Arizona Fall League (+Other Leagues) Update Pt. 2

Arizona Fall League (Mesa Solar Sox)

-LF Nick Castellanos (20)*

Stats: .239/.316/.338/.654/17 Games. 71 At Bats, 17 Hits, 4 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 7 R, 8 BB, 24 K, 2 SB

Rising Stars Performance: Castellanos was selected to the Rising Stars game, the Arizona Fall League showcase game, where he started at DH and hit cleanup. He went 2-5 in the game with 2 singles, a groundout, a GIDP, and flyout. I watched him closely during all of his at bats, and he showcased his extremely fast hands as well as his overall hitting intelligence. Case and point: In his first AB, Castellanos swung and missed on a sharp, 2--plane breaking slider that ended up down and outside of the zone. On the very next pitch, Castellanos noticeably shortened his swing, focused more on keeping his hands inside of the baseball, and lined a single in RCF. While he still displayed his tendencies to struggle with good breaking pitches and expand the strike zone, the fact that we was able to make an adjustment within the same at bat, resulting in a very good swing ending with solid contact, is very impressive.

-C James McCann (22)

Stats: .233/.281/.233/.515/11 Games. 30 AB, 7 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K

Quick Thoughts: While all of these samples are extremely small sizes, McCann is showcasing, at least offensively, the profile that we already have established on him. He commands the strike zone well, doesn't have very much power, is willing to walk, etc. Scouts have said that he has shown improved feel behind the plate as well, showcasing his plus D and strong arm.

-1B Aaron Westlake (23)

Stats: .220/.235/.440/.675/12 Games. 50 AB, 11 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 8 R, 1 BB, 13 K

Quick Thoughts: AFL stats should be taken with a massive grain of salt, and their end results don't mean much, but that doesn't mean that we can't glean any information from them. Westlake was widely considered a potential fast-mover coming out of college, due to his advanced feel for hitting, plus raw power, and solid D. I'm a bit concerned at the strikeout numbers, considering that he was said to have been an advanced hitter. The power numbers are nice to see, but again, the AFL is widely considered a hitter-friendly league, where the ball flies in the thin air.

-P Luke Putkonen (26)

Stats: 0-1, 3.86 ERA, 14 IP, 12 H, 4 BB, 6 K, 1.14 WHIP, .235 BAA

Quick Thoughts: As I've said before, I'm a little confused as to why Putkonen is starting, as my profile/scouting report on him has him as a reliever. Regardless, he's not doing too bad in the AFL. With the lower strikeout totals, I'd like to see his groundball percentage a tick higher, but he's obviously not getting hit around the yard.

-P Matt Hoffman (23)

Stats: 0-0, 5.19 ERA, 8 2/3 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 9 K, 1.61 WHIP, .273 BAA

Quick Thoughts: I'm pleased with Hoffman's strikeout numbers, as well as his GB/FB ratio (3.00), but the overall numbers still aren't impressive. Keep in mind, again, that this is a ridiculously small sample size in a hitter-friendly league, but at the same time, I wish Hoffman would develop his command a bit more. As a reliever, it's expected that his BB% would be a bit higher than a starter's, but 5 BB/9 IP is far too high.

-P Tyler Clark (23)

Stats: 0-0, 15.43 ERA, 4 2/3 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 7 K, 2.78 WHIP .381 BAA

Quick Thoughts: Very similar to Hoffman, the overall numbers aren't good, but the strikeout and groundball numbers are encouraging. 4 2/3 IP isn't exactly something we can take as a legitimate measure of talent, but still, there is some good and some bad here.

-P Michael Morrison (24)

Stats: 0-0, 2.79 ERA, 9 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 K, 0.93 WHIP, .152 BAA

Quick Thoughts: Morrison has been the most impressive of the Tigers' pitchers, in terms of pretty much all of the numbers. Obviously, the walks are a bit high and the strikeouts are a bit low, but overall, Morrison has shown an increased feel for the strikezone, and is eliciting more weak contact. This is especially promising considering he's coming off Tommy John surgery. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in Detroit in 2013.

Caribbean League (Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic)

-If Audy Ciriaco (25)

Stats: .250/.231/.333/.564/9 Games. 24 AB, 6 H, 0 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K

-P Ramon Garcia (28)

Stats: 1-0, 4.09 ERA, 11 IP, 8 H, 4 BB, 14 K, 1.09 WHIP, .222 BAA

-P Melvin Mercedes (22)

Stats: 0-0, 2/3 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 1.33 WHIP, .000 BAA

Note: Mercedes is on a strict innings limit following his 2012 campaign.

-Util Justin Henry (27)

Stats: .279/.407/.353/.760/20 Games. 68 AB, 19 H, 5 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 14 R, 14 BB, 6 K, 2 SB

-P Brayan Villarreal (25)

Villarreal is listed on the Caribes de Anzoategui roster, but hasn't recorded any statistics

-2B Hernan Perez (21)

Stats: .297/.333/.324/.658/14 Games. 37 AB, 11 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 SB

Note: It's interesting that Perez is listed as a SS on the roster, and has significantly more playing time than Eugenio Saurez, who is also on the roster. I wouldn't read anything into it, but it's interesting nonetheless

-P Victor Larez (25)

Stats: 1-0, 0.64 ERA, 14 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 8 K, 1.07 WHIP, .212 BAA

-P Jose Ortega (24)

Stats: 0-0, 1.23 ERA, 7 1/3 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 7 K, 1.77 WHIP, .276 BAA

-P Bruce Rondon (21)

Stats: 3-0, 1.50 ERA, 6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K, 1.00 WHIP, .158 BAA, 3 Saves

-P Michael Torrealba (22)

Stats: 0-0, 1.50 ERA, 6 IP, 2 H, 5 BB, 5 K, 1.17 WHIP, .118 BAA

-P Yorfrank Lopez (22)

Stats: 0-0, 3.18 ERA, 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K, 1.23 WHIP, .190 BAA

*-The numbers in parentheses following each name denotes the players age

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