Most Interesting Rule 5-Eligible Players In The Arizona Fall League
Image credit: Colson Montgomery (Photo by Bill Mitchell)
Among its many functions, the Arizona Fall League serves as a finishing school for some of the game’s finest prospects. Giants first baseman Bryce Eldridge, for example, will add six weeks to his season after rocketing from Low-A to Triple-A in his first full year as a pro.
The league also allows players who missed large chunks of the season to make up for lost time. Mariners shortstop Colt Emerson fits that bill perfectly. The 2023 first-rounder was limited by injuries to just 70 games in 2024. Now, he’ll headline a star-studded Peoria club while getting more at-bats under his belt.
The third, and often less discussed function of the league, is as a final look for front offices at players who will become—or are already—eligible to selected in the winter’s Rule 5 draft. The current iteration of rosters show 72 players whom clubs will need to add to their 40-man roster or risk them being plucked by another team come December.
Here are seven of the most interesting of those players:
Colson Montgomery, SS, White Sox
Montgomery is the only Top 100 prospect in the AFL who finds himself eligible for the Rule 5 draft. This is his second straight season in the Fall League, this time coming after an inconsistent season at Triple-A Charlotte. There is no drama here. Montgomery is certain to be added to the roster and protected from the draft.
Benjamin Cowles, SS, Cubs
Cowles moved from the Yankees to the Cubs at the trade deadline—along with reliever Jack Neely—as part of the package used to bring righthander Mark Leiter Jr. to New York. Cowles is spending his second consecutive season in the AFL, this time vying for a shot on the Cubs’ 40-man roster. He showed well at Double-A Somerset before the trade but landed on the injured list after just four games at Double-A Tennessee afterward. He’ll make up those lost reps while also trying to prove himself worthy of protection.
Denzel Clarke, OF, Athletics
The story with Clarke has long been the same: He’s as tooled-up as any player you’ll find in the system, but it still hasn’t come together. If it does, he has tremendous upside. He finished 2024 season with 42 extra-base hits and 36 stolen bases with Double-A Midland, but his strikeout rate was just a hair better than 30%. If he can make more contact, he has the potential to make a big impact.
Caleb Durbin, 2B, Yankees
Durbin posted a 1.054 OPS last year in the AFL, a jump of nearly 200 points from the mark he’d produced during the regular season at High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset. The former Braves farmhand started this season on fire at Triple-A but was ultimately limited 90 games by injuries. He has a nice combination of contact, speed and a little bit of power and could fit as a pesky utility player. He has six weeks in the fall to prove himself worthy of a 40-man spot.
Luis Mey, RHP, Reds
Aside from the sun itself, Mey is likely to be the desert’s biggest heat supplier this fall. The big righthander brought his fastball up to 103 mph this season and averaged triple-digits with his four-seamer. He backed both his four- and two-seamers with a mid-80s slider. Together, the mix helped Mey strike out 63 hitters in 55 innings. Problem is, he also walked 44 hitters in that span. If he can show any semblance of improved control, he could earn a spot on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster.
Robert Hassell III, OF, Nationals
Hassell’s assignment to the AFL marks the third straight year he’ll play in the league. His initial stint, when he was still a part of the Padres’ system, last just two games before an injured wrist curtailed his stay. Last autumn, he hit .290/.366/.348 for Scottsdale. This time, however, is the first season in which he’ll be doing so with Rule 5 eligibility on the line. Hassell missed time in 2024 with injuries and played just 85 games in total. When on the field, he made plenty of contact but showed little in the way of power. He struggled mightily to pull the ball in the air as well, doing so roughly 11% of the time.
Max Acosta, SS, Rangers
Once upon a time, Acosta was one of the best prospects in Texas’ system. This year, he regained some of his stock by cutting his strikeout rate drastically. In 2023, at High-A Hickory, Acosta struck out 21% of the time. This season, spent at Double-A Frisco, he dropped that number to just 13.4%. His overall miss rate dropped about 5%, his in-zone miss rate fell 2.5% and he cut his chase rate by nearly 8%. Acosta’s 90th percentile exit velocity made positive gains as well, rising by roughly two miles per hour year over year.
