A Full Breakdown of the Scottsdale Scorpions Roster in the Arizona Fall League

durstockd
Oct 7, 2025
32 min read

The Arizona Fall League rosters have been released this week with a lot of intriguing prospects on each team. There are six teams full of prospects from Major League teams that will play starting October 6th. I’ll be writing an article and making Twitter posts about each team’s roster. This will cover the prospects who will be on the Scottsdale Scorpions this fall. The team will consist of players from the Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Washington Nationals, and the Detroit Tigers.

Houston Astros:

Anderson Brito RHP: Signed out of Venezuela in 2023 he looked great in 53.2 innings of work between the Dominican Summer League, Complex League, and Low-A with a 1.51 ERA and 38.9% strikeout rate. This season he was again dominating up in High-A in his first 12 starts throwing 49.1 innings to a 3.28 ERA and 2.91 FIP with a 31.1% strikeout rate before being put on the injured list and missing the rest of the season with an unspecified injury. Already at 20 years old he’s grown into his arm and he already sits in the mid 90s and tops out at 99 mph with his fastball. It can get some big misses at the top of the zone. He’s still searching for a great secondary even though he’s been trying a slider, curveball, and splitter. His slider can vary in velocity but has big horizontal movement which makes it hard to tunnel off his fastball that seems to rise. He’s tried a curveball that he’s able to drop in over the top and can land in spots but hasn’t gotten the swing and miss you’d expect off of it. His splitter is not great and still needs some changes as it sits in the upper 80s. With a very repeatable delivery Brito is a tweak away from being a demon in the bullpen at the very worst but could continue to develop as a starter with some more work on his secondaries.

Brett Gillis RHP: The 9th round pick out of the University of Portland has barely pitched in the Astros system. After the draft he made 2 appearances each in the Complex League and Low-A and was ready to start his first professional season but after 2 clean innings in Low-A during the 2023 season he was put on the injured list. He tried to make a return in May but never made an in-game appearance and was put back on the injured list for the rest of 2023. He again missed all of the 2024 season not pitching a single game. This season he was finally back and in mostly a starting role making 12 appearances through mid June before again being put on the injured list and missing the rest of the season. In those 46.2 innings in High-A Gillis looked great with a 2.70 ERA and 3.50 FIP. He was striking out 26.4% of the batters he faced and his walk rate was down to 7.6%. Even though his ERA didn’t reflect it every season Gillis dominated strikeout wise at the University of Portland striking out 115 in 84.1 innings his last season. He looked like he was getting back to those ways striking out more than a batter an inning on the season. There is no public data of what Gillis is throwing; the High-A video doesn’t show velocity so not sure where he sits with any of his pitches but it seems he has a nasty changeup to go along with a fastball likely in the mid 90s. He is an underrated arm in a system that needs them now.

James Hicks RHP: Being drafted in the 13th round in 2023 Hicks was solid throughout his first professional season pitching as a swingman for Low-A, High-A, and AA for 106 total innings by the end of the year to a 3.82 ERA and 3.91 FIP. This season he pitched 17 bad innings in AA before an injury kept him out from the end of April until early August. He pitched 29.2 innings after coming back to a 4.55 ERA while striking out about a batter an inning. Hicks throws from a low slot which makes his low 90s fastball hard to make solid contact on. His best pitches though are his secondaries starting with a slider that went from a traditional one in college to basically a sweeper so far in the minors. He adds to that a changeup in the mid 80s that has some fade and depth as well as an upper 70s curveball. Hicks has shown some of the best command in the Astros system, only walking 6.3% in 2024 and 6.8% this season. At times he can struggle with his command like a game on August 29th where he walked 5 in 4 innings or he can struggle to get whiffs and strikeouts which can be bad like in a game on August 16th where he only struckout 1 and gave up 9 hits. Hicks still has a lot to work on but could be a great swingman for the Astros in the future.

Hudson Leach RHP: Signed as a non drafted free agent after the 2023 draft Leach has had two solid full seasons. In 2024 he was promoted twice ending the season in High-A throwing a combined 38.2 innings to a 3.26 ERA and 4.56 FIP. In 2025 he again started in High-A and after throwing 10.2 innings to a 1.69 ERA out of the bullpen he missed about two months with an injury and returned to High-A throwing 9.2 innings to a 6.52 ERA ending his High-A season with a 3.98 ERA but 2.51 FIP. He was promoted to AA and only pitched in 9.2 innings out of the bullpen but showed the same things he did in High-A throwing to a 3.72 ERA. He was finally promoted to AAA throwing 5.2 innings to a 12.71 ERA. Leach is known for his strikeouts and even with the struggles in AAA he still showed that off with a combined 36.6% strikeout rate this season. He struggled with command though walking 14% of batters and not throwing many strikes at times. Leach has big stuff though starting with a fastball in the mid 90s that tops out at 99 mph with great spin and ride but he struggles to throw it for a strike like all his pitches. He also throws a cutter in the high 80s and potentially a sinker in the mid 90s but some of his fastballs might have been categorized wrong. His cutter is really good and he’s able to throw it against both handed hitters. His secondaries are a curveball in the low 80s with some great depth and a low-mid 80s slider with 11” of horizontal break and great spin. Leach could be a problem out of the Astros bullpen as soon as next year if he can knock his walk rate down a bit.

