The annual Fall Stars Game to showcase the best players in the Arizona Fall League commences on Saturday, and Diamondbacks infield prospects Tommy Troy and Gino Groover will take the field at Sloan Park.
Arizona selected the duo with its first- and second-round picks in the 2023 MLB Draft.
Outfielder Kristian Robinson, meanwhile, just missed the cut after a fan vote for the final two roster spots.
Troy started the fall slow at 1-for-25, but he has completed a 180 turn for the Salt River Rafters. In 19 games, Troy has slashed .291/.380/.468 with a couple home runs, six doubles and a triple. He went 15-for-30 over a stretch and is tied for sixth in the AFL in doubles and seventh in extra-base hits.
“Majestic blast!”
Tommy Troy, the @Dbacks‘ No. 5 prospect, makes his second @MLBazFallLeague home run a no-doubter. pic.twitter.com/9iBHPBxuks
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) November 2, 2024
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The 22-year-old has been playing second base after late-season a switch from shortstop.
Troy missed more than two months with a hamstring injury during the regular season and struggled offensively for six weeks after getting back. He picked up the production down the stretch (.840 OPS in final 30 games) to lead into a strong fall.
The infielder taken No. 12 overall in the draft out of Stanford is fifth on MLB Pipeline’s list of D-backs prospects.
Groover ranks seventh in the Fall League with a .370 batting average (20-for-54), 12th with a .444 on-base clip and owns an .833 OPS in 15 games played.
He, like Troy, lost three months of his first full professional season with a broken wrist, but Groover performed after getting back with an .866 OPS and 10 home runs in 49 games the rest of the way.
Groover reached Double-A Amarillo to end the season, where he devised a four-hit game in his debut and hit .340 in 13 games.
Gino Groover, 3B, ARI
Groover has an incredibly athletic build and plus bat-to-ball skills. He finished the regular season on a high note, which has continued into the AFL. pic.twitter.com/Xa8CXspwej
— Chris Clegg (@ChrisCleggMiLB) October 30, 2024
He is No. 9 on Arizona’s top prospects list by MLB Pipeline.
Robinson has a batting line of .322/.403/.441 in 16 games this fall with a home run, four doubles and nine stolen bases. He is fifth in the league in steals.
The former No. 1 prospect in the D-backs’ system spent the entire season with Double-A Amarillo to mixed results (.687 OPS), but he set a career high for games played with 110.
Fellow Diamondbacks minor leaguers who have played in the AFL this season are pitchers Yu-Min Lin, Dylan Ray, Philip Abner, Kyle Amendt and Alfred Morillo. Lin had a case for the Fall Stars Game had he not left to pitch for the Taiwanese national team in the WBSC Premier12 tournament. Lin allowed three earned runs in nine innings with nine strikeouts for the Rafters.
The Fall Stars Game is at 6 p.m. from Sloan Park, the spring training home of the Chicago Cubs, and will air on MLB Network.
Which top prospects will play in the Arizona Fall Stars Game?
Six top 100 prospects ranked by MLB made the roster:
– Jac Caglianone (No. 17), Royals
– Ethan Salas (No. 19), Padres
– Leodalis De Vries (No. 28), Padres
– Moises Ballesteros (No. 44), Cubs
– Jett Williams (No. 52), Mets
– Edwin Arroyo (No. 65), Reds
The AFL Home Run Derby — also from Sloan Park — is Friday at 6:30 p.m. Caglianone and Ballesteros are among eight contestants along with Carter Jensen (Royals), Josue Briceño (Tigers), Peyton Williams (Blue Jays), Brock Wilken (Brewers), Garrett Martin (Yankees) and Kala’i Rosario (Twins).
Adult tickets to the Fall Stars Game are $20, while tickets for seniors and youth ages 11-17 are $15. Kids 10 years old or younger can attend for free.