Kelly, Bader on Fall League’s Top Prospects Team

The 2016 Arizona Fall League came to an end on Nov. 19, when the Mesa Solar Sox, powered by a two-homer, 4-for-4 performance from Cubs top prospect Ian Happ, defeated the Surprise Saguaros, 6-1, in the championship game at Scottsdale Stadium.

Since then, MLBPipeline.com has broken down this year’s impressive contingent of Fall League participants in different ways, highlighting the circuit’s top performers and breakout prospects and even constructing an All-AFL Team.

Happ’s homers help Mesa to title A’s Covey, Montas mow for Mesa Callis: Top title game performers Gameday Yanks’ Torres named AFL MVP Top stories from 2016 season Nola wins Stenson award Top 25 Prospects Mayo’s All-time AFL team Video Complete Fall League coverage Top breakout prospects Fall League’s Top Prospects Team All-AFL Team

The end-of-season awards continued on Monday as the Arizona Fall League announced it’s official Top Prospects Team. Selected by Fall League managers and coaches, the team recognizes 24 players who distinguished themselves throughout the league’s six-week schedule against other top prospects from every organization in Major League Baseball. Voters were asked to consider Fall League performance and Major League projectability.

With that being said, here is this year’s AFL Top Prospects Team:

Catchers

Carson Kelly, Glendale Desert Dogs (Cardinals’ No. 11 prospect) The 22-year-old backstop hit .286 with three homers in 21 games, recorded 13 walks against just four strikeouts and tied for second in RBIs (18).

Mitch Garver, Surprise Saguaros (Twins’ No. 23 prospect) Garver finished second in the league in homers (4, tie) and home run ratio (1:17.5 at-bats) while batting .229 with four doubles and 14 RBIs in 19 games.

Jacob Nottingham, Salt River Rafters (Brewers’ No. 14 prospect) Nottingham hit .203 with four extra-base hits and eight RBIs in 10 games and paced all Fall League catchers in putouts (126).

First Basemen

Cody Bellinger, Glendale Desert Dogs (Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect) The No. 31 overall prospect was a clear standout in the AFL, where he hit .314 with three homers in 20 games. Bellinger also paced the circuit in doubles (eight), finished third in RBIs (17), on-base percentage (.424) and OPS (.981).

Ryan O’Hearn, Surprise Saguaros (Royals’ No. 7 prospect) In a campaign that saw him hit .291 with 12 runs scored, five extra-base hits and 11 RBIs in 23 games, O’Hearn also led all first basemen in total chances (195), putouts (191) and double plays (18).

Second Basemen

Travis Demeritte, Salt River Rafters (Braves’ No. 9 prospect) Demeritte’s name was all over the leaderboard, as he led the league in triples (four) and total bases (48, tie) and finished second in runs scored (23) and home runs (4, tie).

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