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2003 season October 12, 2003
Week two of Arizona Fall League action was highlighted by the debut of Team USA, which saw its first action against AFL opponents on Friday afternoon. The prospective Olympic squad looked rusty in its first outing, losing to the Mesa Solar Sox, 8-2, then rallied on Saturday to crush the Scottsdale Scorpions in a lopsided romp, 15-1. Offensive stars: All eyes were on Team USA in their first game against the Solar Sox, but it was Mesa outfielder Jonny Gomes (Devil Rays - OF) who struck first in the bottom of the first with a long blast over the left field berm. The right-handed hitting slugger, who saw his first big league action last month, is eight for 18 with three homeruns this Fall ... Gomes' Solar Sox teammate, Richard Lewis (Braves - 2B), is arguably the hottest hitter in the league, as the right-handed hitting second baseman leads the league with a .520 average (13 for 25) ... Another Mesa batter showing a surprising ability at the plate is switch-hitter Kris Wilken (Orioles - 1B), with a .393 average and one long ball ...
Despite the presence of top shelf prospects like Joe Mauer (Twins - C), Jeremy Reed (White Sox - OF) and Chris Burke (Astros - 2B) on the Team USA roster, it was a pair of lesser known hitters that carried the team's offense in the first two games. The performance of Graham Koonce (Athletics - 1B) was unbelievable, as the big left-handed hitter went six for seven in the first two games. Koonce smacked a long, towering homerun in the opening game and added a couple of doubles, a triple and a pair of singles in his seven at bats. Equally hot was Mike Rouse (Athletics - 2B), who went four for seven with a long bomb in game two. Heralded prospect Grady Sizemore (Indians - OF) was five for six with a homer into the right field bullpen at Scottsdale Stadium ... Scott Bikowski (White Sox - OF) has shown that there's a little pop in his compact batting stroke; he smacked a line drive down the right field line at Mesa's Hohokam Park last Monday. Bikowski is six for 10 thus far ... 2003 number one draft pick Delmon Young (Devil Rays - OF) made his professional debut for the Mesa Solar Sox this past week, going one for three in his initial AFL action. On the hill:
AFL veteran Justin Duchscherer (Athletics - P) returned to the league, but this time as a prospective member of Team USA. He dominated the Scottsdale Scorpions on Saturday with four shutout innings, yielding only two hits while fanning three batters ... One of the strongest performances was turned in by Scottsdale Scorpion right-hander Greg Powell (Astros - P), who closed the door on the Rafters with five shutout innings. Only one opposing batter reached base. Powell, who keeps batters off balance with a variety of off speed pitches, struck out four while giving up only a single to Donald Kelly (Tigers - 3B) ... Joe Valentine (Reds - P), now with his third major league organization, has been effective out of the bullpen for Scottsdale. The right-hander has pitched four innings without yielding a run. He's fanned six batters, while giving up only two hits and no walks. Where's the 'D'?:
Scott Hairston (Diamondbacks - 2B) committed a pair of errors on Saturday. The Scorpion infielder now has seven miscues in nine games ... Joe Mauer (Twins - C) made a pair of throwing errors in Team USA's first game. Looking ahead: Week three kicks off on Monday with a full slate of three games. This week's only night game features the Mesa Solar Sox and the Scottsdale Scorpions in a Wednesday evening encounter at Scottsdale Stadium. See you at the yard! --- Bill Mitchell All photos on the Arizona Fall League Report are credited to Bill Mitchell, unless noted otherwise, and are not to be used for any other purpose without express permission.
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