Arizona Fall League Roster Breakdown: Surprise Saguaros

As Minor League Baseball wraps up, it is time to turn our attention to the Arizona Fall League. All Single-A and High-A affiliates are done, and Double-A and Triple-A playoffs are in the championships.

I will be out in the desert the second week of the AFL season to cover the league and the players there. So now is the time to break down each team’s roster and to give thoughts on players who could see their stock increase in the prospect world.

We will go team by team, alphabetically. So today, we have Surprise, our final team. The team is comprised of prospects from the Cleveland Guardians, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, and Texas Rangers.

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Surprise Saguaros Roster Breakdown

Pitchers

Best Arm

Jose Corniell originally signed with the Mariners for $630k in 2019, but was traded to the Rangers in 2020 for Rafael Montero. Improving and building his innings every season, Corniell broke out in a big way in 2023, posting a 2.92 ERA across 101.2 innings pitched, with the majority of his starts coming in High-A. Across those innings, he struck out 119 batters and walked just 31 while posting a strike rate north of 67 percent. He missed the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John.

Returning to the mound in 2025, Corniell pitched just 38 innings, but posted a 1.89 ERA while striking out 28 percent of hitters between Double-A and Triple-A. His fastball plays well at the top of the strike zone, sitting 95-96 mph with carry and arm-side run. Throwing from a lower 5’7” release height, Corniell also creates above-average extension near 6’7” on average.

His sweeper sits in the low-80s with over ten inches of sweeping action regularly. The pitch is plus, and Corniell is comfortable throwing it to both lefties and righties. The high-spinning curveball gets a ton of whiffs, sitting around 80 mph, showing an impressive two-plane break.

Corniell added a two-seamer and a cutter in 2023, working it down in the zone and getting ground balls, and will mix a changeup in as well against lefties, having a late break. The cutter gave him another pitch he was confident in, and it largely played a big part of his 2023 breakout.

The stuff is there as is his command, considering he is coming back from Tommy John. Given that he is even further away, Corniell should be the best arm on this talented Surprise team in the AFL.

Arm Who Could Increase Stock

Daniel Espino was an arm that I was honestly not sure would pitch in game again. Prior to a Triple-A appearance in September 2025, the last time we saw Espino pitch in a game was April 2022. Unfortunately, the 2022 season ended after 18 innings due to a knee injury, and he missed all of 2023 due to a shoulder strain that led to anterior capsule repair surgery, a dangerous one for pitchers. He had a second shoulder surgery in Spring Training 2024 on his capsule again and rotator cuff.

When Espino is healthy, he flashes a high-end fastball that is one of the best in the minors, sitting north of 97 but touching 100 regularly with high IVB numbers, making it a hard pitch for hitters to catch up to. Getting 6’9” of extension and throwing from a 5’9” release height, Espino creates tough looks on the electric fastball.

The fastball plays well with a slider that sits around 87-88 mph with nice depth and shorter horizontal, generating plenty of whiffs. When hitters start trying to cheat on those pitches, he changes their eye level quickly with a 12-6 curveball in the mid-70s. Espino’s changeup almost plays like a two-seam with high carry, but having 14 inches of arm-side movement while sitting 89-90 mph.

It is still to be seen if Espino’s shoulder can hold up, but getting to see him on the mound in Arizona will probably see a rise in his prospect stock if he comes out and is electric again.

Sleeper Arm

Logan Martin is an arm that I have loved to watch pitch over the years and has turned in two strong seasons in a row. The 2023 12th-rounder posted a 3.62 ERA across 102 innings with a 15.3 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate in 2024. This season in High-A, Martin tossed just 91.1 innings, but posted a 3.45 ERA, and though the strikeout rate dropped to 20.6 percent, Martin was still effective.

Martin worked a mid-90s fastball that showed a lot of run plus good carry, setting up a solid changeup and slider. Most of his whiffs come on his low-80s slider, which shows good sweeping action. He throws it to both righties and lefties, dropping it to the back foot of lefties while running it away from righties.

