Leftovers? Fall League Leftovers To Dish Up

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Published on November 30, 2010

Leftovers on the menu at home? Well, I have some Arizona Fall League leftovers to dish up as well.

Overall, I'd say this was one of the weakest Arizona Fall League classes in recent years. Yes, there were some stars. Names like Bryce Harper, Brandon Belt and Eric Hosmer created some buzz. But overall, the game breaking players weren't on the rosters.

There were some interesting players with bright major league futures to watch. Some of them need much more seasoning. Some are almost ready to crack the 25 man roster of their individual club. I have posted my Ready For Prime Time list in my weekly RotoWire notebook.

These are some players that I want to elaborate upon a bit more:

St. Louis Cardinals 3B Zack Cox looks much bigger than his listed 6'0" and 215 pounds. Cox was a first round pick for the Cardinals this past June. He was the 25th overall player selected.

Given the problems St. Louis has had at the hot corner in recent seasons, it appears that once Cox has seen quality pitching beyond his brief taste of 15 at-bats in the Gulf Coast Rookie League, Cox will have a decent path to St. Louis on a full time basis.

There is no doubt in my mind Zack Cox has a powerful and potent bat. He has to learn more plate discipline and he needs adjustment to breaking pitches. However, the AFL is really a hitter's paradise and he put some good wood on the fastballs he saw for 6 weeks.
Defensively, Cox has to refine his movement laterally around 3B. He has a gun for an arm and he showed it off plenty. Keep Zack Cox in mind as you look two years ahead for solid 3B candidates.

Ryan Lavarnway of the Boston Red Sox caught almost everyday for his Peoria Javelina team. The Red Sox catching prospect looked like a menacing hitter at times. Thoughts of the green monster in left field danced around in my head as I watched his swing. He is a huge man at 6'4" and 225 pounds of solid, well defined body. I almost think he's too big to catch. At 23 years old, Lavarnway may have more growth and definition on the way-that could be scary. Lavarnway was a 6th round pick in 2008.

Lavarnway is very raw and unproven behind the plate. His footwork blocking balls in the dirt is not only awkward, but at times it's non-existent. He just lets balls get passed him without moving an inch. He doesn't throw well enough to get runners stealing, and he doesn't seem to have any grasp of the mechanical requirements of a catcher. His poor defense will keep him in development longer than one would expect with that kind of bat.

Given the fact the Red Sox put up with the defense (or lack of same) provided by Victor Martinez, they may be willing to settle for mediocre tools behind the plate. However, I doubt that. Not with running and defense getting more attention in major league baseball.
Lavarnway is an interesting catcher to target once he learns his position or is switched to first base or designated hitter. Fenway is made for his pull happy swing.

It's amazing how similar the Reds Devin Mesoraco and Ryan Lavarnway were in the AFL. Both had very good bats and played very poor defense. Both had trouble with balls in the dirt. Both gave up far too many passed balls. Both were lucky not to have passed balls called on many of the "wild pitches" that were credited to pitchers.

Not unlike Lavarnway, Mesoraco is the type of hitter with the ability to bust open a game. He is a powerful hitter with good instincts and sound mechanics at the plate. He can take a ball to the gap in left center or apply some loft and hit it over the fence. I think he's going to be a solid contributor for the Reds. Again, he has to learn how to catch. The only way to accomplish that is to spend time in the minor leagues learning the footwork and body movements necessary to control the running game. Mesoraco is not as big as Lavarnway at only 6'1" but he is within five pounds at 220 pounds. Mesoraco is one year older and he seems further advanced in his overall game than Ryan Lavarnway. I look for Mesoraco to make the Reds club to stay in 2012 as the full time catcher. Mesoraco was the 15th overall pick in the 2007 June draft. He's not that far away and he deserves your attention.

The guy I just couldn't see enough of was C Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals.

Sometimes a player arrives at the AFL or in spring training and he makes me sit up in my chair and take another look. And then another look. Before long I go to the game and zero in on that player. This year it was Perez. In the past it's been Alcides Escobar or Alexei Ramirez. One year it was Jason Donald, now an infielder with Cleveland. He just hit the cover off the ball. This year it was Perez.

Why? He's a 6'3" Venezuelan with a track record of hitting. He's lanky at 175 pounds, but the ball just jumps off his bat. He's never played higher than A ball, but there he was in the AFL for all to see. In a small minor league sampling including 894 at-bats, Perez has a .283 average with 10 homers and 124 RBI. His .709 OPS isn't bad for a 20 year old player still learning how to adjust to the United States.
He is far from a finished product. Only the raw tools were evident. The quick release, the great footwork, the very strong and accurate arm and the "take charge" attitude behind the plate. And the bat that plays. He can hit.

