AFL unveils 2011 Top Prospects Team
Arenado, Olt, Harper among players selected to squad
Outfielders
Bryce Harper, Scottsdale Scorpions (Washington Nationals)
Tied for third with six homers and third with 26 RBI ... hit safely in 19 of his final 20games ... 16-game hitting streak tied for third for longest in the league ... hit .403 (25-for-62) with 5 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs, 24 RBI, 12 runs scored and 7 walks duringthe 16-game hitting streak, Oct. 13-Nov. 11 ... home run in five of six games, Oct. 26-Nov. 3 ... hit .522 (12-for-23) with 5 home runs, 17 RBI and 8 runs during a six-gamemulti-RBI streak, Oct. 26-Nov. 3 ... season-high four RBI in consecutive games, Oct.26-27 ... run scored in nine straight, Oct. 21-Nov. 8 ... sacrifice fly in AFL Rising StarsGame ... 3-for-3 with 1 homer, 3 RBI, 2 runs and 2 walks Nov. 3.
Michael Choice, Phoenix Desert Dogs (Oakland Athletics)
Tied for third in home runs (6) and ranked fourth in slugging percentage (.667) ... sixhome runs in 66 at-bats (second in AFL) ... week one co-player-of-the-week after hitting.471 (8-for-17) with 1 double, 3 homers, 4 RBI and 7 runs scored ... reached safely viahit or walk in his first 12 games, hitting .362 (17-for-47) and posting a .455 on-basepercentage with 3 doubles, 6 home runs, 14 RBI, 13 runs and 7 walks, Oct. 4-28 ...homered in four of his first five games, Oct. 4-18 ... 1-for-3 with a walk and run scoredin AFL Rising Stars Game ... season highs in RBI and runs Oct. 28, going 3-for-4 with1 home run, 5 RBI and 3 runs scored.
Robbie Grossman, Mesa Solar Sox (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Tied for league lead with 20 walks, second with seven homers, third with 39 hits and a.472 on-base percentage, fourth with 65 total bases and a .375 average and tied for sixthwith 22 RBI ... finished his AFL season with an 18-game on-base streak, during whichhe hit .420 (29-for-69) and posted a .534 on-base percentage with 4 doubles, 5 homers,16 RBI, 18 runs scored, 18 walks and 5 stolen bases ... walks in 13 of final 18 games... hit .520 (13-for-25) with 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 7 RBI, 7 runs, 7 walks and 1 stolenbase over six-game multi-hit streak (Oct. 13-20) ... leadoff homer in three of four games,Oct. 15-20 ... 14 multi-hit games overall ... RBI in 16 of 26 games ... four of his sevenhome runs led off first inning ... AFL Rising Star ... 2-for-2 with 2 RBI, 3 runs, 2 walksand 1 stolen base, Oct. 22.
Kevin Mattison, Surprise Saguaros (Miami Marlins)
Tied for the league lead in triples (5), ranked second in runs scored (29), third in total bases(68), tied for third in stolen bases (9), tied for fourth in hits (38) and tied for eighth in average(.349) ... 2011 Dernell Stenson Award winner ... hit safely in 22 of 25 games ... 15-gamehitting streak, Oct. 21-Nov. 17, was fifth-longest in the league ... hit .359 (23-for-64) with 2doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 12 RBI, 18 runs scored and 9 walks during the streak ... 12multi-hit games, five multi-RBI games and six multi-run games ... four triples in first sevengames ... five straight multi-hit games, Oct. 28-Nov. 4 ... 2-for-5 with a double and a runscored leading off for the West in the AFL Rising Stars Game ... 3-for-4 with 1 triple, 1 homerun, 2 walks, a season-high 4 RBI and season-high 4 runs, Oct. 14 ... season high in hits Oct.8, going 4-for-4 with 1 triple, 2 RBI and 1 stolen base ... added to Marlins' 40-man roster.
Adam Eaton, Salt River Rafters (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Led the league with 31 runs scored, second with 42 hits, fifth with eight steals and 10th with .344 average ... sharedleague high with 17-game hitting streak, Oct. 21-Nov. 15, during which he hit .365 (27-for-74) with 4 doubles, 1 homerun, 7 RBI, 15 runs scored and 6 walks ... second in at-bats (122) and tied for third in games played (30) ... 15 multihitgames and eight multi-run games ... hit safely in 25 of 29 games with plate appearance ... run scored in first 15games and 21 of 29 starts overall ... five straight two-hit games, Nov. 3-8 ... AFL-best 28-game on-base streak lastedfrom Opening Day until final day of the season ... season-high three hits Oct. 13 and Nov. 10 ... season-high threeruns Oct. 12 and Oct. 18.
