Former Hawks Win AFL Championship

The Scottsdale Scorpions brought home the Arizona Fall League championship over the weekend, with seven former Silver Hawks on the winning squad.

Members of the winning team included:
Marc Krauss
A.J. Pollock
Konrad Schmidt (played only one game due to injury)
Josh Collmenter
Bryan Shaw
Daniel Stange
Bryan Woodall

Congrats to the former Hawks!

Arizona Fall League Update

I can't believe I haven't updated the AFL since October 28th. The Scottsdale Scorpions cruised through the league with a 20-11 record and will be playing for the title on Saturday.

Former Silver Hawks pitcher Josh Collmenter tied for the most strikeouts in the league with 30.

Here are your final regular season stats for the former Silver Hawks:

Hitters
Marc Krauss: .305, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 20 R
Konrad Schmidt: .250, 0 HR, 1 RBI (only one game played due to injury)
A.J. Pollock: DNP .295, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 10 R,

Pitchers
Josh Collmenter: 4-0, 3.04 ERA, 26.2 IP, 9 ER
Bryan Shaw: 0-1, 3.48 ERA, 10.1 IP, 4 ER
Daniel Stange: 2-0, 8.44 ERA, 10.2 IP, 10 ER
Bryan Woodall: 1-0, 5.40 ERA, 6.2 IP, 4 ER

Big Day for Marc Krauss

On Friday in Arizona, former Silver Hawks outfielder Marc Krauss had a huge day in the Arizona Fall League. Krauss hit his first pro grand slam and in total drove in 7 runs to lead the Scorpions to the victory.

To make the day even better, it was another Silver Hawk in Bryan Woodall who got the win (disregard in the story where they call Woodall a Cardinals minor leaguer...I can assure you he's still with Arizona).

Here is your updated Arizona Fall League information:

Scottsdale Scorpions: 8-3 record, best in the league.

Hitters
Marc Krauss: .258, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 9 R
Konrad Schmidt: .250, 0 HR, 1 RBI
A.J. Pollock: DNP .375, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 7 R, 4 2B,

Pitchers
Josh Collmenter: 2-0, 1.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, 1 ER
Bryan Shaw: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.0 IP, 0 ER
Daniel Stange: 1-0, 1.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, ER
Bryan Woodall: 1-0, 6.23 ERA, 4.1 IP, 3 ER

Arizona Fall League - October 13th Results

Scottsdale won 9-1. They are now 2-0.

Hitters
Marc Krauss: 0-4, 2R, BB, K (.167, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
Konrad Schmidt: 1-4, R, RBI (.250, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
A.J. Pollock: 2-4, 2 2B, R, RBI, BB (.500, 0 HR, 1 RBI)

Pitchers
Josh Collmenter: W, 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Bryan Shaw: DNP (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Daniel Stange: DNP (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Bryan Woodall: DNP (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Arizona Fall League - Day One Complete

Yesterday was the first day of the Arizona Fall League.

For day one summaries, click here.

Here's the box score from the Scottsdale Scorpions game (that's the team with the Diamondbacks prospects).

If you don't want to click the link....

Marc Kruass was 1-for-2 with a run and two walks.
Daniel Stange (1-0) got the win with 2.0 scoreless innings of relief.

Collmenter, Pollock, Schmidt, Shaw, and Woodall did not play.

Catching Up From the Weekend

Well, now that my beloved Kentucky Wildcats are out of the NCAA Tournament, it's time to focus all my attention on the baseball season. (Props to my alma mater Dayton Flyers making the NIT Final Four, but come on, it's the NIT).

Let's catch up on a few important stories from the weekend:

-A.J. Pollock is out 3 months after having elbow surgery. He wasn't going to be coming back to South Bend anyhow, but with him being out, it may bump up someone slated for the Silver Hawks.

-Nick Piecoro also did a piece on Marc Krauss late last week. You can read it here.

-Mark Haley's latest blog entry discusses his family coming to visit and drug testing in Spring Training. How would you like to pee in a cup with somebody watching?

-Finally, Daniel Vasquez has been released by the Diamondbacks. Vasquez pitched for South Bend last year, going 4-1 with a 4.57 ERA. However, he tested positive for a performance enhancing drug in the offseason, and was going to be suspended 50 games to begin this year anyhow.

I'll have more later today with Pete's last report from Spring Training.

Pete's Report -- Day Two

Another update from Pete Yarbro at the Diamondbacks spring training camp...this time, with pictures (at the end).

This will be my seventh season as official scorer for the Silver Hawks. I've been coming to spring training since my second year. I think I've only missed the trip once. So, even though I usually come down here on my own, I always see a lot of people I know.

