Tigers' Austin Kubitza comes back to life in Arizona Fall League

Despite an uncharacteristically rocky 2015 regular season for Austin Kubitza (1-1, 2.30 ERA), the beginning to his stint in the Arizona Fall League appeared to be carrying the same struggles. As fate would have it, November proved to usher in a sharper display of the big righthander. In his fourth start for the Scottsdale Scorpions, Kubitza fired off four shutout frames, fanning five to take his first victory of the season. Kubitza currently stands in the top three league-wide in strikeouts with 12, while allowing eight runs off 14 hits in 15 2/3 innings.

Kubitza's infield teammate Dominic Ficociello has struggled to maintain consistency at the plate, with four of his 12 games with Scottsdale producing 0-for-4 showings. In his last five games, Ficociello has picked up the pace, posting eight hits, including a double and a triple. Ficociello is hitting .263/.333/.421 for the Scorpions.

On Saturday the East and West clashed in the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars game, featuring Adam Ravenelle and Michael Gerber as representatives for the Tigers organization. Gerber was chosen as the replacement for teammate JaCoby Jones, who was removed from the roster. Gerber finished 0-for-1 at the plate, while Ravenelle allowed two runs off two hits, including a home run and striking out one in the 8-3 Western Division victory.

Caracas Leones - Caracas Venezuela

The sizzling start for the Caracas Leones has appeared to have leveled off a bit, including the offensive clubbing put on by Dixon Machado. The Tigers prospect is just 2-for-19 in his last five games with the Leones, while maintaining a second-place tie in team hits with 29. Despite the silence at the plate, Machado remains a staple in the offensive production this season, hitting .309/.420/.521 with 19 runs scored and eight doubles through 26 games.

On November 7, the Leones announced that Machado's Tigers organization teammate Wynton Bernard had been added to the 14-day DL. To date, the exact cause for the transfer is not yet confirmed. Bernard has represented in 20 games with the Leones this season, hitting .288/.337/.400 with 23 hits, including five doubles and five RBI.

Australian Baseball League

Coming face to face with a never-say-die Canberra Calvary squad, the Sydney Blue Sox (5-7) have had their work cut out for them with no expectation to their big closer Calvin Drummond. Until November 8, Drummond had yet to surrender a run in his four innings of work, holding opposition to just one hit with five strikeouts. First place Canberra took no mercy as they worked Drummond for three earned runs off four hits with one strikeout. Sydney fell victim to a late push by the Calvary, falling short in an 11-10 loss. Drummond (5.40 ERA) moves to 1-1 on the year with six strikeouts through five games with Sydney.

In his first two outings with the Canberra Calvary, Aaron Sayers was without a hit, but it didn't take long for the 21-year-old Australian native to return the pop to his bat. Sayers has now hit in seven of his 12 games with Canberra, including leading the team in triples with two. In the Calvary's 11-10 win over Sydney, Sayers went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, his second consecutive two-hit game on the year. Sayers hit .248/.331/.333 during the 2015 regular season, splitting his time between Short-Season Connecticut and the Gulf Coast League Tigers.

Currently listed on reserve with the Perth Heat, right-handed pitcher Warwick Saupold is anticipating an activation with the Heat in the next several weeks, but is uncertain at this point when he will receive his first start. Splitting his 2015 season between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo, Saupold concluded the season at 6-8 with one save, a 4.08 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 123 2/3 innings of work.

Toros del Este - Dominican League

The Dominican League has yet to see any offensive outburst from either Jefry Marte or his Mud Hens teammate Steven Moya. To date, Marte has only seen action in four games, finishing 2-for-10 at the plate. Marte is currently hitting .200/.467/.200 with one RBI and five walks.

With four doubles so far this season, Moya is proving he has maintained his ability to drive for extra bases, although Moya has yet to clear the wall for the Toros. In his 10 outings, Moya is hitting .294/.314/.412 with four RBI and 10 strikeouts.