Alex the Great

For the past couple of months I have been hearing rumors of the hitting prowess of a minor league player within the Diamondbacks AA affiliate El Paso Diablos. He is a seven year veteran of the minor leagues and was tearing up the Texas League hitting .382 while slugging 35 home runs in 53 games. With the injury to Todd Stottlemyre, the Diamondbacks have a roster spot open and decided to take a look at the young first baseman. I heard Cabrera was at Bank One Ballpark and decided to go down early to see if I could get a glimpse of his hitting ability during batting practice. Unfortunately, Cabrera took his swings before the public was allowed into the stadium. I did see him out in right field shagging fly balls. He is a huge guy with a physique similar to Mark McGwire. I did not anticipate seeing Alex in game action but in the bottom of the eighth inning, he came to the plate as a pinch hitter for Travis Lee. After fouling a ball back that nearly hit the roof, Cabrera let one fly hitting a home run in his first Major League at bat. The ball went 400 feet to left centerfield. Perhaps it wasn't just double A pitching making this guy look good.