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2004 season

Final Report
December 26, 2004

American League Central

White Sox - Top prospect Brian Anderson's (OF) numbers weren't anything special (.233/.340/.378), but he swung the bat well and played a strong outfield. Anderson was successful on all five stolen base attempts ... Pedro Lopez (2B/SS) was a little young for the AFL, but he held his own by showing the ability to put the ball in play and doing well in the field. Lopez, who hit .254/300/.324, struck out only seven times in 71 ABs ... A sleeper for next year is Casey Rogowski (OF), who batted .389/.396/.474 and showed surprisingly good outfield skills despite his size ... Jeff Bajenaru (P), who spent some time with the big league club in 2004, struck out 23 in 18.1 IPs ... Matt Smith (P) was an effective reliever, posting a 2.89 ERA ... Left-hander Dennis Ulacia (P) gave up a few too many hits, but posted a respectable 28/10 K/BB rate.

Ryan Garko

Indians - Ryan Garko (C) can hit --- there's little question of that. But will he stay at catcher or wind up as a first base / DH type? Garko batted .348/.405/.574 with five HRs in 115 ABs, including several of the impressive long bombs of the season ... Not much was expected from Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B), who played only a few games this year above the Low A level, but the scrappy third sacker hit .314/.341/.488. He's already 23, so he'll need to skip a level next year to maintain prospect status ... Jason Cooper (OF) just turned 24 and was coming off a mediocre season in AA, so the former Stanford player needed to step up in the AFL. His numbers weren't too much different, as he batted .267/.324/.465 ... Jake Dittler (P) showed the most potential of any of the four Indian hurlers in the AFL, posting a 3.00 ERA ... Former #1 draft pick Dan Denham (P) put up abysmal numbers this fall. Nothing really went right for him. 2005 may be a make or break year as he'll likely return to AA.

Chris Shelton

Tigers - Chris Shelton (C/1B/DH) made the biggest statement of anyone in the AFL this year by earning MVP honors and leading the league in hitting. The former Rule 5 draftee batted .404/.470/.667 with six HRs in 114 ABs. He even stole three bases. His future position is uncertain, but someone should find a place for him to play in a year or two. He'll likely spend some time in AAA in 2005 to make up for the year that he wasted on the Detroit bench ... Curtis Granderson (OF) showed strong potential by batting .321/.404/.405 with six SBs, although it would be nice to see him hitting for more power, as the left-handed hitter managed only five extra-base hits in 84 ABs ... Ryan Raburn (2B) smacked some impressive long bombs en route to batting .250/.342/.471 with four HRs in 68 ABs ... The most notable pitching performance from a Tiger came from right-handed reliever Mark Woodyard (P), who posted a 3.86 and 18/7 K/BB rate in his third AFL season.

Mark Teahen

Royals - Mark Teahen (3B) too often gets compared to Joe Randa when his big league potential is discussed. He showed more hitting skills than that in the AFL, batting .385/.453/.541 and often turning on pitches with power. Teahen led the champion Desert Dogs in RBIs with 25 and is a fine defender at the hot corner. He struck out far too much (30 times in 109 ABs). He's maybe not all-star potential, but there may be something good here ... Donald Murphy (2B) got irregular playing time in the AFL, but capped his season with a game-winning grand slam on the only pitch he saw in the AFL championship game. He batted .215/.299/.393 during the AFL regular season, but hit four HRs in only 84 ABs ... Brian Bass (P) came late but pitched effectively for the Desert Dogs, posting a 1.59 ERA and .233 opposition batting average ... Minor league veteran Wes Wilkerson (P) was one of the more effective relievers in the AFL, tying for the league ERA lead at 0.98. Opponents batted only .177 off him. He's not overpowering, but could have a future as a middle reliever in the big leagues ... Southpaw Billy Keppinger (P) vultured five wins out of the bullpen, with a 3.04 ERA and a .239 opponent batting average ... Mike Stodolka (P) came to the AFL hoping to re-assert himself as a legit prospect, and he didn't do badly. The left-hander finsihed with a 2.73 ERA in 26.1 IPs.

Jason Bartlett

Twins - Top hitting prospect Jason Kubel (OF) came in late after playing in the postseason for Minnesota. His AFL stint lasted only a few innings, as he tore up his knee in a collision with second baseman Ryan Raburn. He'll miss much, if not all, of 2005 ... Jason Bartlett (SS) may be in the Twins' starting lineup next season after they let Cristian Guzman leave as a free agent. Bartlett hit a solid .397/.457/.507 in the AFL. While not flashy in the field, he's reliable ... Rob Bowen (C) tied a record by appearing in his fourth AFL season. He didn't get much playing time this year, batting .250/.338/.333 ... Kevin West (OF) replaced Kubel on the Grand Canyon roster and came on strong late in the season, finishing at .340/.400/.528 ... Right-hander Scott Baker (P) was one of the league's more effective pitchers, posting an ERA of 3.68 and a nice 29/7 K/BB rate ... Jesse Crain (P) was just one of several elite closer prospects in the AFL this year and he showed why, striking out 14 in 13 IPs and holding batters to a .208 average ... J.D. Durbin (P) hit triple figures on the speed guns this fall. The local Scottsdale product fanned 29 batters in 25.2 IPs; opposing batters hit only .219 off him.

--- Bill Mitchell

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