There's a couple sportswriters around the press box I see every year. Of, course I always see Mark Haley. And the coaches who have come through South Bend, like 2004 Silver Hawks manager Tony Perezchica. Diamondbacks VP and special assistant to the General Manager, Bob Gebhart --- a regular in South Bend the last few years --- was hard at work at the minor league complex, despite a minor heart attack at the beginning of spring training. Though I noticed he was without his trademark cigar.

When I saw Hawks hitting coach Francisco Morales, the first thing he asked me about was the weather back home. When I told him that it had been in the 60s last week, he seemed encouraged, but I promised him that it would be plenty cold by the time he got to town.

The first thing Haley asked me when I saw him was whether I was reading his blog in the South Bend Tribune. I assured him that I was, but warned him that he had competition now in the local spring training blog market. He tells me he has a good one on the way. I'm sure he'll step up his game now that we're going head to head.

And there's always a few people you don't expect to see. When I wandered into the media dinning room for lunch at Tucson Electric Park I saw someone I knew I recognized from somewhere. I figured he must be a scout or someone like that. I quickly realized I didn't recognize him from the Coveleski press box, but from every documentary about the golden age Yankees I have seen on ESPN Classic and HBO. It was Jerry Coleman. On top of playing second base and shortstop for the Yankees from 1949-1957 --- after flying combat missions in the Pacific as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II --- Coleman is the radio broadcaster for the San Diego Padres, today's opponent. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a broadcaster in 2005. The chicken parmigiana was pretty good too.

Before lunch, I spent some time at the minor league complex watching the players run drills. For the entire month of spring training, the minor league players spend every morning running drills. They'll spend half and hour or so practicing the same play again and again. Every type of play you can imagine, everything you see in a game all summer, these guys have spent several mornings during spring training doing it over and over.

One of the things I watched this morning was catchers handling pop-ups. Using a modified pitching machine, a coach will shoot balls straight up in the air. As you can imagine they go way up there. And in Tucson you're fighting the sun. A few guys were having trouble pulling the balls in, and I don't blame them. Just watching the balls go up into the sun from my seat on the bleachers, I was starting to get sunscreen running in my eyes. And I wasn't moving around or wearing all that catcher's gear.

In the major league game today there were a couple of odd situations. In the bottom of the sixth inning Mark Reynolds (SB '04-05) came up to bat with men on second and third, two outs, and the score tied 0-0. The Padres intentionally walked him. Now maybe its the right strategic move, but in a spring training game? The Padres and Diamondbacks are going to face each other plenty this season. If you're the manager, don't you want to see how your guys respond against a power hitter with runners in scoring position? Well, maybe it was the right call. The next guy grounded out to the first baseman to end the inning.

I thought that was strange. But I hadn't seen nothing yet. In the bottom of the ninth the D'Backs were down 4-2, but tied the game with two home runs. In the bottom of the tenth --- which would have been the last inning no matter what happened --- Arizona managed to get runners on first and third. When Ollie Linton (SB '08) came to bat San Diego moved their right fielder into the infield. They tried to put him on the line, but that would have put the first baseman at the second base position. And you can't play second base with a first baseman's mitt. So they put the right fielder just to the left side of second base, and moved the shortstop over to the right side of second base.

Perhaps distracted by the view of five infielders, Linton struck out. Linton's a left handed batter. The next batter, Jake Wald is right handed. So the right fielder switched places with the shortstop. Right on cue, Wald hit a looping fly ball into right field. The center fielder made a good effort getting to the ball and diving, but it was just off his glove, and the runner scored from third. The Diamondbacks beat the Padres 5-4 in 10 innings.

Most importantly, the game time temperature was 78 degrees with just a few clouds in the sky.

In other news, my quest for Mexican food and margaritas was stymied yesterday. Los Betos, the carryout by the stadium, closes early on Sunday. And the bar in the hotel was out of limes, a key margarita ingredient. Too tired to go anywhere else, I settled for a rum & coke and the hotel's enchilada. It was good, but a lot like the enchilada you could get at a hotel in Mishawaka. There was talk around the pressbox today that one of the best places for Mexican food in Tucson is a place called El Charro. If baseball writers know anything --- other than baseball and writing, of course --- its food. So if you need me tonight, that's where I'll be.


Marc Krauss waiting for his turn in the cage.


Mark Haley doing what he does best -- standing around while looking pretty (HA!).


A.J. Pollock taking his cuts in the cage.


Look at that view!

Q and A with Nick Piecoro (Part Two)

Here's the second part of my interview with Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. This section focuses on the Diamondbacks minor league system and how much buzz it creates in the desert.

