2010 Arizona Fall League -- Season for Brewers now complete

[DHonks]

trwi7, I added Narron because he's been dealing, and because the Brewers have a history of sending non-prospect journeyman type pitchers to the AFL to see if they can get out advanced hitters. I'm thinking of Wolfe and Bausher, but I know there have been others.

[Mass Haas]

Adam McCalvy:

 

The Brewers named outfielder Lorenzo Cain and right-hander Cody Scarpetta their Minor League player and pitcher of the month for July. Cain batted .320 in a month split between Double-A Huntsville and Triple-A Nashville that also included a weeklong stint in the Majors. He was promoted back to the big leagues Friday afternoon. Scarpetta was 3-0 with a 1.41 ERA in July for Class A Brevard County. ...

 

The Brewers are close to naming their picks for the 2010 Arizona Fall League, general manager Doug Melvin said. The club has a priority pick at second base, making it very likely that 2008 first-round Draft pick Brett Lawrie will be one of the selections. Melvin also said the club was hoping to send outfielder Logan Schafer, who is recovering from hernia surgery.

[Crash2303]

long shot- Angel Salome?- highlight him for a trade?

[Mass Haas]

From MiLB.com:

Last year there was talk of a Junior Arizona Fall League to replace Hawaii Winter Baseball. There was an informal league between some teams at their Phoenix area complexes. Is there going to be a formal league this year for Class A players? If not, is MLB still considering it?

You're right, there were some rumors about a second AFL floating around last fall once the Hawaiian program ended. Word is that it will not happen this year. The Arizona Fall League program is run by Major League Baseball, though -- it's not MiLB's call.

[battlekow]

Lawrie, Jeffress headline AFL picks

Adam McCalvy/MLB.com

 

Blue-chip prospects Brett Lawrie and Jeremy Jeffress headline the list of Milwaukee farmhands picked for the prestigious Arizona Fall League. Rosters were unveiled Monday afternoon.

 

Lawrie will be joined on the Surprise Rafters by outfielder Logan Schafer, who will try to make up for time lost to a groin injury, infielder Eric Farris and right-handed pitchers Michael Fiers, Jeffress, Brandon Kintzler and Mike McClendon, who is currently pitching out of the Brewers' big-league bullpen.

 

Left-handers Lucas Luetge and Dan Merklinger were named to the taxi squad.

 

Double-A Huntsville manager Mike Guerrero will manage the Rafters, a team made up of prospects from the Brewers, Tigers, Royals, Cardinals and Rangers. Play begins Oct. 12.

[Never Outhustled]

Cool that Schafer is expected to be healthy enough for the AFL. The large group of relievers should have success there. I also like that the Merk finally gets to face advanced hitting.

[LouisEly]

Good call on Gamel - would be a good opportunity to try him out at RF or 1B.

 

Gamel, Jeffress, Farris, Green, and Schafer and Anundsen if they are healthy are just about locks. 50/50 on Lawrie - I think he could use some rest.

 

Dark horses - Butler, Kintzler, McClendon, Merklinger, and Periard and Wooten if they are healthy. I'll bet at least one of that group goes.

(**Pats self on back**)

 

Pretty sure I'm the only one who called Kintzler, McClendon, and Merklinger.

[colbyjack]

Seeing Lawrie on that list is pretty exciting. We all knew it was coming, but it's another sign that he's on the cusp of contributing at the big-league level. While many consider Prince's departure a matter of when and not if this offseason, you have to wonder where Lawrie breaks in at the big leagues. If Lawrie continues to force the issue next season, does his progression mean that the Brewers may be less likely to make as hard of a push towards a Weeks extension?

 

And since the Brewers have the priority pick at second base (which makes me assume the team plans to continue to develop Lawrie at that position), where does Farris play? It would be nice to see him get some time at SS and wherever else to increase his versatility and overall value.

 

I like seeing all of the relievers too. We've talked about it before, but it's crucial for a team like the Brewers to develop a cheap yet effective bullpen (like the Padres) in-house, and it's nice to see more and more names that they can choose from.

[battlekow]

I thought Lamontagne was like a pretty good bet for the AFL given how the Brewers have handled him. Kinda surprised he's not going; he threw over 110 innings last year between Oral Roberts and Helena, so I don't think workload is a concern.

[BKsToolbox]

Maybe I'm way off on this one, but has it been previously mentioned that Lamontagne is a new father? Surely that would impact whether or not he would want to go to the AFL.

[BKsToolbox]

Lamontagne is a new father, he probably won't be a part of any fall leagues.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

Surprised to see Merklinger and Fiers going to AFL. Both have pitched a lot this year compared to last year.

 

Fiers only pitched 41 innings last year (as a reliever). He's at 118 now.

Merklinger: 2008: 97 IP, 2009: 91 IP, 2010: 142 and counting...

 

So much for the Brewers limit of 20-25 increase in innings from one year to another.

 

Both have shown outstanding control this year (> 3:1 K/BB ratio). I hope the Brewers shut them down if they start getting wild in the AFL. No need to push these guys, I think they have shown enough this year.

