Arizona Fall League Action

[Guest Edgy DC]

Six Mets prospects go to the Arizona Fall League this year, assigned to the Grand Canyon Rafters to join with prospects from the Marlins, Twins, Yankees, and Rangers. Didn't Met prospects play for one of the Peoria teams in the past. I'm not sure how I feel about our players co-mingling with Yankee prospects, to say nothing of a division rival.

The league is a good place for guys who are currently upgrading their prospect status, are switching positions, or could use a little more playing time after misisng part of a season with injuries or just a slow start. It's a good proving ground, loaded with solid AA players, providing for a AAA level of competition. Anyhow, it sure seemed to help make a man out of Brian Bannister last season.

Among the Mets prospects, Jeremy Hill seems a little old for this assignment, and Lastings Millege a little young. If there was any doubt that Milledge was on the fast track, put it aside now. Maybe he can clean up his stealing numbers if nothing else.

Andy Wilson is interesting. Another firstbase/catcher tweener prospect of ambiguous background who slugged his way into the picture at St. Lucie.

The real reclamation project here is Matt LIndstrom.

Pitchers
Name	B/T	Ht.	Wt.	DoB	Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Jeremy Hill	R/R	5-11	200	08/08/77	Norfolk	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	0	1.2	1	0	0	0	0	1
					St. Lucie	0	0	2.35	7	0	0	0	1	7.2	8	4	2	1	3	5
					Binghamton	1	3	4.29	19	0	0	0	4	21.0	29	13	10	1	10	20
Matt Lindstrom	R/R	6-4	210	02/11/80	Binghamton	2	5	5.40	35	10	0	0	0	73.1	90	61	44	11	55	58
EvanMaclane	L/L	6-2	180	11/04/82	St.Lucie	8	5	3.20	19	19	1	0	0	112.1	96	51	40	14	15	92
					Binghamton	3	2	4.14	9	9	1	1	0	58.2	63	31	27	7	9	48

Hitters
Player	Pos	B/T	Ht.	Wt.	DoB	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG	OpS
Chase Lambin	INF	B/R	6-1	183	07/07/79	Binghamton	53	181	26	60	17	0	14	29	119	20	38	2	0	.396	.657	.331	1.053
						Norfolk	61	211	35	61	16	2	10	34	111	20	47	2	3	.350	.526	.289	.876
Lastings Milledge	OF	R/R	6-0	187	04/05/85	St.Lucie	62	232	48	70	15	0	4	22	97	19	41	18	13	.385	.418	.302	.803
						Binghamton	48	193	33	65	17	0	4	24	94	14	47	11	5	.392	.487	.337	.879
Andy Wilson	C/1B	R/R	6-1	210	11/20/80	St.Lucie	127	464	81	132	25	3	28	89	247	68	88	8	4	.370	.532	.284	.902
						Norfolk	3	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.125	.000	.000	.125

[MFS62]

Mike Jacobs was originally targeted for 'Zona. But they have decided to have him play in one of the more advanced Winter leagues in Latin America. Not sure which one.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

Tomorrow the Rafters open against one of the Peoriae. Can't wait.

[MFS62]

Mike Jacobs was originally targeted for 'Zona. But they have decided to have him play in one of the more advanced Winter leagues in Latin America. Not sure which one.

EDIT: Oh crap! I'm Joe Torre. Please tell me I'm not an ugly Yankee.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

Game one features a 1-4 showing by Lastings Milledge, batting second. Milledge stole second and scored in the 9-6 loss to the Peoria Javalinas.

Chase Lambin, batting eighth and playing shortstop, went 1-5. No other Mets prosects appeared. The Player of the Game for the Rafters was Twins AAA prospect Garrett Jones, who went 2-3 with two homers, two walks, and three RBI.

The Mets own Ken Oberkfel is managing, with Florida's John Mallee joining him as coach and Texas's David Chavarria as pitching coach. Minnesota and the Yankees provided the trainers, and I guess filled the Gatorade coolers.

