October 29 - Rafters @ Desert Dogs

Continue to see a lot of the Rafters and they put a hurting on the Desert Dogs, knocking them off 9-2.  Below are some notes:

OF Kevin Pillar (Blue Jays) - Pillar had a pretty big 2012 statistically, but this is the first game of the AFL I have actually seen him hit.  He showed gd barrel control in a pull heavy approach.  Will be curious to continue to see him, as there may be a 4th OF there.

LHP Brian Flynn (Marlins) - My first look at the oversized, physical left hander, I was only able to watch him for an inning and he worked 91-92 w/ a SL that flashed avg at 82-84 and threw one bad CB at 75.  Interesting lefty based on the 1 inning.

RHP Ryan Perry (Nationals) - Similar to the 2nd outing, just pounded the strike zone with FB's and featured the cutter a little more prominently.  I think he is still a reliever, but he has definitely made strides at commanding the strike zone, though he does like to just lay some pitches down the middle in hitter counts.

RHP Cory Rasmus (Braves) - Obviously tiring, as he was 84-88 (as opposed to his usual 88-91) and showed a gd CH at 80-82 and a big CB at 72-74.

RHP Scott McGough (Marlins) - Worked 92-94 w/ a SL at 80-85 that was inconsistent and flashed avg.  Also showed off his plus athleticism with a few nice defensive plays on bunts and comebackers.

LHP Chris Rearick (Rays) - Still doesn't do anything for me, as he worked 86-89 w/ a SL at 79-83 that was just ok.

LHP Santos Rodriguez (White Sox) - Up to 98 today and the slurvy CB flashed plus with hard dwnr action.  Also worked in a CH at 84 that had gd armspeed.  Has improved every outing of the AFL and, while he will never throw a lot of quality strikes, has been around the zone enough to force bad swings on his FB.

RHP Aaron Barrett (Nationals) - Showed more sink to his 90-92 fastball and paired it with a plus SL once again at 83-84.  Can fit as a middle reliever w/ the sinker/slider mix.

RHP Brett Hunter (Athletics) - Struggled badly with command today and was 87-89 (up to 91) w/ run and sink, but no deception and hitters were teeing off.  His SL was a 1-plane breaker at 81-84 and his CH at 82 had a little life, but missed well outside with it. 

RHP Coty Woods (Rockies) - Woods gave up his first hits and runs of the AFL today and was 89-93 w/ hard sink and paired it with a short sweeping SL at 79-82 that had late break and a CH at 82-83 that had gd armspeed and featured later in the inning to elicit swings and misses from righties.  Has a place as a situational reliever.

Tomorrow, will be on double duty.  Will be attending the Scottsdale v Peoria game to see Robert Cassevah a 3rd time, but get to see Robbie Erlin (who was one of the guys I really wanted to see).  Then, will be attending the night game featuring a strong matchup of Kevin Siegrist v Andre Rienzo in Salt River.  Hopefully they will be fast games.