Every autumn, devoted baseball fans across the Valley look forward to Arizona Fall League.

Each MLB team sends seven of their top prospects to participate in the annual fall games.

It represents a chance for future Major League stars to play in a relaxed baseball setting and accelerate their game, while their future Major League teams get to take one last look before next season.

Among those top Detroit Tigers  prospects is Arizona’s own, Gage Workman.

Workman was born and raised in the Chandler area and graduated from Basha High School in 2017.

After high school, the skillful infielder took his talents to Arizona State University, where he was later drafted in the fourth round by the Detroit Tigers in 2020.

Workman spent the entire 2022 season at the AA level playing third base for the Erie Sea Wolves, where he slashed a .225 batting average, with 14 home runs and 68 RBIs in 128 games.

As a current member of the AFL Salt River Rafters, he recently got the opportunity to play at ASU’s Phoenix Municipal Stadium for the first time since he was a Sun Devil, and he savored the opportunity.

“It was sick,” Workman said. “I spent a lot of time at Muni, so it was a nice homecoming.”

When asked to compare his AA baseball experience to his college baseball career, Workman expressed his respect for the AA pitchers.

“I think AA arms are really good,” Workman said. “College baseball is good ball for sure, and you run into some good pitchers, but in AA, you face great pitchers pretty much every single day.”

He enjoyed the opportunity to play against his former teammate at Basha High School, Brennen Davis, who plays for the Mesa Solar Sox as a part of the Chicago Cubs organization.

“We’re (Workman and Davis) hanging out all of the time in the offseason, so competition is what we do. It’s fun to be able to do it on the field because it doesn’t happen too often,” Workman said.

Workman is making the most of his Fall League experience to keep working hard towards his long-term goal — making it to the MLB.

“I just want to continue working on my craft, continue to trust the process, and continue to improve on all different aspects of the game,” Workman said.  “I’ve been enjoying watching all of these good players around me, trying to ask them and the coaching staff questions and trying to pick everyone’s brain. They’re all great at different things.”

In a new season-ending twist, this year’s Fall League will culminate with a mini-playoff for the first time.

On Friday, the second and third seeded teams will play, with the winner facing the top seeded team for the Fall League Championship on Saturday, Nov. 12.