Arizona Fall League rosters feature top MLB prospects

Salt River Rafters

MLB affiliate teams: Diamondbacks, Orioles, Rockies, Marlins, Brewers

Pitching – The River Rafters may not have a single player as elite as players on basically every roster out there right now. However, that does not mean that there are not guys to be interested in here. In fact, two lefties on the team are two of my favorite pitchers to watch. The Marlins’ Dillon Peters is one of the smallest starters you’ll ever watch on the mound, likely exaggerating his 5’9″ listed height, yet watching him on the mound is always entertaining as he’s an incredible competitor on the mound. Keegan Akin was drafted last year by the Orioles, and while his stuff wouldn’t make him an elite prospect nationally, he’s the type of guy who mixes well and has the mentality on the mound that I could see being a 10-year major league veteran when all is said and done.

I’m very intrigued to watch Ryan Atkinson of the Diamondbacks farm system, a 2016 draft pick out of Cincinnati, who jumped from low-A all the way to AA this season. I’m also personally intrigued to see former University of Minnesota pitcher Ben Meyer in the Marlins system after he had an excellent season.

Hitting – The guy who is likely to rank highest on the team in top 100 lists is Baltimore infielder Ryan Mountcastle, who has really exploded onto the scene this year after showing all the tools previously. Also very interesting will be a pair of prospects from the Brewers system who were very highly thought of before the 2017 season but struggled through poor performance and injury in Corey Ray and Lucas Erceg.

The Salt River team is the “smallest” of the rosters currently announced, so it could very well be that the team has a number of players added in the next few weeks. A few guys that people were hopeful to see this year were Brewers pitcher Corbin Burns and Orioles outfielder Austin Hays. While teams are typically slotted as far as what position they are to send (Orioles send two infielders and two pitchers, for instance), injuries can allow those slots to get fudged. That would allow for these other players to find their way to the AFL.

Next, we’ll look at Surprise…