http://0rz.tw/PMF5s
Seattle prospects lead West to Rising Stars win
Royals farmhands also contribute in AFL showcase
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The game could not been more appropriately named.
It definitely lived up to its billing.
Several of the top prospects in the game shone bright Saturday as the West
Division powered past the East Division, 11-2, in the sixth annual Arizona
Fall League Rising Stars Game at Surprise Stadium.
It was a night of hits, misses, strikes and surprises.
And stars, of course.
The highly anticipated showdown on the mound between the West's Gerrit Cole
(Pittsburgh), the first overall pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, and
the East's Danny Hultzen (Seattle), the second overall pick in the 2011
First-Year Player Draft, was overshadowed by the West's offensive onslaught,
led by Seattle shortstop prospect Nick Franklin.
Franklin, selected in the first round in 2009 by Seattle, finished 4-for-5
with a home run on a memorable night in Arizona. Franklin's four hits, two
doubles, four RBIs and three extra-base hits all set new Rising Stars Game
records. His team finished with 16 hits in the game.
"It was really fun," Franklin said. "We had some fans and were enjoying the
experience beforehand. We went out there to have a good time and started to
put some runs on the board. We started having some fun in the dugout, and it
carried over."
Hultzen did his part, and there's no doubt that the front office in Seattle
is feeling content right about now. The left-hander struck out the side on 14
pitches in the first inning and did not allow a hit in his two innings
pitched. His lone blemish was a one-out walk to Washington's Bryce Harper in
the second inning.
"It was a real honor to get selected for this," Hultzen said. "It was
exciting. There was a big crowd and a lot of fans. I felt good out there."
How much did Hultzen enjoy the game? Well, he spent several minutes after the
game signing autographs and greeting fans.
Thirty minutes later, he was still smiling.
The Royals also had a hand in the resounding victory. Wil Myers played right
field and went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, and Christian Colon was 1-for-2
with two runs scored. Jeremy Jeffress struck out all three batters he faced,
including Harper.
Cole did not fare as well. He pitched only two-thirds of the first inning
before he was replaced by Steve Ames (Dodgers). In all, Cole was charged with
five runs on four hits. He threw 29 pitches and only 16 of them were strikes.
Cole was still able to walk away from Surprise Stadium feeling optimistic.
"I'm going to go back and look at it, but they seem to hit us all pretty
well," Cole said with a smile. "It was a fun atmosphere. Even though I didn't
pitch well, I was still able to enjoy that part of it. I was excited, but it
didn't go as planned. You move on."
Including Hultzen and Cole, the game featured 17 first-round picks. The top
two outfield prospects in the game, Harper and Mike Trout (Angels) finished
0-for-2 and 1-for-3, respectively, for the East Division.
Overall, Brian Dozer, the eight-round pick for the Twins in 2009, paced the
East squad by going 1-for-2 with a home run. Junior Lake, signed by the Cubs
as a non-drafted free agent in 2007, and Tim Wheeler, Colorado's first-round
pick in 2009, were the only other East players with a hit.
By contrast, the West had four players with at least two hits. After the
five-run first inning, the West tacked on another run in the second inning
and scored four more runs in the third. The game was out of reach when it
scored its final run in the fifth for an 11-2 lead.
The hits kept coming, it seemed, and so did the pitchers. In all, the teams
combined to use 19 pitchers, who combined to strike out 18 batters.
"Our starter set the tone and the rest of the guys followed him," said West
pitching coach Derrick Lewis, who coaches in the Atlanta system. "He was
pounding down in the zone and it became contagious. The same way hitting can
become contagious is the same way pitching can be contagious. We were just
sending them out there and they were getting the job done."
Lewis is only partly correct in his assessment. In the end, the showdown
between Cole and Hultzen was not much of a showdown at all.
"I didn't think of it like that," Hultzen said. "It was a little different
being in a game like this where you only pitch a couple of innings. I'm sure
people talked about it, but I didn't take it like that. Our offense played
really well and that's what I was thinking."
Danny Hultzen跟Nick Franklin這次獲得的評價都不錯
Hultzen的控球精準度依然相當好
變速球應該有plus的水準，今天最快球速也達到95mph
如果維持這個水準，左投＋Safeco這個優勢
站穩二號應該是綽綽有餘
剩下的疑問就是他的耐戰度，還有他什麼時候可以上得來
Felix-Pineda-Hultzen這個前三號，應該可以在2013正式成形
（全農場的前三號，看起來頗爽）
Nick Franklin是今天最大的意外
在AFL表現不好的他，今天完全是奇兵
第一局的那隻HR，面對95 mph的中間低位置速球，uppercut打出中左外野
接下來的兩隻二壘安打，一隻是腰帶附近拉到右外野
一隻也是uppercut打到左外野牆邊，再多個幾公尺就又出牆了
不過我是希望他揮棒速度更提昇，多用一點拉打
他今天兩隻反方向長打如果在Safeco很可能都是接殺出局
守備也表現的不錯，還滿乾淨俐落的
站在SS這個位置應該不會有問題，只要不要得意忘形自己搞笑失誤...-_-
另外插播：就在大家持續關注Hultzen跟Walker這兩隻頂尖投手新秀
什麼時候能頂上西雅圖投手陣的輪值時
Erasmo Ramirez用他的表現提醒大家：他也是未來輪值的有力競爭者
他在委內瑞拉冬聯目前拿下2W1L
20 2/3 IP，1.74 ERA，0.87 Whip，17H，12K，1BB
又是個控球魔人XD
前三號我是不敢期待，不過四號頗有機會的
Liddi跟Saunders的成績....慘不忍睹
Liddi在44個打數只打了6支安打
這禮拜打完就不打了，球隊覺得他打完一整季比賽後太累了
接下來要看到他應該是明年春訓的事
Saunders....我已經不知道該說什麼了
0.178的AVG？你要不要乾脆直接告訴球隊你明年不用玩了？
去年不到300AB就幹出10發HR，結果打擊姿勢一改完整個爛掉-_-
再這樣搞下去，我不知道他哪天會被踢出去
當年備受我們期待的潛力新秀搞成這樣，實在還滿難過的
