This story was excerpted from MLB Pipeline's newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Since the Arizona Fall League began play in 1992, it always has featured plenty of stars. Hall of Famers Roy Halladay, Todd Helton, Derek Jeter and Mike Piazza played in the developmental circuit. So did future Cooperstown inductees such as Albert Pujols, Max Scherzer and Mike Trout and some of the game’s biggest current standouts like Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge and Francisco Lindor.

The AFL, known as baseball’s finishing school, also has sent several lesser-known names to the big leagues. Roughly two-thirds of its participants -- more than 3,000 players -- have reached the Majors.

The highlight of every Fall League season is its Fall Stars Game weekend, which includes a Home Run Derby. Those events took place last Friday and Saturday, and I wanted to highlight five standouts who don’t rank on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Prospects lists:

Caleb Durbin, INF, Yankees
Durbin has gone from NCAA Division III Washington (St. Louis) to the Braves in the 14th round of the 2021 Draft to the Yankees as part of a trade for Lucas Luetge in December 2022. He controls the strike zone while making consistent line-drive contact and has the versatility to start games at second base, third base, shortstop, left field and center field in both Triple-A and the AFL in 2024. He has excelled for Mesa and Salt River the last two seasons, setting Fall League records for steals in a game, season and career.

Naturally, Durbin swiped a bag in the Fall Stars Game, and he did a little bit of everything in the American League’s 6-5 victory. He went 2-for-3, scored one run, drove in two and drew a walk at the plate. He also made one of the better defensive plays in the showcase, diving to snare a hard grounder at third base and throwing out Geovanny Planchart (Pirates) at first base.

Garrett Martin, OF, Yankees
Martin took a circuitous route to pro ball, playing three years at McLennan (Texas) CC and one each at Oklahoma State and Austin Peay State before spending a brief stint in MLB’s Draft League and signing with the Yankees as a nondrafted free agent for $10,000 in July 2023. He stands out most with his right-handed power and has homered five times in 18 AFL games, with three of those blasts measured by Statcast -- at an average distance of 441 feet.

Martin’s pop was on full display when he won Friday’s Home Run Derby. He made the finals after finishing second in the first two rounds with 24 homers, then watched Brock Wilken (Brewers) slam nine in 90 seconds. Martin delivered four longballs in 47 seconds before taking a timeout, then finished with six in his final 43 seconds, including one at the buzzer for the win.

Samy Natera Jr., LHP, Angels
Natera posted a 6.69 ERA while injuring his shoulder during three seasons at New Mexico State, but the Angels were intrigued enough by his fastball to select him in the 17th round of the 2022 Draft. In the AFL, he has sat at 94-96 mph and touched 98 with his heater and mixed in a low-80s slider. While the leaguewide ERA stands at 5.88, he has allowed just one earned run and eight baserunners in 10 innings while fanning 13.

Natera was at it again in the Fall Stars Game, striking out the side in his lone inning of work. He caught Jonathan Long (Cubs) looking at a 95-mph fastball, did the same to Robert Hassell III (Nationals) with an 82-mph slider and got Gino Groover (Diamondbacks) to swing through another 82-mph slide piece.

Adrian Pinto, 2B/OF, Blue Jays
Signed by the Rockies for $120,000 out of Venezuela in 2019, Pinto moved to the Blue Jays in a March 2022 deal for Randal Grichuk. Leg and rib injuries have limited him to just 108 games in three seasons since the trade, but he’s a career .296 hitter in the Minors with solid speed and an approach that has yielded more walks than strikeouts.

Pinto isn’t known for his power, having gone deep just nine times in 162 Minor League games and not once in 23 AFL regular-season contests. But he muscled up in the Fall Stars Game, smoking a three-run homer off Evan Justice (Rockies) that traveled 414 feet with an exit velocity of 107 mph.

Eriq Swan, RHP, Dodgers
Swan offered some of the best arm strength, athleticism and size (6-foot-6, 240 pounds) in the 2023 college pitching class, yet his 6.54 ERA in three seasons at Middle Tennessee State along with his iffy control and command dropped him to the supplemental fourth round. He worked just 22 2/3 innings in his first full pro season while battling minor arm soreness, though he has translated his high-octane stuff into consistent strikes in Arizona.

The lone pitcher to work multiple innings in the Fall Stars Game, Swan maintained the efficiency he has shown in the AFL. He needed just 26 pitches to retire six of the eight batters he faced while working with a 96-97 mph fastball and striking out Durbin looking with an 88-mph slider.