Milledge is writing a player journal, essaying on his experiences in the league.

Oh, boy! Write to Lastings! I just sent him an e-mail with a question and inviting him to visit.

[seawolf17]

Matt Lindstrom needs to learn how to throw a strike once in a while.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Did I mention that Andy Wilson is from the magic town of Zanesville, OH?

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Zanesville Ohio is the home of ex-Met Jay Payton.

[Guest cooby]

There was another one too, in 2000, but I forget who it was. I always wondered if they knew each other

[Guest cooby]

Wow, am I a lucky girl or what? I decided to look on umdb, and it was Kurt Abbott, who is the second Met listed

[Guest Edgy DC]

You're the luck child.

Zanesville, Where Mets Are Made.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

When we visited Cincinnati in 2003 we stopped by a Cracker Barrel in Zanesville on our way home. It rang a bell, but I couldn't figure out why. I asked the girl at the cash register, but she could only suggest that it was the home of Zane Grey. Months later I saw a Payton bio and realized why it sounded so familiar to me.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Lambin	3	13	2	4	1	0	1	3	6	1	3	0	0	.308	.357	.616	.973
Wilson	2	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	.250	.250	.250	.500
Milledge	4	18	4	6	2	0	1	4	11	1	7	1	1	.333	.368	.611	.979

[Guest Edgy DC]

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Hill	0	0	3.00	2	0	0	0	0	3.0	2	1	1	1	1	2
Lindstrom	0	0	19.29	2	0	0	0	0	2.1	6	5	5	4	4	1
McLane	0	1	31.50	1	1	0	0	0	2.0	6	7	7	1	1	2

[seawolf17]

Hey, Matty... throw a freaking strike once in a while.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Wilson seems stuck on the depth chart behind David Parrish --- the Yankees 2000 first-round pick who has been mostly struggling.

Trivia quesion: David is the son of Lance Parrish, and together they became the third father-son combo to have both been drafted in the first round. Name the two pairs that preceded them in attaining this distinction.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Meanwhile, the numbers so far for Brandon Wood of the Surprise Scoprpions:

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Brandon Wood	6	27	9	12	1	0	8	16	37	1	5	0	0	.444	.483	1.370	1.853

He's a shortstop who slugged .672 in a full season this year for the high A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

My mother-in-law was once surprised to find a scorpion in her shoe.

Is that how the team got its name?

[Guest Edgy DC]

From the town homepage:

A Rich Heritage - A Prosperous Future Surprise was little more than a gas station and few small houses in 1938 when founder, Homer C. Ludden, a Glendale letter carrier, and former state legislator turned real estate developer, subdivided the rural square-mile parcel into low-cost home sites for the area�s agricultural workers, naming it after his Nebraska hometown. Today, it�s one of Arizona�s - and America�s - fastest growing cities. Flanked by one of Arizona�s largest mountain preserves, and situated in the stunning Saguaro-dotted Sonoran desert just a half-hour from downtown Phoenix, it is blossoming into a meticulously planned city.

About Surprise, NE, I was able to find out little, except that it is One. Small. Town.

Statistics & Facts The population of Surprise is approximately 55 (1990). The approximate number of families is 26 (1990). The amount of land area in Surprise is 1.033 sq. kilometers. The amount of surface water is 0 sq kilometers. The distance from Surprise to Washington DC is 1124 miles. The distance to the Nebraska state capital is 38 miles. (as the crow flies) Surprise is positioned 41.10 degrees north of the equator and 97.30 degrees west of the prime meridian. Surprise History An early log cabin, located on the Abram Towner farm, one-half mile south and one mile east of Surprise, built in 1866, was said to be the first building of its kind in Butler Co. and on the first homestead in the county. But log houses were probably built by settlers along the Platte river late in the fifties and early in the sixties. More.

Surprise is also the first record by Better than Ezra, hard to find now.

[Guest Rotblatt]

I'd like to give another shout out to Chase Lambin, who continues to rake in 2005.

