The Arizona Fall League begins tonight and (with Sean Dolinar’s help) I’ve assembled the scouting reports for prospects on Fall League rosters in one place over on The Board. As players are identified as Board-worthy prospects throughout the fall, or if players who are already on The Board have their scouting reports updated, there will be an indicator in the “Trend” column denoting change, so check back frequently for updates. You’ll want to reference that table a bit as I briefly preview the AFL below. Some Fall League games will be streamed on the MLB.TV app and online; you can see a schedule for that here. Here are a few key things I’ll be focused on during the next six weeks, things readers should be watching for.
The Potential Stars
This one’s fairly self-explanatory. The Fall League is pretty consistently loaded with excellent prospects, usually hitters. There are about a dozen slam-dunk Top 100 prospects in this year’s league, and many more players who over the next several weeks will make an argument to be included. Peoria and Surprise have the two strongest collections of position player prospects this year, while Salt River’s pitching staff (led by the Tigers and Braves arms) is a cut above the rest at first glance, though keep in mind that prospect-y hype does not always equal success in this league from a team win-loss standpoint.
The “Stay Hot” Club
In recent years, some playoff teams have used the Fall League as a place for rehabbers and potential injury replacements to pick up reps in a competitive environment just in case they’re needed at the big league level during the playoffs. Then-Cub Kyle Schwarber is the most prominent recent example, with Jordan Hicks and Nate Pearson being two others. While the dozens of retirees who make up most of any given Fall League crowd don’t exactly replicate a postseason playing environment, it’s a friendlier on-ramp to that kind of atmosphere than live BP on a backfield. Blue Jays lefty Ricky Tiedemann is the most notable 2023 prospect to whom this may apply. Braves pitchers Dylan Dodd and Darius Vines both logged big league innings this year and are in Arizona. Rangers 40-man righty Zak Kent, who was hurt for most of the first half and made 10 Triple-A starts toward the end of the season, will suit up for Surprise. Considering they’ve already given themselves a chance to catch lightning in a bottle with Junior Caminero, it’s even possible Rays shortstop prospect Carson Williams, who could play a big league-quality shortstop right now, might be needed if a rash of injuries occurs ahead of him in the org.
On the Fringe
I’ll be cross-referencing the RosterResource pages with the Fall League rosters throughout the play period to see if anyone is clearly entering or exiting their team’s 40-man roster bubble. Certain prospects, such as Tigers righty Wilmer Flores, are virtual locks to be put on the 40-man this offseason because of their profile and performance. Others who maybe didn’t have a great 2023 but are still Rule 5 eligible this offseason, like Diamondbacks lefty Blake Walston or Brewers righty Joseph Hernandez, will try to play well enough to either convince their parent club to add them or another team to consider them in the Rule 5 Draft. Especially as player development has improved, there are usually several older pitchers whose names I barely know until they throw in the AFL; they’re often the types who find their way into big league bullpens the following season.
