The All-Time Arizona Fall League Team
By Sam Dykstra / MiLB.com
Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford (Maryvale, 2001) was inducted into the Arizona Fall League Hall of Fame on Tuesday, and Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is scheduled to join him during his own induction ceremony Wednesday. Since welcoming its first class in 2001, the AFL Hall of Fame includes 36 former players and managers who have gone from the national pastime’s unofficial finishing school to success in the Majors.
That got us thinking — if you were to take into account the 1,200-plus players who have plied their trade in the AFL since its inception in 1992 and form the best possible team, what would that look like? Consider this our attempt at an answer.
Catcher
Mike Piazza, Sun Cities, 1992
What he did in the AFL: .291, 3 HR, 23 RBI
What he did after: 12-time All-Star, 10-time Silver Slugger, 427 career home runs, .308 career average, 143 OPS+
Piazza’s unlikely climb from 62nd round pick in 1988 to Major League legend wasn’t quite complete when he suited up for Sun Cities in AFL’s inaugural season, but it was well on its way. After batting .350 with 23 homers and 90 RBIs between the Dodgers’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, he played in 21 games as a September call-up before getting some additional work in the AFL. The sport got to see him on the big stage the following year, when he won the 1993 NL Rookie of the Year award with a .318 average, 35 homers and 112 RBIs. He finished his career with 427 homers, 396 of which came as a catcher — most ever among backstops.
Runners-up: Jonathan Lucroy (Peoria, 2009), Joe Mauer (Team USA, 2003), Buster Posey (Scottsdale, 2009), Jason Varitek (Peoria, 1995, 1996)
First baseman
Albert Pujols, Scottsdale, 2000
What he did in the AFL: 28 G (23 at third, three at first base, two at DH), .323/.389/.527, 4 HR, 1 3B, 5 2B, 21 RBI, 3 SB
What he’s done since: three-time MVP, nine-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glover, six-time Silver Slugger, 520 career home runs, two-time World Series champion
Drafted by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 Draft, Pujols spent only one season in the Minors. Playing almost exclusively at third base, the then-20-year-old slugger slashed .314/.378/.543 with 19 homers and 96 RBIs across three levels in 2000 and was sent to the Fall League to see if he could handle more polished pitching. He passed with flying colors and hasn’t returned to the Minors since. He won the 2001 NL Rookie of the Year award, moved to first base full-time in 2004 and finished in the top five for MVP voting in nine of his first 10 seasons. His numbers have slipped since he inked a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Angels before the 2012 season, but Pujols has undoubtedly been the game’s premier right-handed hitter since the turn of the millennium.
Runners-up: Todd Helton (Peoria, 1996), Joey Votto (Mesa, 2005), Jason Giambi (Peoria, 1994), Paul Konerko (Sun Cities, 1996)
Second baseman
Chase Utley, Grand Canyon, 2002
What he did in the AFL: 34 G (29 at second base, five at DH), .308/.354/.462, 4 HR, 1 3B, 6 2B, 23 RBI, 3 SB
What he’s done since: six-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, .285/.370/.488 career line, 2008 World Series champion
You could make the case that 2008 AL MVP and two-time World Series champ Pedroia should be here instead, but the nod goes to Utley, who was more valuable at his peak (7.9 fWAR in both 2008 and 2009) than the Red Sox second baseman (7.7 in 2011). Utley spent his first full season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (.263/.352/.461) in 2002 and moved to Grand Canyon in the AFL, where he showed the impressive hitting ability that has defined his Major League career. He made his Major League debut in 2003 and became a breakout star two seasons later. From 2005–09, the left-handed slugger had a .301/.388/.535 line with 146 home runs.
