The Arizona Fall League is the place to catch the game’s most promising prospects from all 30 organizations in one place, with elite players with varying degrees of Minor League experience at various levels competing on six teams. It’s a thrilling time of year for anybody who enjoys keeping an eye on the future of baseball.
The perennial high point of the circuit — the Fall Stars Game — is a showcase for the cream of the prospect crop, bringing the AFL’s top performers and most highly regarded talents together in one matchup. This year’s edition, the 16th annual, is set to get underway on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET/2 p.m. MST on Sunday at Sloan Park in Mesa.
The Fall Stars Game will air live on MLB Network and stream live on MLB.com (including atop this story), with Robert Flores, Dan O’Dowd and Jim Callis on the call. If there is a Game 7 of the World Series on Sunday, the Fall Stars Game will not be broadcast on MLB Network and will instead only stream on MLB.com.
Previous years’ versions of the Fall Stars Game helped launch the likes of Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. onto bigger stages.
In fact, the World Series — the biggest stage there is — features numerous former Fall Stars Game competitors. The Phillies’ Bryson Stott was a Fall Stars standout just last year. Bryce Harper plated a run in the game in 2011, Brandon Marsh and Alec Bohm were key cogs in the AFL East victory in 2019. The Astros’ Kyle Tucker reached in both his plate appearances in 2017.
For the first time since 2008, the Fall Stars Game will break with the East Division vs. West Division format to pit a team of American League prospects against a team of National League prospects. Mickey Storey, a manager in the Houston organization who’s spending the autumn at the helm of the AFL’s Surprise Saguaros, is skipper of the AL team. Reid Brignac, who managed the Mets’ Double-A affiliate this year and has been at the helm for the Peoria Javelinas in the Fall League, is calling the shots for the NL.
Right-handed Orioles prospect Noah Denoyer will make the start for the AL. The NL counters with No. 24 Cardinals prospect Connor Thomas, a lefty.
In terms of rankings, the senior circuit decidedly has the upper hand, boasting a whopping 11 players on its roster who are among MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects. The Yankees’ Jasson Domínguez (No. 39) is the lone Top 100 representative on the AL side.
Rankings, however, don’t make much difference when the ball is in play and there’s no denying that both of these teams are loaded with players capable of making a huge impact. Any one of them could prove the brightest star on Sunday and, before long, in the Majors.