Arizona Fall League 2021 Fall Stars Games Rosters
Image credit: Gabriel Moreno (Photo by Bill Mitchell)
The Arizona Fall League on Wednesday announced the rosters for the league’s annual Fall Stars Game. The game will pit the best players from the West Division clubs (Surprise, Glendale, Peoria) against their counterparts from the East Division (Scottsdale, Mesa, Salt River).
This year’s group features five members of Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects, including Blue Jays catcher Gabriel Moreno (No. 8), Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas (No. 15), Dodgers righthander Bobby Miller (No. 49), Mets third baseman Brett Baty (No. 52) and Pirates infielder Nick Gonzales (No. 64).
That quintet is far from the only talent on the rosters. The West Division’s projected starter, Rangers righty Owen White, has been one of the best arms in the league, and leads the circuit in plenty of categories, including wins (4), earned run average (1.16), innings pitched (23.1), average against (.143) and WHIP (0.94). White’s Fall League has helped him continue to build on a strong first full season in pro ball after not pitching in the past three seasons due to injuries and the pandemic.
The offensive group’s clear leader is Cubs outfielder Nelson Velazquez, who has been the AFL’s unquestioned breakout star. Velazquez, whom Chicago selected out of high school in Puerto Rico in the fifth round of the 2017 draft, has shown a much shorter swing that does not short-change his power an iota. Moreover, his at-bats have been incredibly impressive, as has his easily plus throwing arm in right field.
Cardinals utility player Juan Yepez has also used the AFL to build on a very strong 2021 campaign. His year included sneaky-strong offense all year long between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis and his addition to the Cardinals’ 40-man roster. He’s continued that run in the Fall League, where he leads the league with 25 RBIs, is tied with Marlins prospect (and fellow Fall Stars Game participant) Kam Misner for second place in home runs (7) and is also second in OPS with a mark of 1.100.
Moreno gets most of the ink among Toronto prospects, but first baseman Spencer Horwitz is opening eyes as well. The 23-year-old Radford alum leads the circuit with a .386 average and has walked as many times (9) as he’s struck out. Horwitz has been on base in every game he’s played and has gone hitless only once. He’s currently in the midst of an 11-game hitting streak during which he’s notched six multi-hit games.
Other standouts include Nationals righthander Cole Henry, who leads the league with 30 strikeouts; Rays infielder Curtis Mead, who was a part of three championship clubs this past season and who has at least one hit in all 17 games he’s played; Cubs infielder Andy Weber and Rangers infielder Ezequiel Duran, who are tied atop the league lead with four triples apiece; and Yankees outfielder Elijah Dunham, whose 10 stolen bases are tied for the league lead and whose .475 on-base percentage is fourth behind Gonzales.
Each roster will also take one more player, which will be decided via fan vote among three candidates per division. In the West Division, fans can vote for either Brendan Donovan (Cardinals), Jackson Cluff (Nationals) or Korey Lee (Astros). In the East, the choices are Marco Luciano (Giants), Jeter Downs (Red Sox) and Michael Toglia (Rockies).
| WEST ROSTER | ||
| Player | Affiliate | Position |
| O’Hoppe, Logan | PHI | C |
| Wells, Austin | NYY | C |
| Yepez, Juan | STL | 1B/3B/OF |
| Duran, Ezequiel | TEX | 2B/SS/3B |
| Gonzales, Nick | PIT | 2B/SS/CF |
| Johnson, Ivan | CIN | 2B |
| Stott, Bryson | PHI | SS |
| Eaton, Nathan | KC | 3B/2B/OF |
| Bae, Ji-hwan | PIT | CF/2B/SS |
| Rosario, Eguy | SD | 3B |
| Dunham, Elijah | NYY | OF |
| Nootbaar, Lars | STL | RF |
| Outman, James | LAD | OF |
| Matias, Seuly | KC | OF |
| DeLoach, Zach | SEA | OF |
| Knack, Landon | LAD | RHP |
| Crow, Coleman | LAA | RHP |
| Henry, Cole | WSH | RHP |
| Jones, Damon | PHI | LHP |
| Miller, Bobby | LAD | RHP |
| Freeman, Caleb | CWS | RHP |
| Vodnik, Victor | ATL | RHP |
| Record, Joe | HOU | RHP |
| Thompson, Zack | STL | LHP |
| White, Owen | TEX | RHP |
| EAST ROSTER | ||
| Player | Affiliate | Position |
| Bailey, Patrick | SF | C |
| Moreno, Gabriel | TOR | C |
| Casas, Triston | BOS | 1B |
| Mead, Curtis | TB | 1B/3B |
| Davidson, Logan | OAK | SS |
| Weber, Andy | CHC | SS/3B |
| Tena, Jose | CLE | 2B/SS |
| Baty, Brett | NYM | 3B |
| Bishop, Hunter | SF | CF |
| Bleday, J.J. | MIA | RF |
| Horwitz, Spencer | TOR | 1B/LF |
| Palacios, Richie | CLE | OF |
| Velazquez, Nelson | CHC | OF |
| Vilade, Ryan | COL | OF |
| Uribe, Abner | MIL | RHP |
| Kilian, Caleb | CHC | RHP |
| Dabovich, R.J. | SF | RHP |
| Santos, Gregory | SF | RHP |
| Garcia, Carlos | TB | RHP |
| Hill, Garrett | DET | RHP |
| Laweryson, Cody | MIN | RHP |
| Spraker, Graham | TOR | RHP |
| Todd, Reagan | COL | LHP |
| Vespi, Nick | BAL | LHP |
| Yoshikawa, Shumpei | ARI | RHP |
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