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The AFL brings prospects selected by all 30 MLB organizations together on six teams in Arizona. It provides additional development work under club and league supervision.
Opening Day is October 3. The Home Run Derby follows on November 7, the Fall Stars Game on November 8, the quarterfinals and semifinals on November 12–13, and the championship on November 14.
Opening Saturday offers Salt River–Glendale at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, Surprise–Scottsdale at 6:30, and Mesa–Peoria at 9:30.
One ground rule before we start: a good fall can strengthen a case. It cannot settle an entire development story. A few bloopers can inflate an average; one ugly inning can wreck an ERA. I want to see the decisions and execution underneath those results.
Statistics cover the 2026 minor league regular season, checked October 2. Ages are as of that date. Rankings reflect MLB Pipeline’s October 1 AFL roster article as retrieved for this preview; national rankings are labeled overall. All listed AFL assignments are confirmed.
Eduardo Quintero
Age 21 | OF | Los Angeles Dodgers | Glendale Desert Dogs
MLB Pipeline: No. 18 overall
Quintero’s season record deserves a careful reading: 506 plate appearances, .308/.443/.499, 13 homers and 44 steals, with a 20.8% strikeout rate and 17.4% walk rate.
Almost all of that work came at High-A Great Lakes: 501 plate appearances. His Double-A introduction lasted one game and five plate appearances. Calling him an established Double-A hitter would be getting ahead of ourselves. Pipeline’s scouting report identifies speed as a standout tool alongside promising hitting ability and power.
The fall question: Can he keep getting into favorable counts when pitchers challenge him more effectively?
A big walk rate is useful, but the next test is what happens when fewer plate appearances end with four balls. I’ll watch whether he attacks hittable strikes without expanding his zone.
For his MLB path, a convincing fall would support confidence in the approach as he takes on upper-level pitching. It would still be preparation for that test, rather than proof he has passed it.
Zyhir Hope
Age 21 | OF | Detroit Tigers | Scottsdale Scorpions
MLB Pipeline: No. 26 overall
Hope produced 29 homers and 26 steals while hitting .287/.367/.513 in 564 plate appearances. Those are combined numbers from Double-A Tulsa and Erie, with a 25.0% strikeout rate and 11.0% walk rate. At Erie specifically, he hit .269/.360/.462 over 139 plate appearances.
His Pipeline scouting report grades the power above the hit tool, with above-average speed adding another way to contribute.
The fall question: Can he reach that power while keeping the strikeouts from climbing?
The useful outcome would be dangerous contact without giving pitchers an increasingly reliable way to finish him. I’m interested in his two-strike at-bats and whether he makes pitchers return to the zone.
A few long home runs will be enjoyable. A series of competitive at-bats against pitchers who can change speeds would tell us more. Hope already has a substantial Double-A season behind him. Showing a more resilient approach would strengthen his case for the next upper-minors step and, eventually, an MLB opportunity. It would not establish a call-up date.
Caleb Bonemer
Age 20 | 3B/SS with outfield work planned | Chicago White Sox | Glendale Desert Dogs
MLB Pipeline: No. 27 overall
Bonemer hit 37 home runs across High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. His combined line was .251/.380/.550 in 595 plate appearances, with 17 steals, a 27.1% strikeout rate and a 14.1% walk rate.
The encouraging detail is the Double-A stop: .261/.379/.545 and 19 homers in 317 plate appearances. His production held up after the promotion. MLB reports that his fall assignment includes outfield work, adding another potential route into Chicago’s lineup.
The fall question: Can he make the outfield a credible option?
That means watching first steps, routes, positioning and throws. An error total will tell only a fraction of the story.
There is a practical difference between a player who technically plays several positions and one a manager can comfortably put there. If Bonemer moves toward the second category while maintaining his offensive approach, Chicago gains more flexibility when deciding how and when to introduce his bat. The home runs get your attention. The defensive work could help determine where he gets to hit them.
Angeibel Gomez
Age 17 | OF | Kansas City Royals | Surprise Saguaros
MLB Pipeline: No. 81 overall
Gomez’s entire professional regular-season résumé consists of 47 Dominican Summer League games and 180 plate appearances. He hit .361/.467/.653, with nine homers, 15 steals, 28 walks and 19 strikeouts. That translates to a 15.6% walk rate and 10.6% strikeout rate.
Those numbers make him fascinating. They also demand context. Dominating Rookie-level competition does not tell us precisely how a teenager will respond to pitchers with more advanced weapons.
The fall question: Can he recognize better secondary pitches early enough to make sound swing decisions?
I would be encouraged by competitive takes, adjustments after a bad swing, and contact on pitches he can reasonably drive. He does not need to reproduce that DSL slash line to have a productive assignment.
Gomez is the player here for whom the distance between an exciting fall and MLB readiness remains especially large. Progress would help establish a foundation for stateside development. No one needs to turn every impressive teenager into a race against the calendar.
