Article:Arizona Fall League's 17th season opens October 7th

The Arizona Fall League's seventeenth season kicks off on Tuesday, October 7th with games in Phoenix, Peoria and Scottsdale. The six team league uses major league spring training sites and runs for six weeks, with a one game championship scheduled for November 22nd. The sites are; Scottsdale, (San Francisco Giant), Mesa, (Chicago Cubs), Surprise, (Royals and Rangers), Peoria, (Mariners and Padres), and Phoenix, (Oakland A's). The respective team names, (Scorpions, Solar Sox, Saguaros, Desert Dogs, Javelinas and Rafters) were selected to reflect native Arizona plants, animals or traditions.

The league is divided into two three team divisions, with each team wearing a generic uniform with identifying major league affiation logos on the jerseys. Six major league teams are represented on each franchise, with a "position" draft held in early August to fill out the rosters, with each team having six representatives. Rules to qualify for play are simple, a player must be on a Double A roster by August first, with each team having one roster spot available for a player in A ball or lower. A player can repeat the AFL one time providing he has not as yet lost his "rookie" status, a clause which effects all league players. In 2001, the league was expanded to include foreign born players, providing an opportunity for those players who had been denied an international roster spot.

The league began play in 1992 as an option to the Caribbean and South American Winter Leagues. Major League baseball had concerns that some of their best young prospects were being sent so far away to play Winter ball that there were few financially feasible options available to monitor their progress. There had also been an increasing concern about the safety of the players and other staff members travelling to locations where political unrest had made security increasingly difficult to maintain.

The initial design was for player development, as the league progressed and the results showed the benefits, umpires and front office personnel were included. Nowadays, potential managerial candidates are sent to run the teams, scouts, umpires and front office interns are also assigned to the league as a development to their own careers.

The sucess of the league can be measured by the success of its alumni at the major league level. Over the course of league history, in only two seasons has at least one of the Rookie of the Year selections not been an AFL alum, and one of those seasons is marked with an asterisk. In 2000, Seattle's Kaz Sasaki and the Dodgers Rafael Furcal were selected as ROY winners...foreign born players were not yet eligible to play in the AFL. Another factor in measuring the league's success are the cumulative All-Star rosters. In 2008, a record 39 of the 60 rostered players were AFL alumni. And sometime around 2014, Mike Piazza will become the first AFL alum elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, he will be soon followed by Derek Jeter and, barring anything unfortunate happening in the next two seasons, Albert Pujols. And they will be far from being the only ones. Managerial alumni include three time NL Manager of the Year Dusty Baker, and two time World Series champion Terry Francona of the Boston Red Sox.

It's important to know and understand the AFL is a development league first, it is not a stats league. If a team sends a pitcher to specifically work on improving the command and control of his curveball, for example, and gets shelled in the process, the ERA and won/lost is insignificant if the curve does, in fact, improve. A proven hitter can be sent to Arizona to focus on defense, a defensive specialist can come here to work on his offense and still have a major defensive weakness to work on. In the long run, this philosophy actually allows the player to relax, knowing his buck ninety two average will be ignored if he improves his footwork and his double play turn. And as anyone who has ever played can tell you, playing relaxed is the key to playing well.

Success in Arizona doesn't always lead to success at the major league level. Two alumni of the AFL's inaugural 1992 campaign went on to be their respective league's Rookie of the Year winners. A pair of Sun City Solar Sox teammates turned the trick, with Mike Piazza winning the award in the National League in 1993. The 1994 AL ROY was Kansas City's Bob Hamelin, who would struggle big time following his award winning season and was out of baseball by age 30. Other AFL alumni who went on to win ROY and who ended up with a less than stellar ML resume were Minnesota's Marty Cordova and the Royals' Angel Berroa. Even winning the league MVP award is no sure fire ticket to major league success. Toronto's Chip Cannon, the 2006 winner, has yet to play in the big leagues and struggled this season in Triple A, hitting .231/5/30, missing most of the year with injuries. Last season's winner was outfielder Sam Fuld, his performance gave him a leg up on the competition for a job in Chicago's outfield heading into spring training, it didn't carry over, with Fuld finding himself in Double A as the season began. Overall, between Double A and Triple A, Fuld hit .264/6/52, although he did show improvement in his plate discipline, walking 58 times to 52 strikeouts.

A look at the teams and a few of their highlighted prospects;

Mesa Sola Sox:
(Braves, Cubs, Tigers, Marlins, Phillies)

The biggest name associated with the Solar Sox will not be on the field, but in the dugout. Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg will manage a roster led by the Cubs own Tyler Colvin, their first round pick in 2006. Colvin, a centerfielder, spent the 2008 season in Double A, hitting .256/14/80. Other top OF prospects are the Braves Brandon Jones and Clete Thomas of the Tigers. Jones has spent the past six weeks in Atlanta, where he's hit .252 in 38 games. Thomas is in his second stint with the Tigers this season, hitting a combined .284 in 40 games. Tigers teammate Jeff Larish, a former star at nearby Arizona State University, is making his second AFL appearance. Marlins first base prospect Logan Morrison was recently named the starter on Baseball America's Minor League All Star team. Morrison played this season in the Class A Florida State League, where he was the league batting champion and MVP. Teammates on the Double A Reading Phillies, catcher Lou Marson and shortstop Jason Donald spent the month of August playing for the US Olympic team in Beijing.

