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2006 season AFL prospects learning from
teammates The primary purpose of the Arizona Fall League, now in its 15th season, is to develop the next generation of big league ballplayers. Each of the six teams is staffed with a manager and two or three coaches from various organizations. In addition, roving instructors pass through the league to work with their team's players. With each AFL squad being made up of representatives of five different major league teams, many prospects also learn valuable lessons from their AFL teammates.
With each major league team having its individual development philosophies, it's inevitable that the 30+ players on each AFL team are going to take something away from their experience in Arizona that they might not have learned from their own organization. Outfielder Hunter Pence is in Arizona playing with the Mesa Solar Sox after finishing his third season in the Houston Astros organization. The right-hander hitter played all year at Corpus Christi of the Class AA Texas League, where he batted .283/.357/.533 with 38 homeruns. While he's in the AFL to improve his pitch selection and getting the opportunity to just see more pitches, Pence believes he will benefit from playing with players from other organizations. "That's one thing that you want to take away from here," said Pence. "You get to talk to all the guys from other organizations and try to learn as much as you can, and see if I can pick up anything to add to my repertoire." Pence thinks that the experience he gains in Arizona will help him get better at all aspects of the game.
"We're around the best prospects from every organization," he said. "I'll just get out there and see what I can do and basically just work to get better every day." Chicago Cubs catcher Jake Fox is one of the veterans on the Solar Sox, having played in the AFL two years ago. His first AFL stint was primarily to gain experience, being one of the younger players in the league that year. "That Fall was really a learning experience for me because I got to be round a lot of older guys," said Fox, "and got to be in the bullpen with a lot of the older pitchers ... I really learned what it was like to be at the higher levels." This time around Fox, who hit a combined 21 homeruns between Class A and AA, wants to showcase his talents. But he'll also gain from working with players from other organizations. "I'm really excited because you get to play with guys that you played against," said Fox, "and now you get to play with them." Pointing to new teammate Kevin Slowey, Fox continued, "Guys like this ... you don't have to face them any more. You actually get to catch them."
Slowey, who recorded a microscopic 1.01 ERA in 14 starts with the Minnesota Twins' Class A affiliate in the Florida State League before being promoted to AA, is where Fox was two years ago --- one of the AFL's younger players. "It will be a good learning experience for me," said Slowey. "To get a chance to pitch to other guys and to see how other guys call games ... to talk about how I want to pitch to a certain guy or how something's moving on a certain day." "It's going to make me a more well-rounded pitcher ... a more diverse pitcher when it gets down to it," continued Slowey. Fox and Slowey are eager to learn from each other. "You get used to what the Cubs do ... with their pitchers, their hitters, and all of the above," said Fox. "But it's nice to get another perspective about hitting and about pitching." "It helps to think that maybe there is more than one way to skin a cat." --- 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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