Arizona Fall League Recap: 10/29/2026

Salt River Rafters (Chris)

Sean Sullivan, LHP, Colorado Rockies (3 IP/1 H/0 ER/1 BB/3 K)

Sullivan made his MLB debut this season but was blown up badly, and even in his Triple-A stint he allowed a 5.31 ERA with a 21 percent strikeout rate and an eight percent walk rate. A shoulder injury limited him for a few months, which is why he is out in the Fall League.

Tossing three scoreless innings, Sullivan struck out three batters and generated six whiffs. The fastball averaged near 90 mph in the shorter outing, which was up from the 87.5 mph he averaged during the regular season.

The changeup missed bats at a high clip, showing strong traits as usual. The sweeper and cutter were both effective as well. The biggest problem is the velocity, which likely always holds Sullivan back in the Majors.

Dax Kilby, SS, New York Yankees (1/3 2 BB, 2 Hard-Hits)

While he had just one hit, Kilby continues to swing the bat really well. To lead off the game, Kilby smoked a lineout up the middle off a 96 mph Miguel Mendez fastball that wound up being caught, and his fourth-inning single was struck at 108 mph. While he has cooled off a bit, Kilby still has a .908 OPS and has shown impressive underlying data as well.

Kilby missed substantial time this season due to a hamstring injury and was up and down in his 164 plate appearances during the regular season. The .427 OBP was strong, but Kilby had just a .403 slugging percentage with four home runs, four doubles, and two triples.

The AFL is an important time for Kilby to prove he can be a high-end prospect like we saw after he was drafted in 2025.

Peoria Javelinas (Chris)

Carter Graham, 3B, Cincinnati Reds (2/4 HR, BB)

Graham got it done on Wednesday and was probably the difference in the game for Peoria as he blasted a 108 mph home run in the sixth inning and reached base two more times via walk and single. While it has been an up-and-down AFL from him to this point, Graham has come through in several spots and has shown respectable exit velocities.

We just released the Reds list. Check out where Graham ranks and read his full scouting report here:

Boston Smith, C, Seattle Mariners (2/3 2 2B)

Smith moved from the Nationals to the White Sox to the Mariners in the matter of less than a year. Smith mashed and mashed some more and wound up hitting 31 home runs in 493 plate appearances in 2026 while slashing .274/.424/.566. He was shoved up many lists, and some put him way up in top 100 prospect lists.

Smith has struggled in the AFL to this point, and it could just be a long season for him. But even after two doubles on Wednesday, Smith is still hitting just .156 with a .528 OPS.

The doubles were quite smoked, though, coming off the bat with exit velocities of 106.8 and 103.4 mph. I will be curious to see what people do with Smith in rankings this offseason, especially if he continues to struggle in the AFL.

Braxton Bragg, RHP, Baltimore Orioles (4 IP/5 H/0 ER/1 BB/3 K)

Bragg missed all of the 2026 season after he underwent Tommy John surgery around the All-Star break in 2025. Before he was injured, Bragg was dominating as he posted a 1.68 ERA in 59 innings while striking out 33 percent of batters and walking seven percent.

On Wednesday, Bragg dominated to the tune of four scoreless innings with five hits and one walk while striking out three batters. He generated an impressive seven whiffs with a 32 percent CSW on the start.

The fastball worked around 93 mph, and he played off of it well with a mid-80s changeup. The cutter worked around 89 mph with the curveball in the upper-70s. Bragg showed a deep arsenal of pitches and he looks back fully healthy. Buy in on Bragg while you can.

Mesa Solar Sox (Beck)

Kade Snell, OF, Chicago Cubs (2-4, HR)

The Mesa Solar Sox were well and truly shellacked on Wednesday. That is, all of the Solar Sox save for Kade Snell, as baseball is an individual sport — a series of head-to-head quarrels — masquerading as a team sport. He finished the night 2-4 with a solo home run that knotted the score at one before Surprise sprung forward with seven runs in the top of the fifth.

