Arizona Fall League (AFL)
Here is a wrap of each Braves player showing in the AFL. The Javelinas missed the playoffs by two games.
Jordan Schafer, CF - Our center fielder of the future capped off a great season at two levels of A-ball by continuing his great hitting in the AFL. He hit .324/.395/.429 and finished third in the league in hits and runs. After 15 regular season homeruns and a .513 slugging percentage, his power was down in the AFL with just one homerun and a .429 slugging percentage. Arizona is usually considered double-A equivalent or better, so Schafer made a pretty big jump and handled it very well. This bodes well for him to start out at double-A next year with a possible promotion mid-season to triple-A or the majors.
Charlie Morton, RHP - He was possibly the most surprising story out of fall-ball for Atlanta. Morton capped a solid AFL showing by throwing five no-hit innings in front of the Braves front-office brass on Monday. Did he pitch over his head, or is he coming into his own? Morton matched his double-A win total with four, and made almost as many starts. He was converted back to a starter towards the end of the double-A season, so perhaps he is reemerging as a prospect who can handle tough competition at advanced levels. He will likely begin next year at triple-A, and as he will soon be added to the 40-man roster, could have an outside shot at Atlanta in 2008.
Clint Sammons, C - He played the backup catcher role to perfection in Arizona, getting into only nine games. He hit just .219, but he did manage to drive in 10 RBI in just 32 at-bats (7 hits). Sammons will have to learn to perform with limited regular playing time if he is going to get serious consideration for the backup catcher spot in Atlanta next year.
Sung Ki Jung, RHP - Jung struggled a bit with big innings in several bad outings. His hits and walks were elevated, but he kept his strikeout rate up where it had been during the regular season. Overall, Jung had a great return to pro ball after his three-year stint in the South Korean army. He should be slotted for double-A to start 2008, and should earn a promotion to triple-A with a good first half.
Brandon Hicks, SS - Hicks earned a prospect grade of "B" from John Sickels last week, but he certainly didn't show much of that potential in Arizona. He hit just .188 in 19 games and seemed overmatched by striking out 24 times in 69 at-bats. Hicks will probably end up at Myrtle Beach next year in advanced A-ball, which should be competition more suited to his current level.
Michael Nix, RHP - Nix might be the minor league equivalent of a poor-man's Tyler Yates, and he was equally unimpressive in the AFL. He gave up 20 hits and 9 walks in 13.1 Arizona innings en route to a 4.73 ERA. He's a hard thrower, but at times he is all too hittable.
J.C. Holt, IF - Poor J.C. went 0-for-12 to end the AFL season and lower his batting average from .333 to it's final .244. After playing 107 regular season games it certainly looks like he wore down at the end of the Arizona season. There's really nothing that impressive about Holt - he's just another small speedy middle infielder.
Brad Nelson, RHP - Nelson had a decent year throughout three levels of the minors and continued his decent-ness in the AFL. He wasn't that bad, but he wasn't too impressive either. I don't see him as anything more than an average middle reliever.
Hawaii Winter Baseball (HWB)
The Hawaii season actually plays its final regular season games today, and the Honolulu Sharks (the team our prospects play for) could win the division and go to the one-game playoff on Monday with a win. I'll go ahead and wrap the season up, since one or two more games will not affect much of what we saw out of our prospects in Hawaii.
Kris Medlen, RHP - He still hasn't thrown since the end of October, but when he was in there he was dominant - 27 strikeouts in 14.1 innings and a 1.88 ERA. Much of that ERA was due to his last outing where he gave up two runs on five hits. I still have not been able to find out if he got injured or if he was just held out with a tired arm. Hopefully all is well as Medlen should follow up his dominance at both A-ball stops this year as the closer at double-A Mississippi next year.
Tyler Flowers, C/1B - Flowers looked a little overmatched in Hawaii, compiling just a .189 batting average. He worked in a lot of walks and managed a .319 OBP, but his power was way down with a .295 slugging percentage after posting a .488 regular season SLG. He'll continue his progress through the minors and should end up at hi-A next year.
Tyler Wilson, LHP - Wilson may be emerging as someone to keep an eye on, and as another good lefty pitcher in our system. He had a good year between Rome and a few games a Myrtle, registering 74 strikeouts and a 3.07 ERA in 55.2 relief innings. He continued to improve in Hawaii with a 2.57 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 21 innings. He should start next year at Myrtle, but he should see Mississippi at some point.
Phillip Britton, C - He was a decent hitting catcher at Rome this year, but he didn't show any of that on the island. Perhaps he was tired, or just truly overmatched, but he hit .080 (4-for-50) as a spot-starter and backup catcher. Like Flowers, he should find himself at Myrtle next year.
I'll tackle the other winter leagues next week, and I'll keep an eye out this week to see what happens if/when Mike Hampton makes his debut.