Arizona Fall League 2008

Arizona Fall League 2008

AFL2008atmud.jpg

The Arizona Fall League has a strong tradition of graduating superstar level players. Take MVP winners Pujols, Morneau & Rollins. Or just look at perennial all-stars Ryan Howard & Jason Varitek. Just for the hell of it you can add to 2008 rookies Jay Bruce & Evan Longoria. You get the point. This is THE winter league to watch.

The 2008 AFL season rosters have the deepest talent pool in recent memory, with plenty of up and coming prospects such as Matt Weiters & Gordon Beckham mixing in with MLB players such as Phillip Hughes and Max Scherzer.

Stay tuned to mopupduty.com for our yearly Arizona Fall League coverage.

To get caught up on the AFL, its history, etc you can check out our Arizona Fall League Primer

And here are some brief selections of past player comments that we’ve made.

In 2007:

Diamondbacks prospect Max Scherzer, The 11th overall pick in the 2006 draft, didn’t make his pro debut until June of 2007, when he exploded onto the scene at Visalia, going 2-0 with a 0.53 ERA and just two walks vs. 30 strikeouts in three starts for the Oaks. He moved up to Double-A Mobile where he was 4-4 with a 3.91 mark in 14 starts. This season with the Scottsdale Scorpions, Scherzer has struck out six and given up 2 ER in 4IP of relief.

Mr. Travis Snider has been compared to Jay Bruce in regards to the level of development at their respective ages and how they project as big league players. Bruce is widely regarded as the top prospect currently in the Minors.

And back in 2006:

Jacoby Ellsbury had a strong year getting on base, posting a combined .382 OBP in AA & AAA. But his slugging percentage left much to be desired (.425). A terror on the basepaths, ellsbury stole 41 bases this past season. It will be interesting to see how well Ellsbury can slug and run against top flight pitchers & catchers.

A first round selection in 2005 out of Miami University, Ryan Braun had a terrific year. In the Southern league, Braun hit .303/.367/.589, with 15 home runs and 19 doubles in 231 at bats. All signs point to Braun continuing his success in the AFL

afl.gif

More from Matthias Koster
Spring Training Success Carrying Over to Regular Season?
‘Spring Training results don’t mean a thing’
Read More
0 replies on “Arizona Fall League 2008”