The Arizona Fall League opened the season on October 9th. The depth of prospects and talent will make for an exciting season!
The Arizona Fall League opened play on October 9. Some of the best prospects in all of the game will be in Arizona to test their skills against one another in the annual fall showcase league. This weekend will feature the Bowman Hitting Challenge, with the Fall Stars game on November 3rd, and the championship game on November 17th. We will break down all of the teams in the league this season, including the prospects you need to know!
Glendale Desert Dogs
MLB affiliations: Orioles, White Sox, Indians, Dodgers, Yankees
Dave Anderson, Manager
Rigo Beltran/Gerardo Casadiego, Pitching Coaches
Justin Viele/Charles Poe, Hitting Coaches
Pitchers (* = left-handed)
Tanner Banks*
Zack Burdi
Tanner Chleborad
Danny Dopico
Tyler Erwin*
Jay Flaa
Jordan Foley
Justin Garza
Hobie Harris
Ben Holmes*
Rob Kaminsky*
Chris Lee*
Nolan Long
Jared Robinson
Andre Scrubb
Jordan Sheffield
Dalbert Siri
Zach Thompson
Matt Wivinis
Kyle Zurak
Catchers
Martin Cervenka
Li-Jen Chu
Keibert Ruiz
Infielders
Yu Chang
Thairo Estrada
Laz Rivera
Errol Robinson
Steven Sensley
Jared Walker
Steve Wilkerson
Outfielders
Luis Alexander Basabe
Estevan Florial
Connor Marabell
Ryan McKenna
Luis Robert
Cody Thomas
Prospects to watch
One of the top guys to watch will be returning to the Arizona Fall League, as Estevan Florial works to get games in after suffering through injury issues in 2018. He is part of an incredibly-stacked outfield. Basabe and Robert are two top-10 prospects in a very loaded Chicago White Sox system, so having them both in the outfield here is going to be fun.
Outside of that, the pitching staff is not exactly going to blow anyone away with elite prospects, but former top prospect Zack Burdi will attempt to get himself on track for a likely run at a big league bullpen job in 2019.
Finally, the guy I’ll be watching closely with Glendale will be Dodgers catching prospect Keibert Ruiz, who has a host of talent, but had an off season this year. Ruiz is just 20, so he will be working on his polish and could come out of the Arizona Fall League and explode next year in the way that system-mate Will Smith used the AFL to build last season into this year.
Next, we’ll head to Mesa…