AZ Fall League - All Star Game - November 7, 2009

Tigers minor leaguers Andrew Oliver, Casper Wells to play in Arizona Fall League showcase
By Steve Kornacki
November 03, 2009, 11:05PM

Detroit Tigers prospects Andrew Oliver and Casper Wells are turning heads in the Arizona Fall League.

Oliver, a pitcher drafted in the second round in June from Oklahoma State, and Wells, a center fielder who had an impressive 2009 spring training with the Tigers, were named to the league’s Rising Star Showcase teams for Saturday night’s All-Star game in Surprise, Ariz.

Players were selected for two 25-man teams by scouting and minor league directors with input from AFL executive director Steve Cobb.

Wells and Oliver play for the Peoria Javelinas and are managed by Tigers minor league infield coordinator Kevin Bradshaw on a club that consists of minor leaguers from the Tigers, Dodgers, Mariners and White Sox organizations. Peoria leads the West Division at 12-6.

Oliver, who signed too late to participate in the minor leagues this year, is 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA for Peoria. He has an impressive 12 strikeouts in nine innings, but also has issued seven walks.

“I really like Oliver,” said a major league scout familiar with the left-handed starter. “He has the one thing that is so valuable -- a swing-and-miss fastball.”

Wells, who hit .260 with 15 home runs and 41 RBIs in 86 games for Double-A Erie last season, is among the AFL’s batting leaders in virtually every category. He is hitting .357 with three doubles, two triples, three homers and 15 RBIs in 42 at-bats. He also has 15 strikeouts.

“Casper has done well with the bat and defensively,” Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski said.

The Rising Star Showcase will be televised at 8:15 p.m. Saturday by the MLB Network. A live video feed also will be available at mlb.com.

Former Tigers first baseman Tony Clark will serve as analyst on the telecast. Clark hit .262 with 251 homers and 824 RBIs in 15 big league seasons.

Two others to watch in the game are Washington Nationals pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg (No. 1 overall pick in the June draft), who is 3-1 with a 5.28 ERA, and Oakland A’s center field prospect Grant Desme, who is batting .394 with a league-leading 10 homers and 23 RBIs.

Last year, Atlanta Braves rookie pitching sensation Tommy Hanson pitched three hitless innings and struck out seven in a Rising Star Showcase outing.

TIGERS ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE NOTES: Reliever Robbie Weinhardt (0-0, 8.00 ERA) has 15 strikeouts in nine innings, trailing only Strasburg and New York Yankees prospect Ian Kennedy, who both have fanned 17 in 15 innings ... Shortstop Cale Iorg continues to struggle offensively. He is batting only .194 with one homer and three RBIs in 31 at-bats ... Second baseman Scott Sizemore, heir apparent to Placido Polanco, batted .368 with three homers and nine RBIs in six games before breaking his left ankle and undergoing surgery. He is expected to be ready for spring training.

Strasburg scratched from Rising Stars
Neck strain forces 2009 top overall Draft pick to skip start

By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com

11/06/09 3:01 PM EST

Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg has been scratched from his scheduled start on Saturday, the team announced on Friday.

The 21-year-old right-hander is suffering from a muscle strain in his neck, and the club said the move was "for precautionary reasons." He is currently listed as day-to-day.

Strasburg, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, was scheduled to start for the East Division team in the Rising Stars Game of the Arizona Fall League. Right-hander and fellow Nats first-rounder Drew Storen was also selected for the club.

In four AFL starts, Strasburg is 3-1 with a 5.28 ERA. There is no word yet on when his next AFL start will come.

Angels prospect and Mesa Solar Sox right-hander Tommy Mendoza will start in Strasburg's place.

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

AFL East Top 8th

• Pitcher Change: Michael Dunn replaces Danny Gutierrez.
  
• Bryan Petersen swinging.
  
• Jose Iglesias called out on .
  
• Brandon Snyder singles on a line drive to right fielder Casper Wells.
  
• Rene Tosoni grounds out, second baseman Lance Zawadzki to first baseman Yonder Alonso.
  

AFL West Bottom 8th

• Pitcher Change: Drew Storen replaces Blake Parker.
  
• Lance Zawadzki singles on a ground ball to second baseman Jemile Weeks.
  
• Matt McBride homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Lance Zawadzki scores.
  
• Brandon Hicks grounds out, third baseman Chase d'Arnaud to first baseman Brandon Snyder.
  
• Casper Wells swinging, catcher Hank Conger to first baseman Brandon Snyder.
  
• Jordan Danks swinging.
  

WEST 8, EAST 7 AFTER 8 INNINGS