The changeup plays really well, sitting 84-86 with very late depth and fade, keeping hitters on their toes. Martin repeats his mechanics consistently and does not show high effort, even when reaching 96 mph.

Martin is a bit older, just turning 24 years old, and the Royals have not pushed him very aggressively. I do think Martin will have a strong AFL, though, and looks to me like an MLB pitcher that could be a spot starter or fit into the bullpen.

Hitters

Best Bat

This team is loaded with prospects in the field and a ton of talented bats. You could argue Aidan Miller or Chase Delauter as being the top bat, but I am taking Sebastian Walcott here. Some would be quick to say Walcott had a disappointing season as he hit just 13 home runs and stole 32 bases while slashing .255/.355/.386 in 552 plate appearances. Considering Walcott turned 19 just before the season began and spent the entire season in Double-A, there were plenty of positives to take away from Walcott’s season.

First, Walcott hits the cover off the ball for a player his age, having a near 107 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and high-end exit velocities as high as 116 mph. Part of the problem is the lack of loft and the fact that Walcott put the ball on the ground at a 46 percent clip this year. When Walcott does get the ball in the air, he pulls it often, which is a good foundation to have.

The contact skills and approach, both of which also improved with Walcott this year, were notable. Walcott ended the year with a strikeout rate below 20 percent, and from August forward, that number dropped to 15 percent while he walked 14.5 percent of the time. Across those 159 plate appearances, Walcott hit .281 with an OBP just shy of .400.

Walcott saw a huge jump in contact rate, finishing the year with a 74 percent overall mark and an in-zone number north of 80 percent. The chase rate was better than average at 25 percent, and the zone-swing rate is strong.

I am still very much in on Walcott, and if your leaguemates are not, it is a great time to buy.

Bat Who Could Increase Stock

Luke Adams is an interesting prospect, especially if you watch him swing a bat. The crazy thing is that he has calmed things down a lot before the swing. It is still a little unconventional, but I have a hard time arguing against the results at this point. For two years, Adams has made major progress with his swing, and he has performed.

Getting just 315 plate appearances this season due to injury, Adams blasted 11 home runs and stole ten bases with a .231/.417/.436 slash. The batting averages are consistently low, which is interesting given that Adams hits the ball hard and at respectable angles.

Despite the batting average being consistently low, Adams posted a 158 wRC+, which followed up a 153 wRC+ last season. Adams walked 16.5 percent of the time and was hit by a pitch an additional 24 times while showing strong contact skills.

He has one of the lowest swing and chase rates in the minors, swinging at 33 percent of pitches overall and less than 20 percent of pitches out of the zone. In the process, Adams made contact on 79 percent of pitches overall and nearly 85 percent in-zone.

Adams hits the ball hard with a 90th percentile exit velocity north of 106 mph, and he has hit several balls north of 110 mph. His angles are solid, and Adams pulled 54 percent of his fly balls, which is an impressive mark.

This is an interesting profile at the plate, but I would not be surprised if Adams had a huge AFL as the ball travels further there. He is a good athlete and an OBP machine.

Sleeper Bat

Carson Roccaforte put together a quitely good season and finished the year quite strong in Double-A. Between both levels, Roccaforte hit 18 home runs and stole 43 bases while putting up a .258/.373/.470 slash line. The numbers improved even more in Double-A as Roccaforte showed improved launch angles, and he struck out less.

While the exit velocities are respectable, Roccaforte did a good job of hitting home runs to the pull side, which led to a career-high mark after hitting just ten last season. While we did see the fly ball rate drop a bit in Double-A, Roccaforte saw his launch angles become more consistent, and his BABIP was way up.

Having a rhythmic swing with good timing, it is a bit surprising to see him strike out over 29 percent of the time for the season. The contact rate ultimately fell below 70 percent, which is concerning; however, Roccaforte has a generally good approach.

While Roccaforte does not have the perfect profile, Roccaforte ended the year on a high note. Over his final 162 plate appearances, he slashed .296/.383/.493 with five home runs, 17 extra base hits, and seven stolen bases. Expect a solid performance from Roccaforte in the AFL.