Extremely good update from the AFL over at Baseball Prospectus by Joe Sheehan. The first bit is about Tommy Hanson:

...the most impressive pitcher I saw was the Braves' Tommy Hanson. He was also the first one I saw, which ruined me a bit for the rest of my time there. Because AFL pitching prospects are usually at the tail end of a nine-month season dating back to February, it's rare for them to look completely sharp. Hanson did; he showed the best fastball I saw all trip, 91-93 with very good movement. He also had what looked like two different breaking balls: a sharp, downward-breaking slider, and something with more of a curveball look to it. His command of the latter two came and went, but it was impressive to see a 22-year-old with that many pitches. Hanson's mechanics weren't great; he didn't use his lower body as much as you'd like to see, and he short-armed the ball. I suspect some of that is November fatigue. I don't see much reason for him to not be in the majors by August.

More building evidence that Tommy Hanson will be a fixture in our rotation by the end of 2009. Sheehan had some good things to say about Kris Medlen too, at one point comparing him to another one of our pitchers:

He's also very small, looking a bit like a right-handed Mike Hampton on the mound.

Here is his take on two more Braves prospects:

Tyler Flowers can rake, and I'm not sure why he doesn't get more attention. OK, he was old for the Carolina League. The Padres would do well to make him a key part of a Jake Peavy deal with the Braves. ... Stephen Marek could join Medlen in the Braves' pen next year; he's a bigger, one-inning guy.

I posted a video of the big-bodied Marek throwing the AFL earlier today. He'll get a strong look this spring. I also like what Sheehan says about Flowers. It continues to boggle my mind as to why we haven't heard Flowers' name in the Peavy trade rumors. All in all this was a good update by BP. Click over to the article for more.

It's been a while, but there's still a bunch of guys toiling away in winter baseball. First off, major league baseball is finally giving us fans who really want to keep up with our team's players in the winter leagues a great tool -- per organizational statistics. Check out the stats here. We'll take a glance through these stats and break them down into four categories.

The Great

Tommy Hanson, P (AFL) - He did give up a run on Thursday, but that just means his ERA is 0.48. In 5 games and 18.2 innings pitched he has 30 strikeouts, only 4 walks and 6 hits allowed. If we trade this kind of talent, there will be calls for Frank Wren's head by some fans.
Tyler Flowers, C (AFL) - Hitting .352 with 7 HR, a 1.324 OPS. He still needs to watch the strikeouts, 18 SO in 15 games.
Diory Hernandez, SS (DWL) - Yes, Diory Hernandez. He's reminding me of the breakout that Gregor Blanco had last winter. A .340 average, 5 HR, a 1.138 OPS in 16 games.

The Good

Matt Young, OF (AFL) - He's enjoying another stint in the AFL by hitting .346 with a .973 OPS. He plate discipline is also encouraging with 13 walks in 7 strikeouts in 22 games.
Johnny Venters, P (HWB) - He could be emerging as a pitching prospect on a clear path to Atlanta. He has a 3.12 ERA in 26 innings pitched, and 8 BB verses 22 SO.
Stephen Marek, P (AFL) - No earned runs allowed in 9 one-inning outings. Only 5 SO keeps him from the great category.
Kris Medlen, P (AFL) - A 3.00 ERA in 15 IP, and 17 SO verses 1 BB and 12 hits -- still showing the same stuff he flashed during the regular season.

The Bad

Van Pope, 3B (AFL) - Still showing nothing and no signs of turning it around. A .250 BA and a .639 OPS with no real power. Disappointing.
Jordan Schafer, CF (MWL) - It's tough to list him here, and even though the .281 BA is okay, he's not showing any power and he's striking out way too much (23 SO in 24 G). He is showing good speed with 7 SB in 8 attempts.
Jose Ortegano, P (VWL) - Coming back from injuries during the regular season, he's struggling against tough competition. 6.57 ERA in 12.1 IP, only 6 SO.