Nate Wohlgemuth RHP: After starting his career at Arkansas he transferred to Division II Rogers State spending his last two seasons there. After going undrafted he signed with the Evansville Otters in the frontier league throwing 8 innings out of the bullpen before the Astros picked him up this June. After initially starting in the Complex League Wohlgemuth was promoted to High-A. He dominated the Complex throwing 12 innings to a 1.50 ERA while stringing out 40% of batters. In High-A he struggled throwing 11 innings to a 4.91 ERA. He wasn’t able to get the strikeouts he had been getting in the past at a 22.4% rate and his walk rate jumped to 14.2%. His ERA was so high mainly due to a 5 earned run performance on August 8th but in his last 7 innings after that he had a 1.29 ERA while striking out 6 and only walking 2. His fastball sits in the mid 90s that touches the upper 90s and he has three secondaries: a changeup, slider, and curveball at least he did back in college. It’ll be interesting to see what Wohlgemuth has been working on as he could easily be a top reliever prospect for the Astros next year.

Walker Janek C: The Astros’ first round pick in last season's draft Janek has spent his entire career so far in High-A. After 25 really bad games there after the draft he played in 92 games this season and performed way better. Janek hit .263/.333/.433 for a 112 wRC+. He added 12 homers and even though he’s a catcher also stole 30 bases. He has around average to plus raw power due to great bat speed and strong arms. He tends to expand his zone though and chase leading to his 26.6% strikeout rate this season and he doesn’t have the best bat to balls skills just yet with a 70.4% contact rate. Janek is known for his abilities behind the plate though with an insane arm and great pop time that has allowed him to throw out that’s allowed him to throw out almost 45% of runners since starting in High-A after the draft last year. He’s very athletic and has started to become a better framer and blocker. He could become an elite defensive catcher and the Astros are hoping he can continue to hit like he did this season and become an elite catcher.

Jeron Williams SS: Drafted out of Toledo in the 9th round of the 2024 draft Williams was great to start his first full professional season with 21 games in High-A hitting .310/.366/.552 for a 140 wRC+. He was promoted to AA and struggled though hitting .204/.266/.352 for a 77 wRC+ in 40 games his season was cut short though after a shoulder injury in August. Since he had to get surgery on that his 2025 season was delayed as he was recovering. He spent the first weeks rehabbing in the Complex League and returned to AA in mid June. He struggled again in AA improving slightly by hitting .250/.312/.342 for a 88 wRC+. He had a great month of August though where he hit .314/.398/.429. He hit less homers and stole less bases in only 7 less games than he played in 2024 though. Williams has above average contact skills and will swing a good amount leading to a lower strikeout rate but low walk rate too. He needs to make better swing decisions to grow in the system. Williams also is able to play multiple positions in the infield with games at third and second but mainly played short this season.

Zach Cole OF: The 10th rounder of the 2022 draft made his MLB debut this season playing 15 games in the last month of the season. Cole is a very toolsy prospect who has shown off his plus raw power and realized some of it this year hitting 19 homers between AA and AAA and 4 in his 15 games in MLB with some high exit velocities. In 97 games this season in the minors he hit .279/.377/.539 for a 151 wRC+. Cole had a great eye for the zone with a 12.5% walk rate but continued his strikeout with a 35.1% rate. He struggles to make contact in the zone mostly and will chase a decent amount 29.2% in the bigs but can crush balls when making contact. He has the speed and length to play center while having the arm to play right. Not sure if Cole will ever be a Major League starter because of his whiff and strikeout rates but has the chance to be a great bench bat and outfielder whenever he’s needed.

San Francisco Giants:

Ricardo Estrada LHP: After four straight seasons pitching in the Dominican Summer League Estrada made the jump to the states and has looked great this season. Starting in the Complex League where Estrada threw 35.1 innings to a 1.53 ERA he absolutely dominated with a 31.7% strikeout rate and 5% walk rate. He was promoted to Low-A and struggled in 37.2 innings. He had a 2.63 ERA but a 4.85 FIP due to his strikeout rate dropping to 18.5% and walk rate jumping to 12.3%. Estrada has gotten a ton of ground balls going back to his time in the DSL so when he did have bad games it wasn’t blow up outings only giving up at most 2 earned runs at a time. There’s no public data on Estrada but his fastball reportedly sits around 93 mph. His best pitch is supposedly a high 80s changeup that when located gets a lot of whiffs. He’s already 23 years old and is now Rule 5 eligible even though nobody's going to take him. It's almost time for the Giants to make a decision on Estrada and they’re testing him this fall.