Why is he being ignored in the media while Hernandez and Keppinger get the press?

Any idea what position he's playing in the AFL? I'm assuming 2B, but he played some 3B in AAA.

[Guest Edgy DC]

He was at second base the two games I followed.

He's gotten less attenttion because the other two are ahead of him in line, having played more at AAA and in the bigs.

Lambin played AFL ball last year also, added to the roster at the last moment when either the league or the Mets decided Jeff Keppinger had played more big-league ball than your typical AFL-er.

Lindstrom is also repeating.

[MFS62]

I have this feeling that Lambin will eventually be a Matt Franco type of player - reaching the majors at 28 or so, and having a few years in the bigs as a utility player. Has anyone seen him play? His numbers have improved, but do the numbers match the on-field performance?

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

Lasting hits his journal and then his mailbag:

Everything's been going well here. I've been hanging out with a lot of guys -- Denard (Span), Reggie (Abercrombie) and (Robert) Andino. We're having a lot of fun. Everything is going smoothly. We're not putting pressure on ourselves. We're just playing the game. It's hard not to put pressure on yourself during the regular season. You have to put up numbers. But I think this will help. If I struggle, I'll go back and think, "In the Fall League I had fun and did well." I think that will help. The first couple of days, I was feeling pretty comfortable at the plate. (Editor's Note: Through his first games, Milledge was hitting .429 with a homer and four RBIs.) There are a lot of good ptichers here, which makes it tough, but right now I feel like I'm at the top of my game. We'll see if I can keep that up. I'm living near Scottsdale, 45 minutes away from the park. I don't mind the drive since I had a 45-minute trip to school every day when I was in high school. It's a lot easier now. On our off day on Thursday, we hung out at the mall, walked around, talked baseball a bit, got a bite to eat. Nothing too much went on, but we had a good time. Before I get to your emails, I'd like to say hello to Deon Troute. He's my friend from high school who I played basketball with. I'd also like to say hello to Michelle Martinez, my phys. ed. teacher and Dr. Williams, my history teacher. They were my biggest inspiration in high school. And of course I can't forget my high school coaches Darrel Don from North Side and Coach Motes from Lakewood Ranch. Last, but not least, I know my my dad and my family are checking in, too. Now, on to your emails. You always hear people talk about "learning the strike zone" and "pitch recognition." How do you learn to recognize pitches? I know there are the adages that people have like "looking for the dot" on a slider and looking for spins on curveballs. Is it a matter of just reading scouting reports on guys and knowing what to expect? -- Eli Eli, it's just getting at-bats. The key is at-bats. You're not going to learn overnight. You need more repetition seeing the slider often, seeing that curveball often. It's not like you can say, "I'm going to learn how to do this today." The only way to learn and get better at it is through at-bats. If you see it every day on a consistent basis, you can learn to adjust to it. With the Mets' signing of Carlos Beltran to a seven-year deal to play center field, where do you see yourself playing? Would you be willing to switch positions to play either left or right for the Mets or would you rather be traded so you could play your natural position for some other team? -- Chris, Ravena, NY Chris, I really don't want to be traded. I want to play for the Mets because they drafted me when 11 other teams passed me up. I don't want to go to another team just to play center field. That isn't the point. The point is getting to the big leagues and getting my time started. I know I'll have to play left. I'm willing to work at that, to be the best left or right fielder I can be. I'll play wherever the Mets want me to go. I feel if I put my time in, I'll get my chance some day in center. For now Carlos Beltran will hold it down and I have to work on an alternate position. I'm willing to do that. The Mets haven't told me to do that yet, but all you have to do is put two and two together. Here in Arizona, I've played a couple of games in left and I felt good out there. I have no choice since we have five center fielders on this team here. So I'll get a lot of reps in left this fall. I'm 15 years old and I'm a big fan of yours. I was wondering what pitcher you faced this year had the best pure stuff? -- Henry I would have to say Justin Verlander. He had the best pure stuff. He's got the 97 mph fastball, 83 mph slider the sinker and a curve ball. I think he had the best pure stuff.

