Although it’s the beginning of our off-season here at AutoZone Park doesn’t mean our players aren’t already working hard to prepare for next year. Two Redbirds, Adron Chambers and Tony Cruz, have joined the Arizona Fall League playing for the Surprise Rafters. The team includes players from the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers farm systems.

Adron Chambers was the Cardinals’ 38^th round selection (1153^rd overall) in the June 2007 First-Year Player Draft. Chambers joined the ‘Birds mid-July this year, appearing in 37 games for a .290 average (20Hx69AB) with 11 runs, eight RBI, nine walks and 18 strikeouts. During a 16-inning game on August 16th, the Florida Native was hit in the jaw by a wild pitch from Sky Sox reliever Franklin Morales and was forced to leave the game. Painful as this was, Chambers recovered well and made his way back into the Memphis line up.

Tony Cruz was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 42^nd round of the 2005 June free agent draft, but did not sign. He became a Cardinal after being selected in the 26^th round (802^nd overall) of the June 2007 free-agent draft. He, like Chambers, joined the Redbirds late in the 2010 season appearing in only four regular season games. Going 3-for-14 (.214 average) with two runs and one RBI, the career catcher hit his first Triple-A home run in his first game as a Memphis Redbirds on September 1st.

Here’s a look at yesterday’s game recapitulation, where both Chambers and Cruz collected a hit.

We will be keeping tabs on these ‘Birds and updating the blog to let all of you know just how well they do, so continue to check Chirp Chatter for updates on your Memphis Redbirds while they endure winter ball!!

To catch up with the Cardinals affiliates participating in the AFL click here: AFL Surprise Rafters.