It's Opening Day for the 2024 Arizona Fall League!

By Benjamin Chase

An annual celebration of baseball development begins today with Opening Day of the Arizona Fall League. Top minor league players are sent to the AFL each season by their respective teams to get a chance to spend six weeks of additional coaching and instruction along with playing against fellow AFL players as a potential path toward the majors.

Photo byMLB.com

2024 Top Players

The initial announced rosters for this year’s AFL include 14 of MLB Pipeline’s top 100 players.

The top-ranked player on MLB Pipeline’s list is 2024 draftee Jac Caglianone, who was selected by the Kansas City Royals as a two-way player this year. He’s ranked 14th.

The Padres are sending two of the youngest and most intriguing prospects to the Arizona Fall League, with catcher Ethan Salas and shortstop Leodalis De Vries, the top international signee in each of the past two classes, both heading to Arizona. Salas will be 18 through the entire AFL and De Vries will turn 18 on Friday.

There is not a top-100 pitcher headed to Arizona on the initial rosters, but it’s very feasible that when final offseason top prospect lists are put together next spring, Grant Taylor of the Chicago White Sox will be on it. Taylor was set up to form a formidable 1-2 punch with Paul Skenes in 2023 at LSU, but Taylor ended up needing surgery and has just returned to the mound this year. He’ll look to get reps in Arizona to begin his ascent in 2025 toward the major leagues.

2024 Schedule

The first game of the AFL season will be played tonight as Surprise travels to Mesa, with first pitch at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. The entire season schedule is here.

The Home Run Derby will be held Nov. 8 at Sloan Park in Mesa before the Fall Stars Game the following night in the same park. The AFL playoffs begin Nov. 15 with the championship game on Nov. 16.

Team Affiliations

Glendale Desert Dogs: Cardinals, Dodgers, Phillies, Reds, White Sox
Mesa Solar Sox: Angels, Athletics, Cubs, Rays, Red Sox
Peoria Javelinas: Braves, Brewers, Mariners, Marlins, Padres
Salt River Rafters: Diamondbacks, Nationals, Rockies, Twins, Yankees
Scottsdale Scorpions: Blue Jays, Giants, Mets, Pirates, Tigers
Surprise Saguaros: Astros, Guardians, Orioles, Rangers, Royals

Team gear, which once was only available on site, is now available online.

How to Watch

Eighty-one regular season games will be streamed on MLB.com’s live streams for free on top of the Home Run Derby, Fall Stars Game, semifinals, and championship game.

Benjamin Chase is one of the co-directors of the IBWAA. His “day job” is as a newspaper reporter in South Dakota, but he also writes about baseball on his Medium page, Chasing Baseball Greatness, and other sites. He also is the co-host of the Pallazzo Podcast prospects podcast. You can find Ben on most social medias under the handle biggentleben.