Wil Myers, Surprise Saguaros (Kansas City Royals)
Tied for the league lead in walks (20) and triples (5), ranked second in on-base percentage (.481), third in sluggingpercentage (.674), sixth in average (.360) and tied for sixth in runs (24) ... reached safely via hit or walk in 22 of 23games ... run scored in 18 of 23 games ... 17-game on-base streak (Oct. 5-Nov. 1) was tied for sixth-longest in AFL ...extra-base hit in five straight games, Oct. 20-27 ... eight multi-hit games, six multi-RBI games, five multi-run gamesand five multi-walk games ... hit .403 with .764 slugging percentage against right-handers ... league shared singlegame-high with five hits Nov. 4, going 5-for-5 with 1 triple, 2 RBI, 3 runs and 1 walk ... 3-for-5 with 1 double, 2 RBI,1 run and 1 stolen base in AFL Rising Stars Game ... 3-for-6 with 1 double, 1 triple and 2 RBI Oct. 11.
Third Basemen
Nolan Arenado, Salt River Rafters (Colorado Rockies)
League MVP on East Division-winning Rafters ... after leading the minor leagues with 122 RBI at High-A Modesto in2011, finished second in the league with 33 RBI ... led AFL in hits (47) and doubles (12), tied for league lead in extra-basehits (18), second in total bases (77), third in average (.388), tied for third in home runs (6) and fifth in sluggingpercentage (.636) ... only AFL player with multiple hit streaks of 10 or more games (11 and 10) ... hit .408 (20-for-49)with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 19 RBI and 7 runs scored during 11-game hitting streak, Oct. 4-20 ... hit .439 (18-for-41) with 6 doubles, 1 home run, 9 RBI, 11 runs and 6 walks during 10-game hitting streak, Nov. 1-16 ... week fourplayer-of-the-week after batting .429 (9-for-21) with 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 5 RBI and 4 runs scored in five games... hit safely in 26 of 29 games ... RBI in 18 of first 23 games ... RBI streaks of three, four, five and six games ... onlyplayer in AFL with multiple four-hit games (2) ... 13 multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games ... homered in threestraight games, Oct. 25-27 ... 15 RBI over six-game RBI streak, Oct. 12-18 ... seven doubles over five-game stretch,Oct. 29-Nov. 4 ... hit .452 (19-for-42) with 28 RBI with runners in scoring position ... AFL Rising Star ... 4-for-5 with3 doubles, 1 RBI and 1 run Nov. 4 ... 4-for-5 with a homer and four RBI Oct. 17 ... 3-for-4 with five RBI Oct. 12.
Mike Olt, Surprise Saguaros (Texas Rangers)
Led the AFL in home runs (13), RBI (43), slugging percentage (.764) and total bases (81), tied for the league lead inextra-base hits (18), second in OPS (1.197), tied for third in runs scored (27) and tied for eighth in batting average(.349) ... one of the top offensive seasons in AFL history ... led the AFL with a home run every 8.15 at-bats ... onehome run shy of Brandon Wood's AFL HR record (14, 2005) and one RBI short of Orlando Miller's RBI record (44,1993) ... first 40-RBI season since 1996 (Bubba Trammell) ... .764 slugging percentage is second all-time to TylerFlowers' .973 mark in 2008 ... finished the season on a shared AFL-high 17-game hitting streak, during which he hit.397 (25-for-63) with 4 doubles, 9 home runs, 31 RBI, 19 runs and 10 walks ... hit safely in 23 of 27 games ... RBIin 19 of 27 games ... runs in 18 of 27 games ... nine-game RBI streak, Nov. 2-15 ... three games of five or more RBI... had four of the league's nine multi-homer games ... 11 multi-hit games, 10 multi-RBI games and seven multi-rungames ... week five player-of-the-week after batting .571 (8-for-14) with 1 double, 2 home runs, 8 RBI, 5 runs and 5walks in four games ... week six player-of-the-week after he hit .333 (5-for-15) with 4 home runs, 9 RBI and 17 totalbases in four games ... 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk in AFL Rising Stars Game ... 2-for-4 with 2 home runs, 5 RBI,3 runs and 2 walks Nov. 11 ... 3-for-4 with 1 double, 1 home run and AFL shared single-game high 6 RBI Nov. 4 ...two home runs and five RBI in AFL debut, Oct. 5 ... hit .478 (11-for-23) against left-handers.
