2024 Arizona Fall League Preview

Colson Montgomery, 2023 Arizona Fall League. Photo credit Jordan Shapiro, @theshapshot on Twitter, and @theshapshot on Instagram

The Arizona Fall League is back for another run starting Monday, October 7th. The league first started back in 1992 and always features some of the best prospects in the game. Each organization selects 6 to 8 players to represent them. The season lasts six weeks and ends with the Arizona Fall League Championship Game on November 16th. Many notable players appeared here in past seasons such as Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Jakob Marsee was last season’s MVP and the Surprise Saguaros were the league champions.

Each AFL team is represented by 5 teams from the major leagues, broken down this way:

Glendale Desert Dogs – Dodgers, White Sox, Phillies, Reds, Cardinals
Peoria Javelinas – Mariners, Padres, Braves, Marlins, Brewers
Salt River Rafters – Diamondbacks, Rockies, Yankees, Nationals, Twins
Surprise Saguaros – Royals, Rangers, Guardians, Orioles, Astros
Scottsdale Scorpions – Giants, Pirates, Tigers, Mets, Blue Jays
Mesa Solar Sox – Cubs, A’s, Red Sox, Angels, Rays

So what good is knowing these names for fantasy league owners? Well, success in this league could lead to a promotion next year and many of the players listed below may not be rostered in deeper dynasty leagues. Any extra information that gives us an advantage over other owners in our leagues can help us win that championship, whether it’s a middle reliever for saves/holds or a speedy hitter who can steal some bases.

For more information on the players, clicking on the division will take you to our midseason top 50 list. The numbers next to the player’s name indicates his ranking on his team’s midseason top 50 list. Some of our Prospects1500 writers contributed to help me with the players to watch, which are spotlighted for each organization below.


American League East

Baltimore Orioles
Zane Barnhart, RHP
Tyler Burch, RHP
Jake Cunningham, OF
Douglas Hodo III, OF
Preston Johnson, RHP
Juan Rojas, LHP
Houston Roth, RHP
Creed Willems, C/1B – 18
Who am I keeping an eye on? Willems looked good this year after a solid 2023, giving him a chance to be the next Orioles youngster to step into the lineup as early as mid-season 2025. He may be blocked behind the plate, but has the ability to play 1B or DH also.

Boston Red Sox
Cooper Adams, RHP
Brooks Brannon, C – 45
Max Ferguson, INF
Zach Fogell, LHP
Danny Kirwin, RHP
Caden Rose, OF
Conor Steinbaugh, RHP
Tyler Uberstine, RHP
Who is @Scotty_Ballgame keeping an eye on? On paper, it doesn’t seem like a big name group of Red Sox prospects. Time will tell. The highest ranked player is catcher Brooks Brannon, our #45 Boston prospect in our midseason rankings. He’s a 2022 9th rounder with plus power who played 54 games at Single-A Salem this year. The player I’m keeping an eye on, though, is LHP Zach Fogell, a 23 year-old 2023 draftee out of UConn. After 2 games for Salem earlier this year, he was promoted to High-A Greenville and tossed 57 innings, posting a respectable 3.35 ERA. Fogell may be carving out a role for Boston’s bullpen in the future. They need it!

New York Yankees
Harrison Cohen, RHP
Caleb Durbin, INF – 17
Rafael Flores, C/1B
Jackson Fristoe, RHP
Ryan Harvey, RHP
Garrett Martin, OF
Who is @PaulWoodin1 keeping an eye on? Durbin combined to hit .275/.388/.451 with 25 doubles, 2 triples, 10 home runs, 60 RBI, 53 walks and 31 steals in 90 games between High-A Hudson Valley, Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this past season. Spending time on the injured list throughout the season, the extra bats in the AFL will be big for him. He hit .353/.456/.588 with 18 runs, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 12 RBI, 14 walks and an AFL leading 21 SB in 24 Fall games last season and was named to the AFL Fall Stars Game. I think he has a real chance of making his big league debut next season as a utility infielder with speed. Flores hit .278/.379/.495 with 31 doubles, 21 home runs and 68 RBI in 122 combined games with High-A and Double-A in 2024. Among Yankees farm hands this season, he ranked second in doubles, home runs, extra-base hits (52) and total bases (215) and third in hits, fourth in walks, and fifth in RBI. Flores was tabbed by Baseball America as the Yankees’ Minor League Players of the Year. I believe next season he will get some time in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and has a real chance to crack the Yankees roster as a back-up catcher/1st baseman/DH in 2026.

