The Arizona Fall League (AFL) consists of six teams that are composed of a total of 180 prospects (six prospects from each of the MLB's 30 teams). This year, 22 of the top 100 prospects were invited to the AFL to get more playing time before the 2015 season.
Most of the players in the Arizona Fall League are from Double-A and Triple-A teams, but one Class A player is allowed from each MLB team. The six teams - Scottsdale Scorpions, Mesa Solar Sox, Salt River Rafters, Glendale Desert Dogs, Peoria Javelinas and Surprise Saguaros - play a total of 32 games. Each team has a total of 30 players from five MLB farm systems.
The Scottsdale Scorpions consist of players from the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants; the Mesa Solar Sox are comprised of players from the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays and Washington Nationals; the Salt River Rafters have players from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros and Miami Marlins; the Glendale Desert Dogs' roster is made up of players from the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers; the Peoria Javelinas have players from the Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays; and lastly, the Surprise Saguaros are comprised of prospects from the Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.
Some notable prospects include Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (ranked No. 1 overall), Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell (No. 6 overall), Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Archie Bradley (No. 7 overall), Los Angeles Dodgers middle infielder Corey Seager (No. 16 overall), Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Josh Bell (No. 32 overall), Houston Astros pitcher Mark Appel (No. 44 overall), and Seattle Mariners infielder D.J. Pederson (No. 52 overall).
Buxton was involved in a nasty outfield collision earlier this month and the Twins have shut him down for the remainder of the minor league season. He's still expected to miss another month of action, but he has some time before the AFL begins on October 7. Addison Russell will be playing for the Mesa Solar Sox after being acquired by the Chicago Cubs earlier this year in a trade with the Oakland Athletics. Oddly enough, he could be playing with some of Oakland's prospects because the Cubs and A's both have players on the Mesa squad. It'll be interesting to see how Archie Bradley performs amongst those in the fall league because he suffered a flexor strain in his pitching elbow in April and has been on the road to recovery ever since. He was supposed to make it to the majors this year, but the injury changed the Diamondbacks' plans.
Check out more info about the Arizona Fall League on MiLB.com.
