Arizona Fall League Recap: 10/23/2026

Salt River Rafters (Rhys)

Jack O’Dowd, 1B, Colorado Rockies (1/4 HR)

Jack O’Dowd just keeps hitting and hitting for power in the Fall League. He has a very real shot to be included in the Top 20ish prospects for the Rockies when I get to that list next week. 

One should not get too carried away with AFL stats, but it is nice to see Jack O’Dowd consistently hitting the ball hard. His one hit was 100 mph off the bat, with a 35-degree launch angle, and it traveled 397 feet. There is more than just raw strength here as well. It’s good bat speed, as he posted a 69, 71, and 68 mph swing in this one. 

Jack O’Dowd can be a sneaky nice little pickup for those in leagues where well over 500 prospects are being rostered. I am not saying he is this year's Owen Ayers, but I am also not saying that.

Jared Thomas, OF, Colorado Rockies (2/3 3B, 2B, 2 BB)

A double scoop of Rockies, which is nice for me because I have the Rockies list coming up and this allows me to keep them somewhat top of mind. Jared Thomas had himself a solid outing, two walks, a triple, and a double.

Jared Thomas with a 103 mph exit velocity on his triple is impressive, showing off some power and his speed to get all the way to third. There was also the 92 mph double in here as well. Jared Thomas is more of your classic slasher type of fantasy producer; it’s big-time speed with some power, less power than usual because he did deal with a wrist injury this past season, and as we all know, wrist injuries do have a way of sapping some power from guys. 

Thomas looks to be recovered from the wrist injury and will go into the offseason with some upper-minors experience, having a chance to make his major league debut at some point in 2027. He can be a nice source of speed if he can get the near 35% strikeout rate down. Plus, he will get all the other benefits of playing in Coors for half his home games when he does get called up.

Peoria Javelinas (Rhys)

Alex McCoy, OF, San Diego Padres (2/4 2 HR, BB)

Alex McCoy is one of the first guys you want off the bus; he is huge. Standing at 6’4” and 250 pounds, when I saw him last year, he was one of the most physically imposing athletes I have seen up close at a minor league ballpark.

When Alex McCoy gets a hold of one, he has a chance to hit it really hard and really far. In this game alone, he smashed two homers, one of which was 106 mph off the bat, while the other was just short of triple digits, coming in at 99 mph off the bat. McCoy’s issues are all contact-related. He is an aggressive swinger, which holds him back, and when he does swing, there isn’t outstanding contact either.

Still, McCoy has the look of an interesting prospect at the very least. He is a one-trick pony, so to speak, but his one trick is near plus-plus power. He’s worth a gamble in super deep leagues because what if the hit tool goes from a 30 to a 40?

Mesa Solar Sox (Chris)

Jake Cook, OF, Toronto Blue Jays (1/3 2B)

Another putrid day for the Mesa lineup, which collected just three hits in the process of being shut out. The team had just one extra-base hit, which came courtesy of Jake Cook, who seems to be picking things up a bit in the AFL. He had the second hardest-hit ball for the team, but it just 101 mph on the double.

Cook was a sleeper prospect after being selected in the third round of the 2025 draft by the Blue Jays, but he got just 348 plate appearances in Single-A, slashing .247/.366/.361 with five home runs and 22 stolen bases.

Having a strong approach paired with good launch angles, the next step for Cook would be tapping into more power. Right now, he projects to have 30-grade game power, but he does have plus speed.

Surprise Saguaros (Beck)

Brooks Bryan, C, Kansas City Royals (2-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB)

Bryan was on the rundown earlier this week for a longball and managed to poke another one out last night. It left the bat at 102.8 MPH and was his third of the circuit. More on Bryan:

Bryan, a 6-foot-2, 220lb bruiser taken in the eighth round of the 2025 draft, launched his second home run of the fall on Tuesday. His power is his calling card and he’ll need it to show up often to be a meaningful contributor at the big league level. He’s a below-average defensive catcher who spent half of his playing time in 2026 as the primary designated hitter for Low-A Columbia. His most likely outcome is as a back-up catcher with up pop, though he’s worth monitoring should he begin making more consistent contact and make strides as a defender.

Boston Baro, SS, New York Mets (2-5, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R)

Baro played just 11 games in 2026 after a shoulder injury wiped out nearly all of his season. When he was healthy in 2025, he looked like a capable shortstop defender who may have to move off the position with an average hit tool but little-to-no game power. As such, the Arizona Fall League is but an attempt to get him more reps before he heads into offseason training and weights. Whether he performs well or not is mostly immaterial — simply having him on the field will suffice. Eventually, though, he’ll need to develop physicality to be a big league-caliber bat. He went 2-5 with a 99.6 MPH three-run homer on Thursday.

Glendale Desert Dogs (Beck)

Chase Harlan, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers (4-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R)

Finally the loaded Desert Dogs break through. Their high-end offensive talent delivered and promising lefty Briggs McKenzie gave them five scoreless. Harlan led the way offensively, reaching base four times, accounting for six of Glendale’s 10 runs, and chipping in a pair of extra-base hits. He logged batted balls of 112.1 MPH (HR) and 103.6 MPH (2B).

