Culberson Continues Fall League Surge

Second baseman Charlie Culberson continued his hot start to the fall season last week as the Giants prospect extended his hitting streak and now leads the entire Arizona Fall League in batting average. Additionally, Ryan Verdugo delivered his best starting effort thus far in the AFL while Jason Stoffel has emerged as a reliable arm out of the bullpen for the Scottsdale Scorpions.

Entering play on Monday, the Scorpions, with their six former San Jose Giants, possess the best record in the AFL at 8-3 - one game ahead of Mesa for first place in their division. The Arizona Fall League season continues through November 18.

At the start of Monday's game, Culberson owned a mind-boggling .548 batting average having knocked out 17 hits in 31 at-bats. The former first round draft pick enjoyed three standout performances at the plate last week producing three hits, including a home run, on Monday, a 4-for-4, two-double output last Thursday and then a 3-for-5, 2 RBI game on Friday. Culberson has hit safely in all seven games that he's played while his two home runs are also tied for first in the league.

The other notable performance last week from a former San Jose Giant was the work of Verdugo on the mound. The hard-throwing lefty had been used almost exclusively out of the bullpen in the first three years of his professional career, but has been working in the Scottsdale starting rotation this fall. In his third start of the fall season last Saturday, Verdugo tossed three impressive innings with no runs and two hits allowed. The southpaw walked two and struck out five. Overall, he boasts a 3.38 ERA with 10 strikeouts in eight innings pitched.

Stoffel is also throwing well for the Scorpions with a 3.86 ERA over three relief appearances. The 2010 San Jose Relief Pitcher of the Year has struck out three over 4 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, Joe Paterson struggled in a brief relief outing last Tuesday yielding three runs in just 1/3 of an inning. However, the 2008 San Jose Relief Pitcher of the Year has not surrendered a run in three out of his four appearances.

Brandon Belt continues his solid output at the plate as the first baseman is hitting at a .321 clip (9-for-28) with three doubles and four RBI's. Conor Gillaspie was in a 1-for-20 slump to begin the fall season, but collected a pair of hits over five at-bats in his last game on Friday. Gillaspie is now batting .120 overall.

Three other players who suited up for the 2010 San Jose Giants began their respective Winter League seasons over the last week. Francisco Peguero has returned to his native Dominican Republic and is currently playing for the Gigantes del Cibao where he's 3-for-12 (.250) with a double and three RBI's. Jose Flores has started play in the Venezuelan Winter League and is 2-for-9 (.222) with a pair of RBI's in early-season action while Johnny Monell is in the Puerto Rican League and is 0-for-1 in his only game.