Arizona Fall League 4+

There are six teams in the Arizona Fall League: the Scottsdale Scorpions, Mesa Solar Sox, Salt River Rafters, Glendale Desert Dogs, Peoria Javelinas and Surprise Saguaros. These club names were picked by Major League Baseball as reflective of the Southwestern desert traditions in the state.

Each August, Major League clubs determine the players who will go to Arizona. Each Major League Baseball team sends seven top prospects to the Arizona Fall League. The games are played in six total ballparks that house MLB Spring Training, with select events in additional ballparks.

The roots of the Arizona Fall League go back three decades, when the Major Leagues wanted to create an easily accessed offseason league. With the Arizona Fall League, managers, coaches, scouts and league officials can be under direct guidance of league and club personnel in league-affiliated ballparks and premier training facilities. The AFL is designed to serve as the ‘finishing school’ of the minor leagues for players, coaches, umpires and aspiring employees.

How good are the players in the Arizona Fall League? Approximately 50 percent of all players named to the 2022 MLB All Star Game in Los Angeles are AFL alums. Twelve out of 20 players in the starting lineups for that game (starting pitchers and DH included) once played in the Arizona Fall League.