Arizona Fall League Hot Sheet: Can Anyone Slow Down Josue Briceño?

1. Josue Briceño, 1B, Tigers

• Team: Scottsdale
• Age: 20
• Why He’s Here: .375/.474/.875 (6-for-16), 3 R, 0 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBIs, 3 BB, 5 SO

The Scoop: With two more home runs this past week, Briceño has vaulted himself atop the AFL’s leaderboard in that category. Even more impressive, Briceño’s seven longballs are equal to the total posted by 2023’s AFL home run champions—Aaron Sabato and Kala’i Rosario—with three more weeks to play. Briceño also leads the AFL in batting average (.438), slugging percentage (.958), hits (21), extra-base hits (9), total bases (46) and is tied for the top spot in triples (2).

2. Andrew Pintar, OF, Marlins

• Team: Peoria
• Age: 23
• Why He’s Here: .440/.517/.560 (11-for-25), 6 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBIs, 4 BB, 7 SO

The Scoop: Pintar—who was traded from the D-backs to the Marlins this summer—started his AFL campaign slowly but hit his stride in the season’s third week. Through the season’s first two weeks, Pintar had 10 hits. This past week alone, he had 11, including his first longball of the fall.

3. Moises Ballesteros, C, Cubs

• Team: Mesa
• Age: 20
• Why He’s Here: .333/.375/.800 (5-for-15), 4 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 4 RBIs, 1 BB, 4 SO

The Scoop: At just 20 years old, Ballesteros is one of the Fall League’s stars and is on the precipice of the big leagues. He put together a fine regular season at the upper levels of the minor leagues and now is adding a cherry on top in the desert. He slammed two more home runs this past week, putting himself into a tie for third place.

4. Jose Acuña, RHP, Reds

• Team: Glendale
• Age: 22
• Why He’s Here: 0-0, 0.00, 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: Acuña went from the Mets to the Reds in 2022 in the deal that sent Tyler Naquin and Philip Diehl to New York. He’ll be Rule 5-eligible this coming winter and this past week made a strong case to be added to the 40-man roster. Facing Peoria, Acuña punched out seven hitters over four one-hit innings. In doing so, he kept his league-best ERA at 0.00 and brought his overall AFL strikeout total to nine over seven two-hit innings.

5. Austin Deming, 3B, Astros

• Team: Surprise
• Age: 24
• Why He’s Here: .417/.417/.917 (5-for-12), 2 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBIs, 0 BB, 3 SO

The Scoop: Deming played five seasons at Brigham Young—including the short sample of the 2020 season—then was taken in the 10th round of the 2023 draft. He split his first full season between High-A Asheville and Double-A Corpus Christi. He clubbed 19 home runs combined at both stops but had yet to get on the board in the AFL. In the third week of the season, that changed. Two of his five hits this past week left the yard, giving him his first extra-base hits of the fall as well.

6. Drew Gilbert, OF, Mets

• Team: Scottsdale
• Age: 24
• Why He’s Here: .357/.526/.786 (5-for-14), 4 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 2 RBIs, 4 BB, 1 SO

The Scoop: Besides making history as the first player to have a checked-swing electronically reviewed, Gilbert has put together a fine Fall League. The former Astros prospect, who was sent to New York in the deal that made Justin Verlander a Met, crushed a pair of home runs in one game this past week, giving him three for the AFL. He’s also accumulated more walks (6) than strikeouts (5).

7. Otto Kemp, 3B, Phillies

• Team: Glendale
• Age: 25
• Why He’s Here: .333/.474/.917 (4-for-12), 4 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBIs, 4 BB, 5 SO, 1-for-1 SB

The Scoop: Quietly, Kemp had an excellent season in the Phillies’ system. The Point Loma Nazarene product ascended all four levels of the full-season minor leagues and hit 16 home runs along the way, including 11 in 64 games at Double-A Reading. Kemp had just four hits this past week in the AFL, but three of them went for extra bases. That total included two more home runs, giving him four for the fall and pushing him into a tie with Moises Ballesteros for third in the league.

8. Tyler Callihan, OF, Reds

• Team: Glendale
• Age: 24
• Why He’s Here: .353/.450/.588 (6-for-17), 5 R, 0 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBIs, 3 BB, 2 SO, 1-for-2 SB

The Scoop: Most of the AFL’s offensive categories belong to Josue Briceño, but you’ll find Callihan’s name among the mix in areas most geared toward players with a leadoff hitter’s skills. The two triples he hit this past week put him into a four-way tie at the top, and his .468 on-base percentage, 12 runs and five stolen bases also rate among the league’s best.

9. Connor Phillips, RHP, Reds

• Team: Glendale
• Age: 23
• Why He’s Here: 0-0, 0.00, 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR

The Scoop: Phillips came over from the Mariners in 2022 in the trade that sent Luis Castillo to Seattle. He made his big league debut a year later but did not return to Cincinnati in 2024. Phillips has outstanding pure stuff, but his slipshod command often mutes its effectiveness. On other occasions, like his most recent outing, he can get plenty of swings and misses and make hitters look helpless. If he can do this more often, he has a chance to be an impactful bullpen piece.

10. Max Ferguson, SS, Red Sox

• Team: Mesa
• Age: 25
• Why He’s Here: .357/.438/.714 (5-for-14), 3 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 2 BB, 6 SO, 1-for-2 SB

The Scoop: Ferguson came to Boston from San Diego—along with Eric Hosmer and outfielder Corey Rosier—in the deal that sent lefty Jay Groome to San Diego. Injuries limited him to just 28 games in the regular season, but he’s making up for lost time in the AFL. He entered this past week with two extra-base hits on his card—both doubles—then added three more to his ledger, including his first home run of the fall.