Arizona Fall League - Peoria Javelinas 2009

Peoria Javelinas

PITCHERS:
Scot Drucker
Andrew Oliver
Thad Weber
Robbie Weinhardt

Infielders:
Cale Iorg
Scott Sizemore - season ended early due to broken ankle, required surgery

Outfielders:
Casper Wells

Schedule : Peoria Javelinas

Peoria Javelinas WIN CHAMPIONSHIP!

News Link: Arizona Fall League


WIN - 19; LOSE - 14

October (all times local unless noted)
13 vs. Surprise, L 4-17 (LP: A. Oliver)	Game Story Recap Box
14 @ Surprise, L 4-6 (LP: M. Long; SV: M. Dunn)	Game Story Recap Box
15 @ Peo Saguaros, W 17-9 (WP: A. Varvaro)	Game Story Recap Box
16 vs. Peo Saguaros, W 13-3 (WP: J. Butler)	Game Story Recap Box
17 vs. Scottsdale, W 9-5 (WP: T. Schlichting)	Game Story Recap Box
19 @ Mesa, W 8-1 (WP: S. Drucker)	Recap Box
20 vs. Mesa, W 14-10 (WP: M. Long)	Game Story Recap Box
21 @ Phoenix, L 4-17 (LP: N. Hill)	Game Story Recap Box
22 vs. Phoenix, W 9-6 (WP: J. Butler; LP: S. Strasburg)	Recap Box
23 @ Scottsdale, L 7-8 (LP: S. Santos)	Recap Box
24 vs. Peo Saguaros, L 0-6 (LP: S. Drucker)	Recap Box
26 vs. Surprise, W 2-1 (WP: J. Cassel; SV: E. Krebs)	Recap Box
27 @ Scottsdale,W 10-9 (WP: A. Oliver)	Recap Box
28 vs. Phoenix, L 6-11 (LP: J. Butler)	Recap Box
29 @ Mesa, W 3-2 (WP: M. Long; SV: Z. Braddock)	Recap Box
30 @ Phoenix, W 5-4 (WP: P. Aumont; SV: A. Varvaro)	Recap Box
31 @ Surprise, W 12-5 (WP: J. Cassel)	Recap Box

November (all times local unless noted)
2 @ Scottsdale, W 6-4 (WP: E. Krebs; SV: Z. Braddock)	Recap Box
3 @ Scottsdale, W 3-2 (WP: J. Butler; SV: T. Weber)	Recap Box
4 vs. Mesa, L 5-8 (LP: T. Schlichting)	Game Story Recap Box
5 @ Mesa, L 1-8 (LP: J. Cassel)	Recap Box
6 vs. Peo Saguaros, W 6-3 (WP: R. Wooten; SV: Z. Braddock)	Game Story Recap Box
9 vs. Phoenix, W 4-3 (WP: S. Santos; SV: A. Varvaro)	Recap Box
10 vs. Peo Saguaros, W 9-5 (WP: J. Rasner; SV: R. Weinhardt)	Recap Box
11 @ Peo Saguaros, W 8-1 (WP: T. Schlichting)	Recap Box
12 @ Surprise, L 6-8 (LP: J. Cassel)	Recap Box
13 vs. Surprise, L 4-5 (LP: S. Santos)	Game Story Recap Box
14 vs. Mesa, L 2-4 (LP: N. Hill)	Game Story Recap Box
16 @ Surprise, L 4-6 (LP: J. Butler)	Game Story Recap Box
17 @ Peo Saguaros, W 24-15 (WP: E. Krebs)	Recap Box
18 @ Phoenix, L 6-7 (LP: R. Wooten)	Recap Box
19 vs. Scottsdale, L 9-17 (LP: P. Aumont)	Game Story Recap Box
21 vs. Phoenix, 12:35 PM CHAMPIONSHIP - WIN 5-4	Recap Box

Mets' Davis dominates in Rafters' rout
Former first-rounder hits grand slam, drives in six runs

By Brittany Ghiroli / Special to MLB.com


10/13/09 7:52 PM ET

Box >

A week ago, Mets top prospect Ike Davis was running on fumes.