Runner-up: Dustin Pedroia (Scottsdale, 2004)
Shortstop
Derek Jeter, Chandler, 1994
What he did in the AFL: 16 G (all at shortstop), .278/.382/.370, 0 HR, 1 3B, 9 2B, 9 RBI, 2 SB
What he’s done since: 3,465 career hits, 14-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glover, five-time Silver Slugger, five-time World Series champ
There’s nothing we can write here that hasn’t been written ad nauseam the past year, so we’ll focus instead on Jeter’s 1994. It was then that the 20-year-old shortstop had started to produce in a big way. He set career highs in all three slash-line categories (.344/.410/.463) to go with five homers, 68 RBIs and 50 steals across three levels that season. He also made strides defensively at short, cutting down his error total from 56 (with an .889 fielding percentage) the previous season at Class A Greensboro to 25 (.959) in 1994. The Yankees thought Jeter could take the starting shortstop gig at the start of 1995 and sent him to the AFL the previous fall. He performed admirably but was forced to leave early due to a shoulder injury. It was worrisome enough that the Yankees signed Tony Fernandez to a two-year contract. Fernandez batted .245 in 108 games in 1995 and missed all of 1996 due to an elbow injury. Jeter made his Major League debut on May 29, 1995, and well, you know the rest.
Runner-up: Nomar Garciaparra (Scottsdale, 1994)
Third baseman
David Wright, Peoria, 2003
What he did in the AFL: 26 G (all at third base), .341/.427/.489, 2 HR, 7 2B, 15 RBI, 4 SB
What he’s done since: seven-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glover, two-time Silver Slugger
The 38th overall pick in the 2001 Draft, Wright was ranked as the №75 prospect in the game by Baseball America entering his age-20 season with the Mets in 2003. He did little to hurt that reputation at Class A Advanced St. Lucie, where he slashed .270/.369/.459 with 15 homers and 39 doubles and then improved his stock during the corresponding Fall League campaign. He was up to №21 in BA’s pre-2004 prospect rankings, and he made the Majors later that year. Since then, Wright has been arguably the premier third baseman in the game during the latter half of the last decade. Despite an off year in 2014, the Mets’ third baseman, who is signed through 2020, remains a cornerstone of the franchise.
Runners-up: Anthony Rendon (Salt River, 2012), Kevin Youkilis (Scottsdale, 2002), Josh Donaldson (Phoenix, 2008)
Outfielders
Mike Trout, Scottsdale, 2011
What he did in the AFL: 25 G, (15 in center field, nine in left, one at DH), .245/.279/.321, 1 HR, 5 2B, 5 RBI, 3 SB
What he’s done since: 2012 AL Rookie of the Year, three-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, two-time AL MVP runner-up, (2014 AL MVP?), three straight seasons with an fWAR above 7.8
In 2011, Trout spent most of the season at Double-A Arkansas, where he batted .326 with a .958 OPS as a 19-year-old, and got his first call to the Majors in early July. Results were tougher to come by there (.220 average in 40 games), and he was sent to the AFL to try to end the year on a higher note. (Coincidentally, he was teammates with Nationals phenom Bryce Harper in Scottsdale that autumn.) Trout, however, was reportedly ill for part of the Fall League and couldn’t quite get it going there either. He lasted only 20 games at Triple-A Salt Lake the following spring, during which he batted .403 with a 1.091 OPS, and found MVP-esque form with the Angels that summer. Trout now has his hat in the ring for the oft-debated title of “face of baseball” now.
Giancarlo (Mike) Stanton, Mesa, 2009
What he did in the AFL: 6 G (five in right field, one at DH), .478/.538/.609, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 SB
What he’s done since: two-time All-Star, 154 career home runs in five seasons, led NL in homers (37) and slugging percentage (.555) in 2014
Before there was Kris Bryant and Joey Gallo putting up ridiculous power numbers in the Minors, there was Stanton. A Marlins second-rounder from 2007, the right-handed slugger connected on 39 dingers and had a .993 OPS as an 18-year-old in his first full season at Class A Greensboro in 2008. His numbers dropped some (.842 OPS) at Class A Advanced and Double-A in 2009, but he still hit 28 homers and the Marlins felt comfortable sending their top prospect to the AFL that fall. He lasted only six games there before a sore back cut his season short. Still, Stanton went 11-for-23 and was showing what Major Leaguers have since come to know — he was the real deal. After starting 2010 in Jacksonville, he smacked 22 homers for the Fish at age 20. Stanton, who will turn 25 on Saturday, has become the game’s power measuring stick, and given what he’s shown so far, that title should stick for much of the next decade.
