Fall league showcases the top prospects in Minor League Baseball
Rochester, Minn. – Twenty eight former Northwoods League players will be competing over the next two months in Arizona against the top players in Minor League Baseball.
There are six teams in the Arizona Fall League: the Scottsdale Scorpions, Mesa Solar Sox, Salt River Rafters, Glendale Desert Dogs, Peoria Javelinas and Surprise Saguaros. The names of the teams were picked by Major League Baseball to reflect the Southwestern desert traditions in the state.
The teams are broken into two divisions, East and West and each Major League Baseball team sends six top prospects to the Arizona Fall League. Most of the players are Double-A and Triple-A Minor League players. Each team can choose to send one player considered a Class A player.
The 2014 All-Star Game in Minnesota featured a former AFL alum in the American League's winning pitcher, Max Scherzer who pitched in the Northwoods League in La Crosse with the Loggers in 2004.
The former Northwoods League players and their AFL team are as follows:
Glendale Desert Dogs
Mike Thomas Green Bay ‘10
Nick Ramirez Rochester ‘09
Scott Schebler Green Bay ‘10
Blake Smith Alexandria ‘07
Michael Strong Rochester ‘10
Peoria Javelinas
Zach Cooper Waterloo ‘09-‘10
Louis Head Eau Claire ‘09
Sam Selman Mankato ‘10-‘11
Hunter Dozier Willmar ‘12
Jordan Smith Willmar ‘10
Salt River Rafters
Tyler Heineman Wisconsin ‘11
Chris O’Dowd La Crosse ‘10
Chad Wallach Rochester ‘12
Andrew Aplin St. Cloud ‘10
Surprise Saguaros
Nick Howard Madison ‘12
Ben Klimesh Rochester ‘11
Aaron Kurcz Alexandria ‘09
Samuel Wolff Wisconsin ‘10
Seth Mejias-Brean La Crosse ‘10
John Hicks Madison ‘09
Mesa Solar Sox
Austin House Rochester ‘11
Derek Self Madison ‘09
Nate Smith Alexandria ‘11
Tony Renda St. Cloud ‘09
Cal Towey Eau Claire ‘10
Arik Sikula Rochester ’09-‘10
Matt Grace Alexandria ‘08
Scottsdale Scorpions
Ryan O’Sullivan Eau Claire ‘08
More information on the Arizona Fall League can be found at: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/afl/
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 21-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (BOS) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com.