2026 Arizona Fall League Roster Breakdown: Glendale Desert Dogs

As Minor League Baseball wraps up, it is time to turn our attention to the Arizona Fall League. My mind is already in Arizona as I look forward to seeing more prospects play and get a chance to see quite a few that I have never seen before.

With the AFL just a few weeks away, it is the time to break down each team’s roster and to give thoughts on players who could see their stock increase in the prospect world.

We will go team by team, alphabetically. So today, we start with Glendale. The team is comprised of prospects from the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, and Pittsburgh Pirates

Glendale Desert Dogs Roster Breakdown

Pitchers

Best Arm

Briggs McKenzie was in the middle of a breakout during the 2026 season ended in the middle of June. He began the year at the complex and looked quite good, dominated in one start in Single-A in Augusta, then worked his way to High-A Rome. For the year, he posted a 2.08 ERA across 26 innings with a 29 percent strikeout rate.

The Braves used savings on day one in the 2025 MLB Draft to grab two prep players in Briggs McKenzie and Connor Essenburg on day two. McKenzie was one of the better left-handed pitching prospects in the prep ranks and has plenty of projection on his 6’2” frame. McKenzie got a bonus just shy of $3 million.

The fastball has ticked up and currently sits around 93 mph, topping at 95 mph. He throws from a tough arm-slot but has average extension, while creating with 11 inches of arm-side run on the sinker. McKenzie runs spin rates near 2600 rpm and gets a good arm-side run.

The sweeper is McKenzie’s best pitch at present, sitting around 80 mph. He spins it up to 2900 rpm, and the pitch has around a negative five-inch IVB with 16 inches of sweeping action. There is also a changeup in the profile as McKenzie gets a heavy fade, of up to 18 inches of fading action, sitting in the mid-to-upper 80s.

Arm Who Could Increase Stock

Mathias LaCombe could find himself in a place where he could contribute to the White Sox bullpen in 2027. A shoulder/lat injury delayed his start to the 2026 season and saw him ultimately move to the bullpen. He moved from High-A to Triple-A by seasons end and wound up posting a 4.20 ERA wth a 31 percent strikeout rate to an 11 percent walk rate.

LaCombe’s fastball sits in the mid-90s and has reached 98, with carry and arm-side run. The low-80s sweeper is his best secondary offering because of its big horizontal action. He also has a mid-80s splitter that can flash as a plus pitch, but he will need to be more consistent with it.

Strike throwing will be a big sticking point in the AFL as LaCombe is further away from his injury. If the fastball command looks the part, and the can miss bats with his sweeper, LaCombe could establish his 2027 outlook at an MLB bullpen piece.

Sleeper Arm

Sam Horn has an interesting story, and the AFL is an opportunity for a fun comeback story. The 23-year-old has yet to make his pro debut despite being selected by the Dodgers in the 17th round of the 2025 MLB draft. Horn was a QB at Missouri as well as a solid pitcher, despite pitching just 10.2 innings in 2025. He had Tommy John during his Freshman season and then fractured his tibia in a football game in 2025.

When on the mound, Horn has seen his fastball reach near triple digits. The sweeper sits in the mid-80s with solid traits as well. The pure stuff is really interesting, and we know the Dodgers are great at developing arms. I just want to see what Horn looks like coming back from injury. I will be watching where the fastball is sitting for Horn and how the sweeper looks. Just make sure you know the name before the season begins.

Hitters

Best Bat

Eduardo Quintero takes the crown for best bat on the team, despite it being loaded with talent. I struggled picking him over likes of Caleb Bonemer, Tate Southisene, and even someone like Charles Davalan.

Quintero got off to a slow start to the 2026 season, but would up slashing .308/.443/.499 with 13 home runs and 44 stolen bases. His first month of the season was not great, but it shows you how strong he was moving forward. From April 25 forward, Quintero slashed .344/.485/.566 with as many walks as strikeouts.

Under the hood, Quintero has a 90th percentile exit velocity north of 106 mph, up a couple mph from last year, and the launch angles are strong, as he has a 63 percent air rate and does a great job creating barrels. The interesting thing is, Quintero has not translated the exit velocity data into home runs, but that could come.

The chase rate stands out as it sits around 17 percent and is paired with a zone contact rate just shy of 90 percent. The biggest flaw in the profile for Quintero is his low zone-swing rate. Tack on plus speed and 44 stolen bases, and this is an impressive prospect.

Bat Who Could Increase Stock

Max Williams was selected in the third round out of Florida State in 2025. He missed most of the 2026 season due to a shoulder injury, but has come back and looked the part. Finishing out the regular season in Double-A, Williams wound up hitting 15 home runs in 213 plate appearances and slashing .326/.399/.620.

Known for big-time power with high strikeout numbers, the concern out of the draft was that Williams would not hit enough. So far, that has not been the case, as Williams has struck out at a 16.5 percent clip and has a respectable 72 percent contact rate. The zone contact rate has hovered around 80 percent so far this year.

Sure, the chase rate is not sustainable, but Williams is smoking baseballs, and if he continues to make decent contact with the huge exit velocities, there might be something here. With how aggressive he is on mistake pitches and having one of the higher zone-swing rates in baseball, Williams can get away with some chase.

The power is going to play in a big way in Arizona and people are already pretty hype on Williams. The stock could boom even further.

Sleeper Bat

Jhonny Severino first caught my eye on the complex back in 2024. The numbers really took a step back in 2025 as Severino spent the entire season in the Florida State League, posting a .637 OPS with 11 home runs in 468 plate appearances. While he was in a super hitter-friendly environment this year in Greensboro, Severino blasted 31 home runs and added 16 stolen bases while slashing .256/.308/.524.

So, is Severino legit? He does hit the ball hard and does an excellent job pulling the ball in the air, but there are questions around his hit tool and approach. Severino does not see a pitch he does not want to swing at. You like to see a high zone swing rate, and Severino blasts mistake pitches. But the 35 percent chase rate is higher than you would like to see.

Severino made contact on just 67 percent of swings in the zone, but the zone contact rate of 79 percent was at least somewhat respectable. I do think Severino could put together a strong AFL performance and really jump on more radars.