Arizona Fall League Recap: 11/4/25

Mesa Solar Sox

Fenwick Trimble, OF, Miami Marlins (3-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, SB)

Trimble, first rounder in the annual Arizona Fall League Roto World Championship to none other than our very own Nate Handy, went deep for his second home run of the circuit on Tuesday. It was a 393-foot blast that left the bat at 104.3 mph, six or so ticks hotter than it needs to be to reliably leave the park in the arid desert air. It was the only four-bagger of the day for Mesa despite the Solar Sox plating 21 batters in eight innings. He added two singles, a walk, and a stolen base.

Enmanuel Tejeda, 2B, New York Yankees (5-6, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI)

Tejeda reached five times in Tuesday’s contest, raising his overall line to .246/.394/.368 through 16 games in what had otherwise been a disappointing campaign. He’s on the smaller side at 5-foot-9, 158 lbs, and doesn’t hit for much power — it’s not uncommon for him to run OBPs higher than his slugging percentage — but has displayed a knack for getting on base. He has a career 16.2% walk rate, due in part to a strong approach and at least modestly influenced by a smaller zone and poor command in the lower minors. As a former shortstop, he plays a fine second base and could be palatable as a stand-in, but without posing a real home run threat, it’s possible he gets the bat knocked out of his hands against MLB pitching. He’s 20 years old and finished the 2025 season at Single-A, where his 90th percentile exit velocity was a touch over 100 mph.

Owen Ayers, C, Chicago Cubs (3-5, 2B, 3 R, RBI, BB)

Ayers has been one of the most productive players in this year’s AFL crop. He’s sixth in the circuit in OPS, has walked more than twice as often as he’s struck out, and is top five in average exit velocity trailing just Max Anderson, Parks Harber, and Seaver King. He’s raised his stock as much as anyone can in a small sample environment, and the data he’s posting to back it up look legit. It’s hard to fake exit velocities, though they’re a little inflated by bad pitching (it’s easier to hit a grooved fastball hard than a dotted one), and he’s pairing it with an excellent approach and plus bat-to-ball. He’s not a run-out-and-get-him-immediately guy, but he’s on my watch list. He should be on yours.

Surprise Saguaros

Luke Adams, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers (1-4, HR, 2 R, RBI)

Adams is a deeply underrated prospect. I’ll consider him in my offseason top 100 based on his sterling performance at every level throughout minor league baseball (the last time he posted a wRC+ below 140 was in Single-A). He launched his third home run of the circuit on Tuesday, and it left the bat at 109.4 mph. He’ll launch many more as a Home Run Derby participant on Saturday and could figure into the mix at first base for the Brewers in 2026.

Dylan Dreiling, OF, Texas Rangers (2-3, 3B, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB)

To the best of my knowledge (I did a quick search on the site), we’ve written about Dreiling just once this fall. He’s a strange profile; his underlying data was strong — he ran an above-average EV90, plus contact rates, and a passable chase rate — but slashed just .226/.319/.381 over 483 plate appearances. He has the capacity to hit the ball extremely hard, as evidenced by his 111.3 max exit in the AFL, but may be too passive for his own good. Still, if you’ve written him off based on surface results, there is likely more here than meets the eye.

Daniel Vazquez, SS, Kansas City Royals (2-6, 2B, 3 RBI, K, SB)

Vazquez has been one of the better all-around offensive players in the circuit to-date. He has 10 stolen bases, tied for sixth overall alongside David Mershon, 17 runs batted in, tied with Josh Adamczewski for fifth most, and 23 hits, tied with Kevin McGonigle for fourth. He hasn’t hit for much power — that’s not his game and wasn’t during the regular season, either — but he’s been a fun watch regardless. At 6-foot-2 and listed at 150 lbs (he’s surely heavier), he looks like he should be an impactful player who could grow into more thump. He’ll need to if he’s to be a rosterable big leaguer.

Salt River Rafters

Raudi Rodriguez, OF, Los Angeles Angels

Rodriguez is a player that I was intrigued to see in the AFL, and he did not disappoint. He made my pre-AFL article as a hitter who could increase his stock, and he has done so in my book.

Rodriguez was one of the buzzier prospects early in the year as he got off to a blazing hot start. Through April 24, Rodriguez was slashing .379/.455/.667, but the profile was largely unsustainable. He slowed down significantly, but wound up finishing the year on a high note.

From August 5 forward, a span of 29 games, Rodriguez slashed .411/.500/.625 with four home runs and 13 extra base hits. Rodriguez even stole 11 bags over that span to push his total to 38 to end the year. The power outbreak was notable as Rodriguez hit 14 homers in 560 plate appearances.

While his average exit velocity in the AFL is a bit low at 85 mph, the 90th percentile is a respectable 106.5 mph across 42 batted balls. There are certainly flaws in the profile, such as contact and approach, but Rodriguez can swing it. He will be someone to watch heading into 2026.

Jared Thomas, OF, Colorado Rockies

Thomas was impressive on Tuesday, putting up some excellent swings from the left side of the plate, including a home run. He had a deep fly out, but also a 106.3 mph single that he scorched on the ground.

The Rockies' 2024 second-rounder out of Texas had a strong 2025 regular season, and it has carried over into the AFL. Thomas has strong bat speed, an impressive approach, and respectable contact skills. The launch angles have been strong as well.

