2026 Arizona Fall League Roster Breakdown: Mesa Solar Sox

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 look at Mesa. The team is comprised of prospects from the Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, and Toronto Blue Jays

Glendale Desert Dogs Roster Breakdown

Pitchers

Best Arm

Jake Bloss missed much of 2026 due to a right teres major strain, which can be a serious injury for pitchers. After debuting in the Majors back in 2024, Bloss has pitched just 63 total innings the last two seasons and has not pitched in a big league game since. Across his 39.1 innings this year, Bloss posted a bad 6.18 ERA, but that number was largely driven by an 11-earned-run outing where his manager left him out to dry.

The fastball velo took a huge leap this year and after sitting 93-94 mph, Bloss sat near 96 this year mph with 17 inches of IVB from his 5’8” release and a rather flat VAA. The slider sits 87-88 mph with seven inches of glove-side movement and close to zero IVB. Those two pitches were his best graded this year and also missed bats at a solid clip.

The low-80s curveball is a two-plane breaking with negative 13 inches of IVB and seven inches of sweep. It surprisingly did not miss many bats, likely due to his low zone and chase rate on the pitch. Bloss will run a 95 mph sinker in on hitters, and it is a distinct fastball from the four-seamer. He rounds out his arsenal with an 88 mph changeup with 13 inches of fade.

If healthy, Bloss has the talent to really take off in the fall league and rebuild his stock.

Arm Who Could Increase Stock

Fernando Perez has been an arm I have liked for a while, since seeing him back on the complex in 2023, and he has continued to pitch well since, at least until this year. Perez missed substantial time this year with injury and pitched just 20 innings, posting a 7.20 ERA. In 2025, Perez pitched 121.1 innings between High-A and Double-A, posting a 3.04 ERA with a 21 percent strikeout rate.

The fastball sits in the 91-93 mph range but can touch 95 on occasion with decent ride and run. Throwing from a 6’3” release height, the 17 inches of IVB is pretty average, but Perez does a good job of keeping it up in the zone. If he can add weight to his frame and see the pitch consistently sit near 95, he becomes even more intriguing.

Perez’s curveball has nice downward movement in the upper 70s but lacks the traits you want to see. It is his second most used pitch, though the slider is the better offering. The gyro-slider sits at 84 mph with high spin and a 36 percent whiff rate. The changeup sits 82-83 mph with 13 inches of fade on average and has good carry. It plays well to left-handed batters. Perez sometimes flashes a cutter, but it is not often used.

It will be interesting to see what kind of shape the arsenal is in during the AFL for Perez. We know he has shown the ability to keep runs off the board in the past, so the AFL should be a fun test for him.

Sleeper Arm

Dominick Reid was set to be promoted to High-A in June before he went down with an injury that kept him out three months. Prior to the 1.1-inning blow-up start when injured, Reid was rocking a 3.35 ERA across 48.1 innings with a 24 percent strikeout rate to a 7.8 percent walk rate. Reid returned for the last week of the High-A season and posted four scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

Working his fastball in the 92-94 mph range, Reid creates 15 inches of IVB from a 5’6” release height. While the traits are fairly generic, the pitch plays up thanks to over seven feet of extension.

Reid uses his changeup heavily, getting great depth and over 15 inches of fade on average while getting 10 mph of separation off the fastball. It is presently his best pitch, but Reid also mixes in a slider in the low-80s and a curveball that sits around 80 mph.

If the velocity jumps, Reid likely moves up rankings. But he will be a fun arm to watch in Arizona.

Hitters

Best Bat

Arjun Nimmala is by far the best bat on this team. While the AFL has become more reps for a lot of players, it could be finishing school for Nimmala, who could find himself in the Angels’ opening day lineup in 2027. Being traded from Toronto to Los Angeles, Nimmala wound up getting 390 plate appearances that year and hit 16 home runs while slashing .263/.372/.492.

He made a major leap in power, posting a 90th percentile exit velocity north of 108 mph. It is a surprise he did not hit more homers given the exit velocity data and the ability to pull the ball in the air. Nimmala improved his launch angles this year as well, so a 25-home-run-type bat would not be shocking.

The chase rate of 19 percent stands out in a big way, and Nimmala posted a 79 percent zone contact rate to pair with it. You would love to see that number improve, but even if it doesn’t, there is still plenty of other things to like in the profile.

Expect some big home runs from Nimmala in the AFL.

Bat Who Could Increase Stock

Breyson Guedez is the second-youngest player in the fall league, and his teammate, who we will discuss in the next section, is the youngest. Guedez had so much pre-season buzz because the Athletics pushed him aggressively, skipping over the complex after a strong DSL season last year. Guedez struggled out of the gate but steadily improved all year and earned a promotion to High-A. He is still 18-years-old, which makes what he is doing even more impressive.

Blasting two High-A homers after his promotion, Guedez upped his total to eight on the year and ended the season with a slash of .299/.342/.431. The contact skills have been inconsistent, but better in High-A, but Guedez swings at everything. His 59 percent swing rate is one of the highest in baseball. It comes with pretty atrocious chase rates, too.

There are some interesting skills here for sure, and given how young he is, Guedez could evolve into a decent prospect, but right now there are still a lot of holes in his game. If you wanna take a risk that the approach and power improve this offseason, I would not fault you. But there is no speed, so the power will need to carry him for fantasy.

Guedez will be a fun watch out in the AFL and could see his stock rise back to preseason levels.

Sleeper Bat

Juan Cabada is the youngest player who will play in the AFL this season at just 18 years and four months old. Of course, Sloan Park in Mesa is the complex and Spring Training home of the Cubs so it makes sense for them to give Cabada a shot in the AFL.

Cabada has been a buzzy prospect throughout his amateur and even pro career. A shorter left-handed hitter, Cabada has a solid swing with good barrel control. He looks relatively maxed out physically, but he could still grow given his age. The Cubs gave him a $1.5 million bonus in January 2025.

Getting just 136 finished the year with a .246/.338/.381 slash with four home runs and three stolen bases between the complex and Single-A. He does hit the ball on the ground too much, but that could be something that is worked on in the fall league. Cabada does do a good job getting to the pull-side, though.

A better-than-league-average performance in the fall league will go a long way for the 18-year-old.