The 2015 Arizona Fall League has come to an end, and here at Insider we've already covered about 30 players who made appearances in the league. Now that stadiums have gone dark, though, we can step back and examine which prospects have raised their stock or piqued interest, and think about how the AFL, itself a unique organism, is evolving and impacting the way we evaluate its prospects.
First, let's begin with players who have raised their stock with stellar two-month stints. Keep in mind that none of these evaluations are based at all on performance, as Fall League statistics are problematic for a litany of reasons, ranging from sample size to barometric pressure.
Gary Sanchez, C, Yankees -- Sanchez's tools and overall profile have remained unchanged for a number of years; big power but approach issues that lead to an untenable strikeout ratio, and elite arm strength but a slow, clumsy body that struggles with movement and some basic aspects of catching, making it likely he ends up at first base or DH. In the Fall League, Sanchez looked a bit quicker, less apt to drop pitches and be slow to balls in the dirt.
He also showed signs of fixing the glacial way he rises from his crouch when he throws down to second base by often just eliminating the middle man and throwing from his knees. He'll post pop times anywhere from plus-plus to fringe average but it's good enough often enough to act as a stolen base deterrent. In my eyes, he certainly has a better chance to catch for a while than he did the last time I saw him, though I still believe he'll succumb to his own physiology and have to DH at some point.