Harlan is probably still undervalued as a fantasy prospect. He has an excellent blend of raw power and approach and he makes enough contact to do consistent damage. He gets dinged for playing a corner and will almost certainly slide down the defensive spectrum as he ages, but if we’re looking at three- or five-year windows it doesn’t really matter much. Third base is shallow league-wide and Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman aren’t getting any younger.

Caleb Bonemer, OF, Chicago White Sox (3-5, 3B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R)

Bonemer, like Harlan, went big on Thursday. He’s been one of the only productive bats on the team through its first 16 games, and he sits with a 1.013 OPS after last night’s outburst. He had three hard-hit balls and reached on all three: a 110.6 MPH single, a 106.9 MPH triple, and a 98.1 MPH home run.

His defensive future is uncertain. He spent time at shortstop and third base during the regular season but has appeared exclusively in the outfield grass this fall, and his ultimate home may be a corner outfield spot. He has enough bat for it; an extreme lift-and-launch profile complements his plus raw power, and he should get to 25 home runs or more annually if his spray distribution translates to MLB.

It’s nice to see him playing well in the greater Phoenix metro, but it doesn’t matter much for his fantasy value. He’s one of the best 20 or so prospects in the sport.

Wyatt Sanford, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates (2-3, HR, 2 BB, RBI, 3 R)

Sanford evolved more than just about anybody written up today. He entered pro ball as a light-hitting speedster but has since adjusted his approach to maximize damage on contact. He wasn’t making a ton of contact to begin with, and he and the Pirates decided he may as well hit for power if he was going to whiff. His slugging percentage jumped .170 points year-over-year, coinciding with an 11% decline in overall contact rate.

The decision to trade off even more contact for power raised his ceiling as a prospect, undoubtedly, but it also added risk. He’s far more intriguing than he was to open the year, and he could garner some serious buzz if he plays well this fall. He has a .250/.375/.400 slash in 48 plate appearances. His first-inning home run traveled 454 feet and was his second of the circuit.

Tate Southisene, 2B, Atlanta Braves (2-5, 3B, RBI, 2 R)

Southisene began his professional career with a brutal 15-game stretch after the draft that saw him strike out 40.9% of the time. He blossomed into a top-100 prospect in 2026, pushing his way to Double-A and maintaining excellent surface performance along the way. He stole 45 bases and hit 12 home runs across three levels en route to a .278/.408/.467 slash.

He went 2-5 with a triple on Thursday, raising his fall OPS to .784. His performance in the desert may actually matter, and particularly his contact rate. He struggled against Double-A pitching to close the year, making contact just 66.7% percent of the time, and a larger sample of that sort of swing-and-miss issue may actually influence opinions on his viability against better pitching long-term. He remains an explosive and fluid athlete and a top 100 fantasy prospect.

Scottsdale Scorpions (Chris)

John Peck, SS, Detroit (3/5 2B, HR, BB)

Peck put together a highly impressive performance on Thursday, collecting three hits and driving in five runs. Peck homered and had a double at exit velocities of 103 and 109 mph, respectively. He had another smoked line drive at 96 mph as well.

Overall, the AFL has been pretty putrid for Peck, as he has just five hits on the entire season after today and is slashing .125/.200/.250. It just goes to show how bad the numbers looked prior to Thursday’s game.

Peck actually reached the Majors during the 2026 regular season, getting 80 plate appearances there. In 298 Minor League plate appearances, Peck slashed a respectable .288/.339/.502 with 11 home runs and 22 stolen bases.

Dalton Wentz, 3B, San Francisco Giants (4/6 3B)

Wentz is a sneaky FYPD prospect to keep an eye on. The Giants snagged him in the 16th round in this summer’s draft out of Wake Forest, but he signed for a bonus of $585k. During the 2026 season at Wake, Wentz blasted 18 home runs and had 19 doubles while slashing .306/.414/.629.

The collegiate exit velocity data was quite strong as Wentz posted a 106 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and a 92 mph average exit velocity. He paired that with a respectable 22 percent chase rate and an 82.5 percent in-zone contact rate.

On Thursday, he collected four hits, including a triple, while having four hard-hit balls. The triple left the bat at 104.3 mph and he had two other batted balls at 102.5 mph or higher. Considering he was just drafted, Wentz’ performance in Arizona has been impressive, as he is hitting .348 with a .922 OPS.

Eric Bitonti, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers (2/5 2B, HR)

Bitonti has long been known for his big-time power, and it was on display in the regular season as he blasted 25 home runs across 517 plate appearances between High-A and Double-A. The slash sat at a modest .262/.378/.507, and Bitonti punched out in 33 percent of his plate appearances. He even snuck in 25 stolen bases on 25 attempts, which is quite impressive.

The overall contact rate of 62 percent was putrid, and his zone contact rate of 72 percent was not much better. But the power was real, and Bitonti creates ideal launch angles.

Bitonti had two hard-hit balls on Thursday, including a 103 mph home run and a 107 mph double with an elite 82.5 mph swing speed.