The Arizona Fall League got underway on Tuesday and the Mets contingent got off to a running start.
Left fielder Brandon Nimmo had an exciting debut, going 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored, helping Scottsdale defeat Salt River by a score of 7-4. Nimmo also stole third base. Shortstop Matt Reynolds went 0-for-3 with a walk.
Julian Hilario tossed two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win, walking one while striking out one. Paul Sewald allowed three hits and struck out three in 1.1 scoreless innings, and Dario Alvarez was touched for a solo home run in his one inning of relief. .
The AFL is usually a spectacle to watch due to the high number of top rated prospects that compete each year. Rosters for the 2014 Season include such promising stars as Kyle Zimmer, Taijuan Walker, Byron Buxton, Addison Russell, Kris Bryant and Josh Bell as well as many others that were featured in the top 100.
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.
The teams are broken into two divisions, East and West. Each Major League Baseball team sends six top prospects to the Arizona Fall League, 180 players in all. The games are played in the Spring Training stadiums used by the Giants, Mariners, Padres, Cubs, A’s, Royals, Rangers, D-backs and Rockies.
The talent is very real, and very potent every year.
The Mets have not sent their best prospects over the past few years, putting in guys with less potential. But this year, they embraced the AFL philosophy and sent Brandon Nimmo, a consensus Mets top 5 prospect.
In addition, L.J. Mazzilli, Matt Reynolds, Julian Hilario, Robert Whalen and Paul Sewald will all compete and join the Scottsdale Scorpions, a team that also features prospects from the Pirates, Yankees, Phillies, and San Francisco Giants.
