The Arizona Fall League came to an end on Saturday November 15 after the Salt River Rafters defeated the Peoria Javelinas in the championship game. Who were the top prospects throughout the 31-game season? Below are HNGN's rankings.
5. Hunter Renfroe, OF, Surprise Saguaros/San Diego Padres
Renfroe helped the Saguaros to a 16-15-1 record with his impressive stat line of .284/.345/.420 to go along with six home runs and 20 RBIs. During the minor league season he batted .267/.342/.470 with 21 home runs and 75 RBIs in 129 games with Advanced Class-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio. His major league debut isn't expected to be until 2016, but based on his performance next season that could change.
4. Zach Davies, SP, Glendale Desert Dogs/Baltimore Orioles
Davies, a 21-year-old right-hander, outshined a number of notable prospects at the AFL. Although the Desert Dogs finished in fifth place out of the six teams, the Baltimore Orioles' prospect was 3-0 in seven starts (25 2/3 IP) with a 1.75 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. He spent all of 2014 at Double-A Bowie where he went 10-7 in 21 appearances (20 starts) with a 3.35 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. In the minors and the AFL he nearly averaged a strikeout per inning. If his performance this fall wasn't enough for the Orioles to consider calling him up in 2015, then I'm not sure what is.
3. Jesse Winker, OF, Surprise Saguaros/Cincinnati Reds
The No. 2 ranked prospect in the Reds organization led the AFL in batting average (.338) and OPS (.999) and added a .440 on-base percentage and a .559 slugging percentage. The 21-year-old also hit three home runs and 18 RBIs in 19 games. To put that in perspective, the outfielder batted .317/.426/.580 with 13 home runs and 49 RBIs in 53 games with Advanced Class-A Bakersfield in 2014. With Skip Schumaker in left field for the Reds, might we see Winker at some point in 2015?
2. Mark Appel, SP, Salt River Rafters/Houston Astros
Appel was the Astros' first overall pick of the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft and so far the Arizona Fall League has been his best stretch of performances. The right-hander went 3-7 with a 6.91 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in 19 games (18 starts) with Advanced Class-A Lancaster and Double-A Corpus Christi in 2014, but rebounded with a tremendous campaign on the AFL's championship team. Appel went 1-0 in seven starts (31 IP) with a 2.61 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. He gave up only 18 hits and eight walks while striking out 24 batters. If he starts hot in 2015 he might get the call to the Astros starting rotation.
1. Greg Bird, OF, Scottsdale Scorpions, New York Yankees
The 22-year-old Bird perhaps surprised everyone at this year's Arizona Fall League. According to MLB.com's prospect watch, he's ranked as the Yankees' 11th overall prospect, but his stock likely rocketed after being awarded MVP of the AFL. Bird slashed .313/.391/.556 with six home runs and 21 RBIs in 26 games. He also led the league in runs scored (21) and was behind only Winker in OPS (.947). Bird hit only 14 home runs and 43 RBIs in 102 minor league games this season in Advanced Class-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton. His stat line in the minors (.271/.376/.472) was dwarfed by his performance in his last 26 games. Oh yeah, he was also named MVP of the AFL Fall Stars Game after he went 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk. We'll see if Bird can continue his success heading into the 2015 minor league season.
