Jordan Danks named to the AFL All-Star Game

Mayo:

The showcase game, which will take place this Saturday at 6:15 p.m. MT [7:15 pm CT], features current AFL participants selected by scouting and Minor League directors from every organization, along with input from AFL executive director Steve Cobb. The 50 players chosen to represent their organizations and AFL clubs will come together Saturday night at Surprise Stadium. For the first time, the Showcase will also be available to a national television audience. MLB Network will carry a live broadcast of the Rising Stars Game with Diamondbacks announcer Daron Sutton and MLB Network’s Tony Clark in the broadcast booth. A live video feed will also be available right here on MLB.com. …

Rosters here. Here too.

AFL Day 21 [UPDATE]

Peoria Javelinas vs. Scottsdale Scorpions: Boxscore, Gameday. Jordan Danks is playing RF. C.J. Retherford is playing 2B. Brent Morel is playing 3B. Weather: 79 degrees, sunny.

BTW, did Kyle Bellamy join the AFL (end of page)?

UPDATE: Peoria won 6-4 and Kyle Bellamy pitched one scoreless inning:

Jordan Danks: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1K, .389 AVG
C.J. Retherford: 1-4, .302 AVG
Brent Morel: 1-4, 1 K, .222 AVG
Kyle Bellamy: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 K, 1 BB, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA

BTW, here’s Lyle Bellamy’s stats and scouting report.

Jim Callis on Jordan Danks AFL performance

Jim Callis on Jordan Danks batting .388/.508/.571 through 14 AFL games:

I often say that people shouldn’t read too much into AFL stats, as I just did in the previous answer. The conditions favor hitters, there are few quality pitching prospects and a lot of the players are worn out after the long minor league season. Just glance at the AFL record book, and you’ll see that Ken Harvey holds the league records for batting (.479), slugging (.752) and on-base percentage (.537); Brandon Wood owns the mark for homers (14); and Orlando Miller set the standard for RBIs (44).

Danks is what he is. Though he’s 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, he never has grown into the power scouts projected he would when he was a potential first-round pick as a high schooler. He hit 13 homers in three seasons at the University of Texas, and he has slugged .425 in pro ball. He’s 23 now, and he’s not going to have average power. So those AFL power numbers are a chimera.

That said, Danks can be a solid regular. He has the bat speed and swing to hit for average, and he draws enough walks to post a solid OBP. He runs well enough to steal a few bases and play center field, and he has enough arm to move to right field if he loses a step.

Mark Buehrle wins Fielding Bible pitcher award

Fielding Bible (h/t Tango):

Pitcher – Mark Buehrle, Chicago

In The Fielding Bible—Volume II, we put some extra time into analyzing pitcher defense. It’s not only pitchers’ ability to field their position that counts defensively. It’s their ability to hold runners that matters in an important way as well. In Buehrle’s case, he has it all. His plus/minus figure of +9 was tops among pitchers in 2009, but his ability to hold runners is legendary. In the last four years he’s allowed a total of 15 stolen bases. His catchers have managed to catch five potential thieves in that time period. But even more importantly, when Mark throws over to first, the results are devastating for baserunners. Sixteen times in those same four years, he’s thrown over to first and the runner broke for second and was thrown out. That’s a Pitcher Caught Stealing (PCS) in our scorebook. Not only that, 14 more times Buehrle nabbed a baserunner at the base as he tried to get back. That’s a Pitcher Pickoff (PPO), for those of you scoring at home. In total, 15 stolen bases against him (an average of just under four per year) and 35 guys thrown out (an average of almost nine per year). Not too shabby.

Path to the Pros: Aaron Rowand

Ghiroli:

After being drafted, the 20-year-old Rowand jumped to Class A Hickory, where he hit. 342 with five homers and 32 RBIs in 61 games. The small sample size was enough for Chicago to promote Rowand to Class A Advanced Winston-Salem for the following season, where the outfielder got his first full year as a pro under his belt. Rowand responded accordingly, leading the Warthogs in doubles (37), homers (24) and RBIs (88), posting a .279 batting average in 133 games.

Given his impressive stats, it was little surprise when Rowand opened the 2000 season at Double-A, where he continued to churn out solid power numbers. In 139 games, Rowand slugged 20 homers and drove in 98 runs for Birmingham. … By spring 2001, the future National League All-Star looked primed to break through to the big leagues. After a solid Spring Training with the White Sox, Rowand was one of baseball’s top prospects in Triple-A Charlotte, lighting up International League pitching to the tune of a .526 slugging percentage. The 23-year-old hit 16 homers and drove in 48 runs in 62 games before the big leagues came calling. …