Northwoods League alumni represent 17 of the 180 players competing in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) this season. Each year every Major League Baseball (MLB) team sends six top prospects to the AFL. The AFL season began last week and will continue until mid-November. Games are held in Arizona in six MLB teams’ spring training stadiums located in Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Surprise.
The AFL is run by Major League Baseball and gives minor league players the opportunity to accelerate in their professional baseball careers. "There’s a two-pronged mission to the AFL," says Steve Cobb, AFL executive vice president. "One is for the players to accelerate, and hopefully jump a classification. The other is for the managers and umpires to develop.”
The Northwoods League has sent 17 former players to the AFL for two years in a row. The talent developed through the Northwoods League accounts for nearly 10 percent of all the players in the AFL this year.
This season’s AFL talent includes Jordan Pacheco, La Crosse Loggers alumnus. Pacheco is coming off a strong season in the Rockies’ minor league system. With a .321 batting average, five home runs and 70 RBIs in 104 games, Pacheco was called up to Double-A where he hit .371 with one home run and 17 RBIs in 16 games.
Pacheco is joined on the Scottsdale Scorpions by Konrad Schmidt, St. Cloud River Bats alumnus. Schmidt’s .315 batting average, 11 home runs and 65 RBIs earned him a September call-up from AA to the Majors where he collected his first major league hit.
Currently, former Loggers Jordan Pacheco and Brad Holt are experiencing success in the beginning of the season. Pacheco continues his hot hitting from Double-A to the AFL as he is hitting an impressive .333 with a .467 on-base percentage. Holt, a right handed pitcher for the Mesa Solar Sox, leads the league in wins (2-0) while not allowing a run in three games. Holt recently won ‘Week 2 Player of the Week’ due to his unblemished earned run average.
Other former NWL players that are experiencing success in the AFL are Aaron Pribanic (Brainerd), Cory Harrilchak (Mankato) and Tony Sanchez (Battle Creek). Pribanic, teammate of Holt on the Solar Sox, has allowed zero earned runs through four appearances. Harrilchak, an outfielder for the Phoenix Desert Dogs, has the 4th highest batting average in the league at .424. Sanchez, who battled injuries this summer, is back on track at the plate as he is hitting .296.
The Northwoods League is a summer baseball league composed of 16 teams with top college players from across the United States. With a family-oriented atmosphere, the Northwoods League has more teams, plays more games, and draws more fans than any other summer collegiate baseball league in North America. Franchises are located in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Canada. To learn more about the league, visit www.northwoodsleague.com.
