Jay Austin, may have just ended the most significant season of his career. The 2011 Arizona Fall League. One year ago, Austin had finished the Arizona Fall League with a paltry .156 and a .425 OPS in 12 games (52 AB). Granted he was 20 at the time but that was still less than impressive. Then he started the 2011 season where he had ended 2010, in Lancaster. His numbers were about the same but growth wasn't happening as expected. Towards the end of the 2011 season, he was demoted. He was sent back to low A Lexington to finish the season. There he played his last 32 games of the season, hitting just .203. People who follow Astros minor league baseball started hearing comments appearing to indicate Austin's bat would never develop.
Then he showed back up in Arizona. What a difference a year makes. This year in 11 games (45 AB) in the Arizona Fall League, Austin hit .311. His OPS was a solid .829. His defense also appears to have been boosted this year, making no errors after making two in 2010.
I know this is a small sample size. Yet, if Austin puts up a solid 2012, we can point to the 2011 AFL as the the turning point in his career.
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