There are six teams in the Arizona Fall League. They are divided into two divisions, east and west. The east has the Mesa Solar Sox, the Salt River Rafters, and the Scottsdale Scorpions. The west has the Peoria Javelinas, the Phoenix Desert Dogs, and the Surprise Saguaros.
People who have followed this league in the past may notice that there have been a couple of franchise shifts. The Peoria Saguaros team has been moved to Surprise. The former Surprise Rafters team has been moved to Salt River.
Here are the major league affiliations of each team:
Mesa--Baltimore, Cubs, White Sox, Minnesota, Pittsburgh.
Peoria--Milwaukee, San Diego, St. Louis, San Diego, Seattle.
Phoenix--Cincinnati, Cleveland, Yankees, Oakland, Toronto.
Scottsdale--Boston, Angels, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington
Surprise--Atlanta, Florida, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Texas.
As you can see, the Twins' team this year is the Mesa Solar Sox. The manager is Joe McEwing and the hitting coach is Jeff Branson. Two pitching coaches are listed, Jeff Fassero and Steve Mintz. Twins players in the Arizona Fall League are Cole DeVries, Brett Jacobson, Bruce Pugh, Dakota Watts, Chris Herrmann, Brian Dozier, and Aaron Hicks.
Other top prospects in the AFL this season include Matt Dominguez (Florida), Nick Franklin (Seattle), Grant Green (Oakland), Bryce Harper (Washington), Brett Jackson (Cubs), Wil Myers (Kansas City), and Mike Trout (Angels).
The season begins on October 4 and ends on November 17. The Fall Star Game (actual name: Rising Stars Game) will be played November 5. The league championship game will be played November 19. Let's play ball!