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Last time around, we looked at some of the hottest players in the Arizona Fall League. This time around, it’s time to look at who isn’t.
Underperformers Of The AFL
Mike Yastrzemski, Outfield, Baltimore Orioles
A sad reality in baseball is that people seem to think that just because a relative can play baseball, so can they, and that’s rarely the case. The saddest hanger-on was Pete Rose, Jr., who actually did make the majors, albeit extremely briefly. Very few turn into Prince Fielder, and Yastrzemski has far more Pete Jr. than Prince in him. The grandson of Hall of Fame outfielder Carl Yastrzemski, Mike has the same desire to play baseball, and clearly has enough aptitude to make it this far, but his name is carrying him far more than his performances to date.
Despite having a very mediocre season at Double-A at 24, the Orioles wasted a spot on him at the Arizona Fall League, and his performance thus far is demonstrating how much of a waste that is, as he is hitting .125 in 32 at-bats over ten games. He does have one home run, but a .518 OPS is nothing to write home about. Oh, and that came in his first appearance – it’s been all downhill from there. There is zero prospect value here.
Adalberto Mejia, Starting Pitcher, San Francisco Giants
Yes, as I have said on multiple occasions, this is not a league that favors pitchers. However, high-quality pitching prospects like Mejia was before his suspension for banned substances should still pitch well. While his record of 2-1 doesn’t reflect his struggles, his control numbers do, as he has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 13:10 over 18 1/3 innings in four starts. His strikeout numbers are also heavily inflated thanks to one start where he struck out seven. Facing the same team, the Mesa Solar Sox, a second time around, he struck out only two in 4 2/3 innings, while walking three. He has kept his ERA from being truly ghastly thanks to his ability to keep the ball in the park, as he has yet to allow a home run and he allowed just two in 51 1/3 innings at the Eastern League. The lack of control will catch up with him if it doesn't improve.
Ian Clarkin, Starting Pitcher, New York Yankees
Like Mejia, Clarkin is another pitcher that we high hopes for in our previews of the AFL. After missing all of 2015 due to injury, his control is suffering in the fall league. Like Mejia, he has been keeping the ball in the park, but through three starts, he has struck out eight while walking nine over 12 1/3 innings. Opposing batters are hitting .319 against him. Just getting the 20-year-old back on the mound should be considered a success, but one needs to be realistic about his timetable too, especially after so much lost time. At this point, the earliest one should expect Clarkin to make an appearance in the majors is 2017, with a chance at the rotation possibly in 2018.
Austin Meadows, Center Field, Pittsburgh Pirates
Absolutely nothing about Meadows’ performance this fall was going to temper the excitement around the prospect listed as No. 2 in the Pirates’ organization by MLB.com. Still, his struggles should cool any thoughts about how quickly the Pirates are going to rush him through the system. Through ten games, Meadows is hitting just .167 with one home run, six RBI, four runs scored, and two stolen bases in 41 at-bats. Meadows has three more strikeouts (9) than he does hits (6) at this point, and he has walked just once. Meadows got a very small cup of coffee at the Double-A level in 2015 and he will look to open up 2016 back there. One shouldn’t be looking for Meadows to contribute regularly in the majors until at least 2018.
Yoan Lopez, Starting Pitcher, Arizona Diamondbacks
After successfully escaping from Cuba, Lopez signed this past winter for an $8.25 million bonus with the Diamondbacks, and he entered the Arizona Fall League ranked fifth in the organization by MLB.com. Lopez is coming off a mixed bag of a professional debut, as he was 1-6 with a 4.69 ERA in ten appearances (nine as a starter) with the Mobile BayBears in the Double-A Southern League. Over 48 innings, Lopez struck out 32 while walking 24 and opposing batters hit .261 against him.
For the money they are paying him, the Diamondbacks are looking for much more out of Lopez, and the very low innings count made him a perfect candidate for the AFL. His results have been disappointing, as he has been very hittable – opposing batters are hitting .306 against him – and his record is 2-2 with a 4.11 ERA. On a positive note, he does have a significantly improved strikeout-to-walk ratio, at 14:7, and his last start was an improvement over his previous three. Still, for $8.25 million, there are a lot of expectations that Lopez isn’t meeting.
Casey Gillaspie, First Base, Tampa Bay Rays
A first round selection of the Rays in 2014, Gillaspie spent most of the season at Low-A, despite being a selection out of college, then missed almost two months with a broken left hand. When he returned, he finished the year with the High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs in the Florida State League, with very mediocre results – a .143 batting average in 13 games, one home run, four RBI, and three runs scored, with more strikeouts (9) than hits (6).
Those struggles have continued into the Arizona Fall League, where he is hitting .157 with two home runs, four RBI, and four runs scored in 51 at-bats over 13 games, and he again has more strikeouts (10) than hits (8). Gillaspie is almost certainly going back to the FSL at this rate to open 2016, which means that their first round pick from 2014 will be a 23-year-old in just High-A with a very limited amount of success. It’s far, far too early to call him a bust, but there’s no reason at this point to have any excitement about him either.
Next time around, we’ll get back into the positives – this was depressing! See you then!
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