All Rule 5 Draft-Eligible Players In The AFL
| Name | team | bats | throws | height | weight | d.O.B. | level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrian Pinto | TOR | R | R | 5’6 | 156 | 9/22/2002 | Vancouver (A+) |
| Alaska Abney | CLE | R | R | 6’1 | 205 | 5/5/2000 | Akron (AA) |
| Alex Cornwell | STL | L | L | 6’0 | 202 | 5/09/1999 | Memphis (AAA) |
| Alex Santos | HOU | R | R | 6’0 | 208 | 2/10/2002 | Corpus Christi (AA) |
| Alexander Alberto | TB | R | R | 6’8 | 190 | 11/2/2001 | Charleston (A) |
| Allan Hernandez | CLE | R | R | 6’5 | 225 | 1/19/2001 | Lake County (A+) |
| Andrew Dalquist | CWS | R | R | 6’1 | 195 | 11/13/2000 | Birmingham (AA) |
| Andrew Misiaszek | CLE | R | L | 6’2 | 215 | 8/24/1997 | Columbus (AAA) |
| Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa | CWS | R | R | 6’2 | 190 | 8/11/2000 | Charlotte (AAA) |
| Anthony Simonelli | KC | R | R | 6’2 | 200 | 12/23/1998 | Omaha (AAA) |
| Arij Fransen | CIN | R | R | 6’3 | 190 | 5/20/2001 | Dayton (A+) |
| Avery Weems | TEX | R | L | 6’2 | 205 | 6/6/1997 | Hickory (A+) |
| Benjamin Cowles | CHC | R | R | 6’0 | 180 | 2/15/2000 | Tennessee (AA) |
| Brandan Bidois | PIT | R | R | 6’2 | 158 | 6/21/2001 | Greensboro (A+) |
| Brandon Dufault | LAA | R | R | 6’5 | 204 | 10/19/1998 | Rocket City (AA) |
| Brandon White | MIA | R | R | 6’8 | 230 | 11/26/1999 | Jupiter (A) |
| Caleb Durbin | NYY | R | R | 5’6 | 185 | 2/22/2000 | Scranton/W-B (AAA) |
| Carson Rudd | CIN | R | R | 6’5 | 190 | 9/17/1998 | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Chase Solesky | WSH | R | R | 6’3 | 201 | 9/26/1997 | Harrisburg (AA) |
| Christian McGowan | PHI | R | R | 6’0 | 205 | 3/07/2000 | Reading (AA) |
| Cody Freeman | TEX | R | R | 5’9 | 180 | 1/5/2001 | Frisco (AA) |
| Coleman Crow | MIL | R | R | 6’0 | 175 | 12/30/2000 | Biloxi (AA) |
| Colson Montgomery | CWS | L | R | 6’3 | 225 | 2/27/2002 | Charlotte (AAA) |
| Denzel Clarke | OAK | R | R | 6’4 | 220 | 5/1/2000 | Midland (AA) |
| DJ Gladney | CWS | R | R | 6’2 | 195 | 7/14/2001 | Birmingham (AA) |
| Dustin Saenz | WSH | L | L | 5’11 | 197 | 6/2/1999 | Harrisburg (AA) |
| Eddinson Paulino | TOR | L | R | 5’10 | 155 | 7/2/2002 | New Hampshire (AA) |
| Eddy Yean | PIT | R | R | 6’1 | 180 | 6/25/2001 | Indianapolis (AAA) |
| Gabe Mosser | SD | R | R | 6’4 | 185 | 6/8/1996 | El Paso (AAA) |
| Geovanny Planchart | PIT | R | R | 6’2 | 176 | 9/17/2000 | Altoona (AA) |
| Griff McGarry | PHI | R | R | 6’2 | 190 | 6/08/1999 | Lehigh Valley (AAA) |
| Houston Roth | BAL | R | R | 6’3 | 220 | 3/19/1998 | Bowie (AA) |
| Jack Dashwood | LAA | L | L | 6’6 | 240 | 11/17/1997 | Rocket City (AA) |
| Jack Hartman | TB | R | R | 6’3 | 205 | 7/13/1998 | Bowling Green (A+) |
| Jake Miller | DET | L | L | 6’2 | 185 | 6/27/2001 | Erie (AA) |
