AFL: Strasburg set for Arizona Fall League debut

No start by a pitcher has been more anticipated in recent fall league history: the right-handed Strasburg—with his 98-mph, flame-inducing fastball—throwing for the defending six-time AFL title-winning Phoenix Desert Dogs against the Scottsdale Scorpions.

The ballpark holds 7,881, but there’s no telling how many fans will attend to see the 21-year-old San Diego native, said Steve Cobb, the executive director of the league. General-admission tickets are sold on a day-of-game basis only. There’s no advance sales or assigned seats.

He’ll be pitching against Chaz Roe (COL). Scottsdale doesn’t have a lot of highly-touted hitting prospects - the Scorpions do have Buster Posey and Jose Tabata, but the rest of the lineup is pedestrian at best. The team OPS is the lowest in the league and they’ve scored the second-fewest runs over three games so far. Let’s just say Strasburg should handle these guys.