Live From The Arizona Fall League: 11/5/2026

Salt River Rafters (Beck)

Kyle West, 1B, New York Yankees (2-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI)

West is very large (superlative). He uses it to get to big time power. He doesn’t always connect — that was the hole during the regular season in which he hit a meager .226 (to be fair, he got BABIP’d a bit) — but it goes far when he does. His fourth-inning home run was the biggest fly I’ve ever seen in the Arizona Fall League. It allegedly left the bat at 109.4 MPH (I’ll take the over) and traveled an indeterminate distance (I agree) before clanging off the Charro Lodge beyond the right field fence at Scottsdale Stadium.

Core Jackson, SS, New York Yankees (2-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 SB)

Other than the home run and two stolen bases, Core Jackson got beat up last night. He was hit by a pitch in the seventh, then pegged again on a backpick attempt from Matthew Wood.

The controversial fifth-round pick has struggled through 15 fall league games, accruing a .645 OPS and 21 strikeouts in a hitter-friendly environment. He’s an impressive athlete — seeing him in person makes that a plain fact — but a long season followed by an unstructured environment may be wearing on him. In any event, if he plays well early in 2027 he becomes an interesting prospect to follow.

Jack O’Dowd, 1B, Colorado Rockies (3-5, 2B)

Jack, son of former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd, was very good for Billings in the independent Pioneer League. He was very good for Fresno, Spokane, and Hartford shortly thereafter. Now, he’s been very good for Salt River. He’s leading the circuit in doubles and home runs with seven and six, respectively.

On the other hand, he struck out a lot when he got to Double-A. He continues to strike out more than he’d like in Arizona. His performance is putting him on radars, but he’ll need to find solid footing in Hartford before he justifies a roster spot on fantasy teams.

Mesa Solar Sox (Rhys)

Jake Munroe, 3B, Los Angeles Angels (1/5 HR)

Jake Munroe has been having a very good AFL campaign, placing him right in the conversation as one of the most underrated prospects in all of baseball. He possesses ample power; while it is a small sample in the AFL, he boasts a 106 mph 90th-percentile exit velocity and is doing a solid job of lifting and pulling batted balls.

Munroe might not spend much more time in the minors if he uses the AFL as his finishing school. In this game alone, he showcased his potential with a 102 mph exit velocity on his home run alongside a 100 mph lineout. Munroe has the key power profile desired in a potential third baseman, and it would not be surprising if the Angels keep his 2027 Triple-A stint minimal before calling him up around June to be their starting third baseman. If it all clicks, there is 25-homer upside.

Jake Cook, CF, Toronto Blue Jays (3/4, 4 SB)

Jake Cook is faster than fast, quicker than quick, he is lightning on the basepaths, that is. That is going to be the way in which he contributes to fantasy rosters. His glove will buy him all the plate appearances he can get, but for us, we just want him to hit and run, like all the time. There is some power here, but not a ton, so his fantasy appeal lies in him being a 30+ stolen-base-per-year type of guy.

It is good to see that the hamstring issue is behind him, and he is spraying some liners and stealing bases. I’ll have to ask Beck about him in center and, in general, get his thoughts on the outfield positioning rules in the AFL.

Surprise Saguaros (Chris)

Angeibel Gomez, OF, Kansas City Royals (1/4 3 Hard-Hits)

Surprise collected just five hits on the day and did not push a run across the board. It was a rather ordinary day for Gomez as he had a ninth-inning single, but it was what you won’t find in the box score that was so important.

Gomez had three hard-hit balls and missed a fourth by just one mph. He smoked a 107.3 mph lineout directly at the left fielder. Gomez also went to the opposite field several times, on balls hit at 96 and 97.5 mph. Considering his age, Gomez has shown very impressive exit velocities, launch angles, and contact skills so far in the AFL.

Gomez's regular season data stands out in a big way for his age and rivals any DSL player’s data in recent history, including Jesus Made. He has a strong approach, running a chase rate just north of 20 percent. He also has made contact at a rate north of 80 percent with an in-zone mark above 90 percent.

