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Yet More Arizona Fall League Observations

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Jason Donald, SS, Philadelphia Phillies: Looks pretty good with the bat, as expected. I focused more on his defense. He clearly has the arm strength for shortstop, but I thought his range was very marginal, especially to his right. I think he is best off at second base. He could likely play third just fine but might not have enough power for that position. Don't see how he fits into a Phillies lineup, so either trade bait or super-utility may be his role.

Greg Halman, OF, Seattle Mariners: First time I have seen him. Tools are obvious...lanky, fast, lean, strong. He crushed a fastball for about a 440 foot homer. He also swung and missed on almost every breaking ball thrown to him. That's going to be a big problem.

Austin Jackson, OF, New York Yankees: Not as toolsy as Halman, but a sound athlete in his own right. To be honest, he didn't look to me like he's going to develop much home run power. I thought his swing was too level for that. It was just one game and I'm no expert on swing mechanics though.

Logan Morrison, 1B, Florida Marlins: This guy looked great. Very fast bat, quick, relatively short swing, works the count well. Scouts are arguing over how much home run power he will develop, if he'll be a 15-20 homer guy or a 25-30 homer guy. Given his youth and continued improvement, I am very optimistic.

Justin Smoak, 1B, Texas Rangers: He looked great too. Very mobile for his size, good swing with a slight but not extreme uppercut, excellent plate discipline. Teixeira-like outcome is quite possible.

Drew Stubbs, OF, Cincinnati Reds: He has clearly shortened up his swing since I saw him in college. I think this will help him overall, but I'm uncertain now about what his power development is going to look like. Will improved OBP and BA make up for any slippage in SLG?

Chris Valaika, SS, Cincinnati Reds: Impressive bat, swung at pitches outside the zone but still made hard contact on them and drove the ball. Did not get a good read on his defense, but the hitting looks good to me.