Baseball fans seldom argue the comparative merits of the Peoria Javelinas or the Mesa Solar Sox, but they and four other equally anonymous teams are in effect allowing the sport's fans to see into the future.
You don’t have to fight the crowds to see top young talent. Catcher Mike Nickeas (now with the Mets) stands at the plate in a largely deserted Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Ariz., in a 2005 Arizona Fall League game.
Those clubs -- composed of prospects from all 30 major-league teams -- make up the Arizona Fall League, which plays a six-week schedule in and around Phoenix and which began its 18th season this week.
Many of baseball's biggest stars -- Albert Pujols, Justin Morneau, Ryan Howard, Dustin Pedroia and Roy Halladay, among them -- came through Phoenix on their way up.
It's not a process with a long waiting period. Tommy Hanson of the Atlanta Braves and Gordon Beckham of the Chicago White Sox were in the AFL just last year but advanced to their parent teams and had significant success this season. Hanson won 11 games for the Braves, while Beckham drove in 63 runs and hit .270 for Chicago.
While Major League Baseball showcases its playoffs and the World Series before sold-out stadiums and an internationally televised audience in the millions, the AFL conducts its business with no radio or television coverage and paid attendance of 200 to 300 per game.
Those attendance figures may change this year. Stephen Strasburg, the most highly publicized draft choice in at least a decade, will pitch for the AFL's Phoenix Desert Dogs. Strasburg had a 13-1 record for San Diego State University in 2009 and struck out nearly two men per inning.
He signed a $15.1-million contract with the Washington Nationals and is expected to reach the major leagues next season. When he pitched a no-hitter in May, his coach, Hall of Fame member Tony Gwynn, said he was surprised not by the no-hit game, but that Strasburg hadn't already thrown one.
