MiLB Top 10 Prospects Flashback: 2001 Arizona League
The Rookie-level Arizona League is both the newest league and the fastest growing. From its humble origins as a four-team league in 1988, the AZL had expanded to 21 teams by 2019 and will remain an important step in the developmental ladder even in the reorganized minor league structure coming in 2021.
Because the Arizona League has less history than other leagues, its prospect classes don’t quite measure up to other leagues. Angels first-round picks Mike Trout and Randal Grichuk graced the AZL in 2009. Jake Peavy and Jose Valverde were members of the class of 1999. Sluggers Joey Gallo and Jorge Soler played in the AZL in 2012.
But the best Arizona League class had a distinctly international flavor. In 2001, back when it was a seven-team league, the AZL boasted South Korean outfielder Shin-Soo Choo (No. 2), plus righthander Ervin Santana (No. 6) and lefthander Francisco Liriano (No. 8), both from the Dominican Republic.
2001 Arizona League Top 10 Prospects
| No | Player | Pos | Team | Org | PA/IP | WAR |
| 1 | Chris Tritle | OF | AZL Athletics | Athletics | — | — |
| 2 | Shin-Soo Choo | OF | AZL Mariners | Mariners | 7,156 | 35.3 |
| 3 | Andy Gonzalez | SS | AZL White Sox | White Sox | 257 | -2.6 |
| 4 | Ryan Hannaman | LHP | AZL Giants | Giants | — | — |
| 5 | Ronny Cedeno | SS | AZL Cubs | Cubs | 2,792 | -0.7 |
| 6 | Ervin Santana | RHP | AZL Angels | Angels | 2,421 | 34.4 |
| 7 | Anthony Webster | OF | AZL White Sox | White Sox | — | — |
| 8 | Francisco Liriano | LHP | AZL Giants | Giants | 1,814 | 19.4 |
| 9 | leonel cabrera | 2B | AZL Giants | Giants | — | — |
| 10 | Francisco Esparragoza | C | AZL Brewers | Brewers | — | — |
Choo is the first and so far only South Korean position player to star in the U.S. major leagues. “He hits for average and power, runs well and has an excellent arm,” one AZL manager said. Choo received praise as an “exciting player” and for playing with “poise and confidence.”
Santana led the AZL with 69 strikeouts, firing a “91-95 mph fastball” that was the “best in the league.” A rival manager raved: “He throws a lot of strikes and throws every pitch with a purpose.”
Liriano had recently converted from outfielder to lefthander and took huge strides in the AZL. He topped out at 96 mph and “normally threw 91-92 mph” at 17 years old. “He showed great improvement with his mechanics and breaking ball,” said one manager.
Arizona League All-Time BA No. 1 Prospects
Players listed with career major league plate appearances/innings and FanGraphs WAR. Stats for active players current through mid August.
* For the seasons 1988, 1989 and 1990, BA compiled a joint Arizona/Gulf Coast League Top 10 Prospects ranking. The top AZL prospects from those three seasons are listed below, though none of the three ranked No. 1 overall in the complex leagues.
| Year | Player | Pos | Team | Org | PA/IP | WAR |
| 1988 | Ed Ricks* | OF | AZL Athletics | Athletics | — | — |
| 1989 | Henry Reynoso* | 2B | AZL Brewers | Brewers | — | — |
| Year | Player | Pos | Team | Org | PA/IP | WAR |
| 1990 | Marc Newfield* | 1B | AZL Mariners | Mariners | -1.8 | 1,051 |
| 1991 | Manny Cora | SS/3B | AZL Padres | Padres | — | — |
| 1992 | Todd Erdos | RHP | AZL Padres | Padres | 94 | -0.8 |
| 1993 | Derrek Lee | 1B | AZL Padres | Padres | 7,963 | 34.4 |
| 1994 | Juan Melo | SS | AZL Padres | Padres | 13 | -0.2 |
| 1995 | Ramon Hernandez | C | AZL Athletics | Athletics | 5,701 | 22.0 |
| 1996 | Jake Westbrook | RHP | AZL Rockies | Rockies | 1,748 | 16.9 |
| 1997 | Todd Noel | RHP | AZL Cubs | Cubs | — | — |
| 1998 | Jesus Colome | RHP | AZL Athletics | Athletics | 426 | -0.8 |
| 1999 | Vince Faison | OF | AZL Padres | Padres | — | — |
| Year | Player | Pos | Team | Org | PA/IP | WAR |
| 2000 | Lou Montanez | SS | AZL Cubs | Cubs | 323 | -1.5 |
| 2001 | Chris Tritle | OF | AZL Athletics | Athletics | — | — |
| 2002 | Felix Pie | OF | AZL Cubs | Cubs | 1,082 | -1.0 |
| 2003 | Chris Lubanski | OF | AZL Royals | Royals | — | — |
| 2004 | Matt Tuiasosopo | SS | AZL Mariners | Mariners | 404 | -0.8 |
| 2005 | Mark Pawelek | LHP | AZL Cubs | Cubs | — | — |
| 2006 | Hank Conger | C | AZL Angels | Angels | 1,134 | 6.7 |
| 2007 | Angel Villalona | 3B | AZL Giants | Giants | — | — |
| 2008 | Mike Montgomery | LHP | AZL Royals | Royals | 538 | 6.9 |
| 2009 | Mike Trout | OF | AZL Angels | Angels | 5,372 | 74.4 |
| Year | Player | Pos | Team | Org | PA/IP | WAR |
| 2010 | Guillermo Pimentel | OF | AZL Mariners | Mariners | — | — |
| 2011 | Yeison Asencio | OF | AZL Padres | Padres | — | — |
| 2012 | Addison Russell | SS | AZL Athletics | Athletics | 2,212 | 9.4 |
| 2013 | Clint Frazier | OF | AZL Indians | Indians | 459 | 0.1 |
| 2014 | Alex Jackson | OF | AZL Mariners | Mariners | 22 | -0.3 |
| 2015 | Trent Grisham | OF | AZL Brewers | Brewers | 300 | 1.5 |
| 2016 | Leody Taveras | OF | AZL Rangers | Rangers | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2017 | MacKenzie Gore | LHP | AZL Padres | Padres | — | — |
| 2018 | Brayan Rocchio | SS | AZL Indians | Indians | — | — |
| 2019 | CJ Abrams | SS | AZL Padres | Padres | — | — |
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