CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Arizona Fall League will feature former Cavaliers – Connor Jones, Joe McCarthy, Danny Pinero and Pavin Smith who all currently in professional baseball. Each Major League Baseball team sends six of its top prospects annually to the league.
The Arizona Fall League kicked off its season on Tuesday (Oct. 9) and will conclude on Nov. 17 with the league championship game. The league is comprised of 180 players, divided up into six teams and two divisions.
RHP – Connor Jones (2014-16) – Surprise Saguraros
Jones pitched in 22 games for double-A Springfield was called up to triple-A Memphis and pitched an additional four games. For Springfield he went 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 94.2 innings pitched. He started 17 of the 22 games in which he appeared. Jones is the 30th-ranked prospect in the Cardinals organization according to MLB.com
AZL Profile: http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l119&t=p_pbp&pid=640453
OF – Joe McCarthy (2013-15) – Peoria Javelinas
McCarthy spent June and July on the disabled list before returning to help triple-A Durham win its second-straight Governor’s Cup. In the final game of a five-game International League championship series, McCarthy drove in four runs and hit a first inning, solo home run as part of a four-RBI night. Due to Hurricane Florence, all five games were played in Scranton, McCarthy’s hometown. In 47 games for Durham, McCarthy hit eight home runs and scored 31 runs while batting .269
AZL Profile: http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l119&t=p_pbp&pid=663411
3B – Daniel Pinero (2014-16) – Mesa Solar Sox
Pinero played 191 games for the Lakeland Flying Tigers, Advanced-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. The 2016 ninth-round pick batted .263 with nine home runs and 59 RBI this past season.
AZL Profile: http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l119&t=p_pbp&pid=615697
1B – Pavin Smith (2015-17) – Salt River Rafters
The No. 4 overall prospect and first round pick of the Diamondbacks in 2017 played 120 games for the Visalia Rawhide (Class-A Advanced) in 2018. In his first full season in the minors, Smith played 120 games and hit 11 home runs while driving in 54. He hit .255 with an on-base percentage of .343. In his first game with the Rafters, he went 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and a run scored.
AZL Profile: http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=&sid=l119&t=p_pbp&pid=656976