Tampa Bay Rays
Alexander Alberto, RHP
Mac Horvath, INF – 17
Derrick Edington, RHP
T.J. Fondtain, LHP
Jack Hartman, RHP
Xavier Isaac, 1B – 3
Jackson Lancaster, LHP
Tre’ Morgan, OF – 13
Who am I keeping an eye on? Isaac struggled this past season in Double-A but he has massive power and is still widely considered a Top 50 prospect or better. A good showing here could put him in the conversation for a spot on the major league Rays’ ever-changing roster.

Toronto Blue Jays
T.J. Brock, RHP – 14
Lazaro Estrada, RHP
Ryan Jennings, RHP
Johnathan Lavallee, RHP
Eddinson Paulino, INF – 23
Adrian Pinto, 2B/OF – 48
Peyton Williams, 1B
Who am I keeping an eye on? Paulino is a utility type player who has the ability to help the big league squad next year for a team that retooled this past summer. Look for him to get a lot of at-bats as the organization sees what it has in him. His power numbers dropped this season but he still has good speed and could steal a few bases if given the opportunity.

American League Central

Cleveland Guardians
Alaska Abney, RHP
Chase DeLauter, OF – 2
Dylan DeLucia, RHP
Allan Hernandez, RHP
Kody Huff, C
Zak Kent, RHP
Andrew Misiaszek, LHP
Milan Tolentino, INF
Who am I keeping an eye on? Delauter is one of the top prospects in the minor leagues.  He missed a lot of time because of injuries so I’m interested in seeing how he can do this season after dominating the AFL last year. And, of course, Alaska Abney – such a cool first name!

Chicago White Sox
Eric Adler, RHP
Andrew Dalquist, RHP
Tim Elko, 1B
DJ Gladney, OF
Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, RHP – 44
Colson Montgomery, SS – 1
Peyton Pallette, RHP – 14
Grant Taylor, RHP – 17
Michael Turner, C
Who am I keeping an eye on? Montgomery is one of the top hitting prospects in the minor leagues but he struggled earlier in the season. He picked it up as the weather got warmer and he’s an important piece in helping the White Sox get back to contention in the future.  He’s back for a second consecutive AFL.

Detroit Tigers
Josue Briceno, C/1B – 16
Rayner Castillo, RHP
Wilmer Flores, RHP – 10
Peyton Graham, SS – 29
Thayron Liranzo, C/1B – 6
Jake Miller, LHP
Eric Silva, RHP – 26
CJ Weins, RHP
Who am I keeping an eye on? Silva came over to Detroit in the Mark Canha trade after posting two straight seasons of ERAs over 5.00 for the Giants. He moved to the bullpen earlier in the year and has done much better away from starting. Could some success in the AFL give him a better chance to make Detroit’s bullpen next year?

Kansas City Royals
Luinder Avila, RHP
Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP – 1
Carter Jensen, C – 5
Brandon Johnson, RHP
Chazz Martinez, LHP
Shane Panzini, RHP
Anthony Simonelli, RHP
Brett Squires, 1B
Daniel Vazquez, SS – 29
Who is @JmahyFam keeping an eye on? Caglianone is the Royals top prospect and the only member of the 2024 draft class to appear on an AFL roster. The Royals could have a future stud on display in Arizona this fall. As exciting as he is, there is another player that I will be most interested to watch. Jensen was arguably the best offensive performer in all the Royals minor leagues this summer. The athletic catcher continued his rise through the organization making it to Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He saw his power numbers climb at the Double-A level (.247 ISO) but so too did his swing and miss (26.5% K rate and 12.5% SwStr). 170 at-bats is a small enough sample size to make drawing any conclusions risky. Given the extended look in Arizona, Jensen has the opportunity to prove that he is ready to replace Salvador Perez behind the plate as the future in Kansas City.

