Arizona Fall League: Week Four

Mike Pelfrey – The 2005 No. 9 overall pick joined his potential rotation partner Phil Humber in leaving the AFL early. Pelfrey’s had lingering soreness in his back and abductors since the summer. And while the Mets wanted him in the AFL to develop his slider and changeup, they decided to finally shut him down.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia – A tender hamstring limited the big man to just six games and 28 plate appearances. What a six games, though: an incredible 1.655 OPS, including 13 hits, three home runs, 12 RBI, and five walks against just two strikeouts.

Hunter Pence – Arrested at 3:30 in the morning on Oct. 29 for driving under the influence, Pence saw his AFL cut short when the Astros quickly removed him from the roster. A melancholy end for the outfielder who performed very well: 21 hits(three doubles, three home runs) in 62 at-bats , 11 RBI, and a .944 OPS (.379/.565). The only hitting negative was 15 strikeouts against four walks in his 15 games played.

Prospect Watch: Pitching

Monday
Two usual suspects started the week off in strong fashion, each exhibiting excellent command in their side’s victory.

Kevin Slowey – After several relief appearances Slowey got to start and made a strong impression. He allowed a lone run on two hits in his three innings while exhibiting his trademark command, striking out three batters against no walks on a stellar 34:15 strike-to-ball ratio.

Jonathan Meloan – The Dodgers' fireballer finished what Slowey started, retiring the side in order on just nine pitches (six strikes).

Tuesday
Nothing but zeroes for two of the AFL’s best pitchers, although a Houston lefthander is starting to struggle.

Matt Albers – Albers continued his starting success, once again shutting out the opposition, this time with a sterling 29:8 ratio. He gave up four hits but no walks and therefore no damage.

Billy Sadler – Apparently his team thought he might be getting bored, so they let him go for two innings. He struck out two, yielded a single, and took care of business with a 19:12 ratio — still no runs allowed all fall.

Troy Patton – The Astros would like to see the lefthander come out of the bullpen with authority but Patton has been very inconsistent. Two runs scored on two walks and a double, and Patton had to be pulled after an inning and a third. He has now allowed five runs in his last 4.1 innings.

Thursday
The top dog from the Phillies looked the part while a Tiger had his first difficult outing of the fall.

Gio Gonzalez – While not exhibiting tremendous command (28 strikes versus 20 balls), the lefty pitched three scoreless innings and struck out three while giving up three singles and a walk. His fall ERA stands at 3.24 now.

Jordan Tata – Despite showing much better control than Gonzalez (42:24 ratio), Tata was touched up for three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk. He did strike out three during his four innings of work, but his fall ERA climbed to 3.21.

Friday
The Dodger strikeout artist blows a save and McGowan continued to find a comfort zone.

Jonathan Meloan – After entering the ninth with two on and two out, Meloan couldn’t close the deal. He walked the next hitter before allowing a two-RBI single, tying the contest. He recovered to strike out Tulowitzki, but the game went into extras.

Dustin McGowan – The Blue Jay built on his performance last week, as he struck out five in four innings on a 46:22 ratio. He allowed a pair of runs on four hits and a walk, but it’s a good sign to see the former top prospect missing bats — he now has 13 strikeouts in his last nine innings.

Saturday
In a repeat of Monday’s action, the Slowey-Meloan partnership looked solid once again, although Mesa lost despite the duo's combined five innings pitched and just one run allowed.

Kevin Slowey – A second chance to start for the control artist and another solid outing, his longest of the fall. In four innings, Slowey allowed just one run on four singles and a walk, striking out two with a 38:16 ratio. His fall ERA stands at just 2.25 in 16 innings pitched with a 1.06 WHIP.

Jonathan Meloan – Another scoreless ninth for Meloan, as he bounced back from Friday’s blown save: 10 pitches, eights strikes, one hit, and three outs for the bullpen ace.

Prospect Watch: Hitting

Ryan Braun – Fielding remains a struggle for the Brewers’ 2005 first-round pick, but little else seems hard for Braun. Braun has been a rock at the plate this fall and has his OPS up to 1.176 OPS, including a crazy .734 slugging percentage. He showed another facet at the plate this week—drawing five walks against two strikeouts.

Trevor Crowe – Crowe’s been a prototypical leadoff man this fall. He has a higher on-base-percentage (.429) than slugging (.414), as he has 19 hits but just 24 total bases. His 11-to-9 walk-to-strikeout ratio bodes well for the Indians.

Eric Duncan – Each week brings worse news for the 21-year-old Yankee prospect. His OPS has dropped to .681 (.322/.369) — the only highlight of his week was drawing four walks. No real changes for Duncan.

Elijah Dukes – Dukes slowed down a bit this week but still has a 1.050 OPS (.425/.625) and eight RBI in his eight games played. Of concern is that while he has 10 hits, he also has 10 strikeouts against six walks. He’s shown inconsistency in the field as he learns first base, but that’s an experiment that will be ongoing for months.

Brett Gardner – The Yankee centerfielder’s had a very interesting time of things at the plate. He has just 20 hits in 75 at-bats — and just two doubles and two triples — for a pedestrian .267 batting average. He’s walked a remarkable 25 times in his 20 games -- far and away an AFL high.

Joe Koshansky – The minor league home run threat — 31 home this year in Double-A Tulsa—Koshansky’s been completely out of sorts. He’s gone just 9-for-58 and has a 7:18 walk ratio in his 14 games. His Tulsa teammate Troy Tulowitzki has spoken of fatigue and it seems that Koshansky’s exhausted too.

Kevin Kouzmanoff – Again, business as usual for the guy who hit .380 in the minors this year. In limited playing time — 47 plate appearances — he’s posted a 1.172 OPS including six doubles and two home runs. Kouzmanoff has also joined Dukes in working on playing some first base, so as to earn some legitimate playing time with the Indians rather than hope to push Andy Marte off third base.

Fernando Martinez – Scouts have said the newly turned 18 Martinez has looked impressive, but on the field he’s not getting much done. For the fall he’s gone 16-for-68 — two doubles and two home runs — with a 3:13 walk ratio. His OPS stands at .637.

Nolan Reimold – The Oriole outfielder had a difficult week, going just 3-of-17. He continues to show good plate discipline 14:13 ratio but his poor week dropped his OPS from 1.005 to .851. His OBP is still a solid .434 but his lack of power has dropped his slugging to .417.

Troy Tulowitzki – One of most highly regarded position prospects in the AFL this season, Tulowitzki’s battled to post a .788 OPS (.371/.417) and has showed minimal power.

Neil Walker – Another poor week for the Pirates’ catching future, who has looked overmatched in the AFL. He has just 12 hits in 37 at-bats with nine strikeouts. His OPS keeps sinking and now stands at .599 (.280/.319).

Nick Christie can be reached at nickchristie@gmail.com.