The Awful

Kala Ka'aihue, 1B (HWB) - He's only hitting .257, and he does have 4 HR, but 34 strikeouts in 22 games!
Michael Broadway, P (HWB) - A 10.39 ERA and a .370 BAA. The big indicator here is 16 BB verses 8 SO in 13 IP, not to mention 20 hits.

It's been a week since the last winter league update (and here I thought I'd be doing these almost every day since there would be nothing else to talk about... wrong). The best performances are in the AFL where Tommy and Tyler are kicking butt. Of course, Medlen and Marek aren't doing to shabby either.

Arizona Fall League

• (10/18) T. Hanson - 4IP, 0H, 0BB, HBP, 9SO - not a misprint... nine strikeouts in four innings of near perfect ball
• (10/20) M. Young - 3-5, BB, 2B, 3B, 4RBI, 4R - a HR shy of the cycle
• (10/21) T. Flowers - 4-5, 2HR, 3R, 2RBI
• (10/22) K. Medlen - 2IP, 1H, 0R, 3SO
• (10/23) T. Flowers - 1-3, 2BB, SO, HR - tied for the AFL HR lead with 4
  
• (10/24) T. Hanson - 3IP, 0H, 2BB, 7SO - again, not a misprint, seven strikeouts
  

Hawaii Winter League

• (10/19) J. Venters - 5IP, 3H, 0R, 2BB, HBP, 5SO
• (10/19) M. Broadway - 2IP, BB, 2SO
• (10/23) K. Ka'aihue - 0-4, 3SO - in 15 games and 44 at-bats, he now has 24 strikeouts

Mexican Winter League

• (10/17) J. Schafer - 4-5, 2R, SO, SB
• (10/21) J. Schafer - 2-3, 2R, 3B, BB
• (10/24) R. Gorecki - 2-4, HR, 4RBI, 3BB

I had asked the Braves PR staff for a list of the organization's players who would be playing winter baseball, and they got back to me today with the list below; I thought I'd pass it along. I've already detailed the players who are toiling away in the AFL and Hawaii here, so the list below is just the guys who are participating in the four Caribbean Winter Leagues. We apparently have no one playing in Puerto Rico this year.
Player (Position) Winter League Team

Per the AFL press release:

The 6–6, 210-pound Hanson was nearly perfect last week, winning both his starts while allowing only one hit over 6.2 innings pitched. In his most recent start last Saturday, October 18 vs. the frontrunning 8–2 Peoria Saguaros, Hanson struck out eight of the first nine hitters.

The 22-year-old Tulsa, Oklahoma native, who has allowed just one hit in 8.2 innings overall, is riding a streak of 8.1 consecutive hitless innings. He has not allowed a hit since a one-out single by Young in the first inning of Hanson’s first start on Opening Day (October 7). His earned-run average is 0.00 and he is one of three Fall League pitchers with two wins. He owns 14 strikeouts against three walks.

Hanson, who played college baseball at Riverside (CA) Community College, was the Braves’ 22nd-round selection in the 2005 draft. After starting 2008 at Advanced-A Myrtle Beach where he was 3–1 with a 0.90 earned-run average in seven starts, Hanson was promoted to Double-A Mississippi where he was 8–4 with a 3.03 earned-run average in 18 starts. He struck out 114 batters in 98 innings while allowing only 70 hits.

Way to go! More reason NOT to trade him... even for Peavy!

The official Braves site saw fit to dote upon Tyler Flowers today instead of Hanson.

Not too much going on in the winter leagues this week. Tyler Flowers has been finding his groove at the plate in the AFL, but not behind the plate, and Tommy Hanson got the jitters out of the way. Over in Hawaii, Kala Ka'aiue has found his power stroke, and neither Jordan Schafer nor Eric Campbell got off to a good start in the first week of the Mexican League.

