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Shortstop Corey Seager, the Dodgers' first round draft pick in 2012, headlines a group of eight Dodgers who will play for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the 2013 Arizona Fall League. Joining Seager in Arizona will be outfielder Brian Cavazos-Galvez, catchers Pratt Maynard and Chris O'Brien, and a group of four pitchers to be determined.
Seager, 19, hit .309/.389/.529 with 12 home runs in 74 games for Class-A Great Lakes before his promotion to Rancho Cucamonga at the beginning of August. Seager has struggled with the Quakes as one of the youngest players in the league, hitting .165/.264/.367 with four home runs in 21 games. Seager was ranked by Keith Law at ESPN as the No. 16 prospect in baseball at midseason. Seager was also ranked as No. 35 by Baseball Prospectus and ranked No. 37 by John Sickels at Minor League Ball.
Outfielder Joc Pederson, 21, the Dodgers' other top hitting prospect, will play winter ball in lieu of the AFL, per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
The Dodgers' players in the AFL will play for the Glendale Desert Dogs, which will play its home games at Camelback Ranch, home of the Dodgers and White Sox, beginning this year. The team was previously in Phoenix, and announced the move to Glendale in March. The Desert Dogs are one of six AFL teams, comprised of players from the Dodgers, White Sox, Marlins, Reds and Twins.
Play in the 2013 AFL begins on Oct. 8 and runs for six weeks through Nov. 16.
The Desert Dogs will be managed by Twins Double-A skipper Jeff Smith. Class-A Rancho Cucamonga hitting coach Johnny Washington will serve as hitting coach for the Desert Dogs and Tom Browning, who pitched a perfect game against the Dodgers for the Reds in 1988, will serve as pitching coach.
All teams must send at least six players to the AFL. Double-A and Triple-A players are eligible, as long as the player was in Double-A by Aug. 1. One player below Double-A is allowed per major league team. One foreign player is also allowed per MLB team, as long as the player doesn't reside in a country that plays winter ball.
However, Seager, Maynard and O'Brien are all below Double-A. Perhaps the need for catchers trumped roster rules in this case.