Peoria closed the 2026 Arizona Fall League season with a championship, beating Surprise 8-3 on Saturday at Peoria Stadium. A four-run first inning gave the Javelinas control, and Luke Holman’s five scoreless innings kept them there.
Surprise finished with the league’s best regular-season record. Welbyn Francisca earned MVP honors, and Tai Peete was named the Offensive Player of the Year (League? I don’t know)
Standout Prospects
Welbyn Francisca, SS, Cleveland Guardians, Surprise Saguaros
Francisca hit .427/.494/.733 with a 1.227 OPS in 17 games, leading the AFL in batting average, slugging, OPS, hits (32), and RBI (29). He collected seven doubles, two triples, and four home runs while stealing seven bases. It was an MVP season built on more than one hot stretch: Francisca finished with 32 hits in 75 at-bats.
Tai Peete, CF, St. Louis Cardinals, Peoria Javelinas
Peete hit .351/.441/.662 with a 1.103 OPS in 19 games. His 27 hits included five doubles, five triples, and three home runs, and he drove in 17 runs.
He also stole 20 bases in 24 attempts, sharing the league lead with teammate Ty Harvey, the Padres catcher who went 20-for-22. Peete earned Offensive Player of the Year honors and set an AFL record by tripling in four consecutive games.
Kyle DeBarge, 2B, Minnesota Twins, Salt River Rafters
DeBarge’s .347/.480/.653 line produced a 1.133 OPS, second in the league. He tied for third with five home runs, drove in 18, and stole nine bases in 21 games. He carried that production into the playoffs, going 2-for-4 with three RBI in Salt River’s quarterfinal win over Mesa.
Antonio Anderson, 1B, Boston Red Sox, Mesa Solar Sox
Anderson hit .352/.500/.606 in 19 games, finishing third in OPS at 1.106 and tied for third in on-base percentage. He hit three home runs and drove in 20 runs, drawing 21 walks in 92 plate appearances. He added two hits, including a double, in Mesa’s playoff loss.
Kevin Bazzell, C, Washington Nationals, Salt River Rafters
Bazzell reached the qualifying minimum of 60 plate appearances and made them count, hitting .341/.500/.591 with a 1.091 OPS. He walked 10 times, was hit by five pitches, and struck out just four times. He also went 2-for-4 in Salt River’s quarterfinal victory.
Jack O’Dowd, C, Colorado Rockies, and Kyle West, 1B, New York Yankees, Salt River Rafters
Salt River had both of the league’s home run leaders. O’Dowd and West hit six apiece, with O’Dowd adding eight doubles and 21 RBI, the third-highest total in the AFL. He finished at .308/.372/.641.
West hit .250/.368/.528 and contributed without a hit in the quarterfinal, drawing three walks and scoring twice.
Aidan Miller, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies, Surprise Saguaros
Miller led the league in on-base percentage without hitting a home run. He finished at .327/.557/.481 in 16 games, drawing 25 walks in 79 plate appearances and stealing seven bases. Few hitters made pitchers work harder to keep them off base.
Pitchers to Know
If you were paying attention at all to the AFL, you would have noticed a LOT of high-scoring games. That said, a few pitchers still stood out. For reference, the AFL’s qualifying minimum for ERA and WHIP was 12 innings.
Luke Holman, Cincinnati Reds, Peoria Javelinas
Holman led qualified pitchers with a 0.69 ERA and tied for the WHIP lead at 0.92. He struck out 20 and walked seven in 13 innings across five appearances, including four starts.
Jarlin Susana, Washington Nationals, Salt River Rafters
Susana led the league with 26 strikeouts in 18⅔ innings across six starts. He posted a 3.86 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP, allowing 11 hits and 13 walks without surrendering a home run. In the quarterfinal against Mesa, he added five strikeouts over 2⅔ scoreless innings.
Patrick Reilly, Baltimore Orioles, Peoria Javelinas
Reilly tied for second with 25 strikeouts in 15⅔ innings. He finished 2-0 with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP across five appearances, four of them starts.
Scottsdale’s Maddox Long also impressed with a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings. Salt River’s Sean Sullivan paired a 3.07 ERA with 20 strikeouts and just one walk in 14⅔ innings.
The Championship
Peoria 8, Surprise 3
Peoria took control immediately on Saturday, Nov. 14. The Javelinas scored four runs in the first inning, added one in both the second and third, and scored twice more in the fifth. They led 8-0 through seven.
Holman gave Surprise little chance to respond. The Reds prospect threw five scoreless innings, allowing four hits and three walks while striking out six. Kannon Kemp followed with two more scoreless innings.
Two other Cincinnati prospects helped drive the offense. Yerlin Confidan went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Carter Graham finished 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
Surprise scored twice in the eighth and once in the ninth, but the late offense could not erase the deficit. The Saguaros also committed three errors. Nori finished another strong night with a 3-for-4, including a double, and Mathis added two hits.
Peoria earned the championship, with the league’s ERA leader delivering five more scoreless innings when it mattered most.