Minnesota Twins
Danny De Andrade, SS – 25
Kade Bragg, LHP
Jacob King, RHP
Devin Kirby, RHP
Jack Noble, RHP
Benjamin Ross, INF
Who am I keeping an eye on? De Andrade has good hitting skills but doesn’t show much in the way of power or speed. I’m interested in how he does in the AFL to see if he can tap into some power to put him on fantasy radars.

American League West

Houston Astros
Austin Deming, 3B
Jose Fleury, RHP – 17
Quincy Hamilton, OF
Joey Mancini, RHP
Collin Price, C
Alex Santos II, RHP – 48
Nic Swanson, RHP
Alejandro Torres, RHP
Who is @JMahyfam keeping an eye on? The Astros have shown the knack for turning their Dominican pitchers into significant contributors at the major league level. Could the next in line be Fleury? In 68.1 Double-A innings, he had a 3.83 ERA, did a good job of minimizing base runners (1.19 WHIP) and showed some strikeout upside (9.75 K/9). He displays a starter’s arsenal with a fastball that plays up due to good induced vertical break, a change-up with nice late fade and two different breaking pitches. With very few quality pitching prospects headed to Arizona, Fleury is one that will be worth watching. The guy that I will be rooting for is Hamilton. At 26 years old and a looming Rule 5 decision, this is likely his last chance to make an impression. He had a solid year with Triple-A Sugar Land popping 15 home runs, 56 RBI, and scoring 62 runs. While it is fun to see the top prospects play, it is an opportunity like the one Hamilton has that is what the AFL is all about.

Los Angeles Angels
Sam Bachman, RHP
Jack Dashwood. LHP
Brandon Dufault, RHP
Cole Fontenelle, 3B – 22
David Mershon, 2B – 37
Samy Natera, Jr. LHP
Kyren Paris, SS/2B
Who am I keeping an eye on? Paris has been around since 2019 and was once highly touted (he was selected to the 2023 Futures Game). He’s struggled in the majors this year but has shown great speed along with average power in the past. He’s only 22 years old and may be running out of time to show he can be a contributor in the major leagues, but a nice showing in the AFL could help him turn his career around.

Oakland Athletics
Tyler Baum, RHP – 31
Henry Bolte, OF – 10
Denzel Clarke, OF – 7
Micah Dallas, RHP
Wander Guante, RHP
Mitch Myers, RHP
Daniel Susac, C – 9
Jake Walkinshaw, RHP
Who am I keeping an eye on? Susac was the team’s 1st round pick in 2022 after a distinguished career at the University of Arizona. He had two straight solid seasons before struggling a bit in 2024. While the team is likely not a serious contender for making the postseason, if Susac has a good showing in the AFL he can put himself in contention for a potential role on the rebuilding major league team next year. He’s always had a very good hit-tool and is expected to show more power as he matures.

Seattle Mariners
Colt Emerson, SS – 2
Jordan Jackson, RHP
Jimmy Joyce, RHP – 24
Travis Kuhn, RHP
Jason Ruffcorn, RHP
Jared Sundstrom, OF – 47
Cole Young, SS – 1
Who am I keeping an eye on? Two of the organization’s top prospects are participating in the AFL in Young and Emerson, and we know their potential so I’m going to keep my eye on Ruffcorn. Who? Exactly. He’s on nobody’s radar and struggled a bit this past season, but I remember him from his time on the Phillies and he has the ability to be a solid reliever in the major leagues. He cut his walk rate almost in half from 2023 and doesn’t give up many home runs.

