Adam Ottavino matched up against Paul Goldschmidt more often than he did any other hitter. The now-retired right-hander faced the still-active slugger 32 times, surrendering six hits — including three home runs — and issuing half a dozen walks. He set him down on strikes 13 times.
What does Ottavino most remember about his battles with Goldschmidt, who over 16 seasons has logged 905 extra-base hits, a 135 wRC+, and 58.8 WAR in what is arguably a Hall of Fame-worthy career?
“He was usually the best player on his team, and because of my righty-matchup ability I faced him a lot,” said Ottavino, who has smoothly segued from data-savvy reliever to insightful broadcast analyst. “At the beginning it was as many sliders as I could throw, but then he kind of figured out that the best approach against me was to not try to pull the ball. If you look at his three home runs, they were all to the opposite field. I realized that I had to switch up from only staying on the outside corner and start coming inside a little bit.
“When I developed the cutter, I used it a lot in mid-counts, because I knew he wasn’t hunting that pitch,” Ottavino went on to say.” It became a lot more cat-and-mouse over time. I mean, it was never a comfortable matchup. He had a really good approach, and I felt like he was very calculated coming to each at-bat. Sometimes I was able to stay a step ahead, and sometimes not.”
As for the baker’s dozen strikeouts, the Northeastern University product recalls the majority of them coming on takes, mostly in their later matchups. When he sensed that Goldschmidt was looking slider on a two-strike count, and thus “open for a freeze,” he would throw a backdoor sinker.
Sebastian Walcott arguably possesses the highest ceiling among players currently competing in the Arizona Fall League. Not only is the 20-year-old shortstop ranked 11th on The Board with a 55 FV, Eric Longenhagen opined in his AFL preview that Walcott “might be the best prospect in baseball.” Brendan Gawlowski has likewise been bullish. When ranking the youngster atop our Texas Rangers list back in April, Brendan wrote that “Walcott has been one of the toolsiest and most projectable players in the game from practically the moment he signed as part of the 2023 international class.”
An elbow injury delayed his start to the season. The Nassau, Bahamas native underwent internal brace surgery in February and subsequently didn’t return to game action until mid-July. Understandably erring on the side of caution, the Rangers limited Walcott almost exclusively to DH duty (although he is back on the dirt in the desert — and reportedly also working out in the outfield — with the Surprise Saguaros.)
The layoff didn’t prove burdensome to his bat. Getting the lion’s share of his 187 regular-season plate appearances with Double-A Frisco, Walcott walloped 10 home runs while putting up a .325/.401/.590 slash line and a 149 wRC+. He hasn’t been nearly as good in the AFL — seven hits in 31 at-bats, with a lone dinger — but there is no disputing his potential to one day hit in the middle of a big league lineup.
Once upon a time, he punished pitchers who were windmilling balls from a mound 43 feet away from home plate. As did Jazz Chisholm Jr. and others from the Bahamas, Walcott played softball growing up. Read the rest of this entry »
Luke Holman has been one of the top pitchers in the hitter-friendly Arizona Fall League. Across three starts with the Peoria Desert Dogs, the 23-year-old right-hander in the Cincinnati Reds organization has surrendered just one run over nine innings. Moreover, he has fanned 15 batters and allowed just four hits and a lone walk. He was especially sharp on Monday. Facing a Scottsdale Scorpions lineup that included high-profile prospects Zyhir Hope, Bryce Rainer, and Nathan Flewelling, Holman breezed through four scoreless frames on 52 pitches.
Eric Longenhagen referenced the recent outing when I asked him for a snapshot of what he has seen from the Reading, Pennsylvania native, whom the Reds drafted 71st overall in 2024 out of Louisiana State University.
“He looks good,” our lead prospect analyst told me. “Glove-side command of 92-94, plus curveball in the 78-82 mph range. Attacks lefties in on their hands with fastballs and mid-80s cutter/sliders, then drops curveballs below the zone. He stretched out to four innings in his most recent start. Looks like a potential no. 4/5 to me. I want to see how he attacks second/third time through when asked to go six innings, and how his arm strength trends as he gets traction in a full-season routine.”
