NewsWells red-hot in Arizona Fall League
Tigers prospect making case for 2010 consideration
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
10/30/09 7:48 PM EST
Casper Wells is doing more than making up for lost time in the Arizona Fall League. He's giving himself a springboard for next season.When Wells fractured the hamate bone in his left hand at Double-A Erie in mid-April, it not only cost him nearly two months of the season, it meant his season essentially didn't begin until June. The injury halted the momentum that began with Wells' breakout 2008 season for the SeaWolves and picked up in Arizona last fall.
A return to the AFL wasn't originally the plan, at least not until Ryan Strieby's wrist problems cost him the tail end of the season, but Wells is making the most of what amounts to the home stretch of his injury-delayed season. Once again, he's pounding some of the better pitching prospects in the league, and he's giving a reminder of the potential in his bat.
Wells returned with three straight multihit games, going 7-for-13 with six runs scored and six RBIs for the Peoria Javelinas, and has only cooled off a bit from there. He greeted top overall Draft pick Stephen Strasburg on Thursday with a grand slam as part of a two-hit, five-RBI game. He added a three-run homer Wednesday.
At this rate, it's also a reminder of how well he hit in the AFL last year. Combine his fall campaign so far with last year, and he has reached base safely in 30 straight Fall League games, including a single Thursday off former Tigers pitcher Andrew Miller. Wells had an 18-game hitting streak from last October through last Friday, during which he batted .405 (30-for-74) with nine home runs, 19 extra-base hits, 20 runs scored and 30 RBIs.
This year, his 1.239 OPS ranked fourth among AFL hitters entering Friday, while his .800 slugging percentage ranked second. His .371 average (13-for-35) stood 10th.
What that means for him going into next year is unclear. With Magglio Ordonez back for next year, Carlos Guillen said to be set for everyday duty in left field, and Ryan Raburn coming off a career year, the space for a promotion to Detroit isn't there, at least going into next season. Still, after two years and 161 combined games for the SeaWolves, Wells' Fall League performance sets him up with high promise for an expected promotion to Triple-A Toledo, where he has yet to play a single game.
With Scott Sizemore out for the rest of the year following ankle surgery, the only other Tigers position prospect in the AFL is shortstop Cale Iorg, who showed signs of breaking out of his slow start offensively with a three-hit, three-run game that included a solo homer Tuesday at Scottsdale. He had more hits in that game than he totaled in his other five AFL contests before that. He followed that up with a double in four at-bats the next day against Phoenix.
On the pitching side, Tuesday's offensive outburst helped Tigers second-round Draft pick Andrew Oliver earn his first professional victory with two scoreless innings of relief and four strikeouts. With 11 strikeouts over eight innings through Friday, the 21-year-old left-hander ranked second in the league in strikeouts alongside fellow Tigers farmhand Robbie Weinhardt, who piled up three consecutive three-strikeout performances over a 10-day span.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