Following a 114-game Minor League season split between two levels, he spent nearly a month playing for gold medal-winning Team USA at the IBAF World Cup.

"I feel pretty decent right now," Davis said Tuesday following his Arizona Fall League debut with the Surprise Rafters. "I feel pretty much even keel."

His bat said otherwise.

Davis exploded for a grand slam, two doubles and six RBIs on a four-hit afternoon, powering the Surprise Rafters to a 17-4 rout of the Peoria Javelinas.

Was it the few precious days of rest Davis enjoyed before suiting up in the desert? Perhaps. Or maybe it was just another example of the seemingly unlimited potential that the former first-round pick exhibits every time he swings the bat.

"It was a blast," Davis said of his AFL debut. "We have all these different teammates, different jerseys. It felt like kind of an All Star Game."

Davis certainly played like an All-Star. The 22-year-old first baseman scored twice and joined Yankees prospect Brandon Laird as the only players with four-hit debuts. Major League veteran Ian Kennedy (Yankees), who is coming back from an aneurysm in his pitching arm, allowed a run on two hits over four innings to pick up the win.

"It was a good first game," Davis said, adding that picking up the season-opening victory helped settle any pregame jitters he and his teammates may have had.

Judging from Davis' recent numbers, however, his nerves are a non-factor.

Selected by the Mets with the 18th overall pick in the 2008 Draft, he overcame a slow start this season to enjoy a breakout second half. After batting .288 in 59 Florida State League games, Davis found his stroke at Double-A Binghamton, where he improved his average (up to .309), slugging percentage (from .486 to .565) and OPS (from .862 to .951).

With Team USA, Davis continued to enjoy success at the plate, hitting .333 with three homers and five RBIs in 10 games.

"I'm basically just continuing to do what I did during the second half of the season," he said. "I found an approach that is working right now and am squaring up on the ball."

Laird also drove in three runs and scored twice, while fellow Yankees prospect Colin Curtis went 3-for-6 with two RBIs and a run scored for the Rafters.

Dodgers Minor Leaguer Lucas May hit a solo homer and Tigers farmhand Casper Wells contributed two hits and an RBI for the Javelinas. Sergio Santos (White Sox) scattered three hits over two innings of scoreless relief.

Brittany Ghiroli is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers prospects showcase talent in AFL
Fall League action provides stepping stone to Majors

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

10/16/09 6:03 PM ET

DETROIT -- For Andrew Oliver, this year's Arizona Fall League is his first step into professional baseball. For Scott Sizemore, it could be his final step to the Major Leagues.

Either way, this is a big AFL season for the Tigers and their prospects. In many cases, it's off to an eventful start.

Sizemore ended up in Arizona following the 2007 season when fellow Tigers infield prospect Michael Hollimon moved to Team USA in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, It was a bonus assignment for Sizemore, having just spent the year at the Class A level.

This year's work potentially has much more purpose to it. When team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski talked at season's end about what they'll do at second base, where Placido Polanco is up for free agency, Sizemore was at the center of conversation.

"We think he's ready to play," Dombrowski said.

The Arizona Fall League is a way of reinforcing that.

Sizemore already has had a relatively full season. In addition to his summer at Double-A Erie SeaWolves and Triple-A Toledo, where he batted a combined .308 with 17 home runs and 66 RBIs, he represented the Tigers at this year's All-Star Futures Game at St. Louis, where he had a hit and a run scored as a late-inning substitute at designated hitter. However, he also battled a sore left wrist earlier this year after coming off surgery in 2008.

Sizemore is expected to share time at second base with the Peoria Javelinas in a mix of Tigers, White Sox, Dodgers, Brewers and Mariners prospects managed by Tigers instructor Kevin Bradshaw. He made his second start a meaningful one with a two-homer game Thursday against the Peoria Saguaros.

Sizemore hit out a slider for a solo shot in the fifth inning off Logan Ondrusek before adding a two-run homer in the sixth off Mike DeMark, part of a 17-run onslaught from the Javelinas.

The Arizona Fall League will continue into November towards Thanksgiving week, by which point the Tigers should know the level of interest and offers Polanco will draw from other teams. They enjoyed Polanco's services the past four seasons under a four-year, $18.4 million extension that Polanco signed soon after arriving from Philadelphia in the summer of 2005.