| Jake Walkinshaw | OAK | R | R | 6’3 | 200 | 7/7/1996 | Midland (AA) |
| Jason Ruffcorn | SEA | R | R | 6’2 | 225 | 7/27/1998 | Tacoma (AAA) |
| Jerming Rosario | LAD | R | R | 6’1 | 175 | 5/08/2002 | Tulsa (AA) |
| Jimmy Joyce | SEA | R | R | 6’2 | 210 | 1/13/1999 | Arkansas (AA) |
| Johnathan Lavallee | TOR | R | R | 6’4 | 240 | 8/11/1999 | New Hampshire (AA) |
| Jordan Jackson | SEA | R | R | 6’6 | 204 | 10/14/1998 | ACL Mariners (ROK) |
| Jose Acuna | CIN | R | R | 6’2 | 213 | 10/20/2002 | Louisville (AAA) |
| Josh Stephan | TEX | R | R | 6’3 | 185 | 11/1/2001 | Frisco (AA) |
| Juan Guerrero | COL | R | R | 6’2 | 160 | 9/10/2001 | Hartford (AA) |
| Kala’i Rosario | MIN | R | R | 6’0 | 205 | 7/2/2002 | Wichita (AA) |
| Kelvin Ramirez | LAD | R | R | 6’4 | 187 | 6/10/2001 | Great Lakes (A+) |
| Kervin Pichardo | PIT | R | R | 6’0 | 180 | 10/15/2001 | Altoona (AA) |
| Kristian Robinson | ARI | R | R | 6’3 | 190 | 12/11/2000 | Amarillo (AA) |
| Lazaro Estrada | TOR | R | R | 5’10 | 180 | 4/24/1999 | New Hampshire (AA) |
| Luinder Avila | KC | R | R | 6’3 | 195 | 8/21/2001 | NW Arkansas (AA) |
| Luis German | SD | R | R | 6’2 | 160 | 10/14/2001 | Lake Elsinore (A) |
| Luis Mey | CIN | R | R | 6’5 | 235 | 6/24/2001 | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Matt Svanson | STL | R | R | 6’5 | 235 | 1/31/1999 | Springfield (AA) |
| Matthew Cronin | WSH | L | L | 6’2 | 210 | 9/20/1997 | Harrisburg (AA) |
| Max Acosta | TEX | R | R | 6’1 | 187 | 10/29/2002 | Frisco (AA) |
| Max Ferguson | BOS | L | R | 6’1 | 180 | 8/23/1999 | Portland (AA) |
| McCade Brown | COL | R | R | 6’6 | 225 | 8/15/2000 | Fresno (A) |
| Michael Cuevas | WSH | R | R | 6’2 | 165 | 6/29/2001 | Harrisburg (AA) |
| Milan Tolentino | CLE | L | R | 6’0 | 185 | 12/11/2000 | Akron (AA) |
| Mitch Myers | OAK | R | R | 6’2 | 200 | 1/8/2000 | Lansing(A+) |
| Patrick Monteverde | MIA | R | L | 6’2 | 200 | 9/24/2007 | Jacksonville (AAA) |
| Peyton Williams | TOR | L | L | 6’6 | 255 | 9/14/2000 | Vancouver (A+) |
| Robert Hassell | WSH | L | L | 6’1 | 186 | 8/15/2001 | Rochester (AAA) |
| Ryan Bergert | SD | R | R | 6’1 | 210 | 3/8/2000 | San Antonio (AA) |
| Sammy Siani | PIT | L | L | 5’10 | 195 | 12/14/2000 | Altoona (AA) |
| Tim Elko | CWS | R | R | 6’3 | 250 | 12/27/1998 | Charlotte (AAA) |
| Travis Kuhn | SEA | R | R | 5’10 | 195 | 5/20/1998 | Arkansas (AA) |
| Tristan Garnett | STL | L | L | 6’6 | 240 | 3/29/1998 | Reading (AA) |
| Tyler Baum | OAK | R | R | 6’2 | 195 | 1/14/1998 | Midland (AA) |
| Tyler Callihan | CIN | L | R | 5’11 | 205 | 6/22/2000 | Louisville(AAA) |
| Tyler Uberstine | BOS | R | R | 6’1 | 200 | 6/1/1999 | Greenville (A+) |
| Wander Guante | OAK | R | R | 6’1 | 180 | 6/15/2000 | Lansing (A+) |
