It’s the day that true die-hard minor league baseball fans have been waiting for – the day that the 30 MLB teams announce who will represent their respective franchises in the prestigious Arizona Fall League (AFL), which begins play on Tuesday, October 7, 2014.

The Arizona Fall League kicks off its 2014 season on Tuesday, October 7.

Representing the Dodgers for the second year in a row is Dodgers top shortstop prospect Corey Seager, who was recently named the 2014 California League’s MVP for his remarkable first half with the Dodgers Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – this in spite of the fact that he spent the entire second half of the season with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League. Through Monday’s game Seager has a combined triple slash of .344 / .394 / .592 for an outstanding OPS of .987 between High-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double A Chattanooga. Although only one of Seager’s 19 home runs has come at the Double-A level, the 20-year-old Kannapolis, North Carolina native and brother of Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager has adjusted well to the much more competitive Southern League pitching, where he is hitting .326 with 14 doubles and one triple.

Joining Seager on the Glendale Desert Dogs roster are fellow Lookouts infielder/outfielder Darnell Sweeney, outfielder Scott Schebler and left-hander reliever Michael Thomas. Sweeney (23) and Schebler (23), who both saw playing time with the Dodgers during spring training, are hitting .285 and .283 respectively with the Lookouts. Schebler recently hit three home runs in one game and his 27 home runs on the season are tops on the team. And although Sweeney doesn’t have the power that Schebler does, he is second on the team with his 12 stolen bases.

Thomas, a 25-year-old hard-throwing left-hander, is 4-3 on the season with the Lookouts with a very impressive 2.79 ERA. He has struck out 74 while walking 41 in his 58.0 innings of work. He has also picked up three saves on the season with the Lookouts.

The 2014 season marks the 22nd for the popular AFL, the only off-season professional league held in the U.S., which makes it easily accessible for MLB front office personnel and fans alike. And though the crowds are generally on the small side, the action is every bit as exciting as you would expect from some of the top prospects in the country. As you would also expect many former AFL participants have gone on to play in the big leagues. One such AFL alum is 22-year-old highly touted Colorado Rockies left fielder Corey Dickerson who absolutely tore it up in the AFL in 2012.

Even though Colorado Rockies left fielder Corey Dickerson hit .364 in the 2012 Arizona Fall League, he will forever be remembered by Dodger fans as the final out of Clayton Kershaw’s first career no-hitter on June 18, 2014.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

In the past there have been late additions to the AFL rosters, especially pitchers, and it is quite possible that guys like Chris Anderson, Tom Windle and Lindsey Caughel may be added at a later time. That being said, there is one name that most likely will not be added to the 2014 Desert Dogs roster – 18-year-old Mexican phenom Julio Urias, who is under an extremely tight innings-limit by the Dodgers front office.

For a complete list of the 2014 AFL preliminary rosters and the schedule for the six-team league, check out the Arizona Fall League website.