Saw it on the Mets subreddit and thought I’d be an interesting community question!

By me :)

Has anyone found a true authentic Cardinals batting helmet with the raised logo?
I dont want one with just the STL sticker on it, am looking for the real deal... they even make those for public purchase?

You don't see guys with MLB experience in the Arizona Fall League too often, but there was definitely a better crop of talent (on the hitting side) compared to previous years.

Generally, the AFL is a mix of the following kinds of players:

• Players that missed time due to injury earlier in the year and the org wants to get them more ABs/IPs. Usually when a higher-end prospect is in Arizona, it's because of that.
• Fringe 40-man contenders that are about to hit Rule 5 eligibility and their org wants to see get some last looks before determining if they're added or not. See a lot of RPs and UTIL/bench guys fit this mold. Also a lot of international guys that signed at 16/17 who might be quite young still, but are nearing Rule 5 eligibility and maybe progressed well the most recent season or two.
• Players that might be candidates for changing positions and are getting some more looks at those positions. A lot of players will get some random assignments though, so don't read much into a handful of games way outside their normal comfort zone.
• Hitters working on swing and plate approach adjustments
• Pitchers working on new pitches or mechanics
• Aging fringe prospects that are getting a "last look" before possibly being released
• Players who had a rough season performance wise, but showed improvements towards the end and the club simply wants to see if they can keep it up.

Certainly not an exhaustive list, but in looking at previous posts here, there seems to be some really varied misconceptions about the AFL. It is definitely not filled with tons of top end prospects, but it's also not a total scrap heap either. Generally speaking, pitching is much weaker there since you get a lot of RP-types and depth arms. Teams also don't want to put too much mileage on their higher end arms, so you rarely see a good SP prospect with 100+ IPs make an appearance at the AFL. That trend seemed to be true once again this AFL.

Usually, scouts and prospect hounds are looking for deeper info than just surface level stats. They're looking for added speed on pitches for pitchers, or maybe increased exit velos for hitters, or perhaps defensive adjustments at a new role.

Combining all of this, I would say that you shouldn't take Saggese's performance as a sign he'll hit .300 next year, but it's still very encouraging for a guy that struggled earlier in the season. Everything I'm hearing this offseason seems to point towards Saggese having a serious shot at being the everyday 2B next year. Perhaps that math changes if/when Arenado is traded, but barring a significant setback, I think Saggese is going to be around for a number of years, even if just in a UTIL/bench role.

Saggese is a really interesting prospect, and one I've followed closely since his A-ball days with Texas. He has a knack for putting the ball in play without lighting up statcast sheets in a way a traditionally hitter-heavy profile would suggest. Really excited to see him get into some serious action next year. Plus, I'm just plain a fan of any hitter that doesn't use batting gloves.

Link to results:

https://apnews.com/sports/nl-manager-of-the-year-voting-898d493859874bf1fed3a6f9d3303b62

I'm not going to argue that he deserved to win, Skenes had it locked up. This year was stacked with rookies, to be fair, and maybe voters just viewed the Rookies on playoff teams more favorably? Maybe I'm just yelling at the clouds because as much as it has gotten better, defense still is viewed far behind offense for impact. And WAR isn't everything, but Winn is ahead or close in most metrics. It doesn't matter ultimately but it just seemed a little weird he didn't get a single vote.

Walker

Nootbaar

Helsley

Gray

Contreras

Winn

Burleson

Donovan