2020 Arizona Fall League season canceled

Autumn in Arizona usually means the start of the Arizona Fall League. This year, that won’t be the case.

The AFL’s 2020 campaign has been scrapped, MLB chief baseball development officer Tony Reagins confirmed to MiLB.com. Baseball America first reported the season’s cancellation.

This year’s AFL campaign was scheduled to begin Thursday with Camelback Ranch, Peoria Sports Complex, Salt River Fields, Scottsdale Stadium, Sloan Park and Surprise Stadium serving as host venues. According to Baseball America, Major League Baseball did not feel the facilities could adequately accommodate full AFL rosters, staffs and support personnel “while still maintaining proper physical distancing.”

The premier showcase circuit for Minor League prospects each offseason, the Arizona Fall League ordinarily hosts six teams per season, each squad loaded with prospects from five different Major League organizations.

With no Minor League season in 2020, many top prospects across baseball have been with their clubs either in active Major League play or at alternate training sites across the country as part of each organization’s expanded 60-player pool. Those circumstances, coupled with a reported expanded calendar for instructional league play for Minor Leaguers in Arizona, made the 2020 Fall League season unrealistic.

Last year, top Minnesota Twins prospect Royce Lewis won the league's Fall Stars Top Star honors and as well as the Most Valuable Player award for the season while leading the Salt River Rafters to the league title.

The Arizona Fall League began play in 1992 and has hosted players such as Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Ronald Acuña Jr., Kris Bryant and Nolan Arenado over the past decade. In 1994, the circuit took center stage on the baseball map when Michael Jordan played for the Scottsdale Scorpions following his lone Minor League season and batted .252 in 120 at-bats.