Spencer Miles RHP: Drafted in the 4th round of the 2022 draft Miles has barely played since joining the Giants organization. After the draft he pitched in 7.1 innings between the Complex League and Low-A in 2022. He missed the entire 2023 season and came back in June 2024 pitching 7.1 innings in the Complex League before again being shut down and missing the rest of the season. He again missed the entire 2025 season so since being drafted Miles has only played 14.2 innings in 3.5 years. Miles had big stuff in college at Missouri but struggled to get outs. In his few professional innings he’s shown the ability to get strikeouts with an above 30% strikeout rate in both seasons and some ability to throw strikes but he just hasn’t pitched. He showed a fastball in the upper 90s during his 2024 season and a slider with good depth but not sure what the rest of his arsenal is and might be one of the most interesting prospects in the AFL this year.

Ryan Murphy RHP: Drafted back in the 5th round of the 2020 draft Murphy has been in the Giants organization for awhile. Out of his 5 professional seasons he’s struggled with injuries that shortened his 2022, 2024, and 2025 seasons but he was able to throw 107.1 innings in both 2021 and 2023. Murphy has not just struggled to stay on the field but he’s struggled in general meaning he hasn’t made it above AA where he’s been stuck since making his AA debut in 2022. He broke onto the scene in 2021 with a 2.52 ERA while striking out 39.3% to a 6.2% walk rate and jumping onto prospect boards. Since then his strikeout rate has slowly dropped especially since getting into AA where it’s never been above 25.6% and his walk rate has been inconsistent. Murphy has shown very average stuff with very average velocity. I would guess the Giants are going to make a decision on him either this offseason or next year.

Jose T. Perez RHP: Another very weird case like Miles Perez was signed in the International Class of 2021 and threw 3.1 innings in the Dominican Summer League before getting injured. With nothing I could find in Perez has not pitched a single game in the Giants organization since then. He made his return this season jumping from the DSL after a 3 innings start to the Complex League where he threw 21.2 innings to a 4.57 ERA and 5.37 FIP. He made 2 appearances for 2.1 innings in Low-A as well to a 15.43 ERA after giving 4 runs in his first outing but having a clean second one. This is very weird because there’s basically nothing on Perez. I can’t find why he was injured/missed 3 full years or what his pitches were. I’ll add to this after his first AFL outing is available because I have nothing on him.

Juan Sanchez LHP: Signed out of Venezuela in 2017 Sanchez has been in the Giants organization for a long time. He’s slowly climbed the ranks, basically being promoted to each level every season and pitching out of the bullpen in AAA in 2024. He likely had Tommy John surgery and has been out the entire 2025 season but looked great in 2024 with 34.1 innings to a 3.93 ERA but struggled with walks with a 18.8% rate. Before the injury he threw both a sinker and four seam fastball that sat in the low 90s topping out at 96 mph. His best pitch and the one Sanchez used most often was his changeup that sat in the mid 80s and has some great late action which made it have a 39.6% whiff rate in AAA during the 2024 season. He also has a mid 80s slider which is his worst pitch. He’ll likely settle in as a mid inning lefty specialist if anything but what he is after the injury has yet to be seen.

Maui Ahuna SS: The 2023 4th round pick didn’t get off to a great start. His last season at Tennessee he tried to play through a back injury and his stats dipped because of it. He continued to deal with injuries in 2024 only playing 23 non rehab games in Low-A to a bad result and having to get Tommy John surgery in the middle of the year. Ahuna came back this season to Low-A in late May after some rehab games to start the season and he hit pretty good .266/.375/.427 for a 124 wRC+. He kept his usual walk rate at 11.3% and his strikeout rate stayed a career same at 25%. He earned a promotion to High-A but only played in 11 games when he hit the injured list in early August and didn’t come back this season. In those 11 games he played well hitting .311/.404/.467 for a 142 wRC+. Ahuna has about average raw power from the left handed side and tries to pull most pitches with a long swing. He also struggles with contact because of that long swing only making contact on 68.2% of pitches this season. Ahuna tends to roll over on fastballs and whiff on breaking pitches leading to his higher than normal strikeout rate. He’s mostly known for his glove though. Despite the numerous injuries Ahuna has always looked great at short with great hands and an athletic frame. He has the speed and athleticism to steal more bases but has never been very aggressive, only stealing 12 bases in 63 games this year.

Parks Harber UTL: Acquired at this year’s deadline along with three other prospects from the Yankees for Camilo Doval, Harber has been very good at the plate since joining the Giants High-A team. Harber has played 25 games in the Giants organization and hit .333/.454/.644 for a 195 wRC+. He hit the same number of homers (7) in those 25 games than he has with the Yankees in 77 games the last two seasons. The Yankees signed Harber after he went undrafted in the 2024 draft even after putting up a 1.073 OPS in his last season at North Carolina with 20 homers. He’s just continued to hit after he was signed last year he hit for a 141 wRC+ in 23 games by the end of the season. This year he dealt with an injury in mid June missing almost two months and only played 79 total games. In combined games between the Yankees Low-A and High-A as well as the Giants High-A Harber hit .323/.420/.550 for a 173 wRC+. He has an eye for the zone walking 12.8% of the time while swinging at a below average rate. He doesn’t make elite contact right now but makes enough in the zone to keep excelling in the minors. The Yankees had been playing him at first base and third base but the Giants changed it up. They kept him playing primarily third but had him play some innings in both corner outfield spots. Harber is alright at third, likely below average so it's great he’ll likely now be able to play first and two outfield spots to just keep his bat in the lineup as much as possible.

