Home › The Cardinal Nation Forums › Open Forum › 2017 Arizona Fall League
- This topic has 113 replies, 15 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 4 months ago by Brian Walton.
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August 29, 2017 at 7:37 pm #31878
Here is the complete list for those who do not know:
Pitchers (four):
Alcantara
Hicks
Arturo Reyes
LucasPosition players (four):
Knizner
Nogowski (taxi-squad)
Sosa
MercadoAugust 29, 2017 at 9:32 pm #31901From Baseball America:
“The Indians still see Francisco Mejia as a catcher, but he’ll play the infield in the AFL.”
https://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2017-afl-rosters-glendale-desert-dogs/
Mejia is the #1 catcher in the minors, according to BA’s rankings. His organization is getting creative by having him learn third base this fall.
Too bad the Cardinals don’t have anyone like that…
August 29, 2017 at 11:29 pm #31912Would like to have had Adolis Garcia or Alvarez and Morales instead of Nogowski, and Reyes.
Glad to see Knizer and Mercado on the list.
I guess Alcantara will not debut in St Louis this year.
August 30, 2017 at 12:07 am #31920September 14, 2017 at 1:43 pm #32973PadsFSParticipantThis league starts on October 10th correct?
I’m looking forward to seeing Knizner and Alcantara.
September 14, 2017 at 3:15 pm #32984Yes, October 10. The link to our preview article is in the post just above.
September 30, 2017 at 8:26 am #34686Are there any available listening or viewing options for the AFL games?
September 30, 2017 at 8:30 am #34688I haven’t heard of any changes for this year, but in the past, there was no radio of daily contests and just two games on TV, the Fall Stars Game and the title game.
As an aside, I will be there working the week of Fall Stars again. As in the past, we will run daily game recaps here at TCN, focusing on the Cardinals playing in the AFL.
September 30, 2017 at 9:03 am #34693Thanks, Brian!
October 6, 2017 at 12:06 pm #3531214NyquisTParticipantI found a podcast (1:07) that deals with the AFL that is quite interesting if you don’t know too much about how the league is put together, how players are chosen by position, and there is a more in-depth discussion about the players that the Cards are sending, and why.
https://redbirddaily.com/ptbnl-arizona-fall-league-preview-5559/
October 6, 2017 at 12:19 pm #3531414NyquisTParticipantIf you happen to check the podcast out be patient at the beginning. They play a broadcast of an O. Taveras home run that takes maybe 15-29 sec.
October 6, 2017 at 1:09 pm #35319BaseballHQ has a good read on all the AFL teams, highlighting Knizner and Alcantara.
http://www.baseballhq.com/content/minors-2017-arizona-fall-league-preview
October 10, 2017 at 8:01 am #35645Sandy Alcantara gets opening day start for Surprise. Free daily game recaps to be posted here at TCN.
October 10, 2017 at 8:23 am #3564614NyquisTParticipantIn case anyone didn’t see the AFL schedule it’s at:
https://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/schedule/tentative.jsp
October 10, 2017 at 8:27 am #35647bccranParticipantSeems like the Cards have made some position changes too –
Kelly – 3B to C
DeJong – 3B to SS
Piscotty – 3B to OF
Tuivailala – SS to POctober 10, 2017 at 8:36 am #35648bccranParticipantDoes anyone know why Nogowski was picked? As a first baseman at Florida State and so far in the minors he hasn’t shown much power for a corner infielder/corner outfielder type. As a professional he has 15 home runs in over 1,000 at bats. 24 years old at AA this season.
October 10, 2017 at 11:32 pm #35730In the 2017 Arizona Fall League opener, five Cardinals saw action, including losing pitcher Sandy Alcantara and outfielder Oscar Mercado, who had two hits and an RBI.
https://thecardinalnation.com/cardinals-arizona-fall-league-notebook-101017/
October 11, 2017 at 10:22 am #35764bccranParticipantInteresting that Mercado was hitting 3rd in the lineup. Good sign.
October 11, 2017 at 1:16 pm #35802I also named Mercado TCN’s Springfield Player of the Year today. Check out my article on the home page.
October 11, 2017 at 1:34 pm #3580414NyquisTParticipantDerek…. it was amazing what Mercado did for his career in ’17 and climbed back into the organization’s top level of prospects. However, you know deep down Knizner was the team’s POY. That’s all I’m going to say because Oscar had a great year too.
October 11, 2017 at 2:41 pm #35810I disagree completely. I saw Springfield play on a regular basis and even consulted with their manager about the Player of the Year. It was remarkable what Knizner accomplished in his half-season, but he was simply not in Double-A long enough to receive more consideration. While he was up-and-down offensively in the second half, Mercado was still a valuable asset in all facets (baserunning, defense, and leadership in the clubhouse, particularly to help the Latin prospects with English).
If I chose again, Mercado would still be my choice.
October 11, 2017 at 8:15 pm #35832It was remarkable what Knizner accomplished in his half-season, but he was simply not in Double-A long enough to receive more consideration.
Knizner was at Springfield two and a half months. Not long enough?
I saw Springfield play on a regular basis…
I watched every single Springfield game.
While he was up-and-down offensively in the second half, Mercado ….
As I said before, I saw every single game. Go back and look at the game logs AND check the stats. Mercado was up and down offensively…. more down than Knizner the for the second half of the season, for sure. Knizner got off to a slow start the first few weeks at Springfield, but after the first week of July, something caught fire. Stats show his BA, OBP, and Slugging percentage were consistently much higher than Mercardo’s.
Finally, go back and reread the weekly Springfield Cardinals updates that you wrote. Knizner was listed week after week on your “Who’s Hot List… and not ever once on the “Who’s Not” List. Did I imagine that I saw Mercado there once or twice?
However, you know deep down Knizner was the team’s POY.
14Nytquist, I think you got it right there!Both player had a good year, but I think Knizner had the better one!
October 11, 2017 at 8:46 pm #35839The big separator, though, Knizner wasn’t mentioned once when I asked around about a Player of the Year to scouts and coaches. The only two were Mercado and Adolis Garcia.
October 11, 2017 at 8:49 pm #35842It was remarkable what Knizner accomplished in his half-season, but he was simply not in Double-A long enough to receive more consideration.
Interestingly enough, my handy date calulator (https://www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html) determined that Knizner played at Springfield 82 days, but was not at double A long enough for consideration…. yet Arozarena was at Palm Beach for 87 days and was named Palm Beach Player of the Year.
October 11, 2017 at 9:17 pm #35843The big separator, though, Knizner wasn’t mentioned once when I asked around about a Player of the Year to scouts and coaches. The only two were Mercado and Adolis Garcia.
As I said, go back and reread the weekly Springfield Cardinals updates that you wrote each week. Knizner was listed week after week on your “Who’s Hot List… and not ever once on the “Who’s Not” List.
When the games and the season are over, the stats tell the story of how players have performed… without showing preference or prejudice. That is how I will choose my players of the year. I will let the numbers tell the story, because, bottom line, they are the facts that can’t be disputed, unlike personal opinions. All in all, there were many of players at Springfield who played remarkably. It is my opinion that you missed your mark in calling the player of the year … or maybe you should re-title the article to “Scouts and Coaches Player of the Year”. -
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