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Just when you thought the prospect news was about to hit a simmer, the Arizona Fall League helps give us more to cover. The Arizona Fall League takes place between the middle of October and runs until November 21st and is a league where all 30 teams send prospects to get extra reps, showcase them for trades, or just put them against a different level of competition. There will certainly be some top 100 prospects in the league and players from AAA down to probably high-A will be participating.
As it turns out, that range is exactly what we see in the Braves representatives in the Arizona Fall League
#Braves in AZ Fall League: Mauricio Cabrera, Lucas Sims, Andrew Thurman, Joseph Odom, Connor Lien, Johan Camargo, Daniel Winkler.
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) September 1, 2015
Lots to think about and look at here with lots of players tentatively headed to the AFL. Its not surprising to see a lot of pitchers headed to the AFL as the Braves need to sort out which players need to go to which level next year. Sims and Thurman in particular only had partial seasons at their current levels so more games makes it easier to promote them early next season. Daniel Winker, whom the Braves plucked in the Rule 5 draft, is recovering from Tommy John surgery and looks to see some action despite the fact that he isn't going to make it back before the regular minor season ends.
Connor Lien is a player that has been getting more and more attention for his excellent defense, speed on the basepaths, and better than expected bat this season. While he has been blessed by the BABIP gods a bit, he is a fast runner which can explain that a bit and getting him some more at-bats against higher competition will give the Braves a good sense of what kind of prospect he is. Joseph Odom is a bit surprising given he is repeating a level and has struggled this year while Camargo has a lot of tools at his disposal and could certainly use some more time refining his approach at the plate and in the field.
As for Mauricio Cabrera, this could be his chance to show if he can be the reliever that the Braves hope he can. He is a flamethrower for sure, but he also really struggles with throwing strikes at times and when he is bad, he is really bad. Its possible that his slot on the 40 man roster is currently whats at stake during his time in the AFL.