5) The Diamondbacks have traded away a lot of prospects over the last few years, greatly weakening the farm system. Is that a trend that is likely to continue, or will we see Arizona make a renewed effort to develop their own talent?

Nick Piecoro: The biggest knock on the organization in the Josh Byrnes era, for me, has been their poor drafts. In 2006, they got Max Scherzer and Brett Anderson but little else, although those two alone make it a pretty decent draft. The 2007 draft outside of Jarrod Parker was pretty bad and their 2008 returns aren’t impressive, although it’s too soon to really render a strong opinion on that one.

They put a ton of resources into the 2009 draft, in which they had a slew of extra picks, and the early returns are very strong. Key word there is early. We won’t know for a while how that draft pans out, but they have a lot riding on those players and are going to need several of them to turn into prospects if they have any hope of revitalizing the system.

6) Do prospects in South Bend (and other minor league stops) get a lot of hype in Arizona? How much excitement does a name like Jarrod Parker or A.J. Pollock generate in the desert?

NP: Not a lot. There are some diehards who follow the minor leagues pretty closely, but I don’t get the sense that it’s huge news. My theory is, if something is important to Josh Byrnes and the rest of the front office, it should be important in my coverage. As such, I cover the minor leagues fairly heavily during the season. Certainly more fans know who Parker is because he has been talked about quite a bit, but I’d guess that most fans in Arizona have no idea who A.J. Pollock is.

7) As a follow up: What, if anything, have you heard about some '09 Silver Hawks stars? (A few to consider: Pollock, Krauss, Navarro, Marte, Wheeler, Hose, Miley, Cook)

Like I said, I follow it pretty closely and I know there is a lot more hope for that crop of players – and for the guys who are going to be in South Bend in 2010 – than there probably has been for the last couple of years. Wheeler had a tremendous debut and looks like a great pick, and Cook looks like a pretty good late-round pick from 2008. Krauss had a pretty nice debut cut short by an ankle injury, but he’s supposed to be ready to go for spring training. Pollock didn’t hit much, but I haven’t heard any concerns about his future.

8) Any names that I missed that are generating a lot of buzz? Are there players from Missoula or Yakima that we should be watching out for here in South Bend next season?

Because the Diamondbacks had eight of the top 95 picks in the country last year, there are a lot of names to watch for next season and it will be interesting to see how the club deploys them. For example, both Bobby Borchering (No. 16 overall) and Matt Davidson (No. 35) were third basemen as amateurs and played the position in their pro debuts in Missoula and Yakima, respectively. Will the Diamondbacks move Davidson to first permanently or have them split time at those positions in South Bend? And what will become of Matt Helm, a seventh-round pick who signed for $500,000 and also has been called a third baseman?

Aside from those three, outfielder Keon Broxton, second baseman David Nick, shortstop Chris Owings and right-hander Scottie Allen all look like candidates for South Bend and all should be fun to follow.

Again, I'd like to thank Nick Piecoro for taking the time to answer these questions. People who follow the major league clubs daily from an outside perspective often have the most honest and unbiased opinions. I encourage you to check out Nick's blog at http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/NickPiecoro/Page0.

Catching Up With Marc Krauss

The latest installment of "Catching Up With" is posted at www.silverhawks.com. Today's guest is 2009 outfielder Marc Krauss, who talks about his debut season and his offseason recovery from surgery on his right ankle.

We still have a few more players planned for the offseason, but if there are any former Silver Hawks you'd like to hear from, feel free to leave their names in the comments section of this post and we'll try our best to track them down (no promises!)

Diamondbacks Top 10

Baseball America has released the Arizona Diamondbacks Top 10 Prospects today.

If you want to read what they have to say about the farm system, click here.

If you want the Silver Hawks side of the story, click here.

Or if you just want the list and my opinion, keep reading:

1) Jarrod Parker
2) Bobby Borchering
3) A.J. Pollock
4) Brandon Allen
5) Daniel Schlereth
6) Chris Owings
7) Mike Belfiore
8) Marc Krauss
9) Ryan Wheeler
10) Collin Cowgill

My unsolicited opinions:

-I'm not surprised Jarrod Parker is number one, nor should any of you. He's clearly the best pitcher in the system, even with recent surgery.

-Borchering is young, and likely a Silver Hawk in 2010. Baseball America always gives preferences to younger players over older ones, because their ceilings are always higher.

-I was surprised to see A.J. Pollock at #3. He had a fine year, just not an overwhelming one. However, I think you'll see Pollock dominate the Cal League in 2010, and then it's just a matter of making the proper adjustments to continue to see success on the way up.

-Allen was acquired via a trade, so we don't have a lot to go on with him.

