Former Rafter Nolan Blackwood Taking Part in the 2017 Arizona Fall League
Fall league showcases the top prospects in Minor League Baseball

Rochester, Minn. – Starting next week, twenty-eight former Northwoods League players will be competing over the next two months in Arizona against the top players in Minor League Baseball. Nearly 60 percent of AFL players will at some point make a Major League roster.

There are six teams in the Arizona Fall League: Scottsdale Scorpions, Mesa Solar Sox, Salt River Rafters, Glendale Desert Dogs, Peoria Javelinas and the 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 former Northwoods League players and their AFL team are as follows:

Glendale Desert Dogs

Seby Zavala Kalamazoo ’14

Kevin Kramer La Crosse ’12

Matt Beaty Alexandria’12, Green Bay ’14

Ka’ai Tom Wisconsin ’14

Peoria Javelinas

Bobby Poyner Madison ’12

Daniel Young Wisconsin ’13,  Kenosha ’14

Eric Fillia Kenosha ’15

Jared James Thunder Bay ’15

Mesa Solar Sox

Dakota Bacus Waterloo ’11

Nolan Blackwood Wisconsin Rapids ’14

Alec Mills Madison ’12

Jake Stinnett Willmar ’11

Taylor Gushue Madison ’12

Mick Tanielu St.Cloud ’12

Jason Vosler Thunder Bay ’13

Cam Gibson Battle Creek ’13

Scottsdale Scorpions

Tim Peterson Rochester/La Crosse ’11

D.J. Snelton Rochester ’11-’12

Matt Thaiss Madison ’14

Kevin Kaczmarski Waterloo ’12,’14

Troy Montgomery Kalamazoo ’14

More information on the Arizona Fall League can be found here: Arizona Fall League

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The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, 180 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (LAD) and Lucas Duda (TBR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.raftersbaseball.comor download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rafters as your favorite team.