KLaw has some interesting nuggets from his recent tripout to Arizona, including this on Austin Romine:

He has plenty of arm and his receiving was adequate, but I’m not sure about the bat. His swing works fine, but he has a big stride and a pretty healthy leak, getting his weight on his front foot early and closing his stance late, so his balance isn’t great and he doesn’t get as much power into contact as he could. He’s still just 20 years old and was young for his level this year, but he has some work to do as a hitter before we can talk about him as successor to Jorge Posada.

Anyway, on the the game…

AzFL Surprise (10-9 win over Peoria Saguaros)
Colin Curtis: 3 for 5, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K
Brandon Laird: 0 for 5 – 2 for his last 18 after a 9 for 11 start

Still no Puerto Rican League rosters.

Don’t miss our ALCS Game Three recap.

Baseball America posted this year’s minor league pitching leaderboard. Zach McAllister and David Phelps finished 7th and 10th in ERA, respectively. Andrew Brackman issued the 14th most walks.

AzFL Surprise (7-3 loss to Scottsdale)
Brandon Laird: 1 for 4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
Colin Curtis: 1 for 4, 1 R
Mike Dunn: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HB, 2-1 GB/FB – just 14 of 28 pitches were strikes … it’ll be tough to keep a big league bullpen job if he can’t throw strikes more consistently … he’d just be a lefty Brian Bruney
Zach Kroenke: 1 IP, zeroes, 1-2 GB/FB – 7 of 11 pitches were strikes (63.6%)

Still no Puerto Rican League rosters.

AZFL Surprise (7-3 loss to Scottsdale)
Brandon Laird: 0 for 4 – AVG plummets to .500
Colin Curtis: 1 for 2, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 CS
Austin Romine: 0 for 2, 2 K, 1 PB - caught six innings
Ian Kennedy: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 1 WP, 11-5 GB/FB – 45 of 66 pitches were strikes (68.2%) … things unraveled a bit in the fourth, so he probably tired a bit

Still no Puerto Rican League rosters. One of these days…

The entire Arizona Fall League was off tonight, so there’s no game to update. Here’s what the guys in Latin American are doing:

Dominican Winter League
Wilkins Arias: 1 G, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 0.50 K/BB
Jose Valdez: 2 G, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.33 GB/FB
Jon Ortiz: 1 G, 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1.00 GB/FB
Josue Calzado: 1 G, 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 0.00 GB/FB – former outfielder just did the whole convert-to-pitcher thing after putting up a .252-.305-.376 batting line in close to 1,000 plate appearances

Noel Castillo, Gabriel Tatis, Abe Almonte, Jairo Heredia, Hector Noesi, Juan Miranda, Humberto Sanchez, and Eduardo Nunez are all listed on various DWL rosters, but have not yet played in a game.

Mexican Pacific League
Walt Ibarra: 4 G, 2 for 5 (.400), 4 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 SB, 0 CS

Danny Gil is on the same team as Ibarra, but has not yet appeared in a game.

Venezuelan Winter League
Josh Schmidt: 2 G, 2 GS, 11 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 2.13 GB/FB – picking up right where he left off with Double-A Trenton
Pat Venditte: 1 G, 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1.00 GB/FB
Romulo Sanchez: 2 G, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K,3.00 GB/FB
Carlos Mendoza: 1 G, no plate appearances
Luis Nunez: 6 G, 6 for 22 (.273), 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 SB, 0 CS
Edwar Gonzalez: 7 G, 3 for 22 (.136), 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 SB, 1 CS
Jesus Montero: 2 G, 1 for 8 (.125), 1 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 SB, 0 CS – good to see him back
Reegie Corona: 5 G, 5 for 17 (.294), 2 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 SB, 0 CS
Marcos Vechionacci: 2 G, 1 for 2, 0 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 SB, 0 CS

Juan Marcano, Jose Gil, Emerson Landoni, and Eduardo Sosa are listed on various VWL rosters, but have no appeared in a game yet.

Rosters for the Puerto Rican League aren’t posted yet, but the season doesn’t start for a month. After the playoffs are over, you’ll see some big leaguers make a few appearances in winter ball. Robbie Cano and Melky Cabrera usually make a cameo in the Dominican, but we might see guys like Frankie Cervelli, Ramiro Pena, and maybe even Al Aceves get some time in.