Walker Martin 3B/SS: The Giants drafted Martin out of high school in the 2nd round of the 2023 draft but he’s really struggled in pro ball so far. His first season in 2024 started late due to a back injury and he really struggled when playing. He showed enough plate discipline and power to hit above average in 44 Complex League games hitting .229/.413/.382 for a 113 wRC+ but his red flags were loud with a 37.6% strikeout rate and only a 48.5% contact rate. He was promoted to Low-A and played in the last 25 games of the season and his problems got even worse when he hit .202/.358/.333 for a 95 wRC+ and struckout 46.3% of the time. This season he played 108 games back in Low-A and was about the same, maybe a bit better, hitting .234/.353/.384 for a 107 wRC+. He cut down on his strikeouts and made more contact at a 66.6% clip which is still heavily below average. He showed his potential at times with a 7 game stretch where he hit .357 with 6 home runs but in total he struggled. Martin also didn’t show off his speed which was said to be above average only stealing 13 bases. He’s also really struggled in the field. In 2024 he had 29 errors in only 69 games at shortstop which caused the Giants to have him split time between short and third where he had 23 errors in 91 games so a bit better. He might profile as a second baseman but he won’t play unless the bat clicks more.

New York Mets:

Brett Banks RHP: Drafted out of UNC Wilmington in the 11th round Banks has been great out of the bullpen in his second professional season. After the 2024 season where Banks struggled with an injury after 11.1 innings in High-A he was out for basically the rest of the season only pitching in 0.2 of an inning in Low-A at the end of August. He started this season rehabbing making one appearance in the Complex League at the start of May and 10.1 innings to a 0.87 ERA in Low-A before making his return to High-A in late June. He pitched 25.1 innings out of the bullpen to a 2.49 ERA and 3.27 FIP. He struck out 25.2% of batters and walked 10.7%. He also got a great amount of ground balls at a 45.6% rate. Banks has a big fastball that sits in the mid 90s with 16.6” of induced vertical break. He’s been able to throw that for a strike often but with his new cutter he struggled to find the zone at least during his stint in Low-A. It sits in the high 80s and had a 50% chase. He also has a great slider with tight movement that sits in the mid 80s. A solid bullpen prospect who will look to rise up to AA next year in his age 24 season.

Wyatt Hudepohl RHP: Taken in the 4th round in the 2023 draft along with other Mets top prospects Hudepohl has not been as quick of a riser as them. After starting the 2024 season in Low-A he made his last start in mid May and was injured for the rest of the season. That carried over to the year 2025 where Hudepohl didn’t make a single start. During the 2024 season he threw 29 innings before the injury to a 4.03 ERA and 4.18 FIP. He has a longer arm action that leads to him hiding the ball better. His fastball only sits in the low 90s with good ride. His two secondaries are a splitter and slider. His splitter is a solid offering and he’s able to throw it for a strike decently well. His low 80s slider doesn’t have enough bite but is another solid offering. I’m interested if he’s been working on anything the last year during his rehab and we’ll see this fall.

Bryce Jenkins RHP: Another pitcher who’s been recovered from injury Jenkins was drafted in the 17th round of the 2023 draft and after 4 innings in the Mets organization after the draft he missed the entire 2024 season with injury. Jenkins was back at the end of June in the Complex League throwing about once a week for 2.2 total innings and being promoted to Low-A in late July where he sporadically made outings to eventually pitch 9.1 innings to a 5.79 ERA. He couldn’t throw strikes walking 27.1% of batters. With not much velocity his fastball sits in the low-mid 90s but has great spin and shape. The problem with that pitch was Jenkins only threw it in the zone 39.4% of the time. He also throws a sinker that's around 90 mph but is one of his weaker offerings. His curveball that sits in the low 80s is his best pitch and the pitch he threw in the zone the most. He also threw a slider at times in the mid 80s with some sharp movement but he only threw one in the zone in his Low-A innings. It seemed like Jenkins was experimenting too, throwing a pitch that looked like a changeup and three that seemed to be high 80s cutters I believe. He’ll look to hammer out his arsenal this fall before starting back in the lower minors next season.