Texas Rangers
Max Acosta, SS – 36
Marc Church, RHP – 27
Cody Freeman, 3B – 31
Skylar Hales, RHP – 39
Leandro Lopez, RHP
Alejandro Osuna, OF – 25
Josh Stephan, RHP – 22
Avery Weems, LHP
Who am I keeping an eye on? Church was recently called up to make his major league debut after a successful minor league season where he pitched well in between injuries. A good showing in the AFL can give him an opportunity to remain in the bullpen next year to help with holds and your ratios.

National League East

Atlanta Braves
Drake Baldwin, C – 4
Ryan Bourassa, RHP
Isaac Gallegos, RHP
Landon Harper, RHP
Hayden Harris, LHP – 43
Adam Maier, RHP – 30
David McCabe, 3B/1B – 20
Who am I keeping an eye on? Harris was an undrafted free agent signing in 2022 and hasn’t put up great numbers during his time with Atlanta. He has a tendency to be wild and his fastball averages in the mid 90’s. Why do I care? Well, he’s tough to hit with a deceptive delivery and Atlanta has a strong track record of developing pitching. At 25 years old, Harris could have an opportunity to help the major league bullpen next season.

Miami Marlins
Kemp Alderman, OF – 21
Jay Beshears, SS – 47
Justin King, LHP
Patrick Monteverde, LHP – 50
Andrew Pintar, OF – 23
Justin Storm, LHP
Brandon White, RHP
Who am I keeping an eye on? The Marlins held another fire-sale this past summer and one of their gets was a solid outfielder in Pintar from Arizona. He’s always had a nice approach at the plate with good speed. While he’ll never be confused for a power hitter, there could be some pop as he continues to mature.

New York Mets
Saul Garcia, RHP
Drew Gilbert, OF – 3
Noah Hall, RHP
Jonathan Pintaro, RHP
Jawilme Ramirez, RHP
Jacob Reimer, 3B – 23
Dylan Ross, RHP
Jett Williams, OF – 1
Who am I keeping an eye on? Williams is one of the top prospects on the Mets but a wrist injury led to some missed time in 2024 and could have impacted his overall results. He’s not a power hitter but he went from 13 home runs in 2023 to zero this year and, more alarmingly, went from 45 stolen bases in 2023 to only 5 this year. Is Williams finally healthy and, if so, can he use the AFL to get his numbers back to where they were last year?

Philadelphia Phillies
Jordan Dissin, C – 30
Tristan Garnett, LHP
Otto Kemp, 3B – 42
Griff McGarry, RHP – 13
Christian McGowan, RHP – 27
Wesley Moore, LHP
Wen-Hui Pan, RHP – 20
Bryan Rincon, SS – 7
Gabriel Rincones, OF – 10
Who am I keeping an eye on? Dissin turned it on in the second half with his bat after playing major-league-ready defense behind the plate. With Marchan perpetually injured and Realmuto getting older, a strong showing the AFL can make him an option to play in the majors next season. Also, McGarry has all the talent in the world, except for command. If he can harness his control even slightly more, he could put himself in contention for a spot in the bullpen.

Washington Nationals
Matt Cronin, LHP
Michael Cuevas, RHP
Robert Hassell III, OF – 12
Max Romero, C
Dustin Saenz, LHP
Chase Solesky, RHP
Cayden Wallace, 3B – 11
Luke Young, RHP
Who am I keeping an eye on? Some of the prospect luster has been coming down for Hassell since he came over to Washington. The tools are there to be a solid major leaguer, but the results haven’t been there yet. He’s 23 years old so he definitely has time to get back on track to contribute for a rebuilding Nationals team. Can he get back on track in the AFL? This will be his THIRD Arizona Fall League in a row (2022-2024), and that’s not common.

