Shushkewich: Five Canadians headed to Arizona Fall League

Red Deer CarStar Braves and Junior National Team grad Nathan Flewelling (Innisfail, Alta.) has been selected to play in the Arizona Fall League by the Tampa Bay Rays.

September 21, 2026

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

With September winding down, the air is getting cooler and October baseball is just around the corner.

The 2026 regular season is slowly coming to an end across the minor leagues. While players whose teams missed the postseason are preparing for the off-season — and, potentially, pending CBA negotiations — a select group of minor leaguers will head to Arizona for another month of baseball.

The Arizona Fall League brings together six teams made up of prospects from all 30 MLB organizations. The league provides selected players with additional opportunities to develop, get at-bats and innings, and make up for time missed during the regular season, particularly because of injuries.

For Canadian baseball fans, five players from north of the border will be in Arizona this fall.

Nathan Flewelling — C

Scottsdale Scorpions / Tampa Bay Rays

Nathan Flewelling will head to the desert this October as one of the younger players in the Arizona Fall League, despite already having two years of professional experience under his belt.

The Innisfail, Alta., native was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the third round of the 2024 MLB Draft. This season, Flewelling suited up in 106 games for the High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods, posting a .243/.364/.452 slash line with 17 doubles, 21 home runs and an .816 OPS.

His 71 walks led the Hot Rods, while he finished second on the team in home runs and RBIs. He also added eight stolen bases.

Behind the plate, Flewelling threw out 21.5 percent of attempted base stealers and finished the season with a .982 fielding percentage.

Ranked as the Rays' No. 4 prospect, Flewelling will get another opportunity to continue his development against some of the organization's top competition in Arizona.

Core Jackson — INF

Salt River Rafters / New York Yankees

Sarnia, Ont., native Core Jackson is heading to Salt River after another productive season in the New York Yankees’ organization.

The Yankees selected Jackson in the fifth round of the 2025 MLB Draft, and the infielder received a brief taste of professional baseball late that season.

In 2026, Jackson split his time between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset. He spent the majority of the season with Hudson Valley, where he recorded 36 extra-base hits and 32 stolen bases while posting a .259/.369/.474 slash line and an .843 OPS.

The Great Lake Canadians grad finished the season with Somerset, appearing in 23 games and recording a .739 OPS with eight extra-base hits in 93 at-bats.

Jackson missed time this season during three separate stints on the injured list. The Fall League will give him another opportunity to get at-bats and finish his first full season in the Yankees’ organization on the field.

Calvin Ziegler — RHP

Surprise Saguaros / New York Mets

One of the more experienced Canadians heading to Arizona is right-hander Calvin Ziegler (Kitchener, Ont.).

The New York Mets selected Ziegler out of high school in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft. Injuries have limited the right-hander throughout his professional career, and he entered 2026 with just 53 professional innings under his belt. He also missed the entire 2025 season.

Ziegler didn't take the mound until mid-June this year as he continued his recovery from Tommy John surgery. The Great Lake Canadians alum began the season with 2 1/3 innings in Rookie Ball before eventually making 17 appearances across four affiliates.

The 23-year-old finished the season with a 7.43 ERA and a 2.70 WHIP over 13 1/3 innings.

For Ziegler, however, the numbers on the stat sheet tell only part of the story. After dealing with significant injuries early in his professional career, simply remaining healthy and getting back on the mound represented an important step forward.

The Mets used Ziegler primarily as a bullpen arm this season rather than in his traditional starting role. How the organization deploys him in Arizona will be something to watch.

Dante Nori — OF

Surprise Saguaros / Philadelphia Phillies

Joining Ziegler in Surprise will be outfielder Dante Nori.

Nori was born in Toronto while his father, Micah, was a member of the Toronto Raptors' coaching staff. The Phillies selected Nori in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft.

Entering 2026, Nori was in his third professional season after appearing in a handful of Single-A games following the draft.

The speedy outfielder dealt with a lower-body injury early in the season and battled through the issue into May and June. A stress fracture in his pelvis was eventually discovered, sidelining him for more than two months through July and into mid-August.

The injury appeared to affect Nori's production. He finished the season with a .238/.311/.347 slash line, a .658 OPS and 17 stolen bases. Those numbers were down from the .733 OPS he posted over 125 games the previous season.

Nori finished 2026 with 13 doubles, five triples and three home runs.

With the fracture now healed, the Arizona Fall League will provide Nori with additional at-bats before he heads into the offseason.

Charles Davalan — OF

Glendale Desert Dogs / Los Angeles Dodgers

After a standout season at Arkansas, Charles Davalan, who was born in Waterloo, Ont. but grew up in St-Bruno-De-Montarville, Que., was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 41st pick of the 2025 MLB Draft.

Davalan appeared in just eight games after signing last season, making 2026 his first full professional campaign in the Dodgers organization.

The outfielder spent most of the season with the High-A Great Lakes Loons, splitting his time between left and centre field while also making several appearances as the designated hitter.

Davalan put together an impressive offensive season, hitting .292/.402/.535 with a .937 OPS over 115 games. His performance earned him Midwest League All-Star honours as well as Midwest League Most Valuable Player recognition.

He finished third in the Midwest League in batting average, slugging percentage, runs, home runs, OPS and wRC+, while leading the league with 29 doubles. He also scored 103 runs and hit 24 home runs.

Unlike several of the other Canadians headed to Arizona, the ABC grad isn't going to the Fall League to make up for significant time missed because of injury.

Instead, the Dodgers will get an opportunity to see how their prized prospect performs against increased competition after a stellar first full professional season.

For Canadian baseball fans, the Arizona Fall League will provide another opportunity to follow five of the country's promising young players as they take the next step toward the big leagues.