Your 2011 Arizona Fall League Thread -- Latest: Bradley in Rising Stars Game Sat, 7:10, MLB Network

[colbyjack]

I haven't seen this mentioned, but fans can watch Jed Bradley pitch in the AFL's Rising Stars game this Saturday at 7:10 central on the MLB Network. I'm interested to see if Bradley resembles the pitcher I saw during the summer of 2010 on the Cape and over the first half of the 2011 college baseball season. If he shows that, even in a short stint, I think people here will be pleased with the team's 2nd 1st round pick from last June (who I contend is still a better prospect than Jungmann).

 

BA provides the roster and a brief synopsis of the players (as noted, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Gerrit Cole and Danny Hultzen may be enough reason to tune in):

 

http://www.baseballameric...league/2011/2612561.html

[TooLiveBrew]

BA provides the roster and a brief synopsis of the players (as noted, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Gerrit Cole and Danny Hultzen may be enough reason to tune in):

 

Whoa, no kidding! But yes, due to Bradley, this one is officially getting DVR'd. Thanks for the heads-up, colby.

[ramssuperbowl99]

Bradley was 91-94 mph, showed good arm action, stuff, and command on his offspeed pitches.

Got a K, 2 routine GBs to SS (and one of them was booted), then a K. Really impressive.

[TooLiveBrew]

I think he looked good, but not great in this one game. His control wasn't great, but imo aside from that he pitched really well -- mixed his arsenal up nicely, & definitely showed some good stuff. His slider in particular was a bit wild, but it also had good break. I thought he utilized his changeup nicely & executed it pretty well. I can see why Andy Pettite gets brought up as a physical (perhaps also potential/production) comparison, his delivery was eerily similar to Pettitte's.

 

Honestly the pitcher that I thought looked the best after Danny Hultzen was Jeremy Jeffress. His fastball was sitting at 97-98, he was locating it well, & his curve produced several ugly swings. He also struck out the last batter he faced on what looked like a slider (breaking pitch at 87; the CB was around 79-81)... I don't remember him having a slider with the Brewers.

[JohnBriggs12]

What are we to make of Scooter Gennett's performance in the AFL? True it's 69 AB and its Arizona, but .406/.474/.536 from a 21 year old who is just 5'9" 164? That's one impressive line.

 

Is it too early to start calling him a lefty swinging version of Dustin Pedroia?

[YoungGeezy]

What are we to make of Scooter Gennett's performance in the AFL? True it's 69 AB and its Arizona, but .406/.474/.536 from a 21 year old who is just 5'9" 164? That's one impressive line.

 

Is it too early to start calling him a lefty swinging version of Dustin Pedroia?

Lol been calling him for past 2 years. To me all it shows is what we already knew...the kid can falt out hit. He centers up on every ball. However we still needs to greatly improve in the field and improve baserunning. Pedroia never had any fielding concerns, so Gennett needs to get better.

 

 

[TooLiveBrew]

Gennett needs to put on more muscle, too. Pedroia's small, but Gennett's rail-thin on top of being small. I hope he just keeps hitting & improving.

[JohnBriggs12]

What are we to make of Scooter Gennett's performance in the AFL? True it's 69 AB and its Arizona, but .406/.474/.536 from a 21 year old who is just 5'9" 164? That's one impressive line.

 

Is it too early to start calling him a lefty swinging version of Dustin Pedroia?

Lol been calling him for past 2 years. To me all it shows is what we already knew...the kid can falt out hit. He centers up on every ball. However we still needs to greatly improve in the field and improve baserunning. Pedroia never had any fielding concerns, so Gennett needs to get better.

 

I was comparing him offensively to Pedroia. Pedroia is a gold glover but he'd still be an All Star if he were simply average in the field. Very few guys are going to compare with him defensively. BTW, Gennett is up to a ridiculous .419 now. Glove or no glove, a bat like that will play.

 

BTW: Gennett has zero errors in the AFL so far.

[CheezWizHed]

News that Schafer had wrist inflammation during the AFL. Then returned to hit 2 triples.

 

Given that the AFL normally has pretty good hitting, I'd say that Gennett's numbers merely indicate that this A+ numbers were influenced by the heavy air at Brevard. He continues to hit, but I'm not ready to trade Rickie yet...

[DHonks]

Plenty of guys hit well in the AFL. Be encouraged by it, but now let's see him produce in AA. He's an exciting prospect. Hopefully he continues to improve and starts to draw some walks

[bjkrautk]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7186662

 

Not sure if that was posted anywhere in the Minor League forum, but it's a fairly quick clip speaking positively about Bradley's performance in the AFL.

[TooLiveBrew]

Nice to see some more love for Bradley. I know colbyjack has been really high on him.

[BrewCrewForever]

Really encouraged by Gennett's second half in A+ last year and now this AFL performance. Can't wait to see how he does at AA in 2012. He sure seems to be gaining more buzz as a prospect.

[JohnBriggs12]

Plenty of guys hit well in the AFL. Be encouraged by it, but now let's see him produce in AA. He's an exciting prospect. Hopefully he continues to improve and starts to draw some walks

True, but .434 good? By a 21 year old middle infielder who's never played above A ball in a league with many guys with AA and AAA experience? He's second in the league a few points behind 3B Jedd Gyorko who's 2 years older, was a 2nd round pick and has AA experience.

[CheezWizHed]

He hit 434 over only 83 ABs in a league known for high offenses. In the league, three players hit over .400 and 27 (out of 67) hit over .300 for the season.

 

Surely its an impressive stint for Gennett but I don't think anyone is anointing him the #1 prospect based on this. In my eyes, it helps make up for a so-so season at Brevard (especially the first half). And we move on with him at AA.

 

In the same vein, Ke. Davis also had a nice bounce back AFL: 324/435/493/928. For some reason, he just doesn't do well at Brevard, but hits ok elsewhere.

[sheetskout]

Here is an AFL scouting report that my friend Wes did for ProjectProspect.com on Jed Bradley. Cheers.

 

http://projectprospect.co...-bradley-scouting-report

[TooLiveBrew]

Thanks for linking that, sheetskout.

 

Bradley’s changeup appears to need quite a bit of work. It came in at 80 MPH but had no fade or sink to speak of. Although he threw it with decent armspeed, I’d like to see him finish it in a way that distinguishes it from his breaking pitches in either velocity or movement. He did appear to have good command of the pitch.

That's nice to see. Did Bradley throw a changeup before joining the Brewers?

[TooLiveBrew]

MLB.com AFL interviews with Kentrail Davis & Logan Schafer, via Brewers.com