Baseball America has published the preliminary rosters for this year’s Arizona Fall League. The league has served as springboard for players from the Minors to the Majors in the past. It is scheduled to start on Tuesday, October 8 with teams from Glendale, Mesa, Scottsdale, Peoria, Surprise and Salt River. MLB teams are sending their prospects to Arizona to get some more seasoning before the offseason. The rosters include:
Max Kepler (Glendale/Minnesota Twins): The 20-year-old Berlin, Germany native missed the first half of the 2013 season due to an elbow injury and steps into the footsteps of Donald Lutz and Kai Gronauer, who have played in the AFL in previous years. He batted .237/.312/.424 with nine home runs, three triples, 11 doubles, 35 runs and 40 RBI in 61 games for Cedar Rapids Kernels in the Midwest League.
Alex Sogard (Peoria/Houston Astros): The 26-year-old left-hander played for the Czech Republic in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier 12 months ago. This year he split time between Double-A and Triple-A, going 2-1 with an ERA of 6.00 in 38 games. He struck out 37 and walked 29 in 48 innings.
Jonathan Schoop (Surprise/Baltimore Orioles): The 21-year-old Dutch infielder made his big league debut for the Orioles with a home run in his first game this week. His season was hindered by an injury. Therefore he managed just 70 games at Norfolk in the Triple-A International League. He batted .256/.301/.396 with nine home runs, 11 doubles, 30 runs and 34 RBI.
Gift Ngoepe (Scottsdale/Pittsburgh Pirates): The 23-year-old middle infielder from South Africa played his fifth season in affiliated Minor League ball this year. He split time for the High-A and Double-A teams of the Pirates, going .212/.324/.326 with three home runs, five triples, 17 doubles, 46 runs and 22 RBI in 100 games.