Before they were big league All-Stars, they were the game's top prospects. Now they're being immortalized as three of the best who lived up to the hype.
That's what it means to be inducted to the Arizona Fall League Hall of Fame. Angels center fielder Michael Trout, Nationals starter Max Scherzer and Mets third baseman David Wright are the most recent Hall of Fame inductees, the Arizona Fall League announced Friday.
The Arizona Fall League is annually recognized as the most competitive prospect development league, as clubs send their best and brightest young players with the hopes that they'll develop faster against strong competition.
Trout, Scherzer and Wright all used their AFL experiences to help propel them to successful big league careers. Trout was the game's top prospect when he played for the Scottsdale Scorpions in 2011. Scherzer pitched for the Scorpions in '07 and the Phoenix Desert Dogs in '08. Wright later became one of the Mets' all-time franchise greats after his stint with the Peoria Saguaros in '03.
"The Arizona Fall League is proud of the role it played in the career development of these three great players," AFL director Steve Cobb said. "Max Scherzer has become one of the game's great starting pitchers, Mike Trout is accumulating accolades at an historic rate and David Wright will be remembered as one of the top players in New York Mets history."
Trout, Scherzer and Wright join a star-studded group of 42 players to be honored by the AFL Hall of Fame. Other inductees include Derek Jeter, Mike Piazza, Jose Pujols and Roy Halladay.