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.
More on the Arizona Fall League:
• Complete coverage | All-AFL Team | Award winners
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:
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.
Glendale already boasted a solid roster before it jumped another level Monday with the news that Phillies No. 2 prospect Painter was joining the club. The 21-year-old right-hander instantly becomes the best pitching prospect in this year’s AFL, even if he hasn’t thrown in a game setting for two years due to elbow issues and Tommy John surgery. His fastball has been up to 99 mph in the late summer, as Philly fans need another reason for excitement. Montgomery is a rare Fall League repeater, and even after some Triple-A struggles at 22 years old, he still has plenty of thunder in his bat to do damage in the desert. Arroyo missed the entire season after suffering a torn labrum in his left shoulder in the spring, so expect him to push to make up for lost time. Dodgers No. 11 prospect Zyhir Hope could be a menace for opposing AFL clubs at just 19 years old with his above-average power and plus-plus speed as a Desert Dogs outfielder.
Eldridge will be one of the most closely followed Fall Leaguers after the 2023 16th overall pick hit 23 homers while climbing four levels in his first full season. Mets representatives Williams and Gilbert should be hungry for at-bats after missing much of the 2024 season with wrist and hamstring issues respectively, and 2022 fourth overall pick Johnson will attempt to end his second full season on a bright note. The Tigers duo of Top 10 prospects Thayron Liranzo and Josue Briceño adds heft to the Scorpions lineup, and there are some intriguing arms like Blue Jays southpaw Kendry Rojas and Pirates righty Khristian Curtis.
More from MLB Pipeline:
• Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage
Tampa Bay claims two of MLB Pipeline's Top 10 1B prospects in Isaac and Tre’ Morgan, and both are headed to the desert. They have different offensive profiles (Isaac has some of the best raw power in the AFL; Morgan is more contact-heavy), but they are very much in competition to be the future of the cold corner in St. Petersburg. Expect both to see some outfield time to expand the versatility the Rays love so much. Ballesteros gives the Solar Sox another potential plus hitter from the left side, and the A’s Top 30 group (Henry Bolte, Denzel Clarke, Daniel Susac) extends the lineup. And that’s before 2024 fourth overall pick Nick Kurtz arrives, as he’s expected to do later in the AFL season. Pitching could be light here, Mesa doesn’t have a pitching prospect ranked among his organization’s Top 30 entering the first week.
Getting Caglianone (who is expected to be exclusively a position player in the AFL) on the roster so soon after he went sixth overall to Kansas City in the Draft should keep sending fans and scouts to Surprise, and DeLauter’s return to the Fall League (he hit .299/.385/.529 with five homers and five steals in 23 games in ‘23) is more than welcome as well. The Rangers are sending the most Top 30 prospects with three, led by No. 16 Alejandro Osuna coming off his breakout age-21 season in which he went 18/17 between High-A and Double-A, and sticking with Surprise Spring Training residents, Royals No. 5 prospect Carter Jensen put up the same power-speed numbers at the same level but as a catcher instead.
Organizations: Diamondbacks, Nationals, Rockies, Twins, Yankees
Top 100 prospects: None
Total Top 30 prospects: 12
The D-backs’ contingent is one of the deepest in the Fall League, including 2023 first-rounder Tommy Troy, 2023 second-rounder Gino Groover, promising left-hander Yu-Min Lin and former Top 100 prospect Kristian Robinson. That group gives the Rafters some heft, but none of the other four organizations are sending more than a pair of their Top 30 prospects. The Twins and Yankees aren’t sending anyone ranked higher than 20th in their respective farm systems, though New York's No. 30 prospect, Rafael Flores, is coming off a career-high 21-homer season between High-A and Double-A.