The erstwhile LSU Tiger, whose rotation-mates at the SEC powerhouse included Kade Anderson and Gage Jump, hasn’t had much of an opportunity to establish a routine. Holman began his professional career with a pair of effective outings in April 2025, only to have his elbow give out; Tommy John surgery cost him the remainder of the campaign. He also missed almost the entirety of this past season due to injury. Read the rest of this entry »
Caleb Bonemer produced a plethora of power in 2026. Splitting the season between High-A Winston Salem and Double-A Birmingham, the 21-year-old (as of earlier this month) slugger slammed 37 round-trippers while logging a .251/.380/.550 slash line over 595 plate appearances. His home run total was tops in the Chicago White Sox organization, as was his 139 wRC+.
Bonemer has continued to punish pitchers in the Arizona Fall League — his desert ledger includes four doubles, a triple, and a pair of dingers among his 11 hits in 39 at-bats — but his right-handed stroke isn’t why he is suiting up for the Glendale Desert Dogs. Positioned almost exclusively on the left side of the infield since being selected in the second round of the 2024 draft out of an Okemos, Michigan high school, Bonemer is being given a look in the outfield. I asked him about the move off of the diamond on AFL Media Day.
“I’m getting a lot of questions about that,” replied Bonemer, whose positional tryout has since comprised six games in center field, two in left field, and one in right field, this after playing just nine professional games on the grass previously. “The White Sox told me they want to see what I can do out there. I haven’t really played the outfield, so they want me to get more reps, more games under my belt.”
Regardless of where he ultimately ends up playing, his ability to belt baseballs is what has him bound for Chicago’s South Side. Currently ranked 95th on The Board and second in the White Sox system as a 50-FV prospect, Bonemer has been described by James Fegan as a hitter who produces high-end exit velocities, with an affinity for elevating balls to the pull side.
Dax Kilby is among the higher-profile prospects currently honing his skills in the Arizona Fall League. A 19-year-old shortstop whom the New York Yankees drafted 39th overall last year out of a Georgia high school, he ranks third in the Bombers system and No. 103 on The Board. Making up for missed time is part of why Kilby is in the desert. As Eric Longenhagen explained in his AFL preview, the 50 FV prospect dealt with a severe hamstring injury for much of 2026. He has shown promise with when healthy. This season, Kilby slashed a solid .242/.427/.403 with a 143 wRC+ over 154 plate appearances with Low-A Tampa.
How does the youngster view his early-career acclimation to pro ball?
“As I didn’t go to college, I’m seeing a lot better pitching,” Kilby told me on AFL media day. “I think that reveals a lot about who you are as a hitter. My first year, I was hitting a lot of ground balls [a 54.4% rate across 58 PAs] and using my speed to my advantage. That was definitely a change from high school, where the pitching isn’t as good and you can get into balls more often, for more power.”
Longenhagen and Brendan Gawlowski are both bullish on Kilby’s potential to do damage going forward. Addressing the 6-foot-2, 190-pound lefty swinger’s quick hands in his recent scouting notebook, Gawlowski wrote that “the way he’s able to pull them in and turn around velocity is in a class with the Max Clarks and Kevin McGonigles of the world.”
Kilby worked on mechanical changes in the weeks leading up to the AFL season. As he explained, the Yankees have him starting narrower and more open, the objective being two-fold: (1) allowing him to be more adjustable to different pitches, and (2) getting him more into his back hip, increasing the number of balls he is driving in the air. While his 40.2 GB% this year was an improvement from 2025’s pro-debut, it was still far from optimal.
When Petey Halpin hit a home run to lift the Cleveland Guardians to a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in yesterday’s ALCS Game 3, it came as a surprise to many. That’s understandable. Coming into October, the 24-year-old outfielder had left the yard just four times in 203 major league plate appearances. Moreover, his career wRC+ was a paltry 69, and as Eric Longenhagen wrote back in May of last year, “Halpin has tracked like a future fifth outfielder for practically his entire pro career based largely on his speed and defense.” A power hitter he is not.
That said, he’s by no means devoid of juice. Not only did Halpin hammer 14 home runs with Triple-A Columbus last season — a career best since being selected in the third round of the 2020 draft — our lead prospect analyst recognized his under-the-radar thump when ranking him 13th in the Guardians system in 2022. Eric noted that, “Though he’s wiry and skinny looking, Halpin has sneaky pop.”