Austin Troesser RHP: After being drafted in the 4th round compensation part of the 2023 draft Troesser had a solid first professional season between Low-A and High-A pitching a total of 48 innings to a 4.50 ERA. In his 4 starts in High-A Troesser struggled to get strikeouts but had a 34.4% rate in Low-A. This season Troesser was taking things slow after injuries held him out for two months in 2024. He was only pitching in 1-2 inning spurts the entire season and again after his first 5 appearances he was put on the injured list and was out 3.5 months making his return to High-A in mid August and pitching 10 more innings to end the year striking out 9 and not giving up a single run. I’m interested to see what Troesser’s arsenal is this fall because using the public data I have from how outings in Low-A in 2024 and his 1 outing in Low-A this season it seems like Troesser velocity jumped from the low 90s to 95 mph. His slider also jumped from the low 80s to 87 mph and got tighter movement. In his 1 Low-A outing he also didn’t throw his high 70s curveball or mid 80s changeup. Not sure where Troesser goes next season as he’s barely pitched since getting drafted.

Chris Suero C: A very weird path to organized baseball for Suero he was born in the Bronx and levied there until moving to the DR at 15 years old. This made it so that instead of being drafted out of college or high school Suero could sign as an international free agent early which he did at 18 years old in 2022. After two solid seasons in the Dominican and at the Complex League Suero played his first state side season in 2024. He hit really well between 25 games at Low-A and 87 in High-A slashing .236/.361/.369 for a 130 wRC+. This season has been his breakout starting in High-A where he slashed .240/.382/.455 for a 154 wRC+ in 74 games. He showed some great pull side power with 15 homers and knowledge of the zone with a 13.6% walk rate. He cooled off a bit in 41 games in AA where he hit .221/.374/.324 for a 118 wRC+. He was walking more but the power fell off a bit. He has a very unique makeup as well, only standing at 5’11” Suero has above average speed and stole 35 bases this season. With his athleticism he’s also been able to play more than just catcher getting time at first and in left field the last two seasons. He has a big arm and some underrated athleticism that’s allowed him to excel behind the plate and in the field despite his size. Suero still isn’t making enough contact at the plate to show he’ll excel at the next level but he makes good swing decisions and has shown enough power to be able to project as a fun multi position bench bat at least.

D’Andre Smith UTL: Drafted in the 5th round out of USC in 2022 Smith has shown off some positive things at the minor league level. He’s really broke out this season after spending the first month in High-A where he hit .302/.415/.462 for a 165 wRC+ Smith was promoted to AA where he played in 87 games and continued to hit slashing .279/.334/.411 for a 121 wRC+. He showed more power than ever and stole the most bases in his career by a wide margin while continuing to put up high contact rates. He doesn’t have plus power but he pulls the ball a good amount with the ability to still take a pitch oppo. Even though Smith doesn’t walk a lot he makes a good amount of contact and swings at an above average rate. That’s maybe not something that is sustainable when he eventually gets promoted but this season it’s working. 2025 is the first season since after the draft in 2022 where Smith put up an above 100 wRC+ mostly because he was hitting the ball harder and he tightened up his swing. Smith has shown the ability to make adjustments between seasons by cutting down his strikeout rate which was up to 30% in 2023 down to 18.7% this season. He also has raised his walk rate which dropped down to 3.4% in 2024 up to 6.7% this year. In the field he’s playing everywhere. At USC he played short but in the minors the Mets have moved him around everywhere playing games at every outfield spot as well as second base.

Nick Morabito OF: Drafted out of high school in the 2nd round compensation picks of the 2022 draft Morabito has been surprisingly great at the plate so far at the minor league level. After a solid 27 games to end his 2023 season he broke out in 2024 starting in Low-A where he hit .397/.530/.513 for a 199 wRC+ in his first 24 games earning a promotion to High-A where he continued to hit slashing .294/.373/.374 for a 135 wRC+. This season he spent all in AA and continued to hit well again slashing .273/.438/.385 for a 119 wRC+. Marbito isn’t going to hit for a ton of power and hits the ball on the ground way too much but can get away with that due to his tremendous speed. In 2024 he stole 59 bases and in 2025 he stole 49. Marbito is constantly beating out infield hits and can take an extra bag at any time. He also has shown some feel for the zone with a 11.4% walk rate in 2024 but it dropped to 9.6% in AA this season. Even though Morabito is making great contact with a 28.8% rate he had a higher strikeout rate of 23.4% this season. This is mostly due to him taking too many strikes as he only swung at 44.8% of pitches in AA. He played short in high school but has spent his minor league career playing the outfield mostly in center. Even though he can take slow jumps at times his speed easily makes up for it. His arm is still below average but has been getting better every year he spends out there. This is a big Fall League for Morabito as he’s now Rule 5 eligible and might’ve shown enough to make the Mets 40 man roster next season.

Washington Nationals:

Pablo Aldonis LHP: After missing the entire 2024 season and most of the 2023 Aldonis made a return this season pitching 55 total innings between the Complex League, Low-A, and High-A. He was amazing in those innings pitching to a 1.64 ERA and 1.83 FIP. Aldonis struck out 30.9% of hitters and walked only 4.8%. He is a strikeout and flyball pitcher. Before the injury Aldonis was working as a starter but only topped out at 3 innings towards the end of the season as he worked his way back. He features a fastball only in the low 90s but has a mid 80s slider with tight sweeping movement which is his best pitch. His slider is so good against both sides of the plate and he seems to be able to control both his pitches. He dealt with walks in the past with a 13.3% walk rate in 2023 but other than that season he’s been able to throw strikes well and avoid barrels. A very good prospect that will look to continue his stellar season this fall.

