Offseason Notes, The Sophomore Effort Of

Welcome to your density, America.

I mean, your destiny.

SCOUT Batting Leaderboard
The Leaderboard
Here is the SCOUT batting leaderboard for the Arizona Fall League. (Click here for more on SCOUT, the metric that’s “sweeping” the “nation.”)

Who’s New
Dustin Ackley. In his last three games for the Peoria Javelinas, the Seattle prospect has 15 PA, 2 HR, and only 1 K.

Also, look at the photo from his MiLB player page. It’s like, I wanna have a daughter just so she can marry Dustin Ackley.

Who’s Out
Cory Harrilchak. According to his player page, he weighs zero pounds — which, he should get that checked out.

SCOUT Pitching Leaderboard
The Leaderboard
Here is the SCOUT pitching leaderboard for the Arizona Fall League.

Who’s New
Dan Merklinger. He had 141 K in 131.2 IP this season at Milwaukee’s High-A affiliate Brevard County. The bad news about that is how (a) he was 24 for the whole season (i.e. oldish) and (b) he’s had all of nine innings higher than A-ball. In any case, he’s struck out a quarter of the batters he’s faced this fall. That’s indisputably good.

(Note: Prospect Maven Bryan Smith saw Merklinger pitch while visiting Arizona last week.)

Seth Garrison. No comment, really.

Who’s Out
Steve Cishek. Fell below the qualified innings-pitched threshold.

George Kontos. In his last 2.2 IP — 17 batters faced, looks like — the Yankee farmhand has recorded 4 BB and 0 K.

Bryce Harper Watch
Bryce Harper was decidedly not dormant yesterday. He did this at Surprise: 4 PA, 1 1B, 2 BB, 1 K.

Bryce Harper in Arizona: 19 AB, .368/.429/.632, 1 HR, 2 BB, 6 K.

Another Cistulli Heard From (Rumors and Transactions)
Carson Cistulli doesn’t make the news, he makes it totally unreliable.

On What This Is
An experiment.

On What Kind of Experiment, Specifically
Remember in The Royal Tenenbaums when Eli Cash says this: “Well, everyone knows Custer died at Little Bighorn. What this book presupposes is… maybe he didn’t“?

Well, this is like that. Except with baseball news.

Yu Darvish Wants to Play in MLB in 2012
Said Darvish: “I want to be the next-next Colby Lewis.” Pinky swear.

Drew Sutton Eligible for Free Agency
Actually, this is slightly less exciting than I first thought. I remember him as the player who batted .317/.408/.523 for Houston’s Double-A affiliate in 2008. CHONE doesn’t like him as much, rating him as a one-win player, with his mediocrity spread evenly between his hitting and fielding.

Tampa Adds Elliot Johnson to 40-Man
He would’ve become a minor-league free agent, otherwise. Johnson did this at Triple-A Durham this year: 481 PA, .319/.375/.475 (.383 BABIP), .382 wOBA, 111 wOBA+. And also he had 30 SB. Otherwise he looks a little but like Drew Sutton: decent bat skills, contact issues, slightly below-average infield defense.