Glendale Desert Dogs

Braden Montgomery, OF, Chicago White Sox

It was an interesting 2025 season for Montgomery this year as he began the year in Single-A and worked his way up to Double-A by season’s end. Across 517 plate appearances in all three levels he played at, Montgomery slashed .270/.360/.444 with 12 home runs and 14 stolen bases.

Getting a late start to the AFL season due to a foot injury, Montgomery has begun to really get things going, and that was the case on Tuesday as he smoked two doubles at 103 and 87 mph. He had an additional ball at 104 mph, which ended in a long fly out to centerfield.

The power is legit as Montgomery ran a 90th percentile exit velocity of 107 mph during the regular season, but the launch angles hurt him. Ground balls were certainly an issue as Montgomery put the ball on the ground at a 49 percent clip.

The tools are there; it is just a matter of putting it all together.

Hagen Smith, LHP, Chicago White Sox

Smith had a rough year on paper, especially in the walk column, putting 17.6 percent of batters he faced on base via walk. In his final regular-season start, we saw the epitome of what Smith looked like this season. He pitched four innings and allowed just one hit, while striking out six. But he walked six batters, which was the consistent issue all season.

Tossing 75.2 innings in Double-A this year, Smith posted a 3.57 ERA with a 3.69 FIP and a 3.59 xFIP. He ran a low BABIP of .259 and had just a .164 batting average against.

He was impressive on Tuesday, turning in two perfect innings, striking out four and generating an impressive 11 whiffs. In the smaller stint, the velocity was way up, sitting 96.5 mph on the fastball. During the regular season, Smith averaged 93.7 mph.

The slider was sharp, generating four whiffs and Smith even mixed a few changeups, sitting 91 mph on those offerings. The talent is there, it is just all about command.

Sam Antonacci, 2B, Chicago White Sox

Antonnaci put together a highly impressive 2025 campaign after the White Sox selected him in the fifth round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Coastal Carolina. Splitting the season between High-A and Double-A, Antonnaci slashed .291/.433/.409 with five home runs and 48 stolen bases. Sure, you want to see a little more home run power, but Antonnaci did add 32 extra-base hits to his ledger.

He collected three hits for Glendale on Tuesday, all singles, but was a big part of the offense. The profile is geared for contact, but Antonnaci has sneaky power as well.

Antonnaci ended the year with an overall contact rate of around 87 percent, and the in-zone number was just shy of 90 percent. Ground balls limited Antonnaci in High-A as he posted a 48 percent ground ball rate, which dropped by five percentage points in Double-A. The exit velocities were respectable, as his 90th percentile exit velocity of 103 mph will play for someone with his contact and speed.

Peoria Javelinas

Luis De León, LHP, Baltimore Orioles

De León bounced back in a big way on Tuesday, though he pitched just two innings. He struck out four batters and walked one across two scoreless innings. He mixed his pitches well and generated six whiffs, distributed between all four pitches.

The 6’3” lefty has room to add to his frame, which has a list weight of 168, but he already has a fastball that sat 95-96 mph. The groundball-inducing offering gets heavy arm-side run up to 22 inches.

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 20 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.

Lamar King Jr., C, San Diego Padres

Peoria had two hits on the day, both coming off the bat of King. The single left the bat at 99.1 mph and the double at 95.7 mph, traveling 320 feet. It was a rough start to the AFL for King, but he has picked it up in recent days and has his OBP up to .396.

During the regular season, King spent time between Single-A and High-A, hitting four home runs with 30 doubles, having a .274/.353/.384 slash line. King struck out in 20 percent of plate appearances and even swiped 21 bases, being caught just three times.

Scottsdale Scorpions

Kevin McGonigle, SS, Detroit Tigers (4-5, 2 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, BB)

Kevin McGonigle is still good at baseball. He had his best night of the AFL with four hits including two home runs (102.2 mph and 107.5 mph). He’s fourth in OPS and hits, tied with Josh Adamczewski, Max Anderson, and Chris Suero for second in home runs, and has stolen three bases without being caught. There was virtually nothing he could do positive or negative that would change opinions of him, and that is as true today as it was on Monday.

Max Anderson, 3B, Detroit Tigers (2-4, 2B, 4 R, 2 BB)

Anderson didn’t get many column inches this year. There were plenty of other players in the Tigers system having great seasons — McGonigle, Clark, Briceno, et al — and Anderson doesn’t particularly stand out on a diamond. He brings a strong approach, solid contact skills, and reasonable batted ball data (to be clear, his exits in the AFL are outstanding and significantly better than his regular season data) to the table and could be a very prominent piece of Detroit’s infield plans in 2026 and beyond. He finished the year with 32 games under his belt as a Toledo Mud Hen (AAA) and should debut sometime next summer.

Parks Harber, 1B, San Francisco Giants (3-5, 2B, 4 RBI, BB, K)

Harber continues to punish Fall League pitching. He, like several of the players written up above, is in the top five in OPS. Unfortunately, he’s 24 and couldn’t do much but affirm his underlying data from the regular season. We’ll have to wait to see him against better (or more age-appropriate) competition before getting too excited, but a watch list designation is reasonable for now. Best of luck to him in the Home Run Derby on Saturday!