Unless the Tigers can get a shorter-term deal, it's difficult to envision Detroit bringing him back, given a roster that already has several long-term contracts -- though many of them end after 2010. Even if Polanco does return, there seems to be little question that the 24-year-old Sizemore is seen as the second baseman of the future.

Like Sizemore, Cale Iorg has been seen as the Tigers' future in the middle infield, in his case at shortstop. However, his 2009 season at Erie proved the need for more time and work in the upper levels of the Minor League system after missing two years of baseball on a Mormon mission in his college years.

"I don't think Cale Iorg is ready to play [in the big leagues] at this point," Dombrowski said last week. "He needs some more work offensively."

Iorg batted .222 (109-for-491) with 11 home runs, 41 RBIs and 13 stolen bases at Erie, but he also struck out 149 times while drawing just 22 walks. Despite the home run total, his 17 doubles also reflected a need for more extra-base power, despite nearly half the pitches he put in play going as fly balls.

His stint in Arizona this fall is meant to help him take part of his learning curve at the plate from Erie and use it to advantage before heading to Spring Training.

Iorg's Erie teammate, outfielder Casper Wells, returns to the Arizona Fall League for at-bats following an injury-shortened season for the SeaWolves. The numbers Wells managed to compile in a limited time -- 15 homers, 41 RBIs and 52 runs scored in 86 games -- showed a glimpse of his talent. He used an impressive AFL season last fall to give him momentum going into camp with the Tigers this spring, so the Tigers can only hope for the same.

By contrast with all of the current and former SeaWolves, Oliver hasn't played a game yet in the Tigers farm system. He just signed in mid-August after the Tigers drafted him in the second round of June's First-Year Player Draft.

In past cases, a deadline signing like that usually prompts the Tigers to let a player rest and sit him until next spring. With the 21-year-old Oliver, however, they see an advanced enough prospect from his college experience at Oklahoma State to give him a shot.

Oliver made his pro debut on Tuesday for the Javelinas, relieving Mud Hens right-hander Scot Drucker, and gave up a four-run third inning. A leadoff single and back-to-back walks -- one on four pitches, the next on five -- loaded the bases before he fell behind on a 3-1 count to left-handed hitting Mets prospect Ike Davis, who got a fastball on the inside part of the plate and pulled it out to right for a grand slam.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

According to The Washington Times:

Scott Sizemore was injured when Danny Espinosa slid into him to break up a double play, both players had to leave the game.

Update to come....

Tigers prospect Sizemore breaks ankle
Second baseman expected to be ready for Spring Training

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

10/24/09 4:26 PM ET

The Tigers' second baseman of the future won't be playing any more this year. Scott Sizemore will miss the rest of the Arizona Fall League season after breaking his left ankle trying to turn a double play during a game on Thursday.

Sizemore is traveling to Detroit this weekend for followup exams. However, he told the Detroit Free Press that the injury is not expected to require surgery, meaning he should be ready in time for Spring Training.

The 24-year-old was off to a scorching start to the AFL campaign, going 7-for-19 with two doubles, three homers and nine RBIs in five games for the Peoria Javelinas. He was following up a regular season in which he batted.308 with 39 doubles, 17 homers and 66 RBIs between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo.

Those numbers, combined with his progress defensively over the course of the season -- he turned 100 double plays and made 21 errors in 118 games at second base -- convinced team officials that he's ready for the jump the Major Leagues. Team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said in his end-of-season remarks that Sizemore would be the team's starting second baseman if they can't re-sign soon-to-be free agent Placido Polanco.

This injury isn't expected to change those plans. Barring a setback, Sizemore will be fully recovered well ahead of the start of camp in February. He'll be the second Tigers infielder there to have spent the offseason recovering from injury. Brandon Inge will undergo surgery on both knees on Nov. 3 but is on schedule to be ready for baseball activity around the start of February.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Crawford rescues Scorpions' bullpen
Hits walk-off single after Javelinas erase seven-run deficit

By Robert Emrich / Special to MLB.com

10/24/09 1:24 AM ET

Box >

Brandon Crawford's infield single in the ninth inning Friday was hit just hard enough to give the Scottsdale Scorpions a walk-off 8-7 victory over the Peoria Javelinas.