National League Central

Chicago Cubs
Moises Ballesteros, C/1B – 3
Ben Cowles, INF – 22
Grant Kipp, RHP
Jonathon Long, 1B
Shane Marshall, RHP
Aaron Perry, RHP
Vince Reilly, RHP
Luis Rujano, RHP
Sam Thoresen, RHP
Who am I keeping an eye on? Ballesteros has always hit well, even against older competition, but showed more power in 2024, hitting 19 home runs. Even though he’s only 20 years old, he’s pretty close to the major leagues and a good showing in the AFL can help his case even more.

Cincinnati Reds
Jose Acuna, RHP
Edwin Arroyo, SS
Tyler Callihan, OF
Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 1B
Arij Fransen, RHP
Luis Mey, RHP
Connor Phillips, RHP
Carson Rudd, RHP
Who am I keeping an eye on? This was a lost season for Encarnacion-Strand, as with most of the Reds players. He struggled in 29 games before ultimately going on the IL for the rest of the season. If can show the same results in the AFL that he did in 2023, he could reclaim his status as a building block for the Reds next season. CES is one of those rare MLB players getting time in Arizona.

Milwaukee Brewers
Juan Baez, 3B/2B – 26
Ryan Birchard, RHP
Will Childers, RHP
Luis Lara, OF – 7
Mark Manfredi, LHP
Nick Merkel, RHP
Coleman Crow, RHP – 27
Who is @dgasper24 keeping an eye on? Wilken had a tough season, hitting just .199. While the power was there, he overall struggled. He missed time early in the season after being hit in the face by a pitch, which may have impacted his entire season. Crow missed the entire season recovering from TJS after being acquired in the Tyrone Taylor trade with the Mets. I’m curious to see if his stuff continues to tick up and he should be a possible option for the major leagues in 2025. Birchard is a classic Brewers JuCo arm. He missed time this year with an oblique injury but has quality stuff. He needs to get innings under his belt to continue to develop as a starter. The lefty Manfredi has put up good numbers and could move quickly through the minors as a reliever but the Brewers are also giving him chances to start.

Pittsburgh Pirates
Mike Burrows, RHP – 9
Khristian Curtis, RHP – 48
Derek Diamond, RHP
Termarr Johnson, 2B – 2
Kervin Pichardo, INF
Geovanny Planchart, C
Sammy Siani, OF – 37
Eddy Yean, RHP
Who am I keeping an eye on? Curtis was drafted in 2023 but was hurt for most of the year so he had to wait until this year to debut. The results were about average. Considering the time off, he actually didn’t look too bad with a 4.06 ERA and 81 strikeouts over 75 innings pitched. With the success that Pittsburgh has had recently in developing pitching prospects, I’m excited about seeing how he looks in Arizona.

St. Louis Cardinals
Trent Baker, RHP
Leonardo Bernal, C – 7
Nathan Church, OF – 41
Alex Cornwell, LHP
Ixan Henderson, RHP
Brycen Mautz, RHP – 26
Thomas Saggese, INF – 6
Matt Svanson, RHP
Who is @JMahyfam keeping an eye on? Bernal is a player I really like. He is a good defender, displays a solid approach at the plate and doesn’t clog the basepaths (7 SB). This season, the 20-year-old catcher posted a 120 wRC+ in High-A before receiving a late season promotion to Double-A. Sending him to Arizona, the organization will get an extended look at him against higher-level competition. Mautz was a pitcher that I was pretty high on when the Cardinals drafted the lefty back in 2022. His mid-90’s fastball has good run and his sweeping slider can be devastation to right-handed hitters. Being a college sign, I figured he would move quickly through the ranks, however, he spent all of this year in High-A and posted middling results (23.8% K rate, 1.45 WHIP, 4.86 FIP. The AFL is a very hitter friendly environment, so if Mautz can hold his own against stiff competition, he might turn some heads.

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks
Philip Abner, LHP
Kyle Amendt, RHP – 25
Gino Groover, 3B – 9
Yu-Min Lin, LHP – 5
Alfred Morillo, RHP
Tommy Troy, SS – 2
Kristian Robinson, OF – 29
Who is @blacksox96 keeping an eye on? Yu Min-Lin suffered a broken jaw this season and can use the AFL to get some more innings in. Amendt had a good 2024 including a whopping 75 strikeouts in 44 innings pitched. A strong fall could vault him into the major league bullpen for 2025.

