Arizona Fall League + LIDOM Recap: 10/28/23

Beck made it to his first several games of what is going to be an awesome week in the desert at the Arizona Fall League. Expect a great recap of what he saw in person.

We both break down everything you need to know from Saturday’s action with 24 player writeups. These reports are free, but subscribe if you enjoy dynasty content and want to become a better player and win your leagues. We offer a ton of awesome things at the Dynasty Dugout.

Dominican Winter League

Logan Allen, LHP, SEA, 26 

Logan Allen, not to be mistaken for Logan T. Allen of the Guardians, is pitching in the Dominican Winter League after tossing 105 innings this season. Most of Logan Allen’s development was spent in Cleveland, but he has also spent time in Boston, San Diego, Colorado, Baltimore, and now Seattle in his short career. 

He pitched five innings on Saturday, striking out four and allowing one earned run. Allen did allow seven hits, but honestly, the start may be a confidence boost that he needs.

Vidal Brujan, 2B/OF, TB, 25

Brujan has had four multi-hit games in LIDOM after a single and triple on Saturday night. He also stole his sixth base of the year and got on base via walk. The once-lauded top prospect declined rather quickly but still has the speed to show. It is interesting that a 70-grade runner was caught 14 times on 33 attempts in Triple-A. I wonder what kind of impact he could have at the Major League level.

Franmil Reyes, OF, NA, 28

It is wild to think Reyes is not even on an MLB team roster at this point, and it has been quite the decline after he was one of MLB’s best young power hitters. The power hasn’t gone anywhere clearly, as Reyes collected three hits on Saturday, with two being home runs, and he drove in six runs. A strong LIDOM could lead Reyes back to MLB, and he is off to a great start with a .357/.379/.750 slash.

Peoria (Guardians, Marlins, Mariners, Padres, Rays) 

Chase DeLauter, OF, CLE, 22

DeLauter is a presence here and it was clear he was the last guy Mesa wanted to face late in a tie ballgame. It’s hard to overstate how imposing he is physically. He got ahold of a mistake from Matt Sauer and spun it just beyond the reach of Kevin Alcantara over the right field fence for a 3-run homer.

There’s been a lot of chatter about his swing, and honestly it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it might. Most of the funkiness happens after he makes contact and it doesn’t appear to impede his production in any significant way.

Jakob Marsee, OF, SDP, 22

Despite DeLauter’s destruction, Marsee was perhaps the most impressive player on either team yesterday. He was taking pitches they were thrown and lacing them all over the diamond in an impressive display of barrel control. He finished with a pair of doubles, two stolen bases, a walk, and a strikeout as his only blemish.

There were no exit velocity readings for this game, but he was hitting the ball hard and was in total control all game long.

Carson Williams, SS, TBR, 20

Williams is very clearly a 70-grade defender at the position. You might not care about that for fantasy purposes, but a big part of value in any format is volume and good defense will keep you in the lineup even when you’re slumping. 

He finished just 1-4 with a single, a stolen base, and two strikeouts. His four plate appearances weren’t enough for me to diagnose why he’s historically had strikeout problems, as you may imagine, but I’m reminding myself that he’s on the young side for this AFL class. It’s clear to me why scouts like him based solely on the physical tools I observed last night. He’s an athlete and looks like one.

Jacob Berry, 3B, MIA, 22

Berry had a tough night at the plate, finishing with three strikeouts, two swinging and one looking. I’m including him in today’s write-up because I was rather impressed with his play at third base. He looked like he had enough arm to play there and was able to make plays moving to his left. He didn’t get any opportunities to show off his ability to make plays toward the line, but in any event he assuaged some of my skepticism about his ability to stick at third if need be.

Surprise (Blue Jays, Brewers, Rangers, Reds, Royals) 

CJ Alexander, 1B, KC, 27

Alexander keeps hitting game-after-game, and that should be the expectation at this point, considering he is one of the older players in the Arizona Fall League. He was a late replacement on the Surprise roster, taking Nick Loftin’s spot on the team. Alexander is in Arizona largely just for plate appearances as injuries have plagued much of his career, and in 2023, he was limited to just 303 plate appearances.

On Saturday, he homered and doubled in three trips to the plate, pushing his OPS to 1.137 for the AFL.

Will Robertson, OF, TOR, 25

Robertson seems to come through in the clutch every time Surprise needs a run, and that was the case again on Saturday. Robertson collected two hits, including a fourth-inning home run that proved to be the difference in the game. It was his third home run of the AFL, and Robertson now has his OPS up to .966 to pair with a .278 batting average.

During the Minor League season, Robertson hit 19 home runs and stole nine bases while slashing .245/.323/.488. He likely profiles more as a fourth OF option if he makes the bigs.

Carson Spiers, RHP, CIN, 25

Spiers is one of the few players in Arizona who has already made his MLB debut. It was a rough 13 innings with the Reds, in which Spiers allowed a 6.92 ERA but did have a 4.03 FIP, which looks much better. In 83 Double-A innings this year, he posted a 3.69 ERA with a 29 percent strikeout rate. 

While it has been an up-and-down AFL for Spiers so far, Saturday was one of the ups as he fired four innings of one-run ball, allowing three hits and zero walks while striking out five. He had six swings and misses and, in the process, dropped his ERA to 3.86. I am keeping a close eye on Spiers, who has big stuff, as a potential arm to contribute in Cincinnati next year. 

Bryce Hubbart, LHP, CIN, 22

Spiers teammate Bryce Hubbart was the Reds’ third-round pick in the 2022 draft out of Florida State. His first full season in Single-A did not go how he would have liked, posting a 4.96 ERA with a 1.94 WHIP and a 22.1 percent walk rate. The lefty certainly has more talent than the numbers show, and that was on display on Saturday as he tossed three one-run innings, earning the save. Hubbart did strike out just one batter, but he did not issue a free pass and allowed just two hits.

