Fall ball is officially here!

Action in the Arizona Fall League kicks off today, as some of baseball’s best prospects meet out west in the sport’s off-season showcase.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will have a big presence in Arizona this year, as some of their most discussed prospects will be suiting up and getting reps in the AFL. Here’s everything you need to know about the league and Pirate prospects there.

What Is The Arizona Fall League?

The AFL is an off-season league where MLB teams can get their prospects some additional playing time, even with the minor league baseball season now over. The AFL has been around since 1992, and has had some of the league’s greatest players once suit up for them.

The league is comprised of six teams, all located within the Phoenix metropolitan area to cut down on travel costs. Each AFL team has an affiliation with five MLB teams. Here’s how the affiliations break down:

• Glendale Desert Dogs: Cardinals, Dodgers, Phillies, Reds, White Sox
• Mesa Solar Sox: Angels, Athletics, Cubs, Rays, Red Sox
• Peoria Javelinas: Braves, Brewers, Mariners, Marlins, Padres
• Salt River Rafters: Diamondbacks, Nationals, Rockies, Twins, Yankees
• Scottsdale Scorpions: Blue Jays, Giants, Mets, Pirates, Tigers
• Surprise Saguaros: Astros, Guardians, Orioles, Rangers, Royals

The league has really loosened restrictions on who could participate in play over the last few years. Previous rules required all but one of the players an MLB team sent to be at the Double-A level or higher. In addition, there were service time limits for any player sent who was also part of an MLB 40-man roster.