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August 18, 2003

Notes from the Arizona League
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Minor League Ramblings is produced by Bill Mitchell for Minor League Watch.

 

Notes from the Arizona League August 23,  2003 Brandon Powell With just one week remaining in the rookie level Arizona League season, one individual batting record has already been shattered. Because of the vastness of outfields in many of the training complex fields used by Arizona League teams, the number of triples has always been proportionally higher compared to other levels of baseball. Royals-1 shortstop Brandon Powell hit his 14th triple last week, breaking the league record of 13 set last year by Cubs' outfielder Felix Pie. Powell added another three-bagger this week to boost his season total to 15. The Cubs, who play their home games in spacious Fitch Park, have three hitters in the top five in triples, with utility man Alberto Garcia ranking second in the league with 10. Outfielders Ryan Fitzgerald and Carlos Mejia share third place with Giants outfielder Jose Yens at eight apiece ... Rickie Weeks Rickie Weeks, the number two overall pick in this year's draft, stopped off briefly in Arizona to tune up for his initial assignment with Beloit of the Midwest League. The second base prospect played one game for the Brewers' AZ League team, batting five times as the designated hitter in a game against the Rangers. Weeks, unaware that he was facing a fellow first rounder in southpaw John Danks, fanned in his first two at bats. "He threw me some good pitches and I struck out," commented Weeks. The Southern University product then reached base in his next three at bats, twice on sharp grounders up the middle for singles and on a hit by pitch in his other appearance. Weeks also stole two bases in his professional debut ... John Danks Danks, the ninth overall pick in the 2003 draft, was arguably the most talented pitcher to appear in the Arizona League this year. In five appearances, the Texas high school product pitched 13 innings and gave up only one earned run on six hits. Danks, who showed an impressive ability to mix his pitches and change speeds effectively, fanned 22 batters while walking only four. He was recently promoted by the Rangers organization to Spokane of the short season Northwest League ... Another top notch AZ League pitcher, Cubs right-hander Ronald Bay (profiled previously in this column), was also sent to the Northwest League after posting a league-leading seven wins ... The 2003 season has seen an unprecedented number of major league veterans appearing in the Arizona League on injury rehab assignments. The latest is Rangers' right-handed pitcher Jeff Zimmerman, who hurled three scoreless innings this week ... Ryan Harvey Chicago Cubs' number one draft pick Ryan Harvey (see previous interview) was not slated to make his professional debut until the Fall Instructional League season while recovering from knee surgery. But he received early clearance and started playing for the Cubs' rookie league team last week ... Another first rounder, San Francisco's supplemental pick Craig Whitaker, pitched in his first minor league game this week, going 2/3 inning for the Giants Arizona League team ... Seattle's 2001 second round pick, outfielder Michael Wilson, is putting together a fine season in his second time around the Arizona League. The Oklahoma switch-hitter, who was plagued by a series of minor injuries last year, is hitting .323/.404/.458 for the Mariners' AZ League entry. --- Bill Mitchell

 

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