Today’s preview features the Surprise Saguaros who finished first in the AFL West last season (19-11-1) but lost to Scottsdale in the AFL Championship Game.

The Saguaros are comprised of players from the following major league teams: Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers.

Trey Ball

Trey Ball (LHP) – Parent Club: Boston Red Sox

The left-hander Ball was the organization’s seventh overall pick in the 2013 Draft out of New Castle Chrysler High School in New Castle, IN.

He’s made the slow and steady climb through Boston’s system, spending his second season with the Salem Red Sox, the High-A affiliate for Boston in 2016. After a 9-13 season where he posted a 4.73 ERA in 2015, Ball lowered his ERA nearly a full run in ’16, going 8-6 with a 3.84 ERA in 23 starts.

In 2012, Ball was named an Under Armour All-American where he showed a fastball in the low 90s. Scouts noted he was among the more physically-gifted all-around athletes in the 2013 class.

Jamie Callahan

Jamie Callahan (RHP) – Parent Club: Boston Red Sox

Callahan was the 2012 Gatorade South Carolina Baseball Player of the Year and was later selected in the second round of the 2012 Draft by Boston out of Dillon High School in Dillon, SC.

The 22 year-old right-hander made 36 appearances this season out of the bullpen for Salem, posting his best ERA as a professional (3.29), going 5-3 with seven saves and 63 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings pitched.

John Curtiss

John Curtiss (RHP) – Parent Club: Minnesota Twins

Drafted in the sixth round of the 2014 Draft after two successful seasons at the University of Texas at Austin, where he posted a 3.01 ERA, winning four games, saving 11 and striking out 81 batters over 107 2/3 innings pitched in 2012 & 2014. He missed the entire 2013 season after Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2012. Upon returning from injury and healthy to start ’14 at Texas, Curtiss threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts in his first appearance since 2012.

In 2010, Curtiss was an Under Armour All-American, firing mid 90s fastballs with a deceptive delivery and that has carried into his professional career, having mostly been a reliever. After missing a portion of the ’15 season with a concussion, Curtiss has pitched at A-level Cedar Rapids and High-A Fort Myers, pitching to a 2.66 ERA in 44 games with an impressive 85 strikeouts in just 61.0 innings pitched.

Michael Kopech

Michael Kopech (RHP) – Parent Club: Boston Red Sox

Featured as one of two Baseball Factory alums on the list of 10 Prospects to watch this year in the Arizona Fall League, Kopech made 11 starts this season with Salem after returning from an injury to go 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 82 strikeouts in just 52.0 innings pitched. Hitters batted just .147 off of the organization’s No. 5 prospect this season.

In July 2012, Kopech attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Carollton, TX as his skillset was very obvious. The Mount Pleasant, TX native was then named to the 2013 All-America Game, where he struck out the side in his inning of work and topped out his fastball at 93 mph, pairing that pitch with an upper 70s slider, working quickly and attacking the strike zone.

Nick Gordon

Nick Gordon (IF) – Parent Club: Minnesota Twins

Gordon, the Twins fifth overall pick in the ’14 Draft, is doing his thing in his third professional season in baseball and carving out his own path in a family of baseball players. Nick is the youngest Gordon; his older brother Dee, is an all-star infielder for the Miami Marlins, and his father, Tom ‘Flash’ Gordon, pitched parts of 21 major league seasons and won 138 games.

Nick has shown a blend of speed and power through his first three seasons, increasing his average in 2016, while maintaining the ability to get on base and steal them at a high rate. At Fort Myers in 2016, Nick hit .291 with 23 doubles, six triples, three homers, 56 runs scored and 19 stolen bases. He also increased his OPS this season (from .696 in ’15 to .721 in ’16).

In September of 2012, Gordon participated in the Team One Futures East event, a sign of things to come with above average arm strength on the mound, now helping his throws while playing mostly short stop. 2013 brought him the opportunity to play in the Under Armour Memorial Day Classic and later in August, a trip to Wrigley Field for the Under Armour All-America Game. Gordon shined in the game, going 3-for-4 with two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. During his senior season at Olympia High School in 2014, Gordon was named the Gatorade Florida Baseball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Alfredo Escalera

Alfredo Escalera (OF) – Parent Club: Kansas City Royals

Born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Escalera graduated from The Pendleton School in Bradenton, FL in 2012 and was then drafted by the Royals in the eighth round of the ’12 Draft.

He also has strong bloodlines in baseball – his uncle, Nino, played for the Cincinnati Reds in 1954 and later scouted for the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. His cousin, Ruben, played in the Milwaukee Brewers and Reds organizations and is a hitting instructor in the Oakland Athletics system.

The outfielder split time between High-A Wilmington where he hit .269 with 10 doubles, three homers and 30 RBI in 73 games and Double-A Northwest Arkansas, promoted on July 14th, where he hit .277 with 14 doubles, 25 runs scored and 23 RBI in 50 games this season.