Cleveland’s unexpected Game 3 hero smiled appreciatively when I told him of Eric’s assessment during the final week of the regular season. He had hit an impactful home run just two weeks prior — more on that in a moment — so I asked him about his potential to provide more power than he has thus far displayed in The Show. Read the rest of this entry »
ALEX HICKS JR./STAFF / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Brooks Brannon raised his prospect profile this season, and atypically he did so despite sliding down the defensive spectrum. Breaking out with the bat was the reason why. Now a first baseman after primarily wearing the tools of ignorance for his first four professional seasons, Brannon bashed 22 home runs while putting up a .280/.355/.560 slash line and a 133 wRC+ over 398 plate appearances with Double-A Portland. His slugging percentage led all qualified Eastern League hitters.
The positional change didn’t come as a surprise. As Brendan Gawlowski and Eric Longenhagen wrote when ranking him 29th when our 2026 Red Sox Top Prospects list came out in mid-May, Brannon “had been developed as a catcher throughout his career, though most scouts expected him to wind up at first base, which has finally come to pass.” With a caveat that strikeouts remain a concern — Brannon went on to finish the season with a 28.9% strikeout rate — our prospect analyst duo opined that he “could have a productive, bat-only prime.”
Again, Brannon broke out with the bat. Now ranked 22nd in the system with a 40 FV — not to mention a 70 grade for raw power — Boston’s ninth-round pick in the 2022 draft out of a Randleman, North Carolina high school has emerged as a prospect with more promise than he’d previously possessed as a bat-first backstop.
Brannon discussed his evolution, both positionally and as a hitter, in the final month of the regular season.
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David Laurila: This is your fifth year in the system, yet you’re still just 22 years old. I have to admit I thought you were older than that.
Brooks Brannon: “I was a younger draft pick out of high school — I’d just turned 18 a month or two prior — so I’m blessed to have been in the org for quite awhile and still be on the younger side. But yes, I’m just 22.”
Laurila: Had you been drafted out of college, the numbers you’re putting up this year would draw a lot more attention than they are. With that in mind, what might your development path been like had you gone the college route?
Brannon: “It’s hard to say, because one thing the Red Sox are — and it took me awhile to appreciate this — is very analytical. The way they approach hitting is like blackjack almost. It’s, ‘This is what is expected to happen, so we’re going to live and die on this hill. Mathematically, this should happen.’ Air-pull being the optimal launch angle, focusing on hitting the ball hard in the air, making the right swing decisions and drawing walks to get on base… that’s what you want. I always prided myself on being a hitter, so it took time for me to understand what the most optimal way is to help the team win games.
“This past offseason was the first offseason where I really bought in to everything they were preaching. It has helped me tremendously. So, had I gone to college… you know, a lot of colleges are still kind of on the old-guard way of hitting. I don’t think I’d have had the growth I’ve had, even though it admittedly took awhile for me to realize what was optimal.”
Laurila: This year was a turning point for your career…
Brannon: “Yes. My first couple of years I had a lot of injuries, and then for a few seasons I wasn’t doing what I knew I could do. I knew that what I was doing wasn’t working, so something needed to change. Having conversations with our hitting coordinators and coaches, learning who moves like me — how people who have my skills and strengths play the game — and molding that into my game to the best of my ability… I mean, I couldn’t have been able to do that without their help.”
Boston Smith emerged as a prospect to watch this year. Notably, he did so while spending the latter portion of the campaign with his third organization in just his second professional season. Selected in the sixth round of the 2025 draft out of Wright State University by the Washington Nationals, Smith was subsequently swapped to the White Sox the following March in exchange for Curtis Mead, then dealt from Chicago to Seattle at this summer’s trade deadline. The Mariners acquired the 23-year-old left-handed-hitting catcher, along with Seranthony Domínguez and Nolan Jones, in exchange for Luis Castillo.
Smith’s 2026 performance was quite promising. Playing at three levels, primarily High-A and Double-A — he also appeared in eight games in Low-A — Smith slammed 31 home runs while slashing .274/.424/.566 with a 158 wRC+ over 493 plate appearances. Unranked when our White Sox Top Prospects list came out prior to the season, he is now ranked 13th in the Mariners system with a 40 FV.