Some of you may remember that I was very high on Royals catcher Bryan Pena as a hitter. Not a defensive catcher, just a hitter. This past season, the Royals had Jason Kendall behind the plate day in and day out. Pena never got to play or hit. Perez is a hitter. Like Pena. However, when Perez is ready to play, Kendall will be long gone. Don't forget this guy. He's still a few years away, but he will make some noise. And you'll be aware of him.

A.J. Pollock, the Arizona Diamondbacks 1st round #17 overall selection in 2009 is a puzzle to me. I don't see what the Diamondbacks see.

Pollock is billed as a center fielder. However, more often than not, the speedy Xavier Avery of the Orioles was playing center when I saw his Scottsdale Scorpions play. Avery is extremely fast and a natural center fielder. Pollock, so it seems, can play the corners.

I'm funny about #1 draft picks. I want to see a minimum of 3 everyday above average tools in a first rounder. I don't see one remarkable tool in Pollock. I see him as a possible everyday player (grade of 50 on the MLB scouting 40-80 scale.) He's possibly even a bench player (45) as a corner outfielder. I didn't see much pop in his bat. I saw good defensive mechanics with good routes being taken and a solid, accurate arm. However, the bat was average to me. He hit .271 in Class A last season with 3 homers. He drove in 22 over 255 at-bats. He stole 10 bases. But-and this is big-he only struck out 36 times. He gets the bat on the ball. I recognize that. For me, he's a bat that comes off the bench and moves the runners along by making contact with good bat control. But not a #1 draft pick. Or a future star.

Jared Mitchell was the Chicago White Sox first round selection in the 2009 draft. He played one full season of A ball at Kannapolis before being injured for his sophomore season. In 2009 he hit a very respectable .296 in 115 at-bats covering 34 games following the time he signed his contract. Following this lost season of 2010, Mitchell looks to get back on track as the athlete (former football player and baseball player for Louisiana State University) that can be a game changer. He's a multi-tooled player with the ability to hit for average and for power. He runs well and he plays adequate defense. I don't think he carries the arm strength required to play right field. However, he could certainly find himself in left or center once he regains the mechanics and regains at-bats he lost to injury last season.
I believe Mitchell is the type of first rounder that will make a difference to the White Sox. He's a player to watch in 2011 to see if he lives up to his potential.

Michael Taylor was selected by the Phillies in the 5th round of the 2007 draft. He is now with his third club, after having been traded to Toronto and then to Oakland. He played for AAA Sacramento in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League last season. Taylor hit .272 over 464 at-bats covering 127 games. That's a good sampling against fairly decent pitching. He hit 6 homers and drove in 78. Taken by themselves, those are good numbers. He finished with a .740 OPS. He struck out 92 times. He stole 16 bases. It's an impressive stat sheet. But. But Michael Taylor doesn't look like he wants to play the game. He was less than enthusiastic on the field. His swing was long and he reached for the ball at the plate. He looked bored. And lost. In the outfield he took very poor routes and it appeared as though he was a total stranger to right field. The Stanford grad is built like a tight end at 6'6" and 260 pounds. He should be pounding the ball. But he didn't in the AFL.

Scouts have indicated that Taylor is slow to listen to coaching. He is slow to make adjustments. He is uncomfortable changing his mechanics. I'm uncomfortable recommending the Michael Taylor I saw in the Fall League. Not now. Not yet. I'll see him again at spring training and I'll update my thoughts.

Here's my Stock Watch as of the end of November:

Stock Overpriced Michael Taylor-OF A's
Eric Hurley-P Rangers
A.J. Pollock-OF Diamondbacks
Andrew Lambo-1B Pirates|STAR|
Greg Reynolds-P Rockies
|STAR|discussed in my Notebook segments on RotoWire.

When it comes to AFL players I have only scratched the surface. During the coming season I will feature many of these players as well as those I will see in spring training in my weekly Minor League column for RotoWire. I hope you will join me then when I drill down deeper to try and uncover some fantasy sleepers as well as profile the names we have all been reading about. I'll look at players from a scout's perspective as well as from a pure fantasy point of view.

Now I've got to get some of those other leftovers. Not much left in the fridge. Just enough to make one more great sandwich with the last of the trimmings from the bottom of the bowl. Those are the best, right? Oh, by the way- white meat or dark on that turkey? Sweet potatoes or mashed?