Arizona Fall League
One of the secret delights of living in Arizona, which gives you the chance to see some of the top prospects in baseball for the price of a Chase Field beer. Six teams are formed from players sent by all thirty MLB teams, playing in a league for about a month after the end of the regular season. These may be prospects the organization wants to challenge, those who missed playing time earlier in the year due to injury, etc. The D-backs involved were part of the Salt River Rafters roster, playing on home
turf. But it wasn’t a very successful campaign: the Rafters went 11-17, finishing bottom of the league.
The best known Diamondback will be Drew Jameson, who was sent there to try out his elbow, which caused him to miss the entire second-half of the season. His recovery, weirdly, involved Botox injections. The numbers weren’t great over his six appearances – four runs (all from one outing) on four hits, with a K:BB of 4:4 across 5.2 innings. But the main things were he was a) pitching without pain, and b) hitting 99 mph. Having proven that, he was then shut down, but should hopefully be ready for a full spring. Another name you might know is Kyle Amendt, who spent the season with Reno and struck out an impressive 11 batters in his five AFL innings – albeit with seven walks.
The most interesting pitcher though might be David Hagaman, who came over from the Texas Rangers in the Merrill Kelly trade. He made four starts and a relief appearance, with a 4.50 ERA across 12 innings, with a K:BB of 14:7. That’s not bad, considering the 22-year-old had never pitched about High-A, and the AFL is a showcase for some of the top hitting prospects in baseball. Speaking of which, the highest-ranked player in Arizona’s farm system was infielder Jansel Luis, #12 according to MLB Pipeline. He was the team’s representative in the Fall Stars game, but did struggle in league play, with a slash of .213/.311/.247 across 25 games.
Instead, the best results came from outfielder Jack Hurley. Over his fourteen appearances for the Rafters, Jack hit .260/.356/.480 for an .836 OPS. That was almost two hundred points better than the .643 he put up for Double-A Hillsboro, and included a game where he drove in eight runs. He was ranked #4 on Baseball America’s list of the hottest AFL prospects. Finally, Yordin Chalas had a good fall, allowing two earned runs across 7.2 innings, with nine strikeouts. He was mostly a starter in High-A Hillsboro, but worked out of the pen here. However, he didn’t pitch after November 10, and it’s unclear if injury was a factor.
Winter ball
The name to follow here will be Jordan Lawlar, who is looking to build on a frustrating season in the US. He didn’t get his first MLB hit until his twelfth game, though finished strong with a September line of .308/.364/.487 for an .851 OPS. He is playing for Tigres de Licey in the Dominican Winter League, and his numbers there have not been impressive: he is 7-for-42 and has yet to record a walk, while striking out 18 times. I also haven’t been able to find his name in a box-score since November 10. Not clear if there’s a health issue, or if he was only scheduled to play for a short time.
Of note though, he had been playing some games for the Tigres in center field, an entirely new position for him. It may be that is where the D-backs see his long-term future. Although over the final week before he disappeared, Lawlar returned to his regular shortstop position. But the harsh reality is, the production at the plate will have to improve over the DWL numbers, if he’s to stick. If the goal of sending him to play winter ball was to boost his confidence by getting him at-bats against a lower caliber of pitcher, it seems to have backfired.
Further south, in Venezuela, another Arizona prospect looking to rebuild his value is Yilber Diaz. He had a wretched 2025, developing the yips which led to 73 walks and 13 wild pitches across 57 innings. Things seem to have improved somewhat with the Caribes de Anzoategui, Diaz tossing 9.1 innings and allowing just one earned run – and, most importantly, walking a restrained four, while fanning twelve. There’s no doubt the raw “stuff” is there: he struck out 70 batters over those 57 innings. If Yilber can sustain the better control, then he may return to the majors next year, and for more than the three innings he threw in his 2025 debut.
It appears that we will see Geraldo Perdomo play in the DWL as well, although he is not expected to start until next month. Ketel Marte also has said he intends to appear in the winter league, on the same team as Lawlar. Similarly, he has not yet appeared for Licey, and we’ll see what happens after Thanksgiving. It does seem a little unusual to have someone like Perdomo, who played 161 games for the D-backs this year, getting additional reps. He did appear in the Dominican during the off-seasons after both the 2022 and 2024 campaigns, but only had a total of eight games for the Aguilas Cibaenas across the two winters.