Boston Smith
Age 23 | C/OF | Seattle Mariners | Peoria Javelinas
MLB Pipeline: Mariners No. 13
Smith’s .274/.424/.566 line, 31 homers and 11 steals came over 493 plate appearances across Single-A, High-A and Double-A. His 19.7% walk rate was enormous; his 29.2% strikeout rate supplies the caution.
The bat also worked at Double-A: .263/.412/.572 with 17 homers in 243 plate appearances, combining Birmingham and Arkansas. Pipeline’s scouting assessment describes pull power and selectivity, while identifying receiving, blocking and throwing as areas needing refinement.
The fall question: Can his receiving and blocking become dependable enough to keep catching central to his future?
The same offensive performance carries different value behind the plate than in a corner-outfield role. That makes his defensive innings essential viewing.
I’ll track how often he catches, how consistently he handles pitches in the dirt, and whether the execution holds up across different pitchers. Better catching would broaden his route to Seattle. Continued power alone would leave an important part of the evaluation unfinished.
Tai Peete
Age 21 | OF | St. Louis Cardinals | Peoria Javelinas
MLB Pipeline: Cardinals No. 17 in the October 1 AFL roster article
Peete gives us a reason to watch beyond another highlight. His 2026 regular season produced a .296/.359/.549 line, 13 homers and 16 steals in 312 plate appearances across Rookie ball, High-A and Double-A. His combined strikeout rate was 26.9%, with a 9.0% walk rate.
The interesting split is Springfield: .319/.360/.489 in 100 plate appearances, with three homers and four steals. His strikeout rate fell from 28.5% at High-A to 23.0% at Double-A, although his walk rate also declined from 10.0% to 6.0%.
The fall question: Can he sustain the improved contact against breaking balls and changeups?
Pipeline’s scouting report identifies power, speed, and center-field ability as strengths, while noting non-fastballs as the concern. That makes his Double-A finish encouraging, but 100 plate appearances do not close the case.
I’ll watch whether he stays competitive when pitchers take away the fastball. If that progress holds without costing him impact, it strengthens the case for an eventual everyday outfield role. The immediate goal is carrying a more reliable approach into a longer upper-minors test in 2027.
Mason White
Age 23 | 2B/SS | Boston Red Sox | Mesa Solar Sox
MLB Pipeline: Red Sox No. 26
White belongs here because his season gives us a specific question. Across 411 plate appearances at High-A and Double-A, he hit .251/.353/.480 with 18 homers and two steals. His combined strikeout and walk rates were 24.8% and 12.4%. But the split matters: .270/.362/.525 at Greenville, followed by .208/.333/.377 at Portland.
Pipeline identifies raw power as his strongest tool and notes timing problems against breaking balls and changeups.
The fall question: Can he reduce the contact problems that appeared at Double-A without sacrificing impact?
Portland brought more walks, but also a strikeout rate above 30%. That is why I’ll watch his swings against offspeed pitches more closely than his fall batting average.
Improvement would give him a stronger platform for another upper-minors opportunity. It would also make the argument for his bat more convincing if second base becomes his primary position. There is useful power here; the challenge is accessing it consistently.
Jarlin Susana
Age 22 | RHP | Washington Nationals | Salt River Rafters
MLB Pipeline: No. 65 overall
Susana’s complete 2026 record was 20⅓ innings, a 6.20 ERA, 37 strikeouts and 11 walks across eight starts at High-A, Double-A and Triple-A. That is 16.4 strikeouts and 4.9 walks per nine innings.
His lone Triple-A start accounted for 2⅔ innings, four earned runs and four walks—an illustration of how quickly a small sample can swing. Pipeline’s scouting report describes fastballs reaching triple digits and a particularly effective slider.
The fall question: Can he get ahead often enough to use the slider on his terms?
You can admire the velocity and still care deeply about ball one. Falling behind lets hitters narrow their choices and makes every subsequent pitch harder.
I’ll follow first-pitch strikes, walks, and whether he can land a secondary pitch when a hitter expects a fastball. More consistent strike throwing would strengthen the argument for continued development as a starter. A dominant inning by itself cannot answer questions about workload or sustained execution.
Mathias LaCombe
Age 24 | RHP | Chicago White Sox | Glendale Desert Dogs
MLB Pipeline: White Sox No. 17
LaCombe worked 49⅓ innings across Rookie ball, High-A, Double-A and Triple-A, posting a 4.20 ERA with 67 strikeouts and 25 walks: 12.2 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9. He made 35 appearances, only two of them starts.
Most of his innings came at High-A and Double-A. His Triple-A sample was just two outs. Pipeline’s scouting report highlights a fastball reaching 98 mph and a sweeping slider, with consistency of the secondary pitches a concern.
The fall question: Can he throw enough secondary-pitch strikes to prevent hitters from waiting exclusively for the fastball?
The strikeouts explain the interest. The walks explain why the evaluation remains open.
Given his recent usage, I see a plausible relief route worth following. Efficient appearances against advanced hitters would help make that route more convincing. I would put more weight on repeatable execution than on whether a handful of inherited runners happen to score.