Arizona Fall League Recap: 10/7/2026

Mesa Solar Sox (Rhys)

Jake Cook, OF, Toronto Blue Jays (3/5, 2 SB)

Jake Cook is an absolute animal out in center field; he is maybe a plus-plus defender at such an important defensive position that he will be given every opportunity to prove he can or can’t hit at the highest level. What we need for him in fantasy is to hit just enough and get on base so his double-plus wheels can come into play, where he could steal 30+ bags a year.

The big problem with Jake Cook is he hits the ball on the ground far too much. That would hurt a lot of other prospects, but given that Cook is a double-plus runner, he can live with hitting the ball on the ground around 40% of the time. He does need to run more when he gets on base for us in fantasy, because he could be someone who wins the stolen-base category for you in any given week in weekly H2H matchups.

Jake Bloss, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays (2 IP/0 H/0 ER/0 BB/0 K)

Jake Bloss is someone I have always liked, and I still think there is some SP4 upside here. It is nice to see him back on the mound after his shoulder injury. 

2 innings of work is not the biggest sample, but it was two no-hit innings with no walks as well, for good measure. He did get one whiff, and that was off the curveball, which is a touch firmer than it used to be, and there is less drop and horizontal movement, but the added velocity of it is encouraging for him. He pairs that with a mid 90’s fastball that looks to be completely reworked. The four-seamer got 19 inches of IVB and 1 inch of horizontal break and again was thrown a touch firmer on average compared to the last time we saw him. 

It was only 24 pitches, but if his stuff has taken a pretty sizable shape jump and he holds these shape changes into next year, everyone is going to have a nice asset on their hands. I would recommend getting in while the getting is good. I am going to be doing some bestball drafts this offseason and I wanna walk away with plenty of Bloss. Even if there are only a handful of innings I think they will be of such a quality that you are gonna want to have him on your roster.

Surprise Saguaros (Rhys)

Sebastian Walcott, DH, Texas Rangers (0/4)

Sebastian Walcott might not have done anything using the back of the baseball card stats, but he did post a 111.3 mph EV, and that itself is notable for who I think is the best prospect in the sport. 

Walcott missed most of the year with a shoulder injury, and during that time, either he or the Rangers or both decided now was a great time to rework his swing, which, while aesthetically pleasing, was a touch long and led to a few holes in the swing. Welp, he closed those holes, and all of a sudden the damage on contact went way up. 

In just 41 games of action, Walcott was able to smash 10 homers and steal 13 bags while hitting .325/.401/.590 and has cemented himself as the top prospect in the sport for a few of us. He is in the small handful of prospects that I would not be looking to trade, and I think he could be a sneaky break camp with the Rangers in whatever the 2027 season looks like.

Brooks Bryan, 1B, Kansas City Royals (2/4 HR 2B)

The Royals' 8th-round selection out of Troy University in 2025 showed well in limited time at Single-A in 2026, before some ankle and hamstring issues limited him to about 131 plate appearances of work. In this outing, there was a lot to be encouraged about for the Royals fans in our lives: he showed off that plus power with a 110 mph batted ball for a double and a 104 mph batted ball for his homer.

It’s great bat speed to go along with tremendous power; he posted a 78 mph swing on the batted ball that was the double. Bryan is a power-over-hit guy, so it is encouraging to see him showing off that power and also showing that the hamstring and ankle injuries are behind him.

He’s a solid catcher with some pop, which has some appeal in two-catcher formats. There isn’t a ton of upside in this profile, but there is enough pop to be fantasy-relevant; plus, he has shown an ability to get on base at a solid clip. So there is enough here to be deep-league relevant in two-catcher formats.

Justin Lamkin, LHP, Kansas City Royals (3 IP/4 H/4 ER/1 BB/2 K)

Justin Lamkin does slightly go under the radar, as he isn’t gonna light up the radar gun, but he has solid stuff, throws strikes, and does a good job of having deception in his delivery.

He didn’t have the best outing in this one, going 3 innings, giving up four runs, walking 1, and striking out 2 batters. But he was solid, and we got a chance to see some of his pitch shapes. He attacks batters from a six-foot release height; his fastball comes in around 92 mph on average with around 14 inches of induced vertical break and 10 inches of horizontal break. He has a tight gyro slider that gets about 5 inches of IVB and 1 inch of horizontal break. There is a curveball and a changeup here. The big thing for him will be pitch diversification: can he play around with and add a sinker and a cutter to get people off the meh four-seamer?

