Postseason baseball is right around the corner. That's not the only baseball that is right around the corner, though, as the Arizona Fall League (AFL) begins play on Tuesday October 9. Prospect enthusiasts will be delighted to know that there are a plethora of talented hitters littered throughout AFL teams. This is the norm for the hitter friendly league, but there are a handful of interesting arms that will be pitching there as well. For those unfamiliar, the AFL has six teams, each of which is comprised of players from five different organizations. I'll be highlighting a trio of players from each team, starting with the Mesa Solar Sox today.

Well here it is... A new article. Sorry to leave you all hanging so long. That was pretty irresponsible of us.

Anyhoo...this is the last week of the season for head to head leagues (for most leagues anyway I imagine) and in roto leagues you still may have a category or two to make a move in to pick up some points. Are there any players you can look at that have picked it up lately, or have favorable match ups in the coming weeks that can help you out? Yes. If I said No, this would have been a very short article. All of the ownership percentages that follow come from Yahoo!.
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Yes, it’s been a while since our last post here. Real world things come up with jobs and family, etc. Working for a minor league baseball team means some long hours during home stands and the need to spend more time with family when the team is on the road. That being said, we’ll be back in full force this offseason, and periodically until then.

The Red Sox and Dodgers have completed an August waiver trade the likes of which have never been seen. Obviously, for those in AL/NL only formats, this could be a game changer. For mixed formats, there will still be some impact for the rest of this season, but the real impact for those formats comes in terms of keeper/dynasty value. Here are my thoughts on the players going from the Red Sox to the Dodgers.

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At first glance the tendency is to look at the new ballpark that Hanley Ramirez will play in and say this is bad for fantasy owners. Marlins Park has proven to be a better than average hitter's park and we know historically that Dodger Stadium hasn't been great. I don't care. This is a good trade for Hanley owners. He needs a change. He's hit under .250 for more than 162 games now. Maybe he needs a pennant race. Maybe he needs a large market. Maybe he needs his old position. I don't know, but I know that the status quo wasn't working. 

Cole Hamels to the Phillies. Obviously it makes sense long term. Hamels has the 15th best WAR among pitchers since 2010. It doesn't sound that impressive, but there are 30 teams in Major League Baseball. He would be an ace on half of them, and thus a 28-year-old free-agent-to-be deserves to get paid. More money than any NL pitcher in history. For fantasy purposes this isn't good. Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence probably won't be on the team in a week and the Phillies will continue to provide lower than expected run support for their pitchers. Also, Hamels doesn't have that mental pressure to pull a Sabathia and get every cent that he deserves in the final rehearsel before winter meetings. Anyway here are some links to discuss the issue...

Hanley a Steal for Dodgers 

Hamels Paid Like an Ace

Apparently, the Yankees and Mariners both have ninjas for GMs, because the trade of Ichiro Suzuki to New York seemed to come out of nowhere. Ichiro still has a big name and a grand track record, but is he anything more than a defensive whiz at this point and can his move from spacious Safeco to the short porch in Yankee Stadium help his fantasy value?

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It wasn't long ago that Travis Snider was considered one of the top hitting prospects in all of baseball.  Hitting .248/.307/.423 in 877 plate appearances, as a corner outfielder that's not considered an asset defensively, isn't a good way to hold a starting job in the majors.  After losing a battle for the left field job in the spring, the Blue Jays organization decided it was best to send him to Triple-A to receive steady playing time, and attempt to correct some of his hitting flaws.  He has been putting together an excellent season for Las Vegas, but when Jose Bautista hit the disabled list, the team bypassed Snider in favor of his teammate Anthony Gose.  Alas, it appeared Snider had completely fallen out of favor with the Blue Jays' brass, and that a change of scenery may be necessary for him to get another shot in the bigs.  Not so fast, some Thursday night happenings had Twitter buzzing.

Carl Crawford was in the starting lineup for the first time this season and hitting second in a lineup that featured four lefties at the top of the order. One of those lefties was David Ortiz who happened to be hitting behind Crawford in the Red Sox order. The relationship was working pretty well for Crawford who singled in his first at-bat and eventually scored after an Ortiz single moved him to third. In the 8th inning, the Red Sox first four hitters eventually had to face left-hander Leyson Septimo. Both Crawford and Ortiz walked before the fourth lefty in the crew, Adrian Gonzalez, hit a clutch home run (something he desperately needed - and to the opposite field no less). On the play though, Ortiz came up lame running between second and third. Gonzalez made it back to the dugout well before Ortiz as Ortiz was helped immediately by the trainer. Bobby Valentine looked visibly worried.

As it turns out, Ortiz hurt his ankle on the play and it was recently announced that he will have an MRI although Ortiz himself claims that nothing popped, which is good news. Given that the Red Sox have gotten back Crawford and the fourth lefty in the crew, Jacoby Ellsbury, it would be horrible timing for Ortiz to miss any action. Among qualifying hitters, only Andrew McCutchen and Joey Votto have a better OPS than the 36-year-old, but this is the sort of thing that makes you worry about a 36-year-old having a great season. Here are some other notes on injuries to Bautista, Votto, and more: no comments

Edwin Encarnacion has been an absolute fantasy monster this season. Tonight, he connected for his 24th and 25th home runs of the season and he's been flirting with a .300/.380/.550 line almost all year long. I've been touting EE for years now and wrote this about him in the offseason...

"I'm a gluten for punishment when it comes to certain players and E5 is one of them. While Encarnacion struggled mightily out of the gates last season, he picked up the pace big-time after the all-star break, hitting .291/.382/.504 with 11 home runs and seven stolen bases. Perhaps one season he'll put it all together. Perhaps that season is 2012. A late round pick is worth the risk. He'll try his luck in left field during winter ball, which could add more "versatility", or at least a chance for more at-bats."

While I used Encarnacion's strong second half as the main support for my recommendation, it was the underlying skills that he had shown year after year that made me think of him in the first place.