Every year, some of the game’s finest prospects descend on Arizona for the annual six-week prospect finishing school that is the Arizona Fall League. They’re all in the same league, but for many different reasons.
Some are there to make up time lost due to injuries in the regular season. Others are there to get more reps against some of the best competition in the minor leagues. Some of the most interesting cases, however, are there to refine or change a specific aspect of their game.
Here, Baseball America outlines 10 of the most intriguing stories behind this year’s AFL assignments.
ELNIERY GARCIA, PHILLIES: Garcia was suspended for the first 80 games of the season after testing positive for Boldenone. In the AFL, he made up for the lost innings while attempting to prove that the stuff he showed before the suspension was real.
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LUIS TIANT WAS MLB'S MOST SUCCESSFUL CUBAN PITCHER
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ORGANIZATION REPORT
Outfielder Heston Kjerstad's career has been unique, to say the least.
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From the moment Thomas White stepped on a high school mound, he was viewed as the top lefthander available in the 2023 draft.
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lowa politician J.D. Scholten makes a surprising return to pro ball at age 44
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TOP 10 NL WEST
Even in high school, Bryce Eldridge could hit the ball a mile. The 6-foot-7 righthander could also touch 96 mph off the mound.
Wood Has Towering Upside- Nationals rookie James Wood also stands 6-foot-7 and also has game-changing power.
Aaron Judge and Oneil Cruz are 6-foot7 sluggers who stand out for their power in this year’s MLB Best Tools voting. Wood spent half of this season with Triple-A Rochester before making his MLB debut on July 1. While he was in the International League, he captured managers’ attention. Wood unanimously won Best Power Prospect and also claimed Most Exciting Player in a survey of league skippers. Wood hit .353/.463/.595 with 10 home runs in 52 games for Rochester. His .242 isolated slugging was the best for a player 21 or younger at Triple-A this season.
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