The Arizona Fall League is a “extended” minor league used for teams to extra work for their prospects or otherwise want to see them perform against some better competition. Play begins today and runs through mid-November with a championship game being played on November 15th.
AFL team organization is … interesting. Each August, a “position draft” is conducted. There are six teams in the league, and each one is composed of minor league players from five major league organizations. This year, the Braves are assigned to the Peoria Javalinas along with representatives of the Indians, Cardinals, Rays, and Royals.
Each team has a 35-man roster, so each club sends 7 prospects. There are additional “Taxi Squad” members who can also take part on a limited basis.
The Roster
The Braves have furnished the following players to Peoria:
Ryne Harper. Mandatory credit: Alan W. Carpenter, TomahawkTake.com
Ryne Harper. RHP (pictured at right). I profiled him at the end of the Mississippi season. I would expect him to do well in Arizona.
Brandon Cunniff. RHP. Was also on that M-Braves team this year. Another reliever that had an outstanding year and who should also thrive in the desert.
Nate Hyatt. RHP. Most of the players in this league will be AA/AAA, but clubs may opt to send up to 2 players below those levels, and Hyatt is one of those this year. He threw 63 innings in relief for Lynchburg in 2014, with a 2.71 ERA, 3 saves, 73K, and 27 BB. He just turned 24 and was drafted in 2012 in Round 13 by Atlanta out of Appalachian State.
Aaron Northcraft. RHP. The first of the players who really need a solid Fall campaign. Northcraft actually threw a no-no while at Lynchburg, but hasn’t fared well since leaving the AA level… and that includes a horrible 2013 in the AFL, so this is actually his second stint in Arizona. Had a 6.54 ERA in 65 innings at Gwinnett this year. W-L records are not terribly meaningful in the minors, but his “0-7” nonetheless stands out. Definitely has some things to prove as control problems has plagued him.
Daniel Castro. SS. With all of the superior prospects Atlanta has for middle infielders, Castro is a bit of a forgotten man. On most teams, a AA Shortstop hitting .277 with just 5 errors is noteworthy. With the Braves, it’s really below average. Castro did hit .292 at Lynchburg this year as well. He has modest speed (9 steals, 4 triples in 2014), but needs to get on base a bit better (few walks, decent average).
Edward Salcedo. Listed as a Right Fielder. Here’s the other ‘make or break’ player. Salcedo is going to be tried in the outfield, having frankly failed at third base with terrible defense. His bat also needs work, though, as batting averages of .248, .240, .239, .212 would suggest between A ball and AAA over the past 4 seasons. He’s still just 23, but running out of time.
Kyle Wren. CF. Could be the CF of the future for Atlanta and this will be an interesting test for him after an excellent AA season. His defense is better than his offense, and the offense wasn’t lacking. He slashes the ball to all fields and runs with abandon (46 steals at 2 levels in 2014). If he can get on base enough (.350 this year), then he ought to terrorize AFL pitchers.
Peoria opens today with Kyle Zimmer (Royals’ #2 prospect) throwing against Surprise and Taijuan Walker of the Mariners. That game gets under way in roughly 2 hours as I write this.