Lamkin made it all the way to Double-A in his first pro season, so I think barring any sort of injury we should see him in the majors with the Royals at some point in 2027. What will ultimately determine his upside is whether he finds another fastball variant. If he can, the upside is that of a No. 4 starter in real life, which has plenty of value in deeper leagues.

Salt River Rafters (Chris)

Jorgelys Mota, OF, Washington Nationals

Mota is a fun player I honestly knew zero about before seeing him in person with Fredericksburg back in 2023 and 2024. Signing in 2022 for $250k, Mota was part of the class that saw the Nationals hand a near $5 million bonus to Cristhian Vaquero.

Mota is a physically gifted, 6’3” athlete. By looking at him, you may not see a great mover, but after playing third base, he spent the majority of his shortened 2026 season in center field. I have clocked him as a plus runner during in-person looks.

Injuries limited Mota to just 124 plate appearances this year, and he slashed a modest .253/.395/.374. He showed off his power last night those as he smoked a 114.2 mph home run off Justin Lamkin with an 82.6 mph swing speed. He added another batted ball at 106.3 mph with an 81.1 mph swing speed. For reference, Junior Camerino led all hitters with an average bat speed of 79.5 mph.

Mota has some intriguing traits if he can stay healthy and turn more of his hard-hit balls into home runs.

Andy Perez, SS, Colorado Rockies

Perez is a physically gifted, 6’3” shortstop for the Rockies. He spent the season in Double-A, where he had 30 doubles, two triples, and nine home runs. He swiped 27 bases and slashed a respectable .285/.321/.403.

The biggest problem in the profile is his approach as he swings at everything having a 45 percent chase rate and a low 4.5 percent walk rate. He does make a ton of contact and rarely strikes out, but the approach will likely haunt him.

Perez had two hits last night, but he nearly left the yard on his best-batted ball, striking it at 98 mph on a fly out to right. We will need to watch his chase rate as he chased 67 percent of pitches out of the zone last night.

Antonio Gomez, RHP, New York Yankees

Gomez was a former catcher with a big arm that the Yankees transitioned to the mound this year. He threw just 5.2 innings this year, but showed electric stuff, and it showed last night.

Working his fastball at 97 mph, Gomez creates 14 inches of IVB in a cut-ride shape. He also throws a rinker with heavy arm-side run to it. The cutter plays at 91-92 mph with five inches of IVB with a couple of inches of cut.

Gomez is a reliever long-term, but he could be one to keep an eye on.

Glendale Desert Dogs (Rhys)

Caleb Bonemer, OF, Chicago White Sox (1/5 2B)

I haven’t sat down to break down my thoughts on Caleb Bonemer in center field, but he is a good athlete so I think he will figure it out. Plus, he will get an entire offseason to work on things out in center before next season, so why not see if he can play out there for a little bit.

Bonemer with a 104 mph popout in this one, and he softly hit a single, so not the loudest day in the box, but you can’t complain too much. I do think his value takes a slight dip with the move to center field, as I was anticipating him becoming a third baseman, which is shallow. However, I totally get the move from a real-life perspective. Miguel Vargas is an MVP candidate this season at third, so why move him? Roch is a better shortstop, so why block that spot with Bonemer (when they both could be ready at the same time), so off to center it is.

There is good speed here to go along with what might be plus game power at the end of the day. The one thing Bonemer does great is get the ball in the air, and that allows his power to come into play more. There is a chance for a 30-homer, 15–20 stolen-base guy here if it all clicks.

Alex Williams, RHP, Miami Marlins (3 IP/2 H/0 ER/2 BB/4 K)

Sometimes the AFL is about putting yourself in the shop window for your next organization, or as I say if I accidentally leave my fly down on my pants, you can’t sell if you aren’t advertising. That is what Alex Williams is trying to do down in the great land of Arizona. 

It’s solid stuff, his fastball in this one topped out at 94 mph and averaged around 91. It’s got on average 5 inches of IVB and 8 inches of horizontal all from a low release height. There is both a slider and a curveball here that are both strong offerings. There is the look of a potential low-leverage reliever/long-man which does have some value. If there is a velo jump at the age of 26 maybe he can be more than that.

Peoria Javelinas (No Game)

Scottsdale Scorpions (No Game)