Arizona Fall League Wrapup

Baseball America just released their Arizona Fall League Top 20 Prospect ranking for the recently concluded Arizona Fall League (AFL) season in 2007. The Indians had two players make the list: right-hander Adam Miller (#5) and left-hander David Huff (#20). Here is what Baseball America had to say about the two pitchers in the rankings piece:

5. Adam Miller, rhp, Surprise (Indians): After battling finger and elbow woes over the course of the regular season at Triple-A Buffalo, Miller went to instructional league to face more live hitters before reporting to the AFL in mid-October. Though his velocity hadn't returned to the 93-95 mph Miller showed when he's fully healthy, his secondary pitches showed exceptional life. His 84-87 mph slider has devastating late movement and he added a two-seamer last year to combat against lefthanded hitters. His two-seam fastball has splitter-like action, diving down in the zone, producing weak contact. Miller also made strides with his changeup, which at least an average pitch right now.

20. David Huff, lhp, Surprise (Indians): A supplemental first-rounder in 2006, Huff was impressive early during the regular season at high Class A Kinston before being shut down at the end of May with elbow soreness. The Tribe sent him to Arizona to get more work in against more advanced hitters and the 23-year-old didn't disappoint. Though he endured two bad outings which helped balloon his ERA over 6.00, scouts were impressed with his ability to command the zone with four pitches and he struck out 15 in 16 innings of work. Huff's fastball sits anywhere from 87-91 mph, but creates good deception. His changeup is arguably his best pitch and showed the ability to locate to both sides of the plate. Huff's slider is just average, and his curveball needs more work. He'll get under it at times as he rushes through his delivery with his lower half. He'll likely begin the 2008 season in the Double-A Akron rotation.

The rest of the Top 20 can be viewed by going to the pay article on Baseball America’s site.

Also, in a chat about the AFL Top 20, Baseball America national writer Chris Kline offered some insight on some of the Indians prospects. Here are the relevant Indians excerpts from the chat:

Q: Gregg from Willow Spring, NC asks:
How close was Aubrey to making the list, based on his late season production? Do you think he is still a viable prospect if he can stay healthy, and what kind of numbers could you project for him if he does make it to the majors?

A: Chris Kline: Willow Spring Represent! He was in the mix, as a lot of guys were in this prospect-laden league, but there are still too many questions about his long term health. During instructional league this year, Aubrey couldn't play every day, which was the same story during the tail end of the regular season at Double-A Akron. There is no question the tools are there. That's never been the issue. I think it's still too premature to predict numbers in the big leagues based on the recent track record. But he's got all kinds of power and can shorten his stroke to use the whole field. Very smart player who knows his limitations in terms of his injury history. If Aubrey doesn't wind up making it, it has nothing to do with the size of his heart.

Q: Mark from Massachusetts asks:
Will we see Adam Miller stretched out during the fall league, or is he likely to stay in the bullpen, where he finished this past season? Will that have any bearing on what the Indians plan to do in '08?

A: Chris Kline: I think Miller comes into 2008 working out of the Tribe's pen in the big leagues. From there, they can move him to the rotation, but right now his velocity's better in short spurts and he has the ability to attack with all his pitches to either side of the plate.

Q: Robert Goldberg from Lyndhurst, NJ asks:
I noticed that there's no mention of 2 outfielders, both of whom were well thought of in the 2005 Draft - Trevor Crowe & Nolan Reimold. Did either of them get any consideration for the top 20?

A: Chris Kline: Guys were considerably down on Crowe this year, and it's tough to see what he'll be in the big leagues. He's not going to play center field, at least in Cleveland, he doesn't hit for power and he had an inconsistent 2007 season. As far as Reimold, I'm still a believer. He's still got some holes and his swing can get long, but the power is real. Both got consideration based on the body of work, but missed out in the end.

Here are the final stats for the Indians prospects who played in the AFL this year:

Michael Finocchi (RHP): 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 9 games, 10.1 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 5 K, 1.06 WHIP
David Huff (LHP): 1-1, 6.06 ERA, 7 games, 16.1 IP, 16 H, 3 BB, 15 K, 1.16 WHIP
Adam Miller (RHP): 0-2, 9.00 ERA, 5 games, 13.0 IP, 18 H, 3 BB, 11 K, 1.62 WHIP
Randy Newsom (RHP): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 games, 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1.29 WHIP
Rich Rundles (LHP): 0-0, 1.04 ERA, 8 games, 8.2 IP, 2 H, 6 BB, 5 K, 0.92 WHIP
T.J. Burton (RHP): 0-1, 14.73 ERA, 4 games, 3.2 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 3.00 WHIP
Jeff Stevens (RHP): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 games, 3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 0.67 WHIP
Chris Gimenez (C): .239 AVG (11-46), 3 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 6 BB, 11 K, .762 OPS
Michael Aubrey (1B): .275 AVG (25-91), 6 2B, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 10 BB, 10 K, .858 OPS
Brad Snyder (OF): .250 AVG (7-28), 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K, .657 OPS
Trevor Crowe (OF): .289 AVG (11-38), 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 7 K, 3 SB, .864 OPS

Posted in: Adam Miller,Baseball America,David Huff