[MFS62]

Is he trying to tell us that he might not have the arm to play right field?

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

No. Left is just the alternative position where he had been recently assigned.

[Guest Edgy DC]

October 1: Rafters 11, Saguaros 8. The win pulls the Rafters within a game and a half of the Phoenix Devil Dogs and the Peoria Javalinas, tied for first in the National Division.

Pinnacle Peak PotG: DH Garrett Jones (Twins). The 244-pounder drove in five runs in the first two innings with a two-run single and three-run homer, finishing 2-5.

Bierbitzch Mets PotG: Lastings Milledge. He played centerfield and went 1-3 with a two-run single before being lifted.

The Rafters led 10-0 after seven thanks largely to four shutout innings by Steve White (Yankees) and three by Taylor Tankersley (Marlins). All seven runs were charged in the last two innings to T.J. Beam (Yankees), though only two were earned, and the others were aided by errata by third baseman Drew Meyer (Rangers) and shortstop Robert Andino (Marlins).

[Guest Edgy DC]

Milledge injures foot in Arizona game Speedy center fielder listed as day-to-day =blue]By Marty Noble / MLB.com Lastings Milledge hit .318 in stints with St. Lucie and Binghamton in 2005. (Blayne Beal/USA Baseball) Lastings Milledge, one of the most highly touted prospects in the Mets farm system, was not in the lineup for the Arizona Fall League's Grand Canyon Rafters on Thursday night, due to a bruised left heel he suffered running out a ground ball the previous night. Lastings Milledge hit .318 in stints with St. Lucie and Binghamton in 2005. (Blayne Beal/USA Baseball) The 20-year-old center fielder injured his foot as he approached first base in the fourth inning of the Rafters' game against Peoria. He was listed as day-to-day. Milledge, the Mets' first-round selection in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft, split the 2005 season between Class A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton. He also played for the United States team, managed by former Mets manager Davey Johnson, in the World Cup baseball tournament. He batted .337 with four home runs and 24 RBIs in 193 at-bats with Binghamton, stole 11 bases in 16 attempts and scored 33 runs in 48 games. He hit .302 with four home runs and 22 RBI in 232 at-bats with St. Lucie, stealing 18 bases in 31 attempts and scoring 48 runs in 62 games. =blue]Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[Valadius]

Here's an update on our dudes from scout.com:

Through 10 games, Ken Oberkfell's Grand Canyon Rafters find themselves in the shallow cellar of the Arizona Fall League's National division, posting a 4-6 record to rank third in the three-team division.

The Rafters return to action with six more games this week. Our weekly look at how the Mets' prospects are faring in the AFL:

Jeremy Hill , RHP: Through four appearances for Grand Canyon, Hill has had two very good outings, one OK one and one poor showing. His last effort came on Oct. 14 against PDD and was the poor showing, allowing two hits and three runs while walking one in a third of an inning. Prior to that, Hill turned in his strongest effort of the AFL to date on Oct. 11, facing seven batters and not allowing a hit in a two-inning stint against Surprise - his first AFL victory. Overall, Hill is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 5.1 innings pitched, and hitters are batting .190 against him.

Chase Lambin , IF: Has played six games in the Arizona Fall League so far, spreading his time between shortstop (two games), second base (two games) and designated hitter (two games). Overall, Lambin is hitting 286 (6-for-21) with one home run, two doubles, three runs scored and three RBI. The home run and all three RBI came in Grand Canyon's victory over Phoenix on Oct. 8; Lambin also stroked two hits and scored a run on Oct. 15 against Mesa.

Matt Lindstrom, RHP: Is still looking for his first AFL appearance in which he doesn't allow a run. Overall, Lindstrom has taken the mound three times for Grand Canyon, and he's posted a 13.50 ERA in four innings pitched; opposing batters are clubbing him at a .500 (9-for-18) clip. His worst outing came on Oct. 8, when Lindstrom faced eight batters, walking three and allowing four hits.