Home runs aren’t what he’s known for. He was a shrewd hitter while at Alabama, where he struck out just 36 times, far less often than he walked, and accrued a .435 on-base percentage over 101 games. That skill largely transferred to professional ball, and he was bang-average in 81 High-A games. There is a lot of development remaining for him to project as an impactful fantasy player, but this archetype — the pesky, well-rounded kind — is one of my favorites to target. Until we see continued damage on contact, he’s more of a wait-and-see type.

Surprise Saguaros (Rhys)

Zion Rose, OF, Kansas City Royals (1/4 2 BB, 2 SB)

It will be interesting to see where Zion Rose goes in FYPD drafts because he is more than holding his own in the AFL. Can you make the argument he is a top-5 pick in your FYPDs? I think you can, because there is ample speed here and the power is more than playable.

Zion Rose is hitting .300 in Arizona, and he is getting on base at a good clip, showing off a solid approach. The ultimate question is what the power will look like. He doesn’t lift and pull at a high clip, but that can come. However, he is making solid swing decisions, not whiffing at an alarming rate, and maintaining the right mix of aggressiveness in the zone.

The dream for Zion Rose is that he flies through the minors and becomes the leadoff guy the Royals need in front of Witt and company, where he can steal 25+ bags and maybe creep toward 20 homers. I think there is an outside chance we see him in the majors toward the end of next season.

Aidan Miller, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies (3/6 2B, SB)

Aidan Miller’s back seems to be looking good, not that I am a doctor. Miller has played in a handful of games, and that itself is worth celebrating because he has played more games in the AFL than he did in all of the 2026 regular season as he recovered from essentially getting the nerves in his back fried. He showed off some power here as well with a 106 mph EV on his double. 

Miller looking good enough to show off his speed on the basepaths is encouraging to see. When recovering from an injury, it is not uncommon for guys not to run because there is no need to increase the chance of injury, there is a lot that can go wrong when stealing a base. Miller will be someone I move up my own personal list, and honestly, there isn’t much need for him to be in the minors. This is especially true when the Phillies are projected to roll out Otto Kemp at 3B and need a bump in upside and youth in their lineup.

Glendale Desert Dogs (Rhys)

Briggs McKenzie, LHP, Atlanta Braves (2.2 IP/7 H/6 ER/2 BB/3 K)

Ten swings and misses on the day is not a bad day at the office, even when you factor in the fact that he gave up 6 earned runs on 7 hits on the day. Briggs McKenzie has nasty stuff and there is plenty of physical projection left on the frame, so now might not be the worst time to buy in on the young Braves southpaw.

While the velo was slightly down from what it was during the season, Briggs' shapes didn’t take a step back. His sinker was hovering around 89 mph and the four-seamer was around 90. But when you get 3 inches of IVB and 12 inches of horizontal break from a sub-6’0” release height and a funky angle, that does play. And his best pitch is absolutely nasty, it’s his sweeper that got -3 inches of IVB and 16 inches of glove-side movement in this one.

Pitchers have the occasional blowup, and that’s what happened here. I am going to try and look around in my leagues and see if I can scoop up some Briggs McKenzie shares, because you never know with Atlanta: he could be pitching for the big-league squad at some point next year.

Scottsdale Scorpions (Beck)

Mason Nichols, RHP, TBR (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 K)

Nichols, a 6-foot-5 hurler who can’t yet be described as a fireballer but may be one day, was the only bright spot for Scottsdale on Wednesday. His two scoreless innings and four strikeouts merely held the deficit at four runs while the offense sputtered for nine innings, amounting to three total hits. It was a familiar role, one he occupied as a Rebel at Ole Miss and over 42 appearances in 2026, coming out of the pen and closing the game — just without a lead.

There was perhaps some optimism that his selection by the Rays in 2025 would portend a transition to the rotation, especially given he’d taken to the role in his final college campaign, but it hasn’t yet materialized. He walks too many batters at present to be reliable for long stints. If you’re in the market for a primary reliever, Nichols may be interesting. He was all fastballs and splitters save for the lone cutter in his Statcast breakdown, and he garnered a 42% CSW on the evening. He’s a candidate to see his velocity jump; it’s almost expected given his size and Tampa Bay’s prowess as a pitching development engine.