Shortstops
Junior Lake, Mesa Solar Sox (Chicago Cubs)
Led the AFL with 18 stolen bases, the second-highest total in the AFL since 2000 (Eric Young, Jr., 20, 2008) ... did not getcaught stealing ... tied for fourth among AFL single-season stolen base leaders all-time ... tied for third in extra-base hits(16) and ranked fifth in total bases (63) ... stolen base in 10 of his first 14 games and 16 of 28 games overall ... hit .450 (18-for-40) with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 3 homers, 13 RBI and 8 stolen bases during a nine-game hit streak, Oct. 11-22 ... extra-basehit in seven straight games, Oct. 14-22 ... week three player-of-the-week after hitting .455 (10-for-22) with 3 doubles, 1triple, 1 homer, 8 RBI, 3 runs and 4 stolen bases ... played primarily shortstop and third base but also made his career debutin the outfield ... 1-for-3 with a double and a run in the AFL Rising Stars Game ... season-high four hits Oct. 22 ... 3-for-5with 1 double, 1 home run, 4 RBI and 1 steal Oct. 15 ... added to Cubs' 40-man roster.
Brandon Crawford, Scottsdale Scorpions (San Francisco Giants)
Tied for third-longest hitting streak in the league with 16-game streak, Oct. 6-Nov. 11 ... hit .338 (24-for-71) with 2doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs, 9 RBI and 11 runs scored during streak ... season-high three hits, Oct. 10 and Oct. 15... six multi-hit games.
Second Basemen
Joe Panik, Scottsdale Scorpions (San Francisco Giants)
Hit safely in 18 of his final 21 games ... five multi-hit games over seven-game stretch, Nov. 1-11 ... 10 strikeouts in 104plate appearances (fourth in AFL) ... second in the AFL in November average, hitting .439 (18-for-41) with 5 doubles,1 triple, 1 home run, 8 RBI and 3 runs in 12 games ... extra-base hit in five straight games, Nov. 11-16 ... AFL RisingStar ... 4-for-5 with a double Nov. 3.
Brian Dozier, Mesa Solar Sox (Minnesota Twins)
Tied for third with 27 runs scored and tied for sixth with eight doubles and 22 RBI ... has four multi-hit games in hislast nine ... solo homer in the AFL Rising Stars Game Nov. 5 ... RBI in 10 of 12 games, Oct. 13-31 ... 10 multi-hitgames, six multi-RBI games and seven multi-run games ... 3-for-5 with 2 doubles, 1 home run, 2 RBI and 3 runs scoredNov. 4 ... 3-for-5 with AFL shared season-high four runs scored Oct. 15 ... season-high four hits, going 4-for-4 with1 homer, 3 RBI and 3 runs, Oct. 6.
First Basemen
Joe Terdoslavich, Surprise Saguaros (Atlanta Braves)
Led the league in hitting through Oct. 28 (.404) ... began the season with five straight multi-hit games and multi-hitefforts in eight of his first 10 games ... 10 multi-hit efforts overall ... 3-for-3 with 1 double, 1 home run, 3 RBI, 2 runsscored and 1 walk in the AFL Rising Stars Game ... 2-for-4 with 1 double, 1 home run, 3 RBI, 3 runs scored and 2walks Nov. 4 ... 2-for-4 with 1 double, 1 triple and a season-high 4 RBI Oct. 12.
Matt Adams, Peoria Javelinas (St. Louis Cardinals)
Led the league in sacrifice flies (6) ... RBI in seven of eight games, Oct. 18-30, including five straight (14 RBI duringstretch) ... six multi-hit games ... AFL Rising Star but did not participate due to injury ... double, home run and seasonhighfive RBI, Oct. 31 ... 3-for-5 with 1 double, 3 RBI and a season-high 3 runs scored on Opening Day, Oct. 4.
Catchers
Christian Bethancourt, Surprise Saguaros (Atlanta Braves)
Hit .306 with 3 doubles, 5 home runs, 13 RBI, .324 on-base percentage and .556 slugging percentage in 19 games ...ranked fourth with 1 home run every 14.40 at-bats ... homered in three consecutive games, Oct. 28-Nov. 1 ... hit safely in15 of 18 games with a plate appearance ... 19 games behind the plate tied for most among AFL catchers ... 154 putouts,most among AFL catchers ... 1-for-3 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored in AFL Rising Stars Game ... season-high three runsscored Nov. 11 ... 2-for-4 with 1 double, 1 home run and 3 RBI Oct. 28 ... 2-for-5 with 1 double, 3 RBI and 2 runs Oct. 11.