Ryan Braun, Scottsdale, 2006
What he did in the AFL: 25 G (16 at third base, nine at DH), .326/.396/.641, 6 HR, 1 3B, 9 2B, 25 RBI, 4 SB
What he’s done since: 2011 NL MVP, five-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, 2007 NL Rookie of the Year
Braun was taken with the fifth overall pick in 2005 and didn’t need long to shoot up the Milwaukee system. A year later, the organization sent him to the AFL after he clubbed 22 homers and put up an .847 OPS between Class A Advanced and Double-A. Braun, then a third baseman, showed off even more power in the prospect showcase. His nine doubles were tied for most in the league, his .641 slugging percentage ranked second and his 1.038 OPS, third. The Brewers didn’t keep Braun in Triple-A for long, and months after dominating in Arizona, he hit .324 with 34 homers and 97 RBIs for the Brewers en route to the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year award. Performance-enhancing drug suspensions aside, Braun’s peak was better than those you’ll find below.
Runners-up: Josh Hamilton (Peoria, 2001), Jacoby Ellsbury (Peoria, 2006), Torii Hunter (Phoenix, 1998), Carl Crawford (Peoria, 2001), Johnny Damon (Sun Cities, 1995), Adam Jones (Peoria, 2005), Matt Holliday (Mesa 2002/2003)
Starting pitcher
Roy Halladay, Grand Canyon, 1998
What he did in the AFL: 7 G (all starts), 4–0, 34 IP, 34 H, 8 R, 7 ER (1.85 ERA), 8 BB, 25 K
What he did after: two-time Cy Young winner, eight-time All-Star, 203 career wins, 3.38 career ERA, perfect game (May 29, 2010), NLDS no-hitter (Oct. 6, 2010)
Halladay was the 17th overall pick in the 1995 Draft and progressed nicely through the Blue Jays system before making his Major League debut in late 1998. Toronto sent their prized right-hander to the Fall League that autumn, and he again found success there. However, this wasn’t exactly the Halladay history came to know. In 2000, he had posted a 10.64 ERA in 19 appearances for the Jays, and they sent him to Class A Advanced Dunedin to work on his delivery, specifically dropping his arm angle, in 2001. The results came quickly. In 2002, he went 19–7 with a 2.93 ERA, and in 2003, he became the first AFL alum to win a Cy Young Award, when he went 22–7 with a 3.25 ERA while throwing a Majors-best 266 innings. The right-hander won another Cy Young in 2010 with the Phillies before shoulder injuries ended his career prior to the 2014 season.
Runner-up: Chris Carpenter (Phoenix, 1996)
Reliever
Aroldis Chapman, Phoenix, 2011
What he did in the AFL: 2 G (both in relief), 0–0, 2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
What he’s done since: Three straight seasons with 36 or more saves, three-time All-Star, 15.3 career K/9 in 259 appearances
A year after the Reds signed the fireballing left-hander out of Cuba, he posted a 3.60 ERA with 71 strikeouts and 41 walks in 50 innings out of the bullpen in 2011. Cincinnati decided they wanted to give him a shot at becoming a starter, so they moved him to the AFL to stretch him out with plans for the Puerto Rico Winter League to follow. The move backfired when Chapman developed shoulder soreness and had to be shut down after only two appearances. He became the Reds closer in 2012 and has 112 saves since with a 2.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 16.2 K/9.
Runners-up: Brad Lidge (Maryvale, 2000), Troy Percival (Scottsdale, 1992)
Manager
Terry Francona
What he did in the AFL: 1992 Grand Canyon coach, 1994 Scottsdale manager
What he’s done since: two-time (2004, 2007) World Series champion, 1206–1062 (.532) career record, 28–18 record in postseason, 2013 AL Manager of the Year
Francona’s playing days were over by 1990 and soon after, he became a coach in the White Sox system. By 1994, he was at Double-A Birmingham at the same time as NBA legend Michael Jordan. The two paired up again in Scottsdale that fall on a team that also featured future six-time All-Star Nomar Garciaparra in the same year the Red Sox took him with the 12th overall pick. By 1997, he had became a first-time Major League skipper for the Phillies. By 2007, he was a two-time World Series champion with the Red Sox. He’s currently managing the Indians, whom he has led to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2007–08.
Runner-up: Dusty Baker (Scottsdale, 1992)