Austin Amaral RHP: Drafted in the 16th round out of Stetson in the 2023 draft Amaral had a solid first season in 2024 even though it was limited by injury as he only pitched 38 innings. In 2025 though he broke out pitching a total of 69.2 innings out of the bullpen to a 2.45 ERA. He started in Low-A but eventually was promoted to AA by the end of the season. In Low-A he was a high strikeout low walk pitched unlike 2024 but settled back into his usual stats in the higher leagues. By the end of the season combined between all three he struck out 21.5% and walked 7.6% to a 3.35 FIP. Amaral has a weird release where he puts the ball behind his back and pauses before throwing that gets a lot of hitters time off. He hasn’t had much public data even going back to his days at Stetson but from what I can find his fastball sat around 93 mph but got a 28% whiff rate due to his windup. He had a whole four pitch mix with a slider in the low 80s, a curveball in the mid 70s, and a changeup in the mid 80s. A fun pitcher to watch.

Jake Bennett LHP: The opening day starter for the AFL this year Bennett was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2022 draft and is coming off a great year. After missing most of his first season in 2023 and all of 2024 after having Tommy John surgery Bennett returned to the Nationals organization in early May making 2 starts in Low-A before being promoted for 7 starts in High-A and eventually pitching 45.2 innings in AA before the end of the season. In total he pitched 75.1 innings to a 2.27 ERA and 2.96 FIP. Bennett is a big lefty standing at 6’6” but doesn’t have the velocity most bigger pitchers have sitting in the low 90s but topping out at 97 mph with some tail like a two seamer. HIs changeup might be his best pitch with a ton of fade this and the fastball have big groundball rates on them which have led to his success. Bennett also has a mid 80s slider with good length and late break. Not the best stuff but he has above average command which has helped keep him out of danger. His walk rate this season was only 6.4% and his walk rate in the shortened 2023 was 6.2%. He looks like a big leaguer and pitches like one.

Sean Paul Liñan RHP: Acquired at this year’s trade deadline from the Dodgers for Alex Call, Liñan only pitched in one game for the Nationals High-A team before being put on the injured list. He pitched all over for the Dodgers in 2025 starting in Low-A but making starts in High-A and AAA in the middle of the season. Other than his two AAA starts and his only Nationals one he dominated with a 1.21 ERA in 29.2 Low-A innings and a 2.65 ERA in High-A. Liñan has great strikeout stuff and has overpowered hitters striking out 33% of batters this season but walking 10.3%. If you’re watching Liñan it’s surprising he is that overpowering because his fastball only sits in the low 90s and mostly plays as a sinker but his changeup is the real deal. It sits in the low 80s with 15.” of fade it’s a crazy pitch to watch and has gotten high whiff rates at every level including his time in AAA. He also throws a pitch that’s been categorized as a slider by some and cutter by others but it sits in the mid 80s and is not a great pitch. His sinker/changeup mix gets great soft contact and whiffs but as he climbs to higher levels I’m not sure hitters will swing over the changeup as much as they’ll likely just be sitting sinkers. This is a big fall for him to prove he can get older hitters out.

Jared Simpson LHP: Picked in the 8th round out of Iowa in the 2023 draft Simpson had barely pitched before this season with 11.1 innings after the draft and only 2 last season. This season he spent entirely in High-A throwing 52 innings to a 6.32 ERA and 4.95 FIP. He showed off the strikeout stuff he did in college with a 25.8% rate but also showed the struggle with command with a 23% walk rate all out of the bullpen. It seemed Simpson had a walk basically every time he came out of the bullpen and many outings with multiple ones this season. He stands at 6’4” and 205 lbs but I’m not sure what he throws as he hasn’t had any public data going back to his days at Iowa there wasn't even anything on his Synergy. I’m sure Simpson has some solid stuff but the command leaves a lot to be desired.

Seaver King SS: One of my favorite picks from the 2024 draft King went with the 10th overall pick out of Wake Forest but has struggled badly in his first full season. After a solid 20 games in Low-A after the draft where King hit for a 122 wRC+ he started the season in High-A and played there for 45 games where he slashed .263/.307/.380 for a 104 wRC+. That’s an alright line but not what fans expected from King who was a standout in every way in his last season at Wake Forest. He was promoted to AA for the rest of the season and played even worse, slashing .233/.287/.313 for a 78 wRC+. He was expected to flash some average to plus power but that has yet to be seen in pro ball. King has made consistent contact but chases at an alarming rate which has led to a lot of weak ground balls. He also isn’t walking enough to survive at the plate with the power drop off only a 5.8% for the season. He has a compact swing that allows him to spray the ball over the field which he did this season but his 52.4% groundball rate is really holding him back. In the field King is super athletic and has plus arm strength. At Wake Forest he played all over the field but the Nationals have limited him to just shortstop so far through pro ball. His plus speed does give him some upside to the season stealing 30 bases but he’s going to have to get going in the AFL.