Derek Norris, Scottsdale Scorpions (Washington Nationals)
Owned a 17-game on-base streak, Oct. 7-Nov. 9, during which he hit .339 (21-for-62) and had a .434 on-base percentagewith 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 11 RBI, 13 runs scored and 11 walks ... hit safely in 15 of those 17 games ... led AFL with eightrunners caught stealing and .471 caught-stealing percentage (8-for-17) ... run scored in 12 of 14 games, Oct. 8-Nov. 4 ... 12walks over 12 games, Oct. 12-Nov. 4 ... 4-for-4 on the basepaths ... AFL Rising Star ... 2-for-2 with 1 double, 1 homer, 2RBI, 2 runs and 1 walk Oct. 24 ... 3-for-4 with 1 homer, 2 RBI and 1 stolen base Oct. 19 ... added to Twins' 40-man roster.
Designated Hitters
Jedd Gyorko, Peoria Javelinas (San Diego Padres)
AFL batting champion at .437, the second-highest in league history (fifth AFL batting champion from Peoria Javelinasin last six years) ... led league in on-base percentage (.500) and OPS (1.204) and second in slugging percentage (.704)... third with 1 home run every 14.20 at-bats ... 10 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games in just 18 games ... fivemulti-hit games in final six games ... reached safely via hit or walk in 17 of 18 games ... AFL Rising Star ... 3-for-4with 1 double, 1 home run, 3 RBI, 3 runs scored and 1 walk Oct. 31 ... AFL shared single-game-high 5-for-5 Oct. 20... 3-for-5 with 2 home runs, 4 RBI, 4 runs and 1 walk, Oct. 14 ... hit .500 (13-for-26) against left-handed pitching.
Josh Vitters, Mesa Solar Sox (Chicago Cubs)
Seventh in average (.360) ... 10 strikeouts in 107 plate appearances (third in AFL) ... hit safely in 21 of 24 games ...five games of three or more hits among eight multi-hit games ... 3-for-4 with 1 homer, 2 runs scored and 1 steal Nov.9 ... season-high four hits Oct. 14 ... two home runs and five RBI on Opening Day, Oct. 4 ... hit .378 (17-for-45) with3 doubles, 5 RBI, 4 runs and 4 walks during an 11-game hitting streak, Oct. 6-25 ... added to Cubs' 40-man roster.
Starting Pitchers
Danny Hultzen, Peoria Javelinas (Seattle Mariners)
Third in league ERA (1.40) ... fifth among starters in opponents average (.225) ... 18:5 K:BB in 19.1 IP ... one run orfewer in all six starts, including three scoreless ... one earned run on seven hits and three walks with 16 strikeouts in14.1 innings over final four starts ... season-high six strikeouts over 2.2 scoreless frames Nov. 12 ... two hits and fivestrikeouts in four scoreless innings to earn only win, Oct. 31 ... no hits over four scoreless innings, Oct. 19 ... struck outthe side in the first inning and did not allow a hit over two scoreless frames in earning the win in the AFL Rising StarsGame ... held lefties to a .118 (2-for-17) batting average.
Terry Doyle, Mesa Solar Sox (Chicago White Sox)
Led the league in WHIP (0.62) and opponents average (.135), second in wins (4) sixth in ERA (1.98) ... fifth amongstarters in walk rate (1.65 BB/9) ... won four straight starts, Oct. 11-28 ... week three pitcher-of-the-week after going2-0 with a 1.00 ERA, 2 hits, 3 walks and 8 strikeouts in two starts ... four perfect innings Oct. 11 ... five of six runsallowed scored on four home runs ... one or fewer hits and three or more innings in five of eight starts ... 22:5 K:BB ...scoreless fourth inning in AFL Rising Stars Game.
Relief Pitchers
Brad Boxberger, Phoenix Desert Dogs (Cincinnati Reds)
Tied for second in saves (3) and ranked second in games finished (10) ... led relievers in K/9 (14.85) ... 22:6 K:BB in13.1 innings over 11 appearances ... eight of 11 appearances were scoreless ... first seven outs of the season and 11 ofhis first 17 recorded via strikeout ... three or more strikeouts in four appearances of 1.2 innings or fewer ... scorelesseighth inning and one strikeout in AFL Rising Stars Game.
Jacob Diekman, Scottsdale Scorpions (Philadelphia Phillies)
Second among relievers with .079 opponents average (3-for-38) ... 0.79 WHIP ... began the season with 7.1 hitless,scoreless innings ... two saves, three hits and one earned run in 11.1 innings overall ... held lefties to .000 average (0-for-8) and righties to .100 mark (3-for-30) ... AFL Rising Star ... added to Phillies' 40-man roster.