We still have a few weeks left in the 2013 MLB regular season and hopefully your team is still in the hunt for glory and prizes. But just a week after the regular season ends, my favorite league of the year (and I see action in five seasonal leagues each year) will begin play.
The Arizona Fall League, AFL for short, is THE developmental league for major league baseball. Consider just a few of these numbers for the league’s 21-year history:
- More than 60% of all players appearing in the AFL have reached the major leagues
- 197 of those have been MLB All-Stars
- Eleven have been MLB MVPs
- Three Cy Young Award winners (Carpenter, Halladay, Webb)
- Three World Series MVPs (Dye, Eckstein, Jeter)
- 24 MLB Rookies of the Year
So let’s take a look at who we will see make their AFL debuts in 2013. First, for those not familiar with the league setup, there are six AFL teams whose rosters are populated by players from five major league teams. Here is the player eligibility as defined by MLB, who runs this league:
Roster size is established at 35 players per team.
Each major league organization is required to provide seven players subject to the following eligibility requirements:
• All Triple-A and Double-A players are eligible provided they are on Double-A rosters no later than August 15.
• Each organization is permitted to send two Class A Advanced-level players in addition to the current allowance of two “A-exempt” players (who are under contract as of August 15). Foreign players are allowed as long as the player is not on his native country’s primary protected player list.
• No players with more than one year active or two years total of credited major league service as of August 31 (including major league disabled list time) are eligible but a team may select one player picked in the most recently concluded Major League Rule 5 Draft.
• Each team is allotted 20 pitchers but only 15 are designated “eligible” each game day.
Here are the six AFL teams for 2013 with their home ballpark and the five MLB teams sending them players:
EAST Division
Mesa Solar Sox, playing at Hohokam Park in Mesa (Angels, Athletics, Cubs, Nationals, Tigers)
Salt River Rafters, playing at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale (Blue Jays, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Rays, Rockies)
Scottsdale Scorpions, playing at Scottsdale Stadium (Braves, Giants, Mets, Pirates, Yankees)
WEST Division
Glendale Desert Dogs, playing at Camelback Ranch (Dodgers, Marlins, Reds, Twins, White Sox)
Peoria Javelinas, playing at Surprise Stadium (Astros, Mariners, Padres, Phillies, Royals)
Surprise Saguaros, playing at Surprise Stadium (Brewers, Indians, Orioles, Rangers, Red Sox)
Because Peoria Stadium and the Mariners and Padres clubhouses are undergoing renovation, there won’t be a team playing in Peoria, so there will be two teams sharing the facilities at Surprise Stadium and complex.
Play will begin on Tuesday, October 8 and continue through Thursday, November 14 with the one-game league championship between the division winners on Saturday, November 17 at Scottsdale Stadium. That game and the Rising Stars All-Star game, which will be played on Saturday, November 2 at Surprise Stadium, will likely be televised on the MLB Network as they were last year and are must see TV for serious roto players and baseball enthusiasts – unless of course you can join us down here and see the game in person (as will all the attendees of the Arizona First Pitch Forum).
25 of MLB.com's current Top 100 Prospects will be on AFL rosters this fall, including at least two first-round players from the June draft – Chicago Cubs 3B Kris Bryant (out of San Diego State University) and Miami Marlins 3B Colin Moran (out of North Carolina University). The current number one ranked prospect, Minnesota Twins OF Byron Buxton, will be playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs.
I will post a short preview of each team in following columns in the AFL BLOG, but if you needed one additional nugget to get down here and scout your future players – two-thirds of the Cubs outfield of the future, Albert Amora and Jorge Soler, will be playing for the Mesa Solar Sox. {jcomments on}