In our Arizona Fall League preview — Smith is currently suiting up for the Peoria Javelinas — Eric Longenhagen described the Dayton, Ohio native as “a pull-oriented catcher” who “isn’t a good defender yet.” Our lead prospect analyst also offered an interesting comp, pointing to how “that had been true for Liam Hicks, who as a prospect was likewise “a small school, undersized guy who had outlier pull data.”
Smith discussed his player profile, as well as what it was like to catch one of baseball’s top pitching prospects upon joining a new organization, during the first week of the AFL season.
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David Laurila: You caught Kade Anderson almost immediately after coming over in the trade. What was that experience like?
Boston Smith: “I don’t get too nervous anymore, but I was very nervous to catch him. I obviously knew who he was through college, he was the third-overall pick [in 2025], and then there was the year he was having. So yeah, I was nervous. I wanted to be trustworthy and help him succeed, not be catching him for the first time and having no idea what to do if all of a sudden he started struggling.”
Laurila: That didn’t happen. Looking at the game log, he pitched very well.
Smith: “Yes, and he was by far one of the most mature human beings I’ve ever been around. He was very generous, very helpful, helping me be calm before the game. He even brought me waters. Then, after the outing, the next day, talking about it.
“When he got the call to The Show — I had only known him for two weeks — he hugged me and said, ‘Hey man, thanks for everything you did for me,’ You just don’t see human beings like that too often, especially ones who are so talented. He’s a big league human being as well as a big league pitcher. It was really, really special to me to be able to catch him and know that I was a part of his minor league career for that little bit.”
Laurila: Those qualities aside, what was it like to he behind the plate for him? Have you ever caught anyone who approximates his combination of moxie and stuff? Read the rest of this entry »
Demetrio Crisantes is off to a hot start in the Arizona Fall League. The 22-year-old second baseman has gone 8-for-20 with a triple and a pair of doubles for the Salt River Rafters. That hardly comes as a surprise. As our own Brendan Gawlowski wrote prior to the regular season, “Crisantes has a case as the best pure hitter in the D-backs system.”
The Tucson native’s track record largely backs up that opinion. Since being drafted in the seventh round by his home-state team in 2023 out of Nogales High School, Crisantes has slashed .312/.399/.473 with a 125 wRC+. Moreover, this past season he batted .296 with 10 home runs over 335 plate appearances between three levels, topping out at Triple-A. Notably, Arizona’s No. 3 prospect played all but the final two weeks as a 21-year-old.
Staying on the field has been an issue. Crisantes has undergone a pair of Tommy John surgeries — the first at age 15, the second two years later — and he has subsequently dealt with hamstring and shoulder injuries. That makes his stint in the desert especially meaningful. Eric Longenhagen put it this way in his Fall League preview:
“He has really hit when he’s been healthy, and how he looks in the AFL might help inform whether the D-backs feel comfortable trading Ketel Marte this offseason. He’s arguably the most important eval in the entire league.”
Asked for a self-assessment of his strengths as a hitter, Crisantes cited the plus contact skills described in Gawlowski’s scouting report. Read the rest of this entry »
Aidan Miller might be the Philadelphia Phillies’ next shortstop, and his health will go a long way to determining if (and when) that happens. Drafted 27th overall in 2023 out of a New Port Richey, Florida high school, the sweet-swinging 22-year-old missed most of this past season due to a back injury. Diagnosed with discogenic pain and facet inflammation in the lumbar spine, Miller underwent a radiofrequency ablation procedure in early June. He saw action in just eight games, half of them for Double-A Reading in the Eastern League playoffs.
He’d come into the season with a legitimate chance to debut in the majors. Ranked atop our 2026 Phillies Top Prospects list when it came out in January, Miller was coming off of a 2025 campaign that saw him rake to the tune of a 137 wRC+ between Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley, with all but 37 of his 526 plate appearances coming at the lower of the two levels. Moreover, he’d gone deep 14 times and swiped 59 bases. With a first-round pedigree and a 55 FV grade, he was on the doorstep of breaking into Philadelphia’s lineup… until an already nagging issue morphed into one that required intervention.
Miller is currently getting back into the swing of things in the Arizona Fall League, and as he explained to me last week, he is doing so by dialing back how many swings he takes. Regardless of the role it may have played in his lower back woes, his excessive cage work likely did him no favors. Read the rest of this entry »
