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