-Schlereth comes in fifth, but that's irrelevant now since he just was traded (see previous post). I would imagine Baseball America would update this list before publishing their top 30 Prospect Handbook.

-Owings and Belfiore are the real deal from what I hear. And they should both be in South Bend on Opening Day 2010.

-Krauss is a guy I struggle with at #8. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it, or that he's not good. He has enormous power and showed some ability to hit for average. However, he was limited due to ankle injuries, and I don't think we saw everything he could do. I'd like to see him play a full season at 100% before I judge his prospect rating.

-Ryan Wheeler should be higher than #9. In my book, he's top 5 in the system (and that's coming from only seeing him play about two weeks). His swing is so smooth that it's hard for me to imagine his average ever being below .300, and the power numbers will be there as well. He's the real deal.

-Collin Cowgill at #10 is fine. Like Krauss, he had an injury last season that limited him. Again, a full season should help us determine whether the top 10 ranking is justified.

Notable players that dropped out of last year's top 10:

#2 Gerardo Parra (no longer a prospect since he made it to the Majors)

#4 Mark Hallberg (hit .257 for Mobile -- should still be in top 30 I would imagine)

#5 Wade Miley (will still be in top 30, but not a surprise he dropped out of top 10)

#6 Kevin Eichhorn (pitched just 10 games for Missoula)

#7 Cesar Valdez (went 7-6 with a 4.78 ERA in Reno)

#8 Billy Buckner (majors)

#10 Reynaldo Navarro (I actually thought he improved this year. Would like to see his average higher, but he should still be ranked between 11-15 at worst, I would think)

Krauss on the Cape

Last week I told you about my college buddy who was blogging over at www.rightfieldfog.com about the Cape Cod League.

He's doing a countdown of the top 50 players this decade, and 2009 Silver Hawks outfielder Marc Krauss made an appearance at #45. You can read all about him here.

Chat Transcript

Here's the link to the MWL Top 20 Prospect Chat yesterday. I've pulled out the lone question about a Silver Hawks player for you to read below:

Charles (Houston): Not sure if he counted, but what were your initial impressions of Mark Krauss? He seemed to be hitting well before going down with bone spurs.

Jim Callis: I like Mark Krauss and he would have ranked in the 11-15 range if he hadn't gotten hurt just before getting enough at-bats to qualify. I really believe in the bat, and one scout comped him to Lyle Overbay with perhaps more power.

More later this afternoon.

Injury News - Jarrod Parker and Marc Krauss

We've talked about Justin Parker and his shoulder injury a lot this year, but now there is injury news on the other Parker brother, Jarrod.

He is going to have his right elbow examined because of some discomfort he felt in his last start.

Here's hoping that it is nothing too serious, and even if he has to shut it down for the year, that he can avoid surgery and be ready to go in spring training next year.

Also, as expected, Marc Krauss will have surgery on his ankle and will miss the rest of the season. He should be fine for spring training next year.

Today's Roster Move

INF Justin Parker activated from the DL.

OF Marc Krauss sent to Arizona for injury evaluation.

Story Here.

My Take: It's great to get Justin Parker back. His bat is a huge addition to the lineup when he's healthy. However, it's unfortunate that Krauss' ankle injury is so bad that he's heading back to Arizona, where it appears surgery might be an option. Krauss is not expected to rejoin the Silver Hawks this season, so that leads me to believe he's not playing again this year.

Hopefully Parker's shoulder is healthy enough that it allows him to DH most of the time and play third the rest of the time. With Krauss out, there's not much power left in the lineup. A healthy Parker would be big to protect Pollock and Marte in the lineup.

Krauss Update

I had a comment in my last post asking why Krauss left the game yesterday. He has had some lingering ankle injuries, and they really bothered him yesterday. I would imagine he would be out of the lineup tonight, and then hopefully with some rest he'll be able to DH for a while before returning to the field.

More on Krauss

I have been posting like crazy the last 30 minutes, so be sure to scroll down and read everything.

Lately I've been linking to a lot of different sites, so I'll continue that trend with an interview that futurebacks.com did with Marc Krauss yesterday.

You may have to be a subscriber to read it, but it's a good site for news and updates about players, so certainly worth it.

Parker Placed on DL

You can read the full story here.

My take: He hasn't played since June 6th, and I think everyone was starting to get the feeling he wasn't going to be back until the second half anyhow. This just confirms it.

Marc Krauss, the second rounder added to the team yesterday, is expected to arrive right around game time tonight. He likely won't play in game one, but should be ready to go for game two.

Today's Roster Move

OF Marc Krauss (D'Backs second round pick) has been added to South Bend's roster.

Read the story here.