Tigers Arizona Fall League Primer: Roster, Schedule, TV, Players to Watch
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The Detroit Tigers are sending seven prospects to get a head start on development for the 2026 season during the Arizona Fall League, which starts on Sunday.
The top postseason player development league stateside, each Major League team sends several of its prospects to six spring training sites in Arizona for a month of games. Each AFL team is made up of players from five MLB franchises.
The AFL expanded its postseason to include all six teams. The top two teams in the league will receive byes into the second round. The championship game will be broadcast on MLB Network, MLB.com and the MLB app. The playoffs will be Nov. 13-15.
The AFL will play for a month this year, with tripleheaders set for Tucson on Oct. 11 and for Goodyear on Oct. 18. At the end of the season, the AFL will hold its Fall Stars Game on Nov. 9, a game that will be broadcast live on the MLB Network. That is preceded by the home run derby on Nov. 8.
Detroit Tigers AFL Players, Team, Schedule
Team: The Tigers will play with the Scottsdale Scorpions, alongside players from the San Francisco Giants, the New York Mets, the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals.
Players (MLB Pipeline Top 30 ranking in parenthesis): Kevin McGonigle, SS (No. 1/MLB No. 2); Max Anderson, 2B/3B (No. 9); Jake Miller, LHP (No. 19); Dariel Fregio, RHP; Carlos Lequerica, RHP; Jack Penney, 2B/SS; Kenny Serwa, RHP
Top 30 Prospect to Watch: Kevin McGonigle could be the No. 1 prospect in baseball when sites like MLB Pipeline reset their rankings in the spring. A big month in Arizona could cement it. McGonigle is in Arizona because he missed a few weeks to start the season with an injury and Detroit wants to get him some extra at-bats. He’s knocking on the door of the Majors with his third straight season of a batting average of .300 or better (.305/.408/.583) with 19 home runs and 80 RBI. If he makes the Majors on opening day, he’ll bypass Triple-A Toledo.
Under-The-Radar Prospect to Watch: Right-handed pitcher Kenny Serwa is a rarity in today’s baseball — his primary pitch is a knuckleball. That isn’t supposed to work when velocity is king. But it got him to Triple-A Toledo this year. In 27 games (22 starts) he was 9-7 with a 3.58 ERA in 118 innings, with 84 strikeouts and 49 walks. Batters hit just .225 against him. A properly thrown knuckleball can make hitters look foolish. They’re also durable, and the Tigers could use that in the Majors in 2026.
2025 Scottsdale Scorpions Schedule
(Times local to Arizona and subject to change)
Oct. 6: vs. Peoria, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 8: vs. Salt River, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 9: at Glendale, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 10: vs. Mesa, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 11: vs. Glendale (tripleheader at Kino Sports Complex)
Oct. 12: vs. Peoria, 5 p.m.
Oct. 14: at Peoria, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 15: vs. Salt River, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 16: vs. Glendale, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 17: at Mesa, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 18: vs. Surprise, 6:30 p.m. (tripleheader at Goodyear Park)
Oct. 19: vs. Surprise, 5 p.m.
Oct. 21: at Peoria, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 22: at Surprise, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 23: at Peoria, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 24: at Salt River, 12:30 p.m.
Oct. 26: vs. Mesa, 5 p.m.
Oct. 28: vs. Surprise, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 29: at Surprise, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 30: vs. Glendale, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 31: at Salt River, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 1: vs. Salt River, 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 2: vs. Peoria, 5 p.m.
Nov. 4: at Mesa, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 5: at Surprise, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 6: at Mesa, 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 7: at Glendale, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 8: Home Run Derby, 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 9: Fall Stars Game, 6 p.m.
Nov. 10: at Salt River, 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 11: vs. Glendale, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 12: vs. Mesa, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 13: Quarterfinals (1:30/6:30 p.m.)
Nov. 14: Semifinals (1:30/6:30 p.m.)
Nov. 15: Championship, 6 p.m.
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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Major League Baseball for OnSI. He also covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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