Evan MacLane , LHP: Has made two starts for Grand Canyon, going 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA. After a horrid debut, allowing seven runs in two innings on Oct. 8 against Phoenix, MacLane got another crack at the Desert Dogs on Oct. 14 and fared better, allowing two earned runs in four innings. He's been stroked for a .345 average (10-for-29) so far, walking four and striking out six. The walk totals are unusually high for MacLane, even given the small sample size.

Lastings Milledge , OF: The Mets' top prospect has not played since bruising his left heel running to first base on Oct. 12; before the injury, Milledge had gone 7-for-21 (.333) in his first taste of the AFL. Milledge wrote in his player journal on MLB.com that the injury was nothing to worry about, and that he expects to be back on the field shortly. He has scored five runs and has a home run, two doubles, one stolen base and six RBI so far. Three of his games came in center field, but Milledge's first game for Grand Canyon was as a left fielder.

Andy Wilson, C: The utilityman has played four games, all at catcher, for Grand Canyon. He's batting .231 (3-for-13) with two runs scored and has six strikeouts already, including five in his last two games.

[Guest Edgy DC]

We just hang out and chill. That's about it.

Journal: Milledge eager to get back First off, I want to let everyone know I'm ok. I had to leave the game the other day. I've just got a bruised heel. I should be back playing on Monday. I took it easy for two days, that's about it. I can't do too much. They want me to stay off it. I'll probably start doing active work on Saturday then get back to playing on Monday. I get a little bit antsy, but I'm not going to kill myself. When it heals, and it feels good, I'll get back out there. I don't want to rush it, but on the other hand, I do want to play. So I'll take it easy and make sure it's healthy before I get back out there. http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2005/09/30/aHCounQF.jpgThe league has been the same for the most part over the past week, except for Brandon Wood hitting four bombs in one game against us. That was pretty exciting. It was fun to see someone hit like that. We're more relaxed out here, so we were kind of happy for him. We're trying to win the game, but it's not the same thing as during the year. It was a cool sight to see because I'd never seen anything like it before. Glen Perkins, Denard Span, Reggie Abercrombie and Robert Andino, all of us hung out again on the day off last Sunday. I left Glen out of the journal last week and he got mad at me. I have to make sure I throw him in this week. Otherwise, he won't talk to me. He's a cool guy. That seems to be the group for when we have free time. We just hang out and chill. That's about it. And that's about it for me this week. Now, I'll get to some of your emails. Lastings' Mailbag Send Lastings an email > The scouts call you a five-tool player. What do you feel is your strongest and your weakest tool? -- Ben If you're a five-tool player, you don't really have any weak tools. Seriously, I won't say I have any weak tools, but I probably need to work on the baserunning the most. I'd have to say my defense is my strongest tool at this point. I don't have any problems on that end. Who in the Majors do you think you are most comparable too? I have heard a mix between Torii Hunter and Gary Sheffield. Would you agree? -- Derrick S. Actually, I don't agree with that. There's not anybody who can be as vicious a hitter as Gary Sheffield. I'd have to say, if anything, it's between Kenny Lofton and Rickey Henderson. But I don't like to compare myself to anyone. Conor Jackson last year during his AFL journal was very outspoken on autograph dealers and how they make money from his signature. As one of the top prospects in the Arizona Fall League, what are your thoughts on this subject? Do you have a limit on how many items you sign? Do you not sign for someone you beleive to be a autograph dealer? -- Owen G., London, England I don't mind signing. It doesn't bother me as much. The guys who have 12 cards to sign, I'll only sign a couple of them. I have no problem signing cards, but there are guys who do abuse the privilege. If they come with a sheet of cards, I'll only sign a couple of them.

[Valadius]

Brandon Wood. I just read about him like a week ago. He had a RIDICULOUS year in the minors this year.

.321, 43 HR, 116 RBI. 53 doubles. 101 extra-base hits. 1.046 OPS. He's a shortstop in the Angels organization.