[And That]

Fiers pitched quite a bit in college last year, too.

[juancastillo3]

From MiLB.com:

Last year there was talk of a Junior Arizona Fall League to replace Hawaii Winter Baseball. There was an informal league between some teams at their Phoenix area complexes. Is there going to be a formal league this year for Class A players? If not, is MLB still considering it?

You're right, there were some rumors about a second AFL floating around last fall once the Hawaiian program ended. Word is that it will not happen this year. The Arizona Fall League program is run by Major League Baseball, though -- it's not MiLB's call.

During the telecast of the Timber Rattlers game last night they did an interview with Jake Odorizzi and he mentioned that he would be playing in the Junior Fall League. Has anyone seen any more information on this league?

 

Here is the quote from Jake: "I gotta go down to Arizona. They're giving me five days off to go back home and then I have to go to a junior fall league. Their first year doing it for us and that runs for another month into October."

 

 

[And That]

The post has since disappeared, but a poster noted that Brett Lawrie and Logan Schafer no longer appear on the Surprise Rafters' roster page, and have been replaced by Hunter Morris and Caleb Gindl.

[TooLiveBrew]

I read the now-vanished post, and it also mentioned/wondered if this had something to do with a trade. Would there be any other reason(s) guys would get scratched? I don't recall hearing anything about Lawrie being injured, and iirc the whole point with Schafer was to get him some game action this season since he missed so much time due to injury.

[Mass Haas]

Second base was assigned to the Brewers as a "priority position", but how was it going to work if both Farris and Lawrie were on the roster?

 

Eric Hosmer of the Royals is the starting first baseman, but another was needed. Why not reward 23-year-old Sean Halton for an 88 RBI season instead of reaching to low-A for Morris, whose turn will come down the road? Hosmer's backup will probably get only one-two starts a week.

 

Gindl deserves his chance, but one wonders if Schafer had a setback of some kind.

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville-area players are making impact in professional baseball

Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times

Hunter Morris, a Grissom grad drafted by the Brewers out of Auburn, was at Milwaukee's low-A club in Appleton, Wisc., and has been selected to play in the Arizona Fall League, where his manager will be Stars skipper Mike Guerrero.

 

Morris "took the summer as more of a learning process than trying to put up great numbers. I wanted to do great from the first day, but it usually doesn't work like that," he said. He was "trying to find consistency ... to stay on an even keel the whole time, to level out the peaks and valleys."

 

If the typical career-ladder is followed, Morris could be the Stars' first baseman in 2012, if not late next summer.

 

"It would be awesome," he said. "I would love to be able to play in Huntsville in the year or two I'd be in Double-A. It would be really exciting to get to play at home. My family is here and my friends are here.

 

"It'd make my life a lot easier to go down the street to my parents' house to have some decent meals."

[colbyjack]

You have to wonder if something happened in instrux. Lawrie and Schafer both could have been injured (or in Schafer's case, maybe he's not as far along as they hoped). Mass noted that it seemed a little odd that the Brewers had the priority at 2B with both Farris and Lawrie heading there, but still, it would have been nice for Lawrie to get that final tune-up before a possible call to Milwaukee next year.

 

I don't think a trade would have much to do with it. If anything, you would think that having Lawrie play in the AFL would give him the opportunity to showcase his talents with and against some of the best prospects out there.

[Crew2323]

According to Haudricourt, Gord Ash informed him that Lawrie "elected not to play."

 

 

Thanks to a tip from one of my readers, I checked in with assistant

general manager Gord Ash today and confirmed that second baseman Brett

Lawrie and centerfielder Logan Schafer were removed from the roster of

the Surprise Rafters of the Arizona Fall League.

Lawrie and Schafer were replaced by first baseman Hunter Morris and outfielder Caleb Gindl.

Ash said Lawrie "elected not to play" and that Schafer still had not

fully recovered from a broken foot suffered during the season.

I'm not sure why Lawrie elected not to play. He had a strong season

with Class AA Huntsville at age 20 and the Brewers hoped to continue his

acceleration toward the majors with an AFL campaign. I'm awaiting

further explanation on that.

 

[bork]

Haudricourt is reporting that Lawrie "elected not to play" and Schafer is still not fully recovered from the broken foot.

 

Lawrie has been playing pretty much non-stop since he was drafted, so maybe he needed a break.

[homer]

Didn't Hardy and Fielder also refuse to go back in the day?

[dadofandrew]

Lawrie needs reps on defense, though to be fair, no one knows where he'll end up, could be any position except C, SS, or CF. Will it affect his standing? Unlikely, he's just too young and talented to be held back because of it. Sadly, he probably knows this.

[UeckerPowell]

Hunter Morris should get a couple starts right off the bat with Eric Hosmer still playing for team USA in the Pam American games.

[colbyjack]

Not sure if a new thread should be started for the in-game action, but the AFL kicked off today. Here's the MLB.com site page:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/league.jsp?league=afl

And here's today's box score:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/league.jsp?league=afl

Eric Farris started at 2B, and Caleb Gindl is in RF for the Surprise Rafters. Both have a hit and a K in 2 ABs.