The Arizona Fall League (AFL) celebrates its 25th anniversary this year having been born in 1992. The league was the brainchild of 3-time MLB Executive of the Year, Roland Hemond, to be created as a place where organizations could get their top prospects experience against fellow top talent and also as a place where teams could showcase and develop their talent. Because the longest traveling distance between any of the six stadiums is 41 miles, scouts could easily observe and compare a talent pool in a close location instead of all over the country.

The crack of the bat in the “Valley of the Sun” – which includes Phoenix and the surrounding area – will be heard once again on Tuesday, October 11. The league’s 11th annual Fall Stars Game will take place on November 5 at Surprise Stadium, and the league championship game will be played on November 19 at Scottsdale Stadium.

The league itself is owned and operated by Major League Baseball and includes top young players from all of the 30 MLB teams. It is a two-division, six team league with the Mesa Solar Sox, Salt River Rafters and Scottsdale Scorpions in the East Division and the Glendale Desert Dogs, Peoria Javelinas and Surprise Saguaros in the West Division.

Dodger fans will be most interested in the Glendale Desert Dogs of the West Division which has representatives chosen by five MLB teams including The Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Washington Nationals. Each Major League team provides seven players who together fill the 35-man rosters of the six teams. Additionally, teams may elect to send taxi squad players who are only eligible on Wednesdays and Saturdays and most useful with pitchers.

MLB teams also provide managers, coaches, and trainers and the 2016 Loons pitching coach Greg Sabat is the pitching coach for the Glendale Desert Dogs.

The eligibility rules to compete in the AFL are relatively simple:

• All Triple-A and Double-A players are eligible, provided the players are on at least a Double-A level roster no later than August 1.
• One player below the Double-A level is allowed per Major League team.
• One foreign player is allowed, as long as the player does not reside in a country that participates in winter ball, as part of the Caribbean Confederation or the Australian winter league.
• No players with more than one year of credited Major League service as of August 31 are eligible, except a team may select one player picked in the most recently concluded Major League Rule 5 Draft.
• To be eligible, players on Minor League disabled lists must be activated at least 45 days before the conclusion of their respective seasons.

The preliminary rosters are packed with future stars with a total of 21 players on MLB Pipeline.com’s Top 100 Prospects list.

The minor league players selected by the Dodgers to participate in this year’s fall league are: position players Cody Bellinger, Willie Calhoun, Alex Verdugo, Tim Locastro and pitchers Chris Anderson, Ralston cash, Joe Broussard, Corey Copping.

Twenty-year-old outfielder Alex Verdugo is the youngest player on the Desert Dogs roster while right-hander Corey Copping is the one eligible player among the Dodgers group who did not play at least the Double-A level in 2016. Copping jumped from the Pioneer League Ogden Raptors to the High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on July 8. Right-hander Ralston Cash returns to the Desert Dogs for a second season having pitched for them in the fall of 2015.

Even at 20 years old, Dodgers 2015 second-round draft pick Alex Verdugo is quickly making his way through the Dodgers farm system and could very well see MLB action at some point during the 2017 season. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The Glendale contingent plays the first of their 32 game schedule on Tuesday, October 11 against the Scorpions at Scottsdale Stadium.

The AFL in its 25-year history has had a steady stream of future major league players dot the rosters of the league’s teams and has had over 1,200 players who came through the league reach Major League Baseball. Additionally, 18 former AFL managers and players have gone on to manage a major league club after participating in the fall league.

In 2001 the AFL established its own Hall of Fame and on Thursday, September 15 Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was elected as its 39th member. As a member of the Texas Rangers organization the then 21-year-old Gonzalez played for the Peoria Saguaro in 2003, the year before his major league debut.

“Adrian Gonzalez long ago established himself as the ideal first baseman and teammate,” AFL director Steve Cobb said in a release. “A remarkable model of consistency and durability since making his Major League debut in 2004, Adrian is the personification of a pro’s pro.”

Newly inducted AFL Hall of Famer Adrian Gonzalez
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Other AFL players who played for the Dodgers at some point in their careers that are enshrined in the league’s Hall of Fame include Chase Utley, Nomar Garciaparra, Mike Piazza, Shawn Green, Jimmy Rollins, Michael Young, Garrett Anderson and Carl Crawford.

Managers are also eligible for the AFL Hall of Fame and three MLB managers with a Dodger connection, – as a player or manager – are included in the hall: Dusty Baker, Mike Scioscia, Grady Little.

Gonzalez joins a group of Arizona Fall League Hall of Fame members that includes current major Leaguers like Albert Pujols, Mark Teixeira, Dustin Pedroia and Andrew McCutchen, as well as former greats like, Derek Jeter, Roy Halladay and Todd Helton. Piazza is the first alumnus of the Arizona Fall League to be inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame.

The Arizona Fall League, which is often described as a “finishing school”, begins play on October 11 giving a bevy of young Dodgers an opportunity to extend their seasons, compete against elite players and continue to work on the skill set that they had developed during the 2016 season.