Crawford, who described it as the shortest game-winning hit of his career, singled past the mound to plate Phillies prospect Domonic Brown after the Scorpions squandered a seven-run lead in the top of the ninth.

"I've been seeing the ball a little better, taking the ball the other way and taking my walks," said Crawford. "I'm not swinging at pitches in the dirt and I'm getting into better hitter's counts. And that's generally when I get my hits."

The Giants' fourth-round pick in the 2008 Draft also walked, stole his first base of the fall and scored twice while extending his hitting streak to four games.

Scottsdale carried a 7-0 lead and a one-hitter into the ninth as Bryan Augenstein put a rocky first Arizona Fall League start behind him. The Diamondbacks right-hander was dominant for three innings, striking out five while allowing one hit.

But the Javelinas (6-4) sent 12 men to the plate in the ninth, using four hits and five walks to tie the game. Southern League All-Star Jordan Danks (White Sox) capped the comeback with a three-run double after starting the inning with a single.

Hector Gomez put the Scorpions (6-4) on the board early, tripling with the bases loaded in the second to make it 3-0. The Rockies infield prospect scored one batter later on a single by Chase d'Arnaud (Pirates).

Jose Tabata (Pirates) and Willin Rosario (Rockies) added sacrifice flies as Scottsdale's lead grew to 7-0.

Giants Minor Leaguer Steve Edelfsen (2-0) recorded just one out in the ninth but was credited with the win.

White Sox farmhand Sergio Santos (0-1) gave up a run on two hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings for Peoria.

Robert Emrich is a contributor to MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Minor, Sags post AFL's first shutout
Braves first-rounder lowers Fall League ERA to 1.17

By Daren Smith / MLB.com

10/24/09 6:41 PM ET

Box >

Mike Minor continues to impress, only seven starts into his professional career.

The Braves prospect scattered three hits over three innings and combined with six relievers on the first shutout of the Arizona Fall League season Saturday as the Peoria Saguaros blanked the Peoria Javelinas, 6-0.

Minor (1-0) gave up three singles and two walks while striking out one, lowering his ERA in the hitter-friendly AFL to 1.17.

"He was electric," said Saguaros first baseman Yonder Alonso. "He kept pounding the strike zone. You saw it from the first inning. He's got it all. He was able to throw the two-seamer, he's got a great curveball and good velocity on his fastball."

Selected by Atlanta with the seventh overall pick in the June First-Year Player Draft, Minor had an 0.64 ERA in four starts for Class A Rome of the South Atlantic League. In seven games as a pro, opponents are hitting just .234 against him.

"He's also got a good move to first base, so he keeps guys off second base," Alonso noted.

Carlton Smith (Indians), Logan Ondrusek (Reds), Brandon Gomes (Padres), Evan Englebrook (Astros), Jeff Lyman (Braves) and Craig Kimbrel (Braves) each pitched an inning as the Saguaros shut out a Javelinas team that was averaging a league-leading 8.2 runs per game.

Alonso helped support Minor with two hits, including a two-run single in the fifth. The Reds' first-round pick in the 2008 Draft raised his average 47 points to .207 but has been productive with 10 RBIs in seven games.

"My swing's been pretty good. I've been hitting a lot of balls hard, they just weren't going my way," Alonso said. "A couple of balls here and there and I'm back at .300. I' actually pretty happy."

Alonso's also been working with Saguaros manager David Bell, taking some ground balls at third base and fly balls in left field.

"I'm doing everything I can," he said. "I can only control what I can control. I don't know what the future holds. I'm going to have a positive attitude, whatever [the Reds] want me to do."

Braves farmhand Brandon Hicks capped the Saguaros' four-run second with a two-run single and Indians Minor League Nick Weglarz singled, walked twice and scored a run.

Southern League All-Star Jordan Danks (White Sox) had two hits for the Javelinas to raise his average to .424. Tigers right-hander Scot Drucker (1-1) took the loss after surrendering four runs on three hits in two innings.

Daren Smith is an editor for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.