The Arizona Fall League is chock-full of young prospects looking to make their mark. Desert Diaries is your twice-weekly look at which of these up-and-comers could make a fantasy baseball splash in 2010.It looks as if there will be a changing of the guard in Baltimore. Melvin Mora, who has 1,323 hits and 158 home runs during his ten year tenure with the Orioles, has been told that his $8 million option will not be picked up. Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun says that the Orioles will look into a number of options at third base this off-season. They'll even consider Josh Bell, who's faring well in the Arizona Fall League.
By declining Mora's option, the Orioles will pay a $1 million buyout and now look to add a third baseman via trade or free agency. The Orioles also could opt to use Ty Wigginton at third until they deem Josh Bell - the prized prospect who was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in July in the George Sherrill trade - ready for the major leagues.In 46 fall at-bats, Bell is batting .326 with a .926 OPS and has six extra-base hits. He spent the 2009 regular season playing Double-A and amassed 448 at-bats hitting .295 with 20 home runs and 76 RBI. With those kind of numbers, the 23-year old could make a very smooth transition to Major League Baseball. If only fantasy baseball GM's knew when to expect him.
Bell may need a bit more minor league seasoning before his call-up to Baltimore. But, with the kind of power stroke that this kid shows and his plate discipline (he has a 10.3% walk rate in his five minor league seasons), it's easy to see that he'll be valuable to fantasy owners upon his arrival -- probably some time in early to mid-2010.
Other Fantasy News From the Arizona Fall League
•The arguments about Ike Davis and whether or not he's ready to play first base at the major league level rage on, every day it seems. It doesn't matter what side of the fence you sit, as long as Davis continues to hit like he has early in the AFL (.340 with nine extra-base hits in 50 at-bats) he'll find his way to New York in short order. Davis was also selected this week to play in the Arizona Fall League all-star game called the Rising Stars Game.
• Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus said that Stephen Strasburg hit 99 miles per hour on the radar gun 18 times, 100 MPH seven times, and 101 MPH once on Monday, throwing 68 pitches in all. Goldstein says that all of the hysteria of Strasburg's one bad outing seems to be gone. In 15.1 innings of work, Strasburg has 17 strikeouts and five walks. He's 3-and-1 with a 5.28 ERA.
• Starlin Castro is leading the Arizona Fall League with a .423 batting average and has four stolen bases to boot in 52 at-bats. Carrie Muskat of MLB.com said last month that Castro, who is only 19 years old, could be playing for the Cubs sometime in 2010. This guy should be on your Keeper League radar.