Pulling the ball in the air with authority, Gomez has an air rate of 75 percent, which is extremely impressive. The batted ball data is quite good as well, as Gomez has hit balls as hard as 111 mph and has a 90th percentile exit velocity of 105 mph. He is an exceptional athlete, and Gomez is an above-average to plus runner.

Scottsdale Scorpions (Beck)

Eric Bitonti, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers (1-5, HR, 2 K)

It’s astonishing that Eric Bitonti and I are the same species. He really is an imposing figure, with shoulders twice as wide as mind and legs like tree trunks. He, like Kyle West, can hit the ball a long way. Bitonti gets to his power more often and with less effort required, but misses with so much regularity so as to call into question his viability as a big leaguer. With a strikeout rate consistently cresting 30%, he’ll have to be a regular threat for 30 or more home runs annually to break even in the face of limited defensive value.

Matthew Wood, C, Milwaukee Brewers (3-5, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI)

If Bitonti weren’t out here, Wood would be the most impressive body from Milwaukee’s system in the circuit. His listed height (5-foot-10) and weight (191 lbs) don’t do his physicality justice, and juice showed up to the park on Wednesday. He slashed a pair of doubles and has a .932 OPS through 13 games, following up a 95-game regular season with Biloxi (Double-A) in which he hit 18 home runs, walked more than he struck out, and carried an .890 OPS. He’s legitimately intriguing as a deep league option.

Peoria Javelinas (Rhys)

Frank Elissalt, RHP St. Louis Cardinals (2 IP/2 H/2 ER/4 BB/4 K)

I mean outside of four walks this was not a bad outing for Frank Elissalt; 8 whiffs on the day with 4 punchouts in 2 innings of work is solid. It’s a 5’4” release height and solid shapes on his pitches. It’s a kitchen-sink approach with 7 pitches that he can mix and match with.

The four-seamer collected 4 whiffs on the day as it plays well enough from his arm-slot especially when thrown at the top of the zone. The slider and cutter collected the other 4 whiffs with 2 apiece. The slider and cutter are probably his two best secondary pitches. Elissalt has pitched well and looks to have overcome the hip injury that held him out of the entire 2026 season.

Glendale Desert Dogs (Chris)

Alex Williams, RHP, Miami Marlins (4 IP/1 H/0 ER/1 BB/10 K)

Williams was drafted in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Stanford. He has shown flashes at times and will give you starts where you really wanna buy in. That was the case on Wednesday. Across 85.2 Double-A innings in 2026, Williams posted a 5.78 ERA with a 23 percent strikeout rate as a 26-year-old.

Last night, Williams looked like a star. He generated 11 whiffs and struck out ten of the 14 batters he faced. Williams generated five of the whiffs on his 93 mph fastball that averaged 16 inches of IVB and 10 inches of arm-side.

The slider played off it well, sitting in the mid-80s, with six of the whiffs coming on that offering. It has good depth and a tight horizontal movement. While he does not use the changeup or curveball often, they are part of the arsenal and have potential based on the movement profile.

Tate Southisene, SS, Atlanta Braves (2/3 2 Hard-Hits)

Another day, more Tate Southisene talk. Largely because Glendale’s lineup collected just one extra-base hit on the day and did not do much of anything in their 2-0 win. While Southisene collected two singles, they came with exit velocities of 98 and 103 mph.

Now for the AFL, Southisene is running an insane 94 percent in-zone contact rate with a 56 percent hard-hit rate. The average exit velocity sits at 93 mph.

After making his debut after being drafted in 2025 and striking out in 41 percent of his plate appearances, the lack of hype seemed justified as Southisene looked lost. This year, he looks like a different ballplayer and one to invest in. The approach has changed dramatically, and Southisene has seen a rise of 13 percent in his contact rate to 74 percent. The in-zone contact rate of 83 percent was fine and Southisene also ran a chase rate around 22 percent.

The power breakout was legit as well as he posted a 106 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and a 50 percent hard-hit rate. Getting hit by a pitch on the wrist caused his season to end in July, just after getting promoted to Double-A. It looks like he is fully healthy now, though.