Sam Petersen CF: Drafted out of Iowa in the 8th round of last year’s draft Petersen has already proven a lot in the lower minor leagues in his first full season. Petersen got a late start to the season after an unknown injury took him out until May where he played a few rehab games and was in the High-A lineup for the season until another injury took him out in mid August. He ended up playing 44 High-A games and slashed .297/.398/.490 for a 161 wRC+. He posted a solid walk rate at 11.6% and cut down on his strikeouts to 18%. Petersen doesn’t make a ton of contact, only a 71.2% rate in High-A which has mostly been due to a struggle for contact in the zone on fastballs. He tends to pull a lot of balls and actually showed off some good pull side power with 6 homers and 6 doubles this season. He also showed off some of his speed with 18 steals. Petersen has mainly played centerfield in the pros but has spent time in left and right as well. He doesn't have a great arm so I could see him moving to leftfield in the future but for now using his speed to cover ground in center works well. If he can continue to hit well in the fall league against more experienced pitching then he will show that his contact concerns are as big as they seem.

Ethan Petry OF/1B: He was the Nationals 2nd round pick just this season out of South Carolina Petry had three amazing years at SC and showed off his enormous power. I’m guessing the Nationals want him to get some more at bats due to his season at SC getting shortened thanks to a shoulder injury but he did end up playing 24 games in Low-A for the Nationals before the end of the season where he just kept going hitting 287/.386/.414 for a 137 wRC+. Standing at 6’4” 235 lbs Petry had some of the best power in the draft with 2 straight seasons of more than 20 homers before only hitting 10 due to the shoulder injury. Like most sluggers he has struggled with strikeouts and contact. Even though his strikeout rate did drop to 17.4% in his last season at SC it was back up to his career norm at 24.8% in Low-A. He really struggles to not chase outside the zone when he’s in swing mode but he will take walks usually sitting around a 13% walk rate throughout college and a 12.9% in Low-A. In the field Petry is really slow and doesn’t have a ton of range in the outfield. He played some first while at SC and played 4 games there in Low-A with the rest of the time at DH or left. With the type of power he has Petry is a super exciting player to watch and could hit some long balls this fall.

Detroit Tigers:

Dariel Fregio RHP: After spending four seasons at St. Leo University a Division II school Fregio has spent the last few seasons playing for the Washington Wild Things in the Frontier League and going to Australia for a winter to pitch. The Tigers signed Fregio before the 2025 season of Indy ball started in May. He spent the season mostly in the High-A bullpen but pitched a total of 12 innings between the Complex League and Low-A. In 27.2 innings in High-A he looked great with a 2.28 ERA and 3.55 FIP while striking out 26.6% and walking 9.2%. Fregio doesn’t have the biggest velocity but has some good pitch shapes. His main pitch, a sinker, sits in the low 90s with 15” of IVB and 15” of HB he struggled to throw it for a strike in his time in Low-A though. He has a slider in the low 80s with tight movement and a mid 80s changeup with decent fade. Fregio is already 25 years old and it’ll be interesting if he can still get older and more talented hitters out this fall.

Carlos Lequerica RHP: Signed by the Tigers right after the 2023 draft Lequerica spent his four years in college between 3 schools ending at the University of Miami in his last season. He has been good out of the bullpen the last two seasons but pitching to a 4.36 ERA and 3.74 FIP in 33 innings in 2024 and a 2.35 ERA and 3.80 FIP in 2025. This season he spent it entirely in High-A with 53.2 innings where his strikeout rate dropped to 19.4% and his walk rate raised to 9.7% despite his drop in ERA. I’m not sure what caused that drop but it seemed Lequerica transitioned into a contact pitcher out of the bullpen as his groundball rate rose to 45.3% an 8% jump from 2024. In 2024 he got a lot of weak contact with his low 90s fastball that has natural cut and his deep fading changeup. He mostly leaned on the changeup against left handed hitters and switched to his low 80s slider against righties. Lequerica is already 24 years old and needs to start moving to the higher levels so like Fregio the Tigers are testing him this fall.

Jake Miller LHP: Drafted out of Valparaiso in the 8th round of the 2022 draft Miller had barely pitched in college and has been a swingman mostly at every level. His first full season he was only able to pitch 35.1 innings to a 7.13 ERA. He came back in 2024 and dominated throwing multiple innings between Low-A, High-A, and AA to a 1.85 ERA and 2.50 FIP in 87.1 total innings. He struck out 30.4% and walked only 5%. He was getting ready to continue his dominance this season and pitched well in four starts in AA to start the season with a 2.12 ERA but he went down with a back injury and missed more than 4 months only making his return for 3 innings in Low-A before the season ended where he looked back to his old self. Miller has a very deceptive delivery that lets his average stuff play way up. He shows hitters the ball really late in his wind up and his arm slot will take his low 90s fastball and create some rise leading to whiffs. His best pitch is a mid 80s changeup with some nasty sink and is super difficult for right handers to watch. He has two sliders, one tighter one in the low 80s and a sweeper with a big horizontal break in the high 70s. He has the arsenal to develop as a starter which he started to do this year and will probably continue that this fall.

