Fall league showcases the top prospects in Minor League Baseball
Rochester, Minn. – Starting this week, thirty-six 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. These club names were picked by Major League Baseball as reflective of the Southwestern desert traditions in the state.
Each August, Major League clubs determine the players who will go to Arizona. Each Major League Baseball team sends seven top prospects to the Arizona Fall League. The games are played in six total ballparks that house MLB Spring Training, with select events in additional ballparks.
The roots of the Arizona Fall League go back three decades, when the Major Leagues wanted to create an easily accessed offseason league. With the Arizona Fall League, managers, coaches, scouts, and league officials can be under direct guidance of league and club personnel in league-affiliated ballparks and premier training facilities. The AFL is designed to serve as the ‘finishing school’ of the minor leagues for players, coaches, umpires and aspiring employees.
How good are the players in the Arizona Fall League? Approximately 50 percent of all players named to the 2022 MLB All Star Game in Los Angeles were AFL alums. Twelve out of 20 players in the starting lineups for that game (starting pitchers and DH included) once played in the Arizona Fall League.
The former Northwoods League players and their AFL team are as follows:
Glendale (8)
Chicago White Sox
1B Tim Elko (Fond du Lac 2019, 2020) Triple-A
Los Angeles Dodgers
3B Jake Gelof (Kalamazoo 2021) High-A
Philadelphia Phillies
2B Otto Kemp (St. Cloud 2021) Double-A
- #28 Phillies Prospect
RHP Christian McGowan (Waterloo 2020) Double-A
- #22 Phillies Prospect
San Francisco Giants
3B Charlie Szykowny (Madison 2021, Eau Claire 2022) High-A
RHP Tyler Vogel (Great Lakes 2020) High-A
St. Louis Cardinals
RHP Trent Baker (Mankato 2019) Double-A
RHP Brycen Mautz (Waterloo 2021) High-A
Mesa (6)
Chicago Cubs
RHP Vince Reilly (Mankato 2021) Low-A
RHP Sam Thoresen (Waterloo 2018) Low-A
Los Angeles Angels
3B Cole Fontenelle (Rochester 2021) Double-A
- #21 Angels Prospect
Oakland Athletics
OF Denzel Clarke (Kokomo 2019) Double-A
- #10 Athletics Prospect
Tampa Bay Rays
LHP T.J. Fondtain (Kokomo 2021) High-A
3B Mac Horvath (Rochester 2021) High-A
- #19 Rays Prospect
Peoria (9)
Atlanta Braves
C Drake Baldwin (K-Town 2020, Madison 2021) Triple-A
- #5 Braves Prospect
RHP Ryan Bourassa (Bismarck 2020-2023) High-A
LHP Hayden Harris (Wisconsin Rapids 2021) Triple-A
- #27 Braves Prospect
Miami Marlins
OF Kemp Alderman (Fond du Lac 2022) High-A
- #12 Marlins Prospect
OF Jay Beshears (Kenosha 2022) Double-A
SS Andrew Pintar (St. Cloud 2020) Double-A
- #18 Marlins Prospect
RHP Brandon White (St. Cloud 2020) Low-A
San Diego Padres
RHP Ryan Bergert (Fond du Lac 2020) Double-A
- #25 Padres Prospect
Seattle Mariners
RHP Travis Kuhn (Green Bay 2018) Double-A
RHP Jason Ruffcorn (Madison 2017) Double-A
Salt River (11)
Arizona Diamondbacks
RHP Kyle Amendt (La Crosse 2020) Triple-A
1B Gino Groover (Wisconsin 2021) High-A
- #9 Diamondbacks Prospect
SS Tommy Troy (Traverse City 2020) High-A
- #5 Diamondbacks Prospect
Colorado Rockies
RHP Gabriel Hughes (Great Lakes 2020) Double-A
- #22 Rockies Prospect
INF Skyler Messinger (Waterloo 2018) High-A
SS Ryan Ritter (Fond du Lac 2020) Double-A
- #12 Rockies Prospect
Minnesota Twins
INF Ben Ross (Wisconsin Rapids 2022) Double-A
New York Yankees
INF Caleb Durbin (Rockford 2019-2020, Fond du Lac 2021) Triple-A
OF Garrett Martin (Lakeshore 2022) High-A
Washington Nationals
LHP Dustin Saenz (Madison 2018) Double-A
RHP Luke Young (Mankato 2021, 2022) High-A
Scottsdale (2)
Pittsburgh Pirates
RHP Derek Diamond (Fond du Lac 2020) High-A
Toronto Blue Jays
1B Peyton Williams (Waterloo 2020) High-A
More information on the Arizona Fall League can be found here: Arizona Fall League
###
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 26 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, over 370 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com), ESPN+, and the Northwoods League Network. Learn more and find complete streaming schedules at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com.