Hubbart has a devastating curve and shows flashes of having an above-average changeup. If the fastball velocity can tick up, it will take Hubbart a long way.

Glendale (Dodgers, Mets, Twins, Red Sox, White Sox) 

Kala’i Rosario, OF, MIN, 21

Rosario hit one of the most majestic home runs I’ve seen in my three years of attending the fall league last night. I’m pretty sure it was still rising as it crested the wall in the deepest part of left-center field. He was very impressive physically and I came away with the impression that he’s a tremendous athlete – much more so than is evident on video in my opinion.

He has a very smooth operation at the plate. His stance begins with all of his weight on the back leg and transfers energy to the front half efficiently. His homer gave him the league lead with six and he contributed a hard-hit single, too.

Corey Rosier, OF, BOS, 24

There wasn’t much offense for Glendale beyond Rosario’s fireworks, but Rosier was a player who stood out. He had four competitive plate appearances that culminated in a walk and a single. He was another player whose athleticism surprised me even though I’m fully aware he stole 49 bases during the regular season. His speed was on display as he took third uncontested and he moved extremely well for having a stockier build than I had anticipated.

Yeiner Fernandez, 2B, LAD, 21

Here to confirm that Fernandez’ listed height of 5’9 might be a touch on the generous side. That said, he had a solid night at the plate and showed off a little pop by lifting an RBI double over the right fielder’s head in the second inning. He improved his fall OPS to .988 with a walk to go with the two-bagger.

Mesa (A’s, Astros, Cubs, Orioles, Yankees) 

Billy Cook, 1B, BAL, 24

Cook was by far the most impressive hitter for Mesa on Saturday night. He has a rather unorthodox swing, starting with his elbows tucked in tight to his chest with the bat resting on his shoulder. It’s a long swing with very distinct backward movement with his hands before eventually bringing the bat forward.

The results were loud, though. He hit a massive homer and laced an opposite field double. I’m not totally sure if his mechanics will allow for him to be productive at the next level and he’s rather positionless, so the future is unclear.

The results were loud, though. He hit a massive homer and laced an opposite field double. I’m not totally sure if his mechanics will allow for him to be productive at the next level and he’s rather positionless, so the future is unclear.

James Triantos, 2B, CHC, 20

Nice to see you again, James. He reached base three times last night by way of a pair of singles and a walk. His hit tool was on display and he looked fleet-of-foot both on the basepaths and defensively. He’s becoming a very nice piece for the Cubs..

Kevin Alcantara, OF, CHC, 21

Alcantara didn’t contribute much of note last night, but I wanted to write about him because of how large the gap is between how good he looks and how mediocre the results are. That’s not me being down on him – I like Alcantara a lot – but he looked overmatched last night while simultaneously looking like he should be the best player on every field he steps on. He’s a player you want the other team to see when you step off the bus.

He finished the night with three strikeouts and a near miss trying to bring back Chase DeLauter’s go-ahead home run. It would have been a spectacular play going up to pull it back, but almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Scottsdale (Angels, Cardinals, Giants, Nationals, Phillies)

Davis Daniel, RHP, LAA, 26

Daniel remains the only pitcher in the Arizona Fall League to have a ten-strikeout game, and while he struck out just three on Saturday, it was another strong outing. Daniel pitched three innings, allowing just one earned run and one walk. The only damage came from a CJ Alexander home run in the 2nd inning.

The former seventh-rounder out of Auburn made just seven starts in the minors this season, posting a 2.15 ERA with 42 strikeouts across 29 innings pitched. Daniel nearly matched that production in his 12.1 Major League innings as he posted a 2.19 ERA. The issue was, Daniel walked nine batters across those 12 innings.

Adrian Placencia, 2B, LAA, 20

Jumping from one of the older players in the AFL, Daniel, we now jump to one of the youngest Adrian Placencia, who is just 20 years old. While Scottsdale’s lineup procured just five total hits, Placencia was the only one who had an extra-base hit, launching his second home run of the AFL. 

It has not been the best Arizona Fall League for Placencia, who is rocking a .180 batting average with a .613 OPS even after the home run. 

Salt River (Braves, Diamondbacks, Pirates, Rockies, Tigers)

Tyler Tolve, C/OF, ATL, 23

I have underrated Tyler Tolve for too long, even after seeing him several times live this year. He spent much of the year injured, which limited him to just 217 plate appearances on the year in which he slashed .238/.304/.394 with seven home runs. Tolve shows good versatility and has played not only catcher but in the outfield and third base. Behind the plate, Tolve struggles with allowing runners to steal bases, allowing 55 stolen bases, and catching just nine during the regular season. In the Arizona Fall League, base runners have gone crazy stealing on him at a high clip.

Saturday night, Tolve bounced one off the batter’s eye that traveled 430 feet but was not ruled a home run; instead, he settled for a triple. Tolve also added a double on the night to bring his slash to .209/.277/.279. While it may not be the most impressive AFL so far, Tolve gets the nod as the only Salt River hitter with two hits on Saturday.

Hao-Yu Lee, 2B, DET, 20

Lee has had a quietly good Arizona Fall League, considering he is one of the youngest players in the desert. He had just one hit on Saturday, but it was a double and drove in a run, making him the only hitter outside of Tyler Tolve to have an extra base hit. Lee is slashing .250/.390/.375 with one home run so far.

Lee moved from Philly to Detroit this season, posting a .273/.362/.399 slash with six home runs and 16 stolen bases. At the moment, I am not sure how much of a dynasty asset Lee is, but he could have more opportunities to move up quickly now that he is in Detroit.