Arizona Fall League Recap: 10/29/25

Mesa Solar Sox

Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, SS, Athletics

The Solar Sox mustered just seven hits during the game, with only two of them being extra-base hits. Kuroda-Grauer collected two of the hits, with one being a triple. He also accounted for three of Mesa’s four runs on the day. The single was a grounder hit at 99.3 mph, and the triple was struck at 85 mph to the opposite field.

Contact is the name of the game here for Kuroda-Grauer as he posted an elite 89 percent contact rate this year with a 95 percent in-zone mark during the regular season. The lack of fly balls hurts the home run output, but Kuroda-Grauer does hit a ton of line drives and grounders and uses the whole field well.

The power is lacking, but the speed is above-average. Kuroda-Grauer has put up 110 mph exit velocities with wood, which is encouraging. The average exit velocity is well below average, but if it can tick up even one mph over the next few years, we could be cooking with something.

Surprise Saguaros

Daniel Espino, RHP, Cleveland Guardians

Just seeing Espino on the mound is great. He has been working in one-inning stints, but threw 39 pitches and 1.2 innings scoreless innings last night. He struck out two batters and walked one. Espino generated five whiffs, but landed just 59 percent of his pitches for strikes.

All five whiffs came on the fastball, which averaged 96.4 mph, down from where he has been throughout the AFL, but he topped at 98.7 mph with 17 inches of IVB on average and good arm-side movement. He did not throw the changeup, which typically plays off it well. When I saw Espino several weeks ago, the changeup had good carry and 17 inches of arm-side fade.

One thing that I think it notable in this start is that Espino did a good job differentiating his upper-80s cutter/slider, and his low-to-mid 80s slider with more depth. In previous AFL outings, he has not differentiated them well. He also dropped in several mid-70s curveballs with strong two-plane break.

Salt River Rafters

Juan Flores, C, Los Angeles Angels

In a game where Salt River mustered just three hits and their pitching was bad, there are few good discussion points. While no hitter had an extra base hit or more than one hit, Flores stood out for one reason: his exit velocities. His second-inning single left the bat at 107.7 mph, and Flores smoked a 107 mph lineout in the fourth.

Flores has always been pushed aggressively, no shock, given the Angels. Reaching High-A in 2024 as an 18-year-old, Flores returned there in 2025, where he hit ten home runs and slashed .207/.283/.341 across 342 plate appearances.

There is legit power in the profile, but questions about the approach and hit tool remain. Still, a player Flores’ age still has plenty of time to develop.

Glendale Desert Dogs

Jose D. Hernandez, OF/CI, Los Angeles Dodgers

This is my first report on Hernandez, but he is deserving after his strong performance on Wednesday, collecting three hits and driving in two runs. It has been a long journey for Hernandez, who signed with the Dodgers internationally in 2019, but did not debut until 2021 due to COVID.

Hernandez spent parts of three seasons in the DSL and finally broke through in 2023 as a 20-year-old, hitting six home runs and posting a .938 OPS. Moving to the complex in 2024, Hernandez looked to be breaking out, hitting four home runs and posting a .906 OPS despite just getting 99 plate appearances. Testing positive for boldenone and nandrolone caused him to miss nearly all of the 2025 season, but Hernandez returned at the tail end of the 2025 season, getting three games with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.

The three hits yesterday were all singles, but all out of the infield, with his hardest hit ball checking in at 96.7 mph. While he is older for the level, keep this name in the back of your mind for deeper leagues.

Jim Jarvis, MI, Atlanta Braves

The Braves traded with the Tigers at the trade deadline and received Jarvis, who spent time in Double-A and ended the year in Triple-A. Showing a lack of power during the season, Jarvis hit just two home runs across 413 plate appearances, but he did add 24 doubles and three triples. He swiped 14 bases as well while slashing .249/.324/.347.

While Jarvis’ AFL slash line is not great to this point, I was impressed by some at-bats I saw from him, and his arm in the field is impressive. Things have been picking up for Jarvis at the plate, and he had two hits last night, a single and a double. The single left the bat at 101 mph and the double at 103 mph, traveling 357 feet. He hit another shot to dead center at 90 mph with a distance of 326 feet.

Jarvis is the kind of scrappy player who is going to find himself in the majors, even if it is in a bench role. He has shown impressive contact skills this year, and the chase rate of 23 percent is solid when you pair it with above-average zone-swing rates. The power likely won’t be there in games, but Jarvis is likely to get on base and could steal some bags.

Peoria Javelinas

Luis De León, LHP, Baltimore Orioles

De León did not have his best stuff on Wednesday, but still was effective, striking out three batters across three innings of one-run ball. He walked three batters and allowed three hits, but the more concerning thing was just a 56 percent strike rate.

The 6’3” lefty has room to add to his frame, which has a list weight of 168, but he averaged 95 mph yesterday and topped at 96.6 mph. He has been higher in previous AFL starts, but the velocity was still good. The sinker gets good arm-side run, averaging 15 inches while keeping the ball on the ground at a high rate.

The slider sits in the mid-80s with around four inches of horizontal, and De León throws it to both-handed hitters. His changeup sits in the upper-80s with nice fading action. It averaged 18 inches of horizontal movement. De León is also working on a new splitter, which worked 82-85 mph with good depth and around nine inches of horizontal.

De León missed time in 2025, pitching just 87 innings, but he finished the year on a high note. In his final six starts, De León struck out at least eight batters in every start and included a career-high 12-strikeout game sprinkled in. In seven starts from the start of August forward, De León posted a 1.47 ERA with a 41 percent strikeout rate.

Carson Dorsey, LHP, Baltimore Orioles

Dorsey outpitched De León on Wednesday, tossing four no-hit innings while striking out three. He did allow three walks, but Dorsey also struck out three and had seven whiffs on the outing.

After being selected in the seventh round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Florida State, Dorsey missed time with an injury and pitched just 44 innings this season. He posted a 4.06 ERA and struck out 31.5 percent of hitters in Single-A.

Getting heavy extension from the left side (Dorsey averages 6’11”), he works his fastball 93-94 mph. The release traits are around average, and Dorsey creates 16 inches of IVB on average. It does not miss many bats, but his changeup does, and yesterday it had a 43 percent whiff rate.

Dorsey’s changeup works 84-85 mph with around 12 inches of arm-side fade on average. The slider sits in the 83-85 mph range with five inches of glove-side movement and good depth. Dorsey rounds out his arsenal with a 90 mph cutter that has good carry and two inches of cutting action.

Scottsdale Scorpions

Sam Petersen, OF, Washington Nationals

Petersen checks a lot of boxes of what I look for when scouting a player. There is 110 percent effort every play, a great first step, good bat-to-ball skills, and a strong athlete who has added power. Drafted in the eighth round of the 2024 MLB Draft, Petersen did not receive much fanfare, but this year, he has done nothing but hit.

Getting a late start to the season, Petersen spent a few games at the complex and Single-A before landing in High-A Wilmington, where I saw him. His first step and reads in centerfield are impressive, and he uses his plus foot speed to just glide and make plays many would not.

Injuries were an issue to begin and end the year, and Petersen got just 222 plate appearances in which he hit seven homers and stole 23 bases on 24 attempts. The slash line was highly impressive at .310/.416/.489.

Last night, he blasted a home run that left the bat at 108 mph and added additional batted balls at 105.5 and 98 mph. Petersen is hitting the ball much harder than expected in a small sample in Arizona, but his contact and approach numbers are down. Regardless, this is a player I like a lot with skills across the board.