Six weeks of baseball in the desert culminated with the Arizona Fall League championship on Friday night, as the Surprise Saguaros powered their way to a seven-run eighth inning and defeated the Peoria
Javelinas 9-4 to take home the title. Kevin McGonigle, a shortstop in the Detroit Tigers system who established himself as a top prospect in baseball this year, slashed .362/.500/710 with five home runs in 69 at-bats and took home the 2025 AFL MVP honors.
While many of baseball’s most notable prospects were on display in Arizona this Fall, the Yankees went in a different direction than most MLB organizations and opted to send an assortment of prospects who missed significant time during the regular season due to injury. Here’s how their eight representatives fared during their time with the 14-14 Mesa Solar Sox:
Far and away the most impressive Yankee representative in Arizona was Cade Smith, who pitched 12.2 innings in the desert and allowed just seven hits and three earned runs on his way to a 2.13 ERA. He struck out 14 batters while walking just two, and was the only Yankee to make an appearance in the AFL All-Star Game. Smith was effective in his 32 innings with the Hudson Valley Renegades this season but struggled with walks, so hopefully this performance is an indication that his control is trending in the right direction. He’ll turn 24 in April 2026 and will look to build on this performance and move quickly through the higher levels of the minors next season.
It’s safe to say that the AFL did not go Bryce Cunningham’s way, as the second-round pick from the 2024 MLB draft struggled mightily through his five starts. Cunningham posted a 10.38 ERA in 13 innings in Arizona, conceding 20 hits and 15 earned runs while walking nine batters and striking out just eight. He took the loss in four of the five games in which he pitched. Cunningham pitched well in Hudson Valley this year before missing two months with an injury, so hopefully these results prove to be a blip and he can get back on track in 2026.
Adam Stone, Brady Kirtner, and Hueston Morrill pitched exclusively in relief for the Solar Sox. Morrill was the most effective of the three, posting a 3.12 ERA in 8.2 innings while earning one win and two saves in three opportunities. He did allow 10 hits and issued five walks to only three strikeouts, but despite the poor efficiency he was able to navigate lineups without allowing too many runners to score. Kirtner was not particularly effective, allowing 14 hits and 10 runs (though just five of them earned) in just 7.1 innings on his way to a 6.14 ERA with one loss and one save in two opportunities. However, Stone was the least effective of the three, struggling through 5.1 innings while conceding 11 hits and eight runs (seven earned). He finished with a bloated 11.81 ERA and 2.63 WHIP.
The most consistent presence on offense for the Yankees in the Arizona Fall League was perhaps the most familiar face of the bunch, 2022 international free-agent signing Enmanuel Tejeda. The infielder has flashed his potential during his three years with the organization, and held his own in Arizona with a .254/.412/.368 slash line in 67 at bats. He homered once during his time with the Solar Sox, but the highlight of his Fall came on November 4th when he delivered a performance for the ages: five hits including a double, three RBI, two runs scored, and three stolen bases. Tejeda is still just 20 years old, and warrants some consideration as an exciting infield prospect.
The Solar Sox also gave consistent at-bats to Manuel Palencia, a 23-year-old light-hitting catcher who made his way up to Double-A during the 2025 season. Palencia went 10-for-46 in Arizona with a double and a home run, walking twice and striking out 14 times. His offensive production was limited, and he will likely remain in Double-A with the Somerset Patriots for a considerable amount of the 2026 season.
The 23-year-old Coby Morales took advantage of the opportunity with nine hits including a homer in 27 at-bats, but he was absent for the lineup for over two weeks. There was no public report of an injury during this time, but it’s safe to assume that Morales would not have been a healthy scratch for such a long period of time. The result was a smaller sample size than he and the Yankees would have hoped, but the results he posted were promising nonetheless.
The Yankees opted against sending their most promising minor-leaguers to Arizona, but some of the prospects who did see their seasons extend into the AFL made the most of the opportunity. Smith quickly proved himself to be the focal point of this crop, and his dominant performance should have Yankees fans circling his name as one to watch moving forward. Given the recent trajectory of pitching prospects within the organization, he could soon find himself in the same rotation as many of the team’s top minor-league arms. Tejeda and Cunningham (despite his poor results) are the other AFL participants who should be on the radar in the future, as they both have displayed big-league traits and carry a considerable amount of stock within the organization. The 2025 Arizona Fall League was never going to be a headline factory for the Yankees, but they were able to get an extended look at some young players who got deprived of the opportunity during the regular season.
