Cubs Announce Arizona Fall League Roster

I wish the Arizona Fall League was closer to Chicago, obviously there are reason’s why it’s not, I’m not a complete moron.  I wish it was closer so I could see games because the rosters are made up of some of the best prospects from all over baseball.  There are six teams competing in the league, here is the breakdown of Major League team participation.

Cubs players will be grouped with players from the Orioles, Astros, Tigers, and Dodgers to form the Mesa Solar Sox.  Click here for the full roster, the Cubs will be sending Javier Baez, Matt Szczur, Rubi Silva, Dae-Eun Rhee, Nick Struck, Tony Zych, Kevin Rhoderick, and Zach Rosscup.  The purpose of this league is to get a look at guys, could be guys that didn’t play too much during the season or guys that are ready to jump a level, possibly to the major league level, or are on the bubble for a 40 man roster spot.  If they are not added to the 40-man roster they will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft and could be lost to another team.  The three players vying for a spot on the 40-man roster are Rhee, Rosscup, and Struck, all others are already on the 40-man roster.  So this league is clearly important, it could be make or break for some guys, or it could be an important building block for others. 

One glaring omission is Jorge Soler as he didn’t get too much time to play here in the States this year.  My guess is that he will be playing somewhere this offseason, most likely a winter league as the organization would like to see him get more 2012 at bats.

Thanks for reading,
– George