Colorado Rockies
McCade Brown, RHP
Juan Guerrero, OF
John Justice, LHP
Skyler Messinger, INF
Michael Prosecky, LHP
Ryan Ritter, SS – 15
Carlos Torres, RHP
Who am I keeping an eye on? Since I cannot, in good conscious, trust any Rockies pitchers, I don’t usually follow them so that leaves Ritter as the one I am keeping my eye on. He’s always had a solid hit-tool and even showed some great power hitting 24 home runs in 2023 but that number fell drastically this year for Double-A Hartford. In 100 less at-bats, he only hit 7 homers in 2024. Where did the power go? Can he get it back on track in the AFL? If so, it can give up momentum into getting a shot at the major league level sometime in the next season or two.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Jake Gelof, 3B – 25
Zyhir Hope, OF – 15
Alex Makarewich, RHP
Kelvin Ramirez, RHP
Jerming Rosario, RHP
Eriq Swan, RHP – 47
Who am I keeping an eye on? Hope was obtained from the Cubs in the Michael Busch trade and has done nothing but hit during his short career. He’s only 19 but shows solid plate discipline with great power and speed potential. The Dodgers do have a great track record of developing prospects and Hope can give them hope (couldn’t resist) for another solid major league baseball player in a few years.

San Diego Padres
Ryan Bergert, RHP – 9
Leodalis De Vries, SS – 1
Luis German, RHP – 45
Harry Gustin, LHP
David Morgan, RHP – 38
Gabe Mosser, RHP
Ethan Salas, C – 2
Romeo Sanabria, 1B – 18
Who is @JmahyFam keeping an eye on? Fast moving young studs Salas and De Vries will grab all the headlines with Padres fans and rightfully so. However, it is two other prospects that have the most to prove with their time in Arizona. With a tough decision to be made in the upcoming Rule 5 draft, Bergert has another chance to make an impression.  Repeating Double-A this summer did not go as planned with a 2-10 record (in 23 starts), a 4.78 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and a 2.64 K/BB ratio. In an August 17th start, he showed just how dominant he can be when he is on his game, throwing 5 perfect innings while striking out 9. If he can put up a good showing in the hitter friendly AFL, he could prove to the Padres or another organization that he is closer to that pitcher we saw in August. With the future of first base in San Diego wide open, Sanbria could go a long way to staking his claim with a good showing in Arizona. Tearing through 3 levels in 2024, he ended the season with a slash line of .288/.396/.427/.823 to go with 11 HR, 30 2B and 78 RBI. If he can prove that there is 20+ home run pop in his bat, he could fit nicely in that stacked Padre lineup as soon as late 2024.

San Francisco Giants
Bo Davidson, OF
Bryce Eldridge, 1B – 2
Marques Johnson, RHP
William Kempner, RHP
Cale Lansville, RHP
Elijah Pleasants, RHP
Charlie Szykowny, 3B
Tyler Vogel, RHP
Who am I keeping an eye on? Davidson was an undrafted free agent signing in 2023. So far in his career, over two years and 79 games, he’s slashing .320/.430/.580 with 12 home runs and 7 steals. He has 20/20 potential with his abilities and could be a diamond in the rough find for the Giants.

Tony Bps Spina is a lifelong baseball fan hailing from the City of Brotherly Love - Philadelphia! Tony has loved baseball since 1980 and has followed the Phillies through good and bad times. Tony is married with 3 kids and works for a financial institution but has enough free time to play in 20 fantasy baseball leagues with 75% of them being Dynasty Leagues. He lives a few blocks away from Citizens Bank Park and attends many Phillies games per year in addition to their minor league teams in Lehigh Valley and Reading. He can be reached on Twitter at @TonyBps1.




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