Play in the Arizona Fall League has begun again, marking its 20th anniversary. Play started on Tuesday, October 9th and the AFL season will wrap up with the league’s championship game slated for Saturday, Nov. 17th at Scottsdale Stadium. In between those dates, thirty -two games will be played by all six teams in the league. The seventh annual Rising Stars Game, a fan favorite, is scheduled for Saturday, November 3rd.

What is the Arizona Fall League and how does it function? The league consists of six teams: Mesa Solar Sox, Peoria Javelinas, Phoenix Desert Dogs, Salt River Rafters, Scottsdale Scorpions, and Surprise Saguaros. The Arizona Fall League is owned and operated by all 30 Major League baseball clubs. It may be considered a step before entry into the major leagues for many players. According to the AFL website, “The teams are broken into two divisions, East and West. Each Major League Baseball team sends six top prospects to the Arizona Fall League, 180 players in all.

The games are played in the Spring Training stadiums used by the Giants, Mariners, Padres, Cubs, A’s, Royals, Rangers, D-backs and Rockies. Each August, Major League clubs hold a position draft to determine the players who will go to Arizona. Most are Double-A and Triple-A Minor League players. Each club can opt to send one player considered a Class A player. “For Dodger fans, according to those guidelines, we are left wondering how the Dodgers could send nine players to the AFL, with two of them being Class A players. We can speculate that some MLB teams sent fewer than six players and the Dodgers were able to use some of those spaces to complete the roster.

Surprise Ballpark, the spring training home of the Rangers and Royals, is one of the ballparks utilized in the Arizona Fall League. Fall in the Valley of the Sun is unquestionably the most beautiful time of the year with absolutely beautiful weather. Dodgers pitching prospects Red Patterson, Eric Eadington and Chris Reed are seen here shagging BP flies.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

What is the purpose of the AFL? Is it just an extended season for some players, perhaps considered elite players, as a reward for their excellence? Certainly there is an element of elitism. A total of 23 players currently on MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospect list are on AFL rosters, led by No. 10 overall prospect Nick Castellanos of the Tigers, and Minor League single-season stolen-base record holder Billy Hamilton of the Reds. However, all players in the AFL cannot be considered elite at this stage of their development. Players could be there for a variety of reasons, all decided by the parent clubs. They may be working at a new position, such as Billy Hamilton converting from shortstop to the outfield. Others may be making up at bats lost during the regular season due to injury. Still others may be extending their innings pitched or are being tested to determine if they can jump a classification next season. The Dodgers may be watching Red Patterson, age 25, to see if his progress projects to MLB in the not too distant future. Red was a surprise pick by the Dodgers, both as a draftee and an AFL selection. Whatever the reason, it means all of these players are in the plans of the parent clubs.

Tigers prospect  Nick Castellanos is ranked number 10 on MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospect list. Castellanos hit a 9th inning game-winning solo home run on Thursday to help the Solar Sox beat the Surprise Saguaros 6-5.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The biggest stated objective for the AFL is to help get participants ready for the big leagues. The players on this year’s rosters know the track record of the league, that is, that many AFL alumni go on to play in the big leagues, some even in the following season. They may not be aware of any statistics that the league uses as part of its claim to success. For instance, the 2011 All-Star Game in Arizona featured 41 AFL alumni players, including both starting pitchers – Roy Halladay and Jered Weaver.

Steve Cobb, AFL executive vice president “There’s a two-pronged mission to the AFL. One is for the players to accelerate, and hopefully jump a classification. The other is for the managers and umpires to develop. For those who aspire to be Major League managers, this is a place to gain additional experience. The AFL provides employment opportunity to enhance managers’ and coaches’ skills … Dusty Baker is a good example of a field manager who had not had managerial experience until he had managed here in ’92 for some seasoning. Then he became the field manager of the Giants for a decade before joining the Cubs. He was the National League Manager of the Year three times — 1993, 1997 and 2000. “The umpires come from the Umpire Development Program, and again, this league is for their development as well.” Don Mattingly got his first managerial experience in AFL in 2010.

The players representing the Dodgers this year are: Joc Pederson, Eric Eadington, Onelki Garcia, Andres Santiago, Chris Reed, Griff Erickson, Rafael Ynoa, and Red Patterson.