The Arizona Fall League is still in its early stretch, but Tuesday gave the Reds a pair of encouraging performances from two very different prospects.
Luke Holman headlined the pitching side for Peoria and looked sharp from the jump. The right-hander worked three hitless innings, fanned six and issued only one walk. He has now thrown five AFL innings across two outings, allowing one run on two hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts.
That kind of line matters even more considering Holman’s path to this point. Cincinnati took him in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of LSU, and injuries have slowed his development. He has made just six total starts in two seasons with the organization because of Tommy John Surgery, but when he has been on the mound, the stuff has played.
“It was a setback, for sure,” Holman told MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. “But I think it happened at a good time.
My velo was kind of going down. My velo’s back now and I think all of my pitches are better than they were pre-TJ, so I think it was a blessing in disguise to get it done early in my career.”
The bigger picture for Holman is simple: stay on the field and keep stacking outings.
“I’m excited. Just staying healthy, I’m excited about.
Just playing baseball again. I’m happy to be out here and competing.”
For a Reds system that can use more pitching depth, that’s the sort of progress that stands out immediately.
On the position-player side, Yerlin Confidan turned in a strong night for the Javelinas, going 2-for-4 with two triples and a walk.
Confidan, 23, split 2026 between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga, where he played 126 games and hit .255/.332/.405 with 38 extra-base hits. He was once ranked as Cincinnati’s No. 25 prospect back in 2022, though he has since slipped out of the rankings.
The upside remains obvious enough to keep him in the conversation. MLB Pipeline described him in 2022 as: "The left-handed hitting outfielder has the chance to be a very good offensive performer," MLB Pipeline wrote back in 2022. "He has a handsy swing and manipulates the bat well and has a ton of raw power, especially to the pull side."
Because he has been in the system since he was 18, Confidan is the kind of name that can fade from memory. But performances like Tuesday’s are a reminder that he still has a chance to make a real leap if everything clicks.
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