Our experts rank 2024 Arizona Fall League rosters.
There is a ton that goes into constructing an Arizona Fall League roster.
Each AFL club receives prospects from five separate organizations, all with different needs and priorities. Some want their best prospects to spend time in the desert. Others primarily want formerly injured players to make up for lost at-bats and innings. And some are out to get longer looks at players headed for Rule 5 eligibility in the offseason. With those and many other considerations, you still have to fill out a roster balanced between the nine positions on the field and ample depth behind them.
After all that movement, there are always plenty of reasons to get excited everywhere across the Valley of the Sun, but even so, some AFL rosters come looking brighter than others. Below is a ranking of the most loaded Fall League rosters as the circuit gets rolling this week:Organizations: Braves, Brewers, Mariners, Marlins, Padres
Top 100 prospects: Ethan Salas, C, Padres (No. 19); Colt Emerson, SS, Mariners (No. 27); Leodalis De Vries, SS, Padres (No. 28); Cole Young, SS/2B, Mariners (No. 38)
Total Top 30 prospects: 20
You want the most loaded group in terms of Top 30 prospects? Check. You want the joint-most Top 100 prospects on a single roster? Check. You want those Top 100 prospects playing premium positions? Check, check, check. The Mariners and Padres — Peoria’s two typical talent pools — bring the big names above, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Javelinas specifically balance the shortstop position. Salas, meanwhile, is looking to bounce back from an uneven age-18 campaign at High-A, though he was showing signs of a turnaround from August onward. Drake Baldwin (Braves) and Brock Wilken (Brewers) bring plenty of power to the table as well, and this is one of the deepest pitching staffs in the Fall League, with seven arms ranked in their club’s Top 30s. In fact, none of Peoria’s five parent clubs sent fewer than three of their Top 30 prospects, highlighting just how deep the Javs will be in the coming weeks.
