In reviewing Arizona Fall League rosters for the original draft of this article, Twinkie Town writer Matt Monitto was stunned into silence by what he saw.
“I’m scrolling through the rosters on MLB.com, and I come across Frank Mozzicato, Tate Southisene, and I have to sit back,“ Monitto said in an interview with a mirror. ”These are guys I came across in Out of the Park franchises, and I thought they were computer-generated names. But they’re real?“
Indeed, Royals prospect Mozzicato and Braves prospect Southisene
are among those assigned to the AFL by their parent clubs.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve had Mozzicato on one of my teams,“ Monitto added, ”when I did a Royals franchise a few years ago. That just makes it odder.“
When reminded that such oddity did not stop him for rooting for the eventually-demoted Eric Orze in 2026, he simply shook his head.
“I guess there, I had him as a Twin for a good number of seasons, and then he became a Twin. I’m still pulling for him.
“But when it’s other teams,” he continued, “it’s always strange. It’s cool to see Jake McCarthy breaking out for the Rockies, yet it’s a bit weird because he was my Diamondbacks left fielder for a while. And guys like Yohendrick Pinango and Yanquiel Fernandez… I thought for sure the game made up those names. A few years later, they’re in the Show.”
Monitto did not know if the same concept applies to players of MLB The Show as he has not played that game.
“But if so,” he said, “I bet there’s just as much awe… after blinking to make sure the names and players are actually real, of course.”
