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Arizona Fall League rosters announced; Tommy Troy, Kristian Robinson among D-backs prospects

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Major League Baseball announced the six rosters for the upcoming Arizona Fall League, which begins on Oct. 7 to showcase and give additional playing time to some of the game’s up-and-coming prospects.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are sending eight farmhands to play for the Salt River Rafters:

– INF Tommy Troy
– LHP Yu-Min Lin
– INF Gino Groover
– RHP Dylan Ray
– LHP Philip Abner
– OF Kristian Robinson
– RHP Kyle Amendt
– RHP Alfred Morillo

Troy will get work in at second base after the D-backs drafted him as a shortstop out of Stanford with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. Troy missed more than two months with hamstring issues this season and will use the Fall League to make up the lost reps. He capped his first full professional season with a .288/.378/.462 batting line over his final 30 games with 10 doubles, three homers and nine steals for High-A Hillsboro.

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Troy is the No. 5 player in the system and highest-ranked D-backs prospect headed to the AFL, according to MLB Pipeline.

Groover was one of the hottest bats in the system by the end of the year with a .283/.376/.497 slash line and nine homers over his last 30 games between Hillsboro and Double-A Amarillo. He spent three months on the injured list with a wrist injury.

Arizona’s No. 9 prospect, a second-round draft pick from N.C. State in 2023, will get in work at second, third and first base.

Both Lin and Ray also missed time with injuries. Lin, however, put together a strong second half for Double-A Amarillo and even made the jump to Triple-A Reno for one appearance. He threw 4.2 innings with one earned run in his Aces debut on Saturday.

The 21-year-old Taiwanese left-hander with a deep arsenal ended the minor league season with a 2.91 ERA over his final 10 starts.

Ray, a 2022 fourth-round pick, had a 5.03 ERA in 17 starts with Amarillo this season.

Abner, Amendt and Morillo are all primarily relief pitchers. The latter two finished the year with 22 saves. Amendt made it to Reno by August and finished his season with a 2.86 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 44 innings. Abner and Morillo closed the year in Hillsboro.

Robinson, once Arizona’s No. 1 prospect before an off-the-field predicament led to two lost minor league seasons, spent the entire year in Amarillo. The 23-year-old from the Bahamas finished with a .214/.337/.350 batting line, 11 home runs and 10 steals.

Salt River Rafters roster

The Rafters consist of players from the D-backs, Nationals, Rockies, Twins and Yankees.

– Glendale Desert Dogs: Cardinals, Dodgers, Phillies, Reds, White Sox
– Mesa Solar Sox: Angels, Athletics, Cubs, Rays, Red Sox
– Peoria Javelinas: Braves, Brewers, Mariners, Marlins, Padres
– Scottsdale Scorpions: Blue Jays, Giants, Mets, Pirates, Tigers
– Surprise Saguaros: Astros, Guardians, Orioles, Rangers, Royals

Who are the top prospects in the Arizona Fall League?

Kansas City Royals 2024 first-round pick Jac Caglianone (No. 6 pick) is the highest-ranked prospect going to the AFL this season, No. 15 in the league by MLB Pipeline. He will play for Surprise.

Caglianone was the top two-way player in the nation at Florida, crushing 68 home runs and throwing 148.1 innings on the mound over his last two years at Florida. He only hit in High-A this season after the draft.

San Diego Padres top prospect, catcher Ethan Salas, will play for Peoria, along with Seattle Mariners top two prospects infielders Colt Emerson and Cole Young.

The New York Mets are sending their two best position player prospects in Jett Williams and Drew Gilbert to play for Scottsdale.

Arizona Fall League key dates

Opening Day: Oct. 7 (Surprise at Mesa)

Rafters opener: Oct. 8 vs. Scottsdale

Home Run Derby: Nov. 8

Fall Stars Game: Nov. 9

Play-in Semifinals: Nov. 15

Championship: Nov. 16