Kenny Serwa RHP: Another pitcher signed out of Indy ball by the Tigers this year. Serwa graduated from Dayton in 2022 and went undrafted. He went to Billings in the Pioneer Independent League after he finished at Dayton and pitched well but didn’t pitch at all in 2023. He returned to baseball in 2024 pitching for the Chicago Dogs in the American Association, another Independent League and pitched pretty well. It was enough for the Tigers to sign the 27 year old last January and he pitched the entire season this year. Starting in Low-A he pitched 36 innings to a 2.75 ERA and 2.88 FIP. Serwa was promoted to AA where he finished the season making 17 starts with 82 innings to a 3.95 ERA and 4.02 FIP. There’s no data on Serwa but I have seen his Pro Day from back in January where the Tigers signed him from and he’s a knuckleballer. He actually has two, one that sits in the high 80s and a second that is around 80 mph. His four seam fastball sits in the mid 90s while his sinker sits in the low 90s. He also has a low 80s curve with some good drop. He’s hard to make contact with because of a crazy arsenal that could change what a hitter looks at for every pitch. He also has a repeatable delivery that makes it hard to tell what he’s doing. Serwa is the only knuckleballer this fall and it’ll be interesting to see how hitters react to that.

Max Anderson 2B: A bat first second baseman ever since he was drafted in the 2023 2nd round Anderson has just hit. This season was his real breakout starting in AA where he slashed .306/.358/.499 for a 146 wRC+ and he continued to hit solid in AAA with a slash of .267/.327/.422 for a 103 wRC+ in 32 games. Anderson has a quick slashing swing that he uses a lot more than a lot of minor leaguers. He swings a lot for a reason because he makes a lot of hard contact with a 48.6% hard hit rate in AAA this season. He of course struggles to lay off balls out of the zone and only walks at a 5.4% rate but that’s alright when he is getting consistent hard contact. This season it was obvious he was working on pulling the ball in the air more and that worked leading to 19 homers. He still has a higher groundball rate than most at 45.8% he can work with that at the MLB level and potentially hit enough to be big in an everyday lineup. So far Anderson has spent most of his time in the field at second with only a few games at third but there are reports the Tigers are planning on moving him to a full time third basemen this fall to hopefully get him more playing time at the next level with Torres blocking second.

Kevin McGonigle SS: Currently fighting for the top prospect spot in all of baseball McGonigle has turned into an absolute beast at the plate since being drafted out of high school with the 37th overall pick in 2023. He might not have the ceiling of a player like Konnor Griffin with the Pirates but McGonigle has the best floor of any minor league player. Both his full seasons have been shortened because of injuries though. In 2024 McGonigle started late due to a hamstring injury and had to end early due to a broken hamate bone. After playing in the first game of the season at High-A but missed the next month with an ankle injury. This season between Low-A, High-A, and AA he slashed .305/.408/.583 for a 183 wRC+ with 19 homers in just 88 games. He’s so hard to beat with only a 11.6% strikeout rate compared to a 14.9% walk rate. He rarely chases and only swings at 45.4% of swings showing his advanced swing decisions. He makes contact on 83% of swings while hitting most pitches hard. Even though McGonigle doesn’t have the highest raw power, it probably sits around average, it’s already playing in game and he’s hitting a ton of pull fly balls. He’s such a well rounded hitter and should start the season in AAA next season with a shot at the MLB roster in spring. In the field he’s focused on playing shortstop but an average arm could move him to second base in the future. He’s a reason to tune into every Scottsdale game this fall alone.

Jack Penney 2B/SS: Drafted out of Notre Dame in the 5th round of last year’s draft Penney looked great in his first full season. He got out to a hot start for the first 2 months hitting .262/.409/.341 but he went down with an injury in late May and didn’t return to the High-A lineup until mid July. He continued to hit well after the injury, slashing .270/.358/.416 for the last 3 months of the season. In total Penney hit .262/.382/.373 for a 128 wRC+ in 71 High-A games in 2025. He doesn’t have great raw power but slaps the ball all over the field and walks at a 15% rate. He’s super patient at the plate only swinging at 40.7% of High-A pitches and makes contact at a 77% rate. Penney doesn’t really chase and makes enough contact in the zone to hit well. He does have a 20.3% strikeout rate though which dropped a lot from his 14 game sample size in Low-A after the draft. He has shown a pretty good glove at both second and short and has the ability to play third where he played a good amount at Notre Dame. He’s your typical solid gloved middle infielder who makes a lot of contact.