The Arizona Fall League is almost here, and while the headline names are easy to spot, the roster sheets also include plenty of prospects who could turn heads once games begin on Oct. 3.
The league’s preliminary rosters are loaded with Top 100 talent such as Eduardo Quintero of the Dodgers, Caleb Bonemer of the White Sox, Jarlin Susana of the Nationals, Arjun Nimmala of the Angels and Nathan Flewelling of the Rays. But the deeper cuts matter, too.
Some are teenagers getting their first taste of older competition. Others could be pushing toward the big leagues as soon as 2027.
Here are 10 lesser-known names worth following in the desert.
Najer Victor, a right-hander in the Angels system who is not ranked on the club’s Top 30, already made noise in the AFL last year and then added more buzz with a strong showing in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. He brings a mid-90s fastball with plenty of life and a mid-80s slider that posted a 57% miss rate this past season across Double-A and Triple-A. Victor also lost nearly three months to an injury stint, so the Fall League gives him a chance to make up for those missed innings.
Breyson Guedez, an Athletics outfielder, started the season as the second-youngest player in the Low-A California League, behind only Angels prospect Gabriel Davalillo. He played well enough to earn a late-season move to High-A Lansing while still only 18.
Guedez still needs to cut down on his chase rate, but the bat speed and hard contact are real, and he held his own against full-season pitching. Now he gets a much tougher test against older, craftier arms.
Alexander Fuentes gives the Giants another intriguing young pitcher in a system that has been stockpiling them at the