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Cody Bellinger, Willie Calhoun, Alex Verdugo will play in Arizona Fall League

AFL play begins Tuesday, Oct. 11

cody-bellinger-2016-tulsa-first-base-rich-crimi
Cody Bellinger is one of three Tulsa position players the Dodgers will send to the Arizona Fall League.
Photo: Rich Crimi | Tulsa Drillers

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are sending three top hitting prospects to the Arizona Fall League in 2016, with rosters revealed on Wednesday. The Double-A Tulsa trio of Cody Bellinger, Willie Calhoun and Alex Verdugo will all play for the Glendale Desert Dogs this fall.

The Dodgers are also expected to send four pitchers to the AFL, but those haven’t been announced just yet.

The Arizona Fall League begins play on Oct. 11, with team workouts beginning a few days prior. The league championship game is scheduled for Nov. 19. The annual Fall Stars Game will be played on Nov. 5 at Surprise Stadium.

The Desert Dogs will play their home games at Camelback Ranch, home of the Dodgers and White Sox, and will feature prospects from those two teams plus the Astros, Cardinals and Nationals.

Calhoun and Verdugo were named 2016 end of year Texas League All-Stars earlier on Wednesday, and teamed with Bellinger in the middle of the Drillers’ batting order on most nights this season.

That trio began the season among the seven youngest players in the Texas League, with Verdugo and Bellinger in their age-20 seasons, and Calhoun in his age-21 campaign.

Bellinger has played all three outfield positions in addition to first base this year, hitting .261/.361/.483 with 22 home runs in 111 games entering Wednesday. That is all after missing the first four weeks of the season with a hip injury, then starting his year in a 4-for-37 slump.

The second baseman Calhoun is hitting .259/.325/.485 with 27 home runs, 44 walks, and a Texas League-leading 88 RBI in 126 games.

Verdugo, Tulsa’s center fielder, is hitting .277/.340/.410 with 22 doubles, 12 home runs and 42 walks.

Bellinger is rated the No. 35 prospect in baseball per MLB.com, with Verdugo 50th and Calhoun No. 96.

In addition to the players, the Dodgers will be represented on the Desert Dogs with AZL Dodgers pitching coach Greg Sabat, and assistant minor league medical coordinator Kevin Orloski serving as one of the team trainers.

Glendale will be managed by Aaron Rowand, currently a minor league instructor for the White Sox.