AzFL Surprise (11-2 loss to Phoenix)
Mike Dunn: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2-0 GB/FB - just 6 of 15 pitches were strikes (40%)

Lefty Wilkins Arias will pitch for Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League. Tomorrow night I’ll update you on all the action in Latin America.

AzFL Surprise (7-3 win over Mesa)
Brandon Laird: 1 for 5, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 K – you think that .750 BABIP is sustainable?
Colin Curtis: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB
Austin Romine: 2 for 5, 1 K – allowed two stolen bases
Zach Kroenke: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1-2 GB/FB – picked a runner off first … 15 of 26 pitches were strikes (57.7%)

Well, most (but not all) of the Dominican Winter League rosters are out, so here’s what we got:

Estrellas de Oriente: RHP Noel Castillo, IF Wady Rufino
Gigantes del Cibao: RHP Gabriel Tatis
Tigres del Licey: RHP Jairo Heredia, RHP Hector Noesi, 1B Juan Miranda
Toros del Este: RHP Josue Calzado (yes, he’s a pitcher now), RHP Humberto Sanchez, SS Eduardo Nunez

Still waiting on the Puerto Rican League rosters, but the season doesn’t start for a month.

AzFL Surprise (12-5 win over Mesa)
Brandon Laird: 5 for 5, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI – amazingly, he was only the second best Surprise hitter today … Moose tacos drove in seven
Colin Curtis: 1 for 5, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI – threw a runner out at second from RF

Still no Dominican Winter League or Puerto Rican League rosters. The DWL starts tomorrow, and I don’t know what they’re waiting for.

Why can’t every DotF be this easy?

AzFL Surprise (6-4 win over the Peoria Javelinas)
Austin Romine: 3 for 4, 1 RBI, 1 PB - allowed two stolen bases, but did gun down another
Colin Curtis: 1 for 4, 1 R
Mike Dunn: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 2-0 GB/FB – just 13 of 25 pitches were strikes (52%)

Still no Dominican Winter League or Puerto Rican League rosters.

The Arizona Fall League kicked off it’s two month (or so) long season today, and as usual the Yanks sent a bunch of prospects. It’s an extreme hitter’s league, so don’t get too excited by great offensive lines or discouraged by poor pitching lines. Anyway, the updates will appear every night around this time, kinda like … DotF!

AzFL Surprise (17-4 win over the Peoria Javelinas) Mike Dunn is the only Yanks farmhand on the Surprise roster that didn’t get into the game
Austin Romine: 1 for 4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K – caught six innings before being replaced
Brandon Laird: 4 for 6, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 K
Colin Curtis: 3 for 6, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K – that’s his first three hit game since July 20th
Ian Kennedy: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 5-3 GB/FB – 37 of 53 pitches were strikes (69.8%) … I should also mention that starters are capped at 5 innings in the Fall League … oh, and AzFL FX!
Zack Kroenke: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0-2 GB/FB – just 12 of 25 pitches were strikes (48%)
Grant Duff: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0-3 GB/FB - 13 of 18 pitches were strikes (72.2%)

Both the Mexican Pacific League and Venezuelan Winter League started their seasons last week, but because those stats are a bitch to get to, I only update them once a week, on Sundays. Here’s the winter ball assignments we know of:

Mexican Pacific League
Naranjeros de Hermosillo: RHP Danny Gil, IF Walt Ibarra

Venezuelan Winter League
Aguilas de Zulia: RHP Josh Schmidt, IF Luis Nunez
Cardenales de Lara: IF Carlos Mendoza, OF Edwar Gonzalez
Caribes de Anzoategui: LHP Juan Marcano, C Jose Gil, IF Emerson Landoni, OF Eduardo Sosa
Leones del Caracas: RHP Romulo Sanchez
Navegantes del Magallanes: C Jesus Montero, IF Reegie Corona, IF Marcos Vechionacci

We’re still waiting for Dominican Winter League and Puerto Rican League rosters. The DWL season is supposed to start Friday, so we should get rosters pretty soon. The PRL doesn’t start until November.