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2004 season

Final Report
December 26, 2004

National League Central

Cubs - Slugging first baseman Brian Dopirak was the biggest success story from this year's Cubs AFL contingent. Coming off an MVP season in the Low Class A Midwest League, the 20-year-old Dopirak hit .274/.324/.568 with seven HRs in 95 ABs. Like any young power hitter, he's still got to cut down on the strikeouts, but this was an excellent growth season for the Florida native ... Ronny Cedeno (2B/SS) appeared overmatched by AFL pitching, hitting only .200/.282/286 ... Jake Fox (C) was a mid-season replacement when Tampa Bay's Pete LaForest had to withdraw due to injury. He got only 35 ABs, but showed good hitting and catching skills ... Adam Greenberg (OF) was a pleasant surprise, hitting .320/.363/.413 in 75 ABs. The left-handed hitter was successful on five of six stolen base attempts and has a little gap power ... Geovanny Soto (C) showed that he's matured as a hitter just two years removed from rookie ball. The native Puerto Rican hit .270/.356/.317 in a part-time role ... Lanky southpaw Sean Marshall (P) was impressive in five starts before being shut down for the season, finishing with a 3.93 ERA and a 16/2 K/BB rate in 18.1 IPs ... Jae-Kuk Ryu (P) was also suffering from injuries. He threw 19.2 innings, striking out 19 and walking nine, while opponents batted .314 off him ... One of the league's better relief performances came from big left-hander Russ Rohlicek (P), who struck out 26 in 19.2 IPs and posted a 2.29 ERA.

Dustin Moseley

Reds - At 26, Jesse Gutierrez (1B) is too old to be regarded as a prospect, but the right-handed hitting Texan showed solid hitting skills after a good AA season. Gutierrez batted .295/.367/.467 with four HRs and 23 RBIs. He drew 11 walks and struck out only nine times ... Another minor league veteran, 26-year-old Brian Peterson (C), did very well in Arizona, batting .379/.463/.534 with nine walks and seven strikeouts in 58 ABs ... Kevin Howard (2B) was late getting started due to an early injury, but made up for lost time with a very nice performance in his 59 ABs. The left-handed hitter batted .373/.406/.525 and stole four bases in five attempts ... Reliever Daylan Childress (P) was effective out of the pen for division-winning Scottsdale, posting a 2.95 ERA and 19 Ks in 21.1 IPs ... Former first rounder Dustin Moseley (P) had a decent AFL season, with a 1.13 WHIP and 18 Ks in 23 IPs ... The third Cincinnati pitcher on the Scorpion roster, reliever Todd Coffey, finished with a respectable 1.12 WHIP and walked only five batters in 22.1 IPs.

Tommy Whiteman

Astros - The most productive Houston player on the Scottsdale Scorpion roster was Tommy Whiteman (SS), back for his third AFL season. He hit .333/.439/.458 and drew 16 walks while striking out only 11 times. Whiteman made 11 errors and was successful in only three of his eight stolen base attempts, but it was still a successful season for him ... Royce Huffman (3B) failed to duplicate the success he had with Houston's AAA affiliate, batting only .232/.316/.329 ... Charlton Jimerson (OF) was a taxi squad player who got only 62 ABs. His high point came late in the season when he hit a walk-off grand slam, but otherwise his numbers were pretty bleak --- .194/.206/.290 with 23 Ks and only one BB ... Ditto for Todd Self (OF), but without the walk-off granny. He hit .204/.306/.241 in 54 ABs ... Michael Burns (P) had one of the better K/BB totals of the year with 26 Ks and only three BBs in 29 IPs. But opponents hit .333 off him ... The Scorpions used right-hander Jared Gothreaux (P) quite frequently out of the bullpen. The Louisiana native showed good command, walking only five batters in 24.2 IPs.  He posted a 4.74 ERA ... Lefty Mark McLemore (P) finished with a 6.38 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP.

