Mayo: Buxton, Cubs quartet highlight 2013 AFL rosters
From Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com on August 27, 2013:
While the seasons of the vast majority of Minor League players will end shortly, a group of advanced and talented players knows it will get the chance to head to Arizona to play about 30 more games this fall.
The Arizona Fall League released preliminary rosters for the 2013 season on Tuesday, and the rosters of the six clubs are absolutely stocked with premium talent. A total of 25 players listed among MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects will head to the desert for the six-week league that has established itself as the finishing school for the game’s best prospects since its inception in 1992.
The list is headlined by Twins outfielder Byron Buxton, the No. 1 prospect in the game. The No. 2 pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft has had a tremendous first full season, earning a promotion to the Class A Advanced Florida State League and playing in the Futures Game.
“I think we felt like he’s shown he’s ready from a skill perspective,” Minnesota farm director Brad Steil said. “As mature as he is, I think he can go out there and handle being in that type of environment. We wanted him to get the opportunity to face a little bit better pitching before the end of the season, so I think it was a good fit.”
Read the full article here: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130827&content_id=58609448&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb
Related link: Details will be announced soon about the 2013 SABR Arizona Fall League Conference, Oct. 31-Nov. 2; visit SABR.org/AFL for more.
Originally published: August 28, 2013. Last Updated: August 28, 2013.