Top Prospect Alert

AZFall Home

Archives

E-mail

2004 season

Final Report
December 26, 2004

American League East

Orioles - The Orioles continued their trend of sending one of the weaker crops of prospects to the AFL. The biggest surprise was the hitting of Eli Whiteside (C), who batted .329/.355/.614 with four HRs in 70 ABs ... None of the pitchers (Brian Forystek, Richard Stahl, Dave Crouthers, Scott Rice) on AFL squads did anything to distinguish themselves, nor did hitters Cory Keylor (OF)and Mike Huggins (1B), the latter whom at least reached base somewhat regularly, posting .273/.364/.351 totals.

Manny Delcarmen

Red Sox - None of Boston's AFL players stood out as potential big league regulars. Best of the lot was Manny Delcarmen (P), who fanned 19 in 22 IPs, although a little better command of his plus fastball would be nice ... Dustin Pedroia (SS) is a very nice contact hitter with gap power. In limited AFL action, he hit .278/.375/.370, with only four Ks in 54 ABs ... Sheldon Fulse (OF) showed an ability to get on base (.346 OBA), which he'll need to do to regularly in order to earn a big league backup job since speed is his best asset. Fulse was was successful on seven of eight attempts ... Alberto Concepcion (C) showed some nice hitting skills in limited playing time, batting .279/.396/.488 ... More was expected from Stefan Bailie (1B), who was coming off a strong season split between High A and AA. But he could hit only .176/.218/.311 in Arizona ... Southpaw Kason Gabbard (P) showed some potential as a future lefty out of the bullpen.

Kevin Thompson

Yankees - The best performance from a New York farmhand was turned in by Kevin Thompson (OF), who was coming off a decent season in AA. The right-handed hitter batted .320/.424/.570 with five HRs in 100 ABs ... One of the more intriguing players was 32-year-old Cuban Yobal Duenas (2B/3B), who hit .324/.342/.541 in what was basically his first baseball action in the United States. He didn't show enough skills to convince anyone that he'll be a big league regular or even worthy of a 25-man roster spot, but he'll undoubtedly be given a shot in spring training ... Mitch Jones (1B/DH) has light tower power, hitting .333/.385/.634 with six HRs in 93 ABs, but he'll have to make better contact (33 Ks) to succeed at a higher level ... Eric Schmitt (P) was the top Yankee pitcher in the AFL, with a nice 21/3 K/BB ratio and a 2.86 ERA ... Minor league veteran Sam Marsonek (P) fanned 31 in 29 IP, but didn't get enough batters out.

Delmon Young

Devil Rays - Delmon Young (OF) didn't catch everyone by surprise this year, unlike last season when he came into the AFL just out of high school and hit over .400. Worn down after a full minor league season, Young still managed to hit .293/.376/.378 in the AFL, coming on strong at the end of the year. There was nothing in his performance to show that he's still not baseball's brightest prospect ... Joey Gathright (OF) did everything that he'll need to do to make it in the big leagues --- put the ball in play, get on base and run like the wind. Gathright hit .365/.400/.423 and was successful in 15 of 17 stolen base attempts. He was on target to break the AFL stolen base record when he jammed his shoulder sliding into second base two thirds of the way through the season. He needs to draw more walks, but otherwise there's nothing not to like about the fastest player in baseball ... Other than one bad outing, little southpaw Brian Henderson (P) showed the best potential of the Tampa Bay pitchers in the AFL.

Aaron Hill

Blue Jays - Toronto was well-represented in the AFL this year, with Aaron Hill (SS) showing the most upside of any Blue Jay prospect. The Futures Game MVP batted .315/.372/.426 while playing three infield positions. He may be Toronto's starting shortstop within a year ... Vito Chiaravolloti (1B) hit .325/.402/.545 with three HRs in 77 ABs. He's got a nice batting stroke and has a great attitude about the game, but needs to cut down on the strikeouts (21 in the AFL) ... Guam native John Hattig (3B) was one of the more pleasant surprises this fall, as the switch-hitter who was acquired mid-season from Boston hit 310/.380/.496. Hattig's one to watch next year as he moves to AAA ... Jason Arnold (P) had a nice 20/4 K/BB rate, but batters hit .327 off him. Not a bad performance after injuries kept him out of action for part of 2004  ... Adam Peterson (P) held opposing batters to a .205 average and struck out 15 in 12.2 IPs ... Francisco Rosario's (P) best accomplishment was pitching all fall after missing much of the last two seasons to Tommy John surgery and rehab. He struck out 30 batters in 28.2 IPs.

--- Bill Mitchell

Next page

Player reports by team
AL East / AL Central / AL West
NL East / NL Central / NL West

AZFall Home / Archives