Arizona Fall League

• (10/13) T. Flowers, 2-3, R, RBI, BB, SO - caught stealing 1 out of 4 attempts against
  
• (10/13) T. Hanson, 2.2IP, 3BB, 4SO, HBP, Win - the three walks came in the first inning, Tommy talks about it here
• (10/14) S. Marek, 1IP, 2H, Save
• (10/16) T. Flowers, 2-4, BB, SO, 2-run HR with 2-outs to give Mesa the lead - allowed 4 stolen bases
• (10/16) V. Pope, 2-3, RBI, BB

Hawaii Winter League

• (10/12) K. Ka'aihue, 2-4, 2HR, 4RBI, 2SO, 2 Errors
• (10/12) J. Venters, 4.2IP, 2H, BB, ER, 4SO, WP, HBP, Balk
  
• (10/15) M. Broadway, 1.2IP, 2H, 2ER, SO, Balk - trouble happened in his second inning of work
• (10/17) K. Ka'aihue, 1-3, 2SO, Error

Mexican Winter League

• (10/13) E. Campbell, 2-4
• (10/13) R. Gorecki, 2-4, HR, SO
• (10/15) E. Campbell, 1-3, 2B, SO, Pickoff
• (10/16) J. Schafer, 2-4

Dominican Winter League

• (10/17) D. Hernandez, 2-3, HR, 2RBI, SO

Venzuelan Winter League

• (10/14) B. Canizares, 1-4, HR, 2SO
• (10/16) B. Canizares, 3-4, 3R, BB
• (10/16) G. Hernandez, 0-2, BB, SO, R, SB

Arizona Fall League

• (10/9) T. Flowers, DH, 0-4, 3SO - not a good AFL debut
• (10/10) T. Flowers, C, 2-4, 2B, 3B, 2R, 1RBI, SO
• (10/10) V. Pope, 2-3, BB - good AFL debut
• (10/10) D. Heath, 1.1IP, 3H, 4R, 1BB, 2SO, 2HR - horrible outing, but he got the win
• (10/10) K. Medlen, 2IP, 1BB, 1SO, 1HBP
• (10/10) S. Marek, 1IP

Hawaii Winter League

Kala Ka'aihue is striking out a bunch -- 8 games, 24 at-bats, 13 strikeouts!

• (10/8) K. Ka'aihue, 0-2, 2SO, SF-RBI
• (10/9) K. Ka'aihue, 0-2, 2SO, BB
• (10/10) M. Broadway, 1IP, 2H, 1ER, 1BB
• (10/11) K. Ka'aihue, 1-3, R, SO

Mexican Winter League

• (10/10) E. Osuna, 0.2IP, 2H, 1BB
• (10/10) J. Schafer, 2-6, 2R, RBI, SO - hit leadoff
• (10/10) E. Campbell, 0-4, R, SO, HBP - hit fifth
• (10/10) R. Gorecki, 2-5, 3R, 1RBI, 2B, BB, SO

Arizona Fall League 10/7

Every one of our pitchers on the AFL roster pitched in this game. Medlen gave up the lead, but our team (the Solar Sox) came back and won the game in the tenth inning.

• T. Hanson, 2IP, 1H, 1SO
• D. Heath, 2IP, 0H
  
• K. Medlen, 2IP, 3H, 2R, 2SO, HBP - In his second inning of work he struck out the first two batters, then a single, passed ball, a hit by pitch, and a triple and the game was tied... I guess you can get rusty in two weeks
  
• S. Marek, 1IP, 1H, 1SO

Hawaii Winter League 10/7

• K. Ka'aihue, 0-2, 2SO, HBP - at least he's back in the lineup
  
• J. Venters, 2.2IP, 5H, 3R, 1BB, 3SO, Loss

I didn't get finished with the writeup for center field last night, so we'll take a break from the prospect reviews and finish up the week on Thursday with right field, and Friday with center field. Then next week it's pitching.