Amateur Scout -- AFL Notes

• By: Derek VanRiper
• On: 11/6/2009 4:21:00 PM

Related: Derek VanRiper 


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Currently in Arizona for the Fall League, which will feature a Rising Stars Game on Saturday -- Stephen Strasburg has reportedly been scratched with a neck injury. Here are some quick thoughts from players in the Scottsdale-Phoenix game on Thursday afternoon.

Jose Tabata, PIT, OF -- He didn't do anything out of the ordinary on Thursday. The biggest change I've seen in Tabata is that he's beginning to fill out his frame. As a Yankees farmhand a couple of years back, he was a skinny kid who didn't look to have any potential power coming down the road. Overall, he's played well in the AFL with a .366/.418/.500 mark in 82 at-bats (here's the "everyone hits in Arizona" disclaimer), and he continues to show very good plate discipline. Further, Tabata can run well, which should bode very well for his average as a difficult hitter for opposing pitchers to strike out. More important than his production is that he's playing very well for a guy that just turned 21 in August.

Wilin Rosario, COL, C -- A wrist injury limited his production in 2009, so Rosario's recent numbers weren't going to put him on the keeper league radar anytime soon. If his work in Arizona is any indication, Rosario is ready for the Double-A acid test to begin 2010 despite the lost time. He went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and impressed with his arm on Thursday, also showing strong receiving skills behind the plate. Like Tabata, it's even more impressive because of his age -- 20 -- and Rosario could be knocking on the door for the Rockies as early as 2011. Listed at 5-11, 190, Rosario looks strong for his size and could still add to his frame.

Donnie Veal, PIT, LHP -- Veal's command issues have been well documented, but he's been lights out in the AFL. Thursday was no exception -- Veal gave up three hits over four scoreless innings while striking out five and not walking a batter. To date, he's now compiled a 17:2 K:BB ratio while holding the opposition to a .172 average. Keep in mind, the AFL is extremely hitter-friendly. I wasn't sitting near a radar gun, but his fastball looked to be hovering in the 93-95 mph range, probably touching 97 on occasion. The Pirates may have a Rule 5 draft steal on their hands here.

Robert Ray, TOR, RHP -- Ray's fastball had some zip on Thursday, but he wasn't throwing much else and the Scottsdale hitters seemed to catch on quickly. Rosario actually homered off Ray, only to be hit by a pitch in his next at-bat leading to Ray's ejection. When he kept his pitches down in the zone -- no problem -- but he was trying to overpower too many hitters to the point where you almost wonder if the Jays would be better off using him out of their bullpen. One day certainly isn't enough to make that call, but his secondary stuff has to get better if he's ever going to be effective as a big league starter.  He threw exactly two nasty breaking balls for strikeouts, but again, predictability was an issue.

Toshiyuki Yanuki, JPN, RHP -- Yanuki was sharp in two scoreless innings of relief work on Thursday, striking out a pair and going without a walk. His command has been inconsistent in very limited AFL duty, but he showed promising velocity and enough movement on his pitches to where I thought that he looked better than Ray. More than likely, any future Yanuki has in North America is as a reliever.  I would be very curious to see some radar gun readings on Yanuki in addition to getting some opinions from actual scouts. There's not much out there about him as far as information goes, but he'll turn 26 in December.

That's it for now. I'm hoping to catch this evening's game between the two teams in Peoria. More info then -- or at least after the Rising Stars Game on Saturday night.