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Playing in the Arizona Fall League is an honor most major league prospects cherish and look forward to. Usually, it’s just prospects that are close to the big league level who get a shot to play in the AFL. And while the AFL isn’t quite as much of an audition as Spring Training is for securing a spot on the big league club, if you excel in Arizona you can increase your chances for promotion.

Here are five outfield prospects that opened the eyes of scouts in the AFL and might have unlocked the door to a promotion in 2008.

1. Caleb Stewart | New York Mets - Stewart had a very unique fall season playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions. He came barreling out of the gate with 4 home runs in his first 4 games. Then an oblique injury caused him to miss nearly two weeks of play. Upon his return he belted two more home runs to share the lead in AFL home runs with 6. His numbers in the AFL were .318/.400/.773 with 2 doubles, 6 home runs, 11 RBI and a 12:6 strikeout to walk ratio in 12 games and 44 at-bats. Those power numbers are impressive even with the limited playing time he received. Stewart popped 16 home runs for AA Binghamton in 2007 while hitting .252/.314/.400. He’s going to need big time spring numbers to go along with his AFL performance if he’s going to crack the already packed Mets OF.
2. Sam Fuld | Chicago Cubs - Fuld had some amazing slash stats in the AFL producing a line of .402/.429/.626 with 3 home runs, 11 doubles and 2 triples with 14 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Whew! Take a breath. That was one long sentence, but some pretty powerful numbers. Now that Jacque Jones, Craig Monroe and Cliff Floyd are no longer on the Cubs roster, there are two outfield spots available with 4 players competing for them. In addition to Fuld, Felix Pie, Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno all hope to secure spots next to Alfonso Soriano guarding the ivy covered walls of Wrigley. Fuld “wowed” people in the AFL and needs to keep that up this spring and playing time a plenty will be his reward in 2008.
3. Nate Schierholtz | San Francisco Giants - Schierholtz bopped 16 home runs for AAA Fresno in 2007 while hitting .333/.365/.560 with 31 doubles and 10 stolen bases. He was called up late in the season and flourished there, as well, hitting .304/.316/.402. With his left handed bat and strong arm, Schierholtz has been called the Giants right fielder of the future. Well, if his performance during his 23 games and 89 at-bats in the Arizona Fall League has anything to say about it, the future may be now. Schierholtz hit 4 home runs and 8 doubles while posting slash stats of .348/.363/.596 in the AFL and will surely get many opportunities to earn playing time in the Giants ‘08 outfield.
4. Jordan Schafer | Atlanta Braves - Just for the record, let’s get the negatives out of the way first. Prior to 2007, Schafer struggled massively, never hitting above .240. However, 2007 was a breakout year, and remember he’s only 21 years old. Schafer hit .312/.374/.513 with 15 home runs and 49 doubles while splitting time between Hi A Myrtle Beach and Lo A Rome. He also stole 23 bases. His AFL experience lent more evidence that Schafer was ready for a promotion. In 105 AFL at-bats Schafer hit .324/.395/.429 with a home run and 6 doubles with 10 stolen bases. Many are asking to see Jordan Schafer replace free agent Andruw Jones for the beginning of the 2008 season. However, Schafer’s path may be blocked, temporarily, by Josh Anderson, who the Braves acquired in a recent trade from Houston. Schafer should see MLB time in 2008. Spring training could reveal just how soon he’s going to make it.
5. Andrew McCutchen | Pittsburgh Pirates - McCutchen did fine as a 20 year old in AA Altoona and even raised his numbers during his short promotion to AAA Indianapolis. His complete minor league line read as .265/.329/.388 with 24 doubles, 11 home runs and 21 stolen bases in 2007. His batting average and on-base percentage rose while playing in the AFL where he hit .286/.381/.378 with 5 doubles and 8 stolen bases in 98 at-bats. Even more encouraging is that his 12:14 strikeout to walk ratio was much better than the 94:48 K:BB ratio he posted in minor league action. Baseball America lists McCutchen as the top prospect in the Pirates organization and with his strong finish at AAA Indianapolis and the improvements he’s made in the AFL there is no reason he won’t enter Spring Training as a candidate for an Pirates outfield spot in 2008.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 29th, 2007 at 3:56 pm and is filed under Fall & Winter Leagues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.