September can be a fun time even if your favorite MLB club isn’t in the playoff picture. Expanded rosters at the beginning of the month allow for an influx of prospects, providing hope for the future, as well as a little fall excitement.

Last season saw a number of freshman players produce decent September numbers, including pitchers Wily Peralta (Brewers), Shelby Miller (Cardinals), and Chris Archer (Rays), as well as outfielder Adam Eaton (Diamondbacks). All three hurlers have gone on to have extended roles in 2013 and both Miller and Archer are in the running for the rookie of the year awards in their respective leagues.

Below is a ranking of the best prospects to receive their first promotion to the big leagues during the first two days of September.

1. Nick Castellanos, RF/3B, Tigers: The addition of Castellanos to the active roster was a no-brainer. He was added to the 40-man roster a year earlier than he had to be (to be protected from the Rule 5 draft) but he’s close enough to big-league ready that he’s not going to need all three of his option years.

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The list of compelling rookie seasons for Seattle pitchers is a short one.

Mark Langston debuted in 1984 with a 4.1 WAR. Freddy Garcia managed a 3.7 WAR in his freshman season in 1999. The flame-throwing Michael Pineda tossed up a 3.2 WAR in 2011. Felix Hernandez managed a 2.3 WAR in his somewhat brief debut season, the exact same mark that a 28-year-old rookie southpaw by the name of Bobby Madritsch managed in 2004 when he came out of no where to to appear in 15 games (11 starts).

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The preliminary rosters were recently announced for the impending Arizona Fall League. If you’re not familiar with the AFL, all you really need to know is that it’s an off-season league that offers addition innings/at-bats to prospects from around baseball. Some of the names you’ll know quite well. Others, well, you’ll probably never hear from again. And, frankly, a lot of players fall under that latter grouping.

Because there is such a wide range of talent in the league — as well as for a smattering of other reasons — any numbers produced in the league should be taken with a grain of salt. Oh, and each organization is responsible for providing a specific number of prospects to play in the league.

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The state of Arizona is known for having numerous varieties of poisonous snake. The Arizona Diamondbacks have something even more potent. The big league club boasts one of the most impressive collections of young pitching in Major League Baseball.

And the rich continue to get richer.

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Dodgers lefty prospect Julio Urias has made 17 starts this season. Julio Urias, as you may have heard, is 17 years old.

Fifteen of his starts came before his birthday less than two weeks ago. The Mexico native spent the majority of the season playing professional baseball — and full-season ball, at that — at the age of 16. Naturally, people are intrigued. Naturally, he’s received a fair bit of hype — especially with a 2.68 ERA, as well as just 16 walks to go with 62 strikeouts in 50.1 innings.

But is that hype justified?

Sort of.

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Xander Bogaerts is in elite company. The 20-year-old Red Sox shortstop made his Major League debut last night hitting seventh against pitcher Ryan Vogelsong and the San Francisco Giants.

Between 1970 and 2013, 38 hitters’ rookie seasons came at the age of 20. Some of those names include Rickey Henderson (-0.7 WAR), Sammy Sosa (-0.4), Gary Sheffield (-0.4), Miguel Cabrera (1.0), Buddy Bell (1.5), Giancarlo Stanton (2.3), Alan Trammell (2.7), Andruw Jones (3.7), Roberto Alomar (3.9), Jason Heyward (4.7) and Mike Trout, who had the best debut season of any rookie with 10 WAR.

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Prior to the 2013 season, the White Sox system got a lot of grief for being one of the worst systems in baseball. It definitely has some glaring holes but there are some intriguing prospects that probably don’t get enough press — such as the southpaw below.

Scott Snodgress, LHP, White Sox: The Stanford alum signed his first pro contract after being selected by Chicago in the fifth round of the 2011 amateur draft. Snodgress has moved swiftly through the system and has spent the entire ’13 season pitching in Double-A.

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