2016 Arizona Fall League

[schooldoc]

2016 AFL representatives:

2b Scott Kingery
3b Mitch Walding
OF Aaron Brown
LHP Brandon Leibrandt
RHP Miguel Nunez
RHP Victor Arano

[andyb]

Interesting lack of most top prospects. I wonder if a large contingent is going to the Dominican this year like Quinn did last year. They seem to be shifting from Venezuela of late. Williams could easily be a candidate for such a challenge (and yes it is a challenge with the high quality of play and the lack of familiar surroundings).

No Williams, Crawford, Cozens, Hoskins, Quinn, Alfaro, Knapp among high level position prospects. Nunez and Arano must have gotten a waiver or been let go by their Dominican and Mexican teams.

[Austinfan]

This group actually looks like the "last chance corral," except for Kingery, who hasn't had a great season for a top prospect, the others seem more like guys who need to prove they're still legitimate prospects. I think most of the AFL season will be finished before they have to finalize the 40 man roster?

Winter ball is sorta low grade AAA ball, a number of veteran ML pitchers will be mixed with A and AA types, so you see a better mix of pitching than in say AA in winter ball.

I'd like to see Joseph go, play LF and get 200 PA.
Williams needs to go to work on plate discipline, Crawford probably needs a rest.

Someone went to Australia last year, sounds like more fun.

[andyb]

Joseph is not a LF. Period. Would be worse than Ruf out there. He is 6'1" 255 and slow as molasses. He needs to learn how to play a better 1B before anything else.

[Jeff05]

This group actually looks like the "last chance corral," except for Kingery, who hasn't had a great season for a top prospect, the others seem more like guys who need to prove they're still legitimate prospects. I think most of the AFL season will be finished before they have to finalize the 40 man roster?

Winter ball is sorta low grade AAA ball, a number of veteran ML pitchers will be mixed with A and AA types, so you see a better mix of pitching than in say AA in winter ball.

I'd like to see Joseph go, play LF and get 200 PA.
Williams needs to go to work on plate discipline, Crawford probably needs a rest.

Someone went to Australia last year, sounds like more fun.

Hoskins, Cozens, Sandberg (...?)

[julio]

Hoskins (Sydney) and Sandberg (Canberra) played in the ABL last season.

[Austinfan]

Joseph is not a LF. Period. Would be worse than Ruf out there. He is 6'1" 255 and slow as molasses. He needs to learn how to play a better 1B before anything else.

He looks pretty athletic to me for a big man, and that extra flexibility has value on what may be a crowded roster in two years.
That's what winter ball is for, to experiment a bit and see how he looks.
I mean Greg Luzinski survived a decade in LF. Pat Burrell was no gazelle.

[julio]

Guys (and Gals): Please read the thread title. I repeat, PLEASE READ THE THREAD TITLE!

This is not an all-purpose argument thread. It's here for news/discussion about the AFL. Thank you.

(I mean, geez...Darin Ruf? Freddy Galvis? Yasmany Tomas, again!?! Plus the obligatory back-and-forth about metrics, yadda yadda yadda. For the love of all that's holy...exercise a little judgment, please. Please?)

[phillychuck]

I've split the topic into two discussions--(AFL) and (Kingery/Joseph and related discussion of evaluation of minor league prospects v. major leaguers).

It is natural that discussions follow somewhat erratic pathways, and sometimes we drift away from the original intent of the thread. We (the mods) will try to keep things organized in a way that makes sense so that people can find things where they're looking for them.

[phillychuck]

A national article from yesterday still has Pullin on the AFL list instead of Brown, but I suspect they're behind the latest news:

The Phillies will send seven minor-leaguers to join the Scottsdale Scorpions.

The team will consist of Phillies, Angels, Yankees, Mets, and Giants prospects.

There are 21 MLB.com Top 100 prospects heading to the AFL, but none of them are coming from the Phillies. Second baseman Scott Kingery and pitcher Victor Arano headline the group of Phillies heading to the AFL.

In total, seven Phillies are expected to join the Scorpions: Kingery, third baseman Mitch Walding, outfielder Andrew Pullin, and pitchers Arano, Brandon Leibrandt, and Miguel Nunez. Another pitcher, as well as AA Reading pitching coach Steve Schrenk are also heading to Arizona.

[julio]

A national article from yesterday still has Pullin on the AFL list instead of Brown, but I suspect they're behind the latest news...

Yeah...the AFL rules stipulate that assigned players need to not be on the DL (although that should be obvious?).

[andyb]

Besides starting tonight it looks like Asher might fill that last pitching slot in Arizona. Makes sense because he could use the innings.

[andyb]

Not shown here but Jeff Singer, the UDFA from last fall is going to Arizona too.

Philly.com: philly.com/philly/sports/201 ... eague.html

Lefty sitting 95 and touching 99 explains his fast rise. Might be a real relief prospect that fell into our lap.

[Austinfan]

Singer was lights out in Lakewood, then struggled when he got promoted to Clearwater.
Quite a story, even in the Independent league, in 2015, he looked like dog crap.
Then he turns on the after jets:

thebaseballcube.com/players/ ... eff-singer

I presume he doesn't have to be protected for a couple more years, so this may signal they see him as a fast riser.
Arano is another who is there because of his potential, not for assessment purposes, he may be the closer of the future.
Got to stock up on those young bullpen arms.

[Squire]

Three games in and Scott Kingery (0-9), Mitch Walding (0-5) and Aaron Brown (1-5) are a combined 1-19 with a single.

[andyb]

Pretty mediocre first couple of weeks in Arizona for the Phillies prospects. Small samples of course, but our best players have been the surprising pair of Mitch Walding (8-25, 894 OPS, 2 SB) and Jeff Singer (0.00 ERA in 5.2 IP). If Singer is really a LHP that can sit in the mid 90s, it would not shock me if he is in Philly by the end of next season which would be a pretty meteoric rise for a NDFA.