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2004 season October 31, 2004 Time sure flies by quickly when you're having so much fun. That's the way I feel about this year's Arizona Fall League schedule --- it's hard to believe that we are already past the halfway point of the season. With that in mind, this week's Arizona Fall League Report will take a look at the top performers in the first half of the year. The players discussed below were chosen strictly on their performance to date, with no regard to future prospect status. It's also important to remember that the talent level in the AFL this year is higher than in past seasons, so a lot of very good ballplayers aren't going to earn mention here.
Catcher - Ryan Garko (Indians - C) is showing the most production at the plate from the catcher position, batting .368/.392/.647, 4 HR, 20 RBIs, with a couple of impressive bombs ... Eli Whiteside (Orioles - C) has been around a while and has a reputation as a solid defensive catcher, but is also producing at the plate (.351/.395/.486) ... Brian Peterson (Reds - C) is a good contact hitter with decent gap power who is batting .406/.472/.563. First Base - Ryan Howard (Phillies - 1B) is one of the biggest names in the AFL this year, and he's producing for the division-leading Desert Dogs (.385/.438/.654, 3 HRs) ... Vito Chiravalloti (Blue Jays - 1B) is one of the surprises of the season, as the right-handed hitting slugger is batting .389/.450/.667. Second Base - After a difficult year in AA, Rickie Weeks (Brewers - 2B) is using his second AFL season to show that he's still one of the premier prospects in the game today. Weeks is batting .370/.514/.741, 5 HRs. The combination of the increased homerun pop and his excellent plate discipline point to a solid 2005 season. He's also yet to make an error in 16 games at second ... Freddy Sanchez (Pirates - 2B) is also showing increased power en route to totals of .321/.400/.518. He's seen time at shortstop and third base in addition to his nine games at second base.
Third Base - Arguably, the best all-around hitter in the AFL is Mark Teahen (Royals - 3B). While he's only hit one homerun, the left-handed stick has shown good gap power and the ability to turn on the pitch with authority. He's also one of the better clutch hitters in the league, and is playing a solid third base. Teahen is batting .441/.507/.678 ... Another good defensive third baseman with a hot bat is Kevin Kouzmanoff (Indians - 3B), hitting .353/.377/.569, 8 doubles ... John Hattig (Blue Jays - 3B), a native of Guam, always looks like he's having way too much fun on the field. The switch-hitter's offensive totals (.328/.403/.594) give him plenty of reason to smile. Shortstop - This is one of the AFL's deepest positions, with five legitimate shortstops doing well this season. One of the most exciting players in the league is Omar Quintanilla (Athletics - SS), who makes solid contact, runs well and is a very good fielder. "Q" is hitting .367/.404/.531 and has struck out only three times in 49 ABs ... Another good contact hitter who is playing solid defense is Aaron Hill (Blue Jays - SS). He's also shown surprising pop, batting .338/.375/.471 ... Hill's Saguaro teammate Ian Kinsler (Rangers - SS), who has also seen action at second base, is proving that his 2004 breakout season was no fluke. Kinsler is hitting .310/.379/.586, 4 HRs ... Tommy Whiteman (Astros - SS) is making the most of his third AFL season, batting .377/.468/.509. He's made a few too many errors in the field, but shows good range ... Mike Morse (Mariners - SS) hasn't hit for as much power as in the regular season, batting .333/.368/.389, but has played solid defense and a good batting stroke.
Outfield - Jeff Francoeur (Braves - OF) is certainly looking like the real thing, batting .339/.361/.458 and showing a strong arm from right field. It would be nice to see him take a walk occasionally, as his only base on balls was intentional ... The Diamondbacks might already be figuring how to get Conor Jackson (Diamondbacks - OF) into their 2005 regular lineup after watching him hit .385/.474/.708 and a league-leading 6 HRs. He's also walked more times than he's struck out. This one's a star in the making ... One of the biggest surprises this year has been the outfield play of converted infielder Jason Repko (Dodgers - OF), who is hitting .303/.400/.557, 5 HRs and has shown a powerful and accurate arm from the outfield ... Joey Gathright (Devil Rays - OF) is on pace to break the league stolen base record of 24 (set when the league played a longer schedule). The speedy outfielder has already stolen 15 bases, while hitting .365/.400/.423 ... Kevin Thompson (Yankees - OF) is overachieving by hitting .339/.435/.644, 4 HRs ... Ben Johnson (Padres - OF) has hit well (.303/.395/.591, 4 HRs) and done very well in the field in his second AFL season ... Reed Gorecki (Cardinals - OF) hasn't played as much as some outfielders, but there's no disputing these numbers (.405/.468/.667) ... Jason Botts (Rangers - OF) is making good contact and getting on-base, batting .408/.508/.592 ... Shin Soo Choo (Mariners) has solid hitting skills, drawing 11 walks and striking out only 7 times. He's batting .311/.446/.467.
Designated Hitter - Jesse Gutierrez (Reds - 1B) isn't a top drawer prospect like others in the AFL, but few hitters have been as productive as the Texas native. Gutierrez is batting .294/.355/.529, 4 HRs, 21 RBIs; he's fanned only three times in 68 ABs ... Chris Shelton (Tigers - C/1B) can flat out hit, batting a very good .400/.438/.738, 4 HRs, 23 RBIs. After going 0-4 in the first eight innings of Friday night's game against Scottsdale, he rallied to smack a ninth inning bases-loaded triple to give his Rafters a "come from behind" victory ... When Shelton is on the field for the Rafters, Mitch Jones (Yankees - 1B) takes over as Grand Canyon DH. He's hitting a solid .333/.396/.646. Utility - He's probably been carrying the label of "organizational player" for much of his minor league career, but Casey Smith (Angels - SS/2B) has proven to be a valuable cog in the Phoenix Desert Dog lineup. Playing three infield positions, Smith has at times been spectacular in the field, and is batting a decent .321/.357/.396.
Starting Pitcher - Keith Bucktrot (Phillies - P) doesn't overwhelm with his stuff, but he's been the AFL's most effective starting pitcher this season. In five starts he's got a 1.71 ERA and 18/3 K/BB ratio ... J.D. Durbin (Twins - P) has been just about unhittable in his recent appearances; the right-hander has fanned 20 batters in 16 IPs ... Dustin Moseley (Reds - P) has given up only five hits in 14 IPs and has a 1.29 ERA ... Bobby Bradley (Pirates - P) has had some rough outings, but no one has pitched better than in his latest outing when he threw five shutout innings. The right-hander has a very good 20/3 K/BB ratio ... Dennis Sarfate (Brewers - P) has been missing a lot of bats, with 18 Ks in 13.1 IPs. He's given up only nine hits in recording a 3.38 ERA. Relief Pitcher - As discussed in last week's report, the closer position has been a strong one, with good performances from Huston Street (Athletics - P), Jesse Crain (Twins - P), David Aardsma (Giants - P), and Jason Bulger (Diamondbacks - P) ... Another tough reliever has been Brad Baker (Padres - P), who has a good 10/2 K/BB rate in 6.2 IPs ... One who has flown under the radar is right-hander Jeff Miller (Pirates - P); he's yet to give up a run in 10.2 IPs, has not walked a batter and given up only five hits, striking out 11. --------------------------------- New players on AFL rosters this week included Brad Thompson (Cardinals - P), Ben Diggins (Brewers - P) and Wilmer Villatoro (Padres - P). Now that the World Series is over, the AFL returns to its regular slate of one night game a day on Tuesday through Saturday. --- 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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