I’m winding down my two weeks of Arizona Fall League coverage and, as always, it’s been a blast. I’ve talked to a bunch of prospects, caught up with scouts and seen some impressive performances.

And you know that old adage about baseball that every time you think you’ve seen it all, you see something new? That definitely happened. How many of you can say you’ve seen one team hit two inside-the-park homers in one game? Unless you were at the game when Greg Gagne hit two on his own for the Twins back in 1986, or happened to be at the AFL game with me in Peoria earlier this week, the answer is zero.

Understandably, most of our content these days focuses on the Fall League. We spent all of this week’s Pipeline Podcast talking about our impressions of AFL action through the first two weeks and we answered two questions, about Noelvi Marte’s bat and Jordan Lawlar’s glove, to finish off the pod. Here are a few more of your AFL-related questions that caught my attention.

With the Reds having a plethora of young SS talent, who do you believe will be at SS for the long run? -- @StevieDAles97

It’s a good problem to have, no? By the end of the 2022 regular season, the Reds had four players in the Top 100 who played a majority of the time at shortstop: Elly De La Cruz (No. 14), Noelvi Marte (No. 17), Edwin Arroyo (No. 52) and Matt McLain (No. 73). Marte and McLain are both here in Arizona, but as Jesse Sanchez wrote on Wednesday, Marte is making the move to third base during his time in the AFL. So that’s one answer to your question.

While McLain is playing short exclusively this fall, I do think he might be a better fit at second base when all is said and done. It’s not that he’s not capable at the premium position. He’d be a competent shortstop for sure; I just think he could be a very good second baseman. So that leaves De La Cruz, who wants to prove to everyone that he can play short despite him being 6-foot-5 (Yes, he watches Oneil Cruz and thinks ‘Why can’t I do that?’), and Arroyo, who came over with Marte from the Mariners in the Luis Castillo trade. 

De La Cruz is such a special athlete that it wouldn’t shock me if he could stick at short in the big leagues. But if I had to choose one now, I’d give the nod to Arroyo, who is a plus defender with outstanding range, hands, actions and a strong arm. If you want to make room for all four of them in one big league lineup, you could put De La Cruz in the outfield, where his plus arm would look great from right.

Which three prospects do you see benefiting the most from being in the league? Are there any candidates to work their way to a call-up if they perform here? -- @TalksToPeople

The company line is that every prospect benefits from being in the Fall League. But I see what you’re getting at and yes, there are many players in this year’s AFL who’ll be in the big leagues next year. I just saw Mesa play on Wednesday and there are two players there who jump to mind. One is the Cubs’ Matt Mervis, the big first baseman who hit 36 homers and drove in 119 while reaching -- and hitting well in -- Triple-A during the regular season. I could see him using this experience to springboard him to big league camp next spring, where he could compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

His Solar Sox teammate, A’s infielder Zack Gelof, falls in the category of prospects who are making up for lost time after an injury. He began his first full season in Double-A and if it hadn’t been for his non-throwing shoulder injury, he likely would’ve been in Triple-A at some point, if not higher. Like Mervis, he could get a long look in big league camp and even if he doesn’t make the A’s on Opening Day, he should be in line to contribute at some point early in 2023, with the benefit of being able to play second or third.

This list of 2023 big leaguers could be very long, but I’ll throw one more name on there to get a pitcher into the conversation. Pirates right-hander Quinn Priester didn’t pitch until June this year because of an oblique, but still finished the year in Triple-A. He’s finishing off his year here and while I’d guess he’s more likely to start next year back in Indianapolis, he’s now over 100 IP for the year and the 22-year old will be knocking on Pittsburgh’s door soon enough.

What are your thoughts on Joe Mack? -- @Flamarlins93

I’ve gotten the chance to see Mack play a few times out here and I’ve been very impressed with how he’s carried himself as the fifth-youngest player in the league. I talked to him after he hit his second homer of the AFL season (he’s since added a third) and I like his left-handed swing a lot. I think he has a really good chance to hit with a good amount of power.

He’s learning a ton catching this level of pitching, a caliber of arm he’s never seen before. He has the tools to be a solid defender, too, giving him the chance to be a solid all-around backstop. This is a huge leap for him; remember, he’s played just 63 Minor League games in his career after the Marlins took him No. 31 overall in the 2021 Draft. A hamstring injury forced him to the sidelines for a while during the regular season and he’s yet to play above the Single-A level.

So I’d throw the numbers out the window for his time here on both sides of the ball, really, though they really aren’t that bad. It’s more about him being introduced to this next level. I think it says something that the Marlins thought he could handle this aggressive assignment and it could help him hit the ground running next year as he starts to climb the organizational ladder.