable. It was tough getting used to third base again, but once I got used to it again it was like going home. I think I’m much better at just reacting, which is what that position is all about.”

• Chris Denorfia, also a 2002 Reds draft pick, enjoyed a huge 2005 season, hitting a combined .317-20-87 between Triple-A Louisville and Double-A Chattanooga. Denorfia earned a September callup to Cincinnati, where the 19th-round pick became the first product of Wheaton (Mass.) College to play in the majors. He’s in the AFL to work on being more consistent in his approach at the plate, having solid at-bats to carry that over as he competes for an outfield job next spring. He's been going full-throttle since reporting to spring training in February. “You can’t play seven months straight without having aches and pains and everything—it’s just part of the grind,” the 25-year-old outfielder said. “At this point, it’s a mental challenge just to get up every day. But that’s one of my favorite parts of the game, so I’m doing fine out here.”

• Indians righthander Brian Slocum is in the AFL to tighten up his slider, which could easily spell a recipe for disaster in this league. “I’m trying to tighten it and get it more consistent,” said the second-rounder in 2002 out of Villanova. “I can flash one that’s great and then I can throw a few that aren’t so great. Repetition—that’s all I keep telling myself.” Slocum was an innings-eater in 2004 at high Class A Kinston, but missed a considerable amount of time during Double-A Akron’s Eastern League championship run this year. He was out for a month after having surgery to remove a cyst on his wrist, then battled blister problems and missed two more starts after returning.