NewsSore back shuts down Marlins' Stanton
Prized prospect was tearing it up in Arizona Fall League
By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com
10/28/09 2:24 PM ET
MIAMI -- Due to a sore back, the Marlins have shut down prized prospect Mike Stanton in the Arizona Fall League.The power-hitting outfielder appeared in six games for the Mesa Solar Sox, and his .478 batting average in 23 at-bats currently leads the Fall League. However, the 6-foot-5, 240-pounder hasn't played since Oct. 22.
Rather than take any chances, Stanton's brief stint in Arizona is over.
"We've shut Mike down. He's got a sore back," said Jim Fleming, the Marlins vice president of player development and scouting. "It's nothing big. It was going to require him to shut it down for a while. We didn't want to shut him down, and then ramp him back up. So we just shut him down totally."
One of the top prospects in the Minor Leagues, Stanton is a power-hitting outfielder who combined to hit 28 home runs and drive in 92 runs in 2009. The outfielder opened the season at Class A Jupiter, but after 50 games, he was promoted to Double-A Jacksonville, where he helped lead his team to the Southern League championship.
Stanton, who will turn 20 on Nov. 8, is expected to be ready for Spring Training.
Late in the Minor League season, Stanton experienced some tightness in his back, but nothing serious.
A three-sport athlete in high school in the Los Angeles area, Stanton is an imposing figure on the field. He was a wide receiver in high school and turned down a scholarship offer to USC before signing as a second-round Draft pick with the Marlins in 2007.
"When you're 19 years old and you look like that, you're going to have a sore back from time to time," Fleming said. "It was nothing that we really saw before. He said he had a little stiffness late in the year. I think it was a wear-and-tear thing."
Although he didn't play much in the Arizona Fall League, he showed why so many feel he will be a future star. He had 11 hits in 23 at-bats, including a home run.
"We kind of accomplished what we needed to with him," Fleming said. "We just wanted to get back to a couple of things with him fundamentally. He accomplished that. I was out there when [the back issue] happened. We felt like there was no sense pushing this."
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
