This week preliminary rosters for the Arizona Fall League were announced. The AFL is a prestigious league for what are typically regarded as the surest bets in the Minor Leagues. While there are some exceptions, in general the rosters for the AFL are comprised of the top prospects in the game. Exceptions include those pitchers and hitters receiving September call-ups and obviously those players making playoff rosters as well as pitchers who have approached appearance caps, innings caps, or other forms of usage limitations. Even without these players the rosters can be pretty damn impressive. Look no further than the Scottsdale Scorpions’ outfield for proof. It will feature the game’s top two prospects in Mike Trout and Bryce Harper. Whitney also happens to live a few blocks from their home yard, so I am absolutely ecstatic about the Scorps. What has me even more thrilled, however, about the Scottsdale roster is a lefty reliever named Will Latimer, a Four Corners baseball product hailing from Bayfield, CO.
Bayfield is a tiny community located immediately east of Durango and well within the gorgeous San Juan Range, which is famous for ski areas like Telluride, Purgatory, and Silverton. In recent years Bayfield has become a community where Durango’s workforce establishes residence to flee outlandish real estate costs in the Durango city limits. Will Latimer was raised in this community and ultimately graduated from Bayfield High in 2004. Latimer played his club baseball in the Farmington Connie Mack league but was never a standout talent until college. Latimer signed at Trinidad State (CO), which currently rosters former Strike Zone Cardinal Austin Rochford. While at Trinidad, Latimer saw his fastball begin to pick up pace and his slider begin to bite harder. He was selected by Boston in the 22nd round of the 2007 draft and, after missing much of 2008 and 2009 due to injury, is on the right track at the age of 25, reaching as high as Double-A this season. With a healthy ERA in the low 3’s and more than 3 K’s per BB, his stats certainly justify his AFL invitation. A quality showing for Scottsdale could land Latimer in the high minors to begin 2012, and with a three-pitch mix featuring a low-90’s fastball and a lanky 6-foot-3 build; the former BHS Wolverine has a very realistic shot at the Show.
In other Four Corners baseball news, former Piedra Vista Panther and current UNM Lobo Jake McCasland has received an invitation to the Cape Cod Baseball League. If you are a regular guest at The Sombrero, I assume you know what that means. For those of you who aren’t, The Cape is the premier amateur baseball league worldwide. Rosters are comprised of nothing but elite collegiate players fighting to climb draft boards. Jake is the first product of Farmington baseball to crack a Cape roster, and the community is absolutely ecstatic about his invitation. Jake is arguably the finest local product the town has ever produced, and, after a freshman season at UNM in which he started 15 games, Jake is ready to step back into the weekend rotation in Albuquerque as the Lobos look to build on their 2011 Mountain West title. Congratulations!
October 18, 2011
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Posted by Mike Rosenbaum
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