Each fall, top prospects from Major League Baseball’s 30 teams convene in the Arizona for the Arizona Fall League in hopes of honing their skills in order to continue pursuing their Major League dreams. Six teams make up the league which kicked off action earlier today.
The AFL serves as a proving ground for these prospects as they compete with and against prospects from other organizations. Each team is made up of prospects from five teams.
This year prospects from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers organizations will be suiting up for the Glendale Desert Dogs. The other teams making up the league are the Mesa Solar Sox, Peoria Javelinas, Surprise Saguaros, Scottsdale Scorpions, and Salt River Rafters.
The Pirates have sent seven players to play in the AFL with the Desert Dogs. Topping the list is number two prospect in the Pirates minor league system, outfielder Austin Meadows. Also, joining him will be catcher Reese McGuire, infielder Adam Frazier, as well as pitchers Steven Brault, Cody Dickson, Tyler Eppler, and Brett McKinney.
Meadows, the 22nd ranked prospect in Minor Leaugue Baseball, comes to the AFL after finishing the 2015 season with the Double-A Altoona Curve. The outfielder started off the season with the Single-A Bradenton Marauders and was called up on September 2nd to Altoona where he immediately became an impact player for the team. Meadows hit .360 in the six regular season games he played for the Curve.
McGuire caught all summer for the Marauders hitting .254 in 98 games in 2015. Frazier was an integral part of an Altoona team that reached the playoffs for the first time since 2010. The shortstop hit .324 in 103 games for the Curve in 2015.
Brault came to the Pirates from the Baltimore Orioles in a trade which sent Travis Snider to Baltimore during the offseason. The south paw started the season in Bradenton and was a mid-season call-up for the Curve. He went 9-3 with a 2.00 ERA for Altooa and 4-1 with a 3.02 ERA.
Dickson went 12-7 with a 4.13 ERA for the Marauders this season appearing in 27 games for Bradenton. Eppler began the season in Bradenton going 6-1 with a 2.58 ERA before appearing in 1 game for the Curve and having a 10.13 ERA and getting the loss as well. McKinney appeared in 20 games for the Marauders this summer going 0-2 with a 3.42 ERA before moving on to Altoona where he went 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA as a reliever who appeared in 24 games for the Curve.
Current Pirates who are alumni of the AFL include Andrew McCutchen and Gregory Polanco.
The Desert Dogs kicked off the season against the Mesa Solar Soxs, winning 8-7.
Photo credit: MiLB.com