Two teams call the Peoria Sports Complex home. The Javelinas, (Reds, Brewers, Yankees, Mariners and Rays) and the Saguaros, (White Sox, Mets, Padres, Nationals and Cardinals) will ensure a game will take place everyday in Peoria. (Except Sundays, which is a league wide off day).

The Javelinas feature Brewers prospects Mat Gamel and Angel Salome. Salome, a 5'7", 200 pound catcher won the Southern League batting title with a .360 average. Third base teammate Gamel drew attention during the first half of the season as he put on a serious run at the .400 mark. A poor second half dropped his overall mark to .325. Brewers 2006 first rounder Jeremy Jeffress will appear with Peoria as well, following a suspension for marijuana possession, Jeffress returned to strikeout 115 batters in 93 innings. A pair of top flight outfield prospects stand out for the Javs as well, Cincinnati's Drew Stubbs and the Yankees Austin Jackson. Stubbs hit a combined .276 in three minor league stops with 33 stolen bases, of more importance is he would immediately be considered a Gold Glove candidate in the majors. The same can be said for Jackson. He has progressed significantly within the past year, from being named the MVP of the Hawaiian Winter League, (the baby brother of the AFL), and continuing throughout the season. Jackson hit .285/9/69 at Double A Trenton, with a solid AFL he could head into spring training a serious candidate for the Yankees CF job despite no Triple A experience. The Yankees surprised quite a few people with the late additon of Phil Hughes to the Peoria roster. Hughes struggled most of the season, going 0-4, 6.62 in New York, and 3-0, 4-79 in Scranton Wilkes-Barre. A broken rib contributed to most of his problems, and with just 14 starts for the season, the Yanks need to be sure of Hughes' health heading into the off-season.

The Saguaros feature two first round picks from the 2008 draft, the Cardinals Brett Wallace and the White Sox Gordon Beckham. Wallace, a third baseman out of Arizona State, hit .327/5/25 in 153 at bats in Low Class A, and after a promotion which saw him jump to Double A, hit .367/3/11 in 49 at bats with Springfield. Beckham signed later than did Wallace, yet managed to impress with Low Class A Kannapolis, hitting .310/3/8 in 58 AB's. Mets third base prospect Dan Murphy and Padres first baseman Kyle Blanks, a 6'6" 270 pounder who hit .325/20/107 at Double A are two other players to keep an eye on.

The four time defending AFL champion Phoenix Desert Dogs (Diamondbacks, Rockies, Twins, A's, Blue Jays) will be represented well by their hometown Oakland A's. First baseman/outfielder Sean Doolittle hit a combined .284/24/92 between A and Double AA. Two players picked up in mid-season moves, second baseman Adrian Cardenas (from Philly for Joe Blanton) and catcher Josh Donaldson (from the Cubs for Rich Harden), played well after their respective moves. Cardenas hit over .300 in his three minor league stops, Donaldson hit over .340 in 44 games following the trade. Toronto's 2007 first rounder, catcher J.P. Arencibia, hit .297/27/105 in his first full professional season, and threw out 40% of runners attempting to steal. Also back for his second season is the Blue Jays Travis Snider. Snider hit .311 in the league last season as a 19 year old, an pretty amazing accomplishment considering his age and the level of play. Snider has spent most of the second half in Toronto and has fared well.

The Scottsdale Scorpions (Red Sox, Astros, Angels, Pirates, Giants) will feature the Red Sox closers at Double A Portland and Class A Lancaster, Beau Vaughan and T.J. Large. Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo hit 33 homers in two classification stops, with righty starter Nick Green expected to anchor the pitching staff. A surprising late addition to Scottsdale's roster is Boston's Clay Buchholz. From a major league no-hitter to a minor league development league in 13 months wasn't on the radar, the truth is Buchholz didn't pitch well in Boston, (2-9, 6.75 ERA iin 15 starts). A solid second half with Pawtucket, (5-2, 2.30 ERA in 11 starts) gave some hope, the Sox probably want him to get some additonal innings just to make sure he's back on track.

The Surprise Rafters (Orioles, Indians, Royals, Rangers, Dodgers) will be managed by former Red Sox catcher Gary Allenson and will feature Baseball America's 2008 Minor League Player of the Year Matt Wieters. A 6'5", 230 pound, switchhitting catcher, Wieters hit .355/27/91 in stops in Class A and Double A, with an eye opening walk/strikeout ratio of 82/76, and he too managed to throw out over 40% of attempted basestealers. Nolan Reimold, a Wieters teammate at Double A Bowie, comes in after a .284/25/84 season which included two three homer games, one in the postseason. A pair of Cleveland corner infield prospects, Class A Kinston first baseman Beau Mills, and Double A Akron third baseman Wes Hodges, combined for  36 homers and 196 RBI.

On paper, there is a noticeable lack of top pitching talent, whereas in years past the pitching usually had the bigger names. As history has shown, while the majority are guys most have never heard of, that likely won't be the case come the end of November. Guys will either push themselves to the forefront of their organizational prospect lists, or they will play themselves off.