Arizona League
Fall Semester
By Jim Lachimia

It remains to be seen if Brad Eldred will become a huge part of the proceedings for the 2006 Pittsburgh Pirates, but he improved his chances with a successful stint in the Arizona Fall League this year.

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound first baseman hit a total of 40 home runs at three different levels in 2005, including 12 in the majors, many of which were breath-taking, tape-measure shots Willie Stargell would have been proud to call his own.

The problem was, all too often, the 25-year-old slugger was an easy out during his 55-game stint with Pittsburgh. He fanned 77 times in 190 at bats, appeared to have difficulty recognizing pitches, and wildly swung and missed with regularity.

During the Arizona Fall League, which ended in mid-November, Eldred batted .289 with seven home runs and 28 RBI in 25 games with the Peoria Saguaros. But more than the numbers, the Pirates were pleased with his approach.

"When Eldred got to the Arizona Fall League, his objective was to learn to recognize pitchesÑbreaking balls and change-ups - better, and to command the strike zone, which means only swinging at balls in the strike zone," Brian Graham, Pirates' director of player development, said. "His goal was to improve in those two areas, and I think he did. He didn't swing at so many breaking balls out of the strike zone, and he also didn't swing at so many balls period - whether they were up or down, in or out. He commanded the strike zone better."

"I don't think we're going to make decisions based on the Arizona Fall League for Brad Eldred. (He) is gaining experience and getting better. That's exactly what it is - experience against good competition."

Major league clubs send their premium prospects to Arizona each fall with designs on accelerating their development. Pirates' general manager Dave Littlefield called the Arizona Fall LeagueÕs list of alumni "a who's who of Major League Baseball," which is reflected in the fact that the 2005 All-Star Game in Detroit featured 23 league alums - including National League MVP Albert Pujols. The quality of the competition is definitely part of the attraction, but another reason can be summed up in one word - control.

"The Arizona Fall League is a great league because it's controlled," Graham said. "You control the workouts. You can control the game situations. It's not a win-at-all-costs league - which the Dominican, Venezuela, Mexico and Puerto Rico (winter leagues) are. They're definitely leagues where winning is the top priority. In the Arizona Fall League, development is the top priority."

The Arizona Fall League, which came into existence back in 1992, has its own Hall of Fame (really), counting Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Jeter, Mike Piazza, Jason Giambi and Todd Helton among its members. Michael Jordan played in the league in 1994. Okay, it didn't help MJ, but he had that basketball thing to fall back on.

Each of the six clubs in Arizona is made up of 30 players - six from five different major league organizations. Littlefield, Graham and director of scouting Ed Creech decide which Pirates' prospects go.

"It basically comes down to the three of us deciding who needs the time, who needs the experience, and who should go based on injuries and availability," Graham said. "This year, originally we had Bryan Bullington and Ian Snell scheduled. But Bullington came up with an injury and Snell decided he didn't want to go, so we had to make some adjustments."

One of those adjustments was sending 2004 first round draft choice Neil Walker to Arizona. Against players older and more experienced, the 20-year-old catcher from Pine-Richland High School batted .265 with two homers and five RBI in 17 games.

"Neil Walker is going to see great returns on his experience out there because he played a lot straight out of Class-A ball," Graham said. "It's a huge benefit for guys to play out there. Neil was competing against Triple-A guys - some of whom have been in the majors at some point - and he made a good account of himself. Neil Walker, for the first time in his short career, realized how good he really is."

Another Pirate that benefited greatly from playing in the Arizona Fall League was Ryan Doumit, who used his experience there last year as a springboard for 2005. After an injury plagued 2004 in Double-A Altoona, the 24-year-old impressed in spring training. He followed that by batting .345 with 12 homers and 35 RBI for Triple-A Indianapolis. In June, Doumit joined the big-league roster and shared catching duties with Humberto Cota the rest of the way. "Ryan Doumit is the best example recently of a guy who the Arizona Fall League was a tremendous benefit for," Graham said. "He had the opportunity to go out there and play against competition that was way above any level he had ever faced. It taught him what it really takes to be a Triple-A or big league player, and that his skills matched up with those guys. It helped with his confidence and really made him believe in himself."

With increased emphasis on getting top prospects to the majors as quickly as possible, Graham expects the Arizona Fall League to continue to be an avenue for fostering player development.

"It's a perfect opportunity for us to see our players and follow their progress in a controlled environment against quality competition," he said. "From a development standpoint, it definitely helps."

Jim Lachimia is the editor of On Deck Magazine and covers Major League Baseball for PSR.