Arizona Fall League updates
posted in minors |Since we’ve got a bunch of days to fill, I thought I’d go see how some former and possible future Tigers are doing down in the Arizona Fall League. Baseball season is darn near 365 days a week if you let it be, and hey, why not? The AFL is a six-week talented-prospect league, and there’s a pretty good shot you’ll find guys who are successful there make the major league roster sooner than later. The club the Detroit prospects are with had all four of its top batters last year crack major league rosters this year. While not all were stars, Matt Kemp, Stephen Drew and Andre Ethier all came with much hype.
Of course, the first thing I notice is a radio interview with Jordan Tata, who started 2006 with the Tigers. It’s on the left side of the page currently.
Now, we should note who and where is down there. Well, the where is Phoenix with the Desert Dogs. They’ve just played five games so far. The who are pitchers Preston Larrison, Virgil Vasquez, Corey Hamman, and of course Jordan Tata, catcher Mike Rabelo, infielder Kody Kirkland, and outfielder Brent Clevlen. Jair Jurrgens and Kevin Whelan, both pitchers, were originally set to attend the AFL but will rest with Hamman and Vasquez going in their places. And obviously, not all of those guys are prospects, some are turning out to be minor league journeymen.
Starting with the pitching, Tata started one game and pitched three innings. The only hit he allowed was a homer. He had five strikeouts and no walks. Not too shabby. Larrison struck out three in two innings, and Vasquez got rocked for eight runs in less than two innings.
Turning our attention to batting, Clevlen is 2-for-12 with three walks and seven strikeouts. So his OPS is a lowly .583. I guess he really does need major league lights to see the ball! Kirkland is having a better showing so far. He’s 3-for-12 — all three hits were doubles — with two walks and five strikeouts. His OPS is .900. Rabelo has played in two games.
Short tour, tiny sample size, but those were the only Detroit prospects in the AFL who Tigers fans should probably be keeping their eyes on, in my estimation. So I wanted to give a quick preview for later. Tata and Clevlen are obviously the most exciting, but don’t forget Kirkland. Of course, Tata might be trade bait, according to Jon Paul Morosi. I’ll check back again later when the numbers might matter a bit more.
We return you to your regularly scheduled run to the World Series.
Sphere It
[...] Last year I was watching Arizona Fall League games on gamecast and seeing Humberto Sanchez dominate. This year I haven’t even looked at a box score. Fortunately Kurt’s got the update on Jordan Tata, Brent Clevlen, and AFL veteran Kody Kirkland. [...]