Every fall, MLB organizations send a handful of minor leaguers to Arizona to play in the Arizona Fall League. It’s a competitive post-season league where players can get addition in-game experience, either because they are developing at a position, or they missed time with an injury, or they’re working on a new pitch, or they need more reps against better competition, etc., etc.
Today, the rosters were announced for the Arizona Fall League, which opens up October 7.
The Cubs’ contingent of minor leaguers, which will play on the Mesa Solar Sox, include a smattering of very interesting names. From MLB Pipeline:
“Cubs (Mesa): Moises Ballesteros, C/1B (No. 4/MLB No. 41); Benjamin Cowles, INF (No. 30); Grant Kipp, RHP; Jonathon Long, 1B: Shane Marshall, RHP; Aaron Perry, RHP; Vince Reilly, RHP; Luis Rujano, RHP
One of the best young hitters in the Minors, Ballesteros slashed .284/.342/.459 in Triple-A at age 20, though his catching still is a work in progress. Part of the package received from the Yankees for Mark Leiter Jr. in July, Cowles missed most of the rest of the season because an errant pitch chipped a bone in his right wrist just before the trade. He led AFL shortstops with a .956 OPS last fall.”
That is a FUN group going to the AFL this year for the Cubs. Obviously Ballesteros will get a lot of attention, and the idea there, I’m sure, is to keep getting him game action to push the bat as fast as possible (he keeps meeting every challenge) while getting him more game reps behind the plate (where his development could be even more valuable).
Jonathon Long, as we’ve discussed many times, had one of the best offensive seasons in the Cubs’ system this year, and I wonder if this placement is in contemplation that the 22-year-old corner infielder may be ready to open up the 2025 season at Triple-A Iowa. It’d be an extremely fast development trajectory for the 2023 9th rounder, but if he rakes in Arizona after doing what he did at Tennessee, it’d be hard to argue that he needs more time at Double-A.
Love, love, love to see Ben Cowles getting more game reps after the broken wrist (which immediately preceded his trade to the Cubs, and was probably why he was available after otherwise breaking out at Double-A).
The pitching group is mostly comprised of interesting fringe guys, almost exclusively from the lower-levels of the farm system. A different approach from many other years, where the AFL pitchers the Cubs sent were Rule 5 bubble guys, older reliever types, and/or pure make-up-some-innings situations. To be sure, there’s some of that stuff sprinkled in among this group, but it kinda has to me more of a flavor of a group of guys the Cubs believe COULD become legit prospects in 2025, but need another developmental step or two. Because of how tightly innings are managed for pitching prospects, and because the offensive environment in the AFL is extreme, you generally don’t see top pitching prospects sent.