Rookie Expectations: AFL Hitters Edition

The Fanball  visited the Arizona Fall League for a weekend back in early November.  Within those four-plus jampacked days the crew took in three AFL games.  Continuing with the “Rookie Expectations” series, I’d like to take a short look at some of the hitters that played this year at the AFL.

However, it must be noted that judging players on one or two performances, especially in mundane environments like the Arizona Fall League after long seasons, is often a recipe for false observations.  Therefore, I will break these players down more based on past observations and performance with some mention of what I saw in Arizona, as necessary.

Hank Conger, C, LAA:  The Angels former first-round draft choice remains one of their best prospects after a strong season at the plate, hitting .295-11-68 with a significant walk rate improvement at Double-A Arkansas.  He played about half of the Rising Stars games, looked only average defensively and didn’t do anything of note with the bat.  With Mike Napoli at the major league level Conger could be used as trade bait this season, or the Angels could decide to work him in slowly in the latter half of this season.  Either way, he seems like a definite regular down the road.

Bryan Peterson, OF, FLA: Peterson has consistently hit for average in the minors, but he cut down on his strikeouts at Double-A Jacksonville last season and also hit .297-7-49 with 13 steals in 121 games.  Peterson’s lack of power or speed could prevent him from ever becoming a regular, but he remains a notable in a relatively weak farm system and could play himself into at-bats on a low budget team.  NL-only value in the second half isn’t out of the question.

Jonathan Lucroy, C, MIL: The Brewers are apparently not going to bring Jason Kendall back, as expected.  Reports are surfacing that Lucroy could get an opportunity to compete for the starting job in spring training.  He hit just .267-9-66 in 125 games at Double-A last season but also had a .380 OBP and hit 20 homers the previous season.  Rookies catchers are usually poor bets to hit, and while I love Lucroy long term, I’m not optimistic about his ability next season if he skips Triple-A.

Lorenzo Cain, OF, MIL: Here’s a sleeper.  2009 was more or less a lost season for Cain because of injuries, but he was one of Milwaukee’s best outfield prospects heading into the season after hitting .279 with 11 homers and 25 steals in 2008, mostly between High-A and Double-A.  The addition of Carlos Gomez does provide the Brewers a replacement for Mike Cameron in center field, but Gomez has yet to show that he can really hit in the majors.  I wouldn’t be shocked if Cain contributed significantly during the second half.

Casper Wells, OF, DET: Wells is going on 25-years-old, but he could get an opportunity to play in an organization without great minor league depth that is apparently cutting costs this offseason.  Wells hit .260-15-41 last season at Double-A, and he was a 20-20 man the previous year.  Look for him to make some noise in spring training and possibly contribute in AL-only leagues.

Yonder Alonso, 1B, CIN: This former first-round pick hit very well over the weekend, and his professional approach to hitting shows that he shouldn’t be too far off helping in the majors.  It’s worth noting that Alonso has only 105 career at-bats at Double-A, so we shouldn’t get too carried away.  However, he could arrive soon enough as a potential .300-20-90 bat.

Chris Heisey, OF, CIN: I already loved Heisey’s prospects of helping fantasy owners before seeing him in Arizona, and he certainly didn’t hurt his stock.  Heisey tore the cover off the ball at and is currently hitting .322-5-14 with five steals in the AFL.  He hit .314-22-77 with 21 steals during the regular season and looks like a strong prospect to challenge for a roster spot in spring training.  Give his favorable home park, he could be something much more for fantasy owners if he gets regular at-bats.

Josh Bell, 3B, BAL: Acquired for George Sherrill at the trade deadline, the Orioles see Bell as their hot corner of the future.  He’s done a fine job of hitting in the AFL with a .310 average, but I’d like to see Baltimore give him a full year with limited experience beyond Single-A.