DOWNTOWN — Cardinals first-round pick Brett Wallace continues a meteoric rise through the minor-league ranks with the announcement Tuesday that he will be one of two 2008 first-round picks to play in the Arizona Fall League. He’ll share the left side of the infield with the other.

And he’ll be playing for a familiar skipper — his current manager, Pop Warner.

Wallace, taken 13th overall and hitting ever since, headlines a group of eight players from the Cardinals’ minor-league system headed to Arizona to play for the Peoria Saguaros. Warner, the Cardinals rising managerial prospect and Class AA manager, will be the skipper for the Saguaros, the league and major-league teams announced Tuesday.

The Cardinals share the Peoria team with the Mets, the White Sox, Washington, and San Diego. That leads two a couple interesting overlaps:

• Rick Eckstein, a former Cardinals’ minor-league coach and the brother of former Cardinals shortstop David, will be the Saguaros coach. Eckstein is just returning from Beijing where he served as a coach for Team USA.
• Gordon Beckham, the University of Georgia shortstop that Cardinals eyed as an unlikely pick at 13, went eighth overall, five spots ahead of Wallace. Now, he’ll likely play to the left of Wallace. Beckham has hit .306/.375/.444 in nine games so far as a pro.

The Cardinals will send a total of seven active players to the Arizona Fall League and an eighth, Steven Hill, will be listed on the “taxi squad”, a spot that makes him eligible to play on Wednesdays and Sundays. The eight Cardinals’ farmhands headed to the desert (follow the links for their stats):

Justin Fiske, LHP — AA, Has advanced three levels as, mostly, reliever.

Brad Furnish, LHP — AA, Starter could use AFL to propel him to AAA.

Tyler Norrick, LHP — High-A, Another lefty, one in need of innings.

Adam Ottavino, RHP — AA, Needs AFL to reassert place as premium pitching prospect after a disappointing season.

Steven Hill, C — High-A, Back from injury and listed as a catcher, though the expectation is that Hill will emerge as a utility player with the glove to play catcher (a No. 3, for example), first base and the outfield.

Tyler Green, SS — AAA, Bounceback year continues for former first-round pick who was slowed by injury and inconsistent play. There’s always been a possibility he’ll play second, and with Beckham aboard it’s safe to wonder if he’ll see playing time at other positions. 

Brett Wallace, 3B — AA, Have bat, will travel, apparently. Wallace is hitting .407/.484/.889 in his first seven games as Double-A. There’s little reason to doubt the Arizona State alum will continue to rake and reach base at any level — and with an AFL spot in hand an invite to major-league spring training is probably only a few months behind. (For the experience only, mind you.) 

Shane Robinson, OF — AAA, Scrappy outfielder hit .352 in Double-A before promotion.  His speed augments a plucky approach to hitting and a profile that fits a moveable-part outfielder the Cardinals always utilize.

The Arizona Fall League begins Oct. 7 and lasts until late November, and it has made a name for itself as a league teeming with future stars. Some 1,500 AFL alumni have played in the major leagues. The AFL has produced 136 major-league All-Stars, including a remarkable 36 this past season. Five AFL players have gone on to win a league MVP award, including Albert Pujols. Three have gone on to win the league’s Cy Young Award, including Chris Carpenter. A total of 18 rookies of the year have been produced by the AFL. And it’s likely the Cardinals’ rookie of the year from this season will have just been in the Arizona Fall League the autumn before.

That is, of course, reliever Kyle McClellan.

Three Cardinal minor-leaguers who played for the Mesa Solar Sox last fall have been in the majors this season — McClellan, outfielder Joe Mather and pitcher Mitchell Boggs. A fourth is possible in Jason Motte, a potential September callup who has several fans on the major-league staff. That foursome played alongside Jed Lowrie, the Red Sox shortstop, in Mesa. Other notables who played in the AFL last year and are in the MLB this year include Ricky Nolasco (Florida), Blake DeWitt (LA Dodgers), Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay) and, in a brief but spectacular appearance, St. Louis native Max Scherzer (Arizona).

This year’s AFL is highlighted at the prospect level by catcher Matt Wieters (Baltimore) and at the coaching level by a Hall of Famer around to talk hitting in Ryne Sandberg, for Mesa.

Full rosters are available here.

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