Rickie Weeks

Brewers - Rickie Weeks (2B) looked to be a much improved and more relaxed player in the AFL this season. The power is coming and his defense at second base is much better. Despite missing the last two weeks with a minor injury, Weeks wasn't far off the lead in homeruns, hitting six in 76 ABs. His final numbers were very good --- .382/.520/.737 with 17 walks ... Anthony Gwynn (OF) showed virtually no offensive skills at all in batting .167/.225/.181, but he is a strong defensive outfielder ... Left-hander Jeff Housman (P) was very effective for the Scorpions, posting a 2.22 ERA in 24.1 IPs ... Dennis Sarfate (P) fanned 27 batters in 21.2 IPs, but also walked 17. Opposing batters hit only .197 off Sarfate ... Southpaw Mitch Stetter (P) finished with a respectable 19/6 K/BB rate, but gave up too many hits ... Lanky left-hander Ryan Costello (P) was mostly ineffective, posting an 8.66 ERA.

Freddy Sanchez

Pirates - J.R.House (C) returned for his third AFL season, and once again did quite well in limited action. House hit .347/.411/.592 with two HRs in 49 ABs. With Jason Kendall out of the picture in Pittsburgh, it's reasonable to think that House will get a chance to earn a roster spot in '05 ... Nate McLouth (OF) is a scrappy little guy who knows how to get on base and takes full advantage of his skills. The left-handed hitter batted .278/.344/.426 with four SBs in as many attempts ... The Pirates picked up former Boston prospect Freddy Sanchez (2B/SS) in a 2003 mid-season trade. He missed much of 2004 with an injury, but made up for it with a sterling performance (.364/.444/.561, 3 HRs, 10/13 K/BB rate) in the AFL. Now 27, Sanchez hardly qualifies as a prospect, but he's still got the chance to put together a solid big league career ... Jeff Miller (P) was one of the more effective relief pitchers in the AFL, as the right-hander finished with a 1.86 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and 16/2 K/BB rate ... Right-hander Bobby Bradley (P) led the league with 37 Ks while putting together a nice fall season that was better than his 5.01 ERA would indicate. Bradley's 1.08 WHIP and 37/7 K/BB ratio is impressive. Look for him to move up to AAA in 2005 ... Former outfielder Jeremy Harts (P) has one of the strongest arms in the organization, but the southpaw had trouble getting the ball over the plate in his first season as a pitcher. That trend continued in the AFL, as Harts walked 11 batters in 12.2 IPs. As a very recent convert to the position, he shouldn't be judged by his numbers. Watch for a likely return to AA in '05 ... Left-hander Mike Johnston (P) fanned 20 in 18.1 IPs and was mostly effective out of the bullpen for the Peoria Saguaros.

Reid Gorecki

Cardinals - Reid Gorecki (OF) raised his prospect profile as much as anyone in the 2004 AFL by batting .363/.449/.569 with nine doubles and four HRs in 102 ABs. He's a gamer ... Chris Duncan (1B) performed like the prototypical slugger --- low batting average, lots of homers and lots of strikeouts. His batting totals were .244/.300/.489 and five HRs in 90 ABs ... Gabe Johnson (C/3B) split time behind the plate and at the hot corner. His offensive numbers (.259/.293/.353) weren't overly impressive, but he still came across as someone to watch. He's already 25 and will likely move to AAA next season ... John Nelson (SS) played well defensively and showed a penchant for drawing walks, but otherwise his numbers (.172/.289/.344) were not very impressive ... Carmen Cali (P), a smallish southpaw reliever who spent some time with the big club in 2004, pitched well in the AFL, finishing with a good 15/3 K/BB rate and a 1.38 WHIP. He stands a chance to make the major league team in spring training ... Andy Cavazos (P) didn't do much in AA, but looked better in Arizona, posting a 3.97 ERA and striking out 20 batters in 22.2 IPs ... Adam Wainwright (P) started only four games before shutting it down for the year. He wasn't overly impressive, especially with his command, but he managed to strike out a dozen hitters in 10.1 IPs.

--- Bill Mitchell

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