With scores like 15-12 and 11-10, most would think that a football game was being played. However, these are some of the scores that were reeled off in the second week of the Arizona Fall League (AFL). These scores are commonplace in the league as many pitchers do not go deep into games and balls fly off the bats of the never-ending top prospects in the spring training ballparks with 100 degree heat. In 11 games, the Peoria Javelinas have scored 82 runs and were involved in a 14-10 win and a 17-4 clobbering. It is then no surprise that there are thirteen hitters with batting averages over .400. Mike Stanton (Marlins) of the Mesa Solar Sox is leading the league in hitting with a .478 average in six games, with Josh Bell (Orioles) of the Phoenix Desert Dogs coming in second with a .464 average in seven games. Grant Desme (A’s) of the Desert Dogs is pacing the AFL with 7 homeruns. Desme had homered five times in a span of four games this week. The Desert Dogs have homered 21 times in the first 11 games and lead the league in hits. The offense has carried the Desert Dogs to a 7-4 record and a one-game lead in their division. The Desert Dogs, made up of players from the Baltimore Orioles, Oakland A’s, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, and Washington Nationals, are on a quest for their sixth consecutive AFL championship. Matt Angle (Orioles), another Desert Dog, has had five straight multi-hit games and is tied for the league lead with 6 stolen bases. Brandon Snyder (Orioles), also of the Desert Dogs, leads the league with 15 RBIs. Seven of those RBIs were accumulated on 10/21, when he was a triple short of hitting for the cycle (4-for-5, double, and 2 HRs).

The Surprise Rafters are also 7-4 with a one-game lead in their division. They feature three players who are hitting over .400: Bryan Anderson (Cardinals), Ike Davis (NY Mets), and Austin Romine (NYY). Davis also has six doubles, which is tied for the league lead, to go along with his over .400 batting average.

Brandon Allen (Diamondbacks) of the Scottsdale Scorpions is the only player in the league to play in all his team’s games so far (11). Allen also leads the league with 11 walks.

The Detroit Tigers farmhand Casper Wells is riding an 18-game hitting streak in the AFL dating back to 10/25/08. In that span, Wells is hitting .444 with 19 extra-base hits and 30 RBIs. He also has a 27-game on-base streak. Another Tigers farmhand and Peoria Javelinas teammate Scott Sizemore broke his ankle on Thursday and will be out for the rest of the AFL season. Sizemore is not expected to need surgery and should be ready for spring training where he’ll be competing for the starting second base job with the Tigers. Sizemore was 7-for-19, with 3 HR and 9 RBIs with the Javelinas.

Even with all of the offense, there are some pitchers keeping runs off the scoreboard. There are ten pitchers with an ERA of 0.00, though all but one are relievers who have only appeared in three or four games. The one starter with a 0.00 ERA is Danny Gutierrez (Rangers) of the Surprise Rafters. He has won his two starts, accumulating 6.2 innings pitched. Gutierrez is also holding opponents to a .091 batting average. Pretty impressive considering his start this week ended up with a 10-9 final. Gutierrez was traded from the KC Royals to the Texas Rangers in September. He was limited in High A due to shoulder problems and off-the-field issues, so the AFL will help him gain innings while impressing his new team. His teammate with the Rafters, Ian Kennedy (NYY) made two starts this week (his third overall). Kennedy leads the AFL in innings pitched (11.1) and strikeouts (13). He is another pitcher looking for more innings as he missed significant time due to an aneurysm.

On Saturday 10/24, the Peoria Saguaros’ (a struggling team) pitching staff completed the league’s first shutout of the season with a 6-0 win. The Atlanta Braves first-round draft pick in 2009 Mike Minor, making his second start of the week (and third overall), lowered his ERA to 1.17 while combining with six other pitchers (Carlton Smith, Logan Ondrusek, Brandon Gomes, Evan Englebrook, Jeff Lyman, and Craig Kimbrel) for the shutout. They combined to shutout a team (Javelinas) that was averaging 8.2 runs a game so far this season. Minor pitched three innings, allowing just 3 singles and 2 walks, with one strikeout. Also on 10/24, Joe Martinez (SF Giants) of the Scottsdale Scorpions went four shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 0.90, while only allowing two hits. He has pitched well in his three starts. Martinez missed two months early in the 2009 season after being hit in the head by a line drive in his second career big league appearance. The AFL is allowing him to gain innings that he missed due to the head injury.

UPDATE: The AFL Player of the Week award went to Grant Desme (who I wrote about above). The Pitcher of the Week went to both Danny Gutierrez (mentioned above) and  Chia-Jen Lo (Astros) of the Peoria Saguaros.