Ladies and gentlemen, it’s every prospect hound’s favorite time of year once again… that’s right, it’s time for the Arizona Fall League! 180 of the best and brightest prospects from across the upper minors gather in Arizona to duke it out for 6 weeks. The AFL is the perfect place for up and coming prospects to prove their worth by taking on some of the best competition the MiLB has to offer. In order to be eligible for the AFL, players must be on a AA or AAA roster by August 1st and cannot have more than a year of MLB service time as of August 31st. There are two exceptions: 1) each team is allowed 1 player below AA and, 2) 1 foreign player is allowed provided they do not reside in a country that participates in a winter ball league. There you have it, now let’s dive into the opening week’s top performers!
We’re going to tackle the top 3 hitters and top 3 pitchers from the week. This first week will be slightly larger than the rest since play started on a Wednesday. From here on out, we’ll go Sunday through Saturday.
Hitters
Joey Bart, C, SFG
6/14, 2B, 2 HR, .429/.600/.929
What a terrific start to the Arizona Fall League for Joey Bart. He’s coming off a very solid season between A+ and AA for the Giants where he posted a combined 128 wRC+. Bart is one of the few catcher prospects with a bat big enough to make a significant impact when he gets to the majors.
*Editor’s note – Bart smashed his 3rd HR in 6 games on 9/29, which Joe hasn’t accounted for in these stats from the first week.
Joey Bart isnt just all bat. Throwing out Geraldo Perdomo with a laser! #ProspectOne pic.twitter.com/OOB0STl6X1
— The Welsh (@IsItTheWelsh) October 2, 2019
Greg Deichmann, OF, OAK
10/28, 2B, 4 HR, .357/.441/.821
After a challenging season as a 24-year old in AA (90 wRC+), Deichmann has come out to AZ as a man on a mission and it’s showing. He’s blasted a league-high 4 homers to this point and his 23 total bases lead the AFL as well.
It’s A’s day. Again. Oakland No. 17 prospect Greg Deichmann just hit his third home run of @MLBazFallLeague play, this time a three-run homer to put Mesa ahead, 5-0, against Cañeros de Los Mochis in the first inning. @MLBPipeline pic.twitter.com/wyfNt9xr8b
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) September 26, 2019
Royce Lewis, SS, MIN
8/22, 2 2B, 3 HR, 2 SB, .364/.423/.864
Royce is another player coming off a season that may not have lived up to expectations despite a promotion to AA (94 wRC+) who has set the AFL on fire this first week and a half. He’s checking all the boxes: racking up hits, hitting for power, and swiping bags.
Make it three homers in six games for top #MNTwins prospect Royce Lewis. pic.twitter.com/tQDQqOl7GU
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) September 29, 2019
Pitchers
Forrest Whitley, RHP, HOU
9.1 IP, 14 K, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 R
For all the turbulence Whitley experienced this summer, he sure looks great so far this fall. He’s been the epitome of dominance thus far, striking out twice as many batters as he’s allowed to reach base (he hit 2 batters). This is exactly what fantasy players want to see out of Whitley after such an up and down year.
#Astros No. 2 prospect Forrest Whitley was bringing the 🔥 as he racked up eight strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings Saturday. The right-hander has totaled 14 punchouts in 9 1/3 frames in @MLBazFallLeague action. pic.twitter.com/No7h3lRaYw
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) September 29, 2019
Connor Seabold, RHP, PHI
7.0 IP, 10 K, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 R
The 23-year old Seabold put together a solid season for the Phillies across Rookie ball, A+, and AA with an ERA good enough for 9th in the org among pitchers with at least 50 IP. Connor has dazzled in his first 2 AFL appearances, allowing a single hit and walk while striking out 10.
Phillies prospect Connor Seabold leads the Arizona Fall League with 10 strikeouts … He’s allowed just one hit in his seven innings with one walk … His ceiling is probably that of a backend rotation guy, but he’s been consistently up to 93 this year and in the AFL pic.twitter.com/a2JI6mMuDq
— Mitch Rupert (@Mitch_Rupert) September 26, 2019
Glenn Otto, RHP, NYY
7.0 IP, 6 K, 1 H, 3 BB, 0 R
The 23-year old Otto had a nice season for Yankees between 2 stops at Rookie ball and A+. He notched a 2.99 FIP in 56+ innings in A+ to go along with 68 Ks. Otto parlayed that summer success into an AFL invite and, so far, 2 stellar outings against the best competition he’s seen all year.
Joe Drake covers the Oakland A's and Eastern League for Prospects1500. During the day, he can be found working in grant accounting at Dartmouth College. Joe is a lifelong baseball fan and avid fantasy baseball player of 15+ years. While he enjoys all formats, he believes that nothing beats a good dynasty league. Despite being a born and raised Mainer, Joe is a diehard Cardinals fan, but, the Red Sox are his AL team.
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Joe Drakehttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/jdrake349/
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Joe Drakehttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/jdrake349/
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Joe Drakehttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/jdrake349/
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Joe Drakehttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/jdrake349/
Geraldo Perdomo’s batting line as a 19-year old A-ball player, against much older competition, warrants mention. Deichmann’s performance is impressive, but he’s a 24-year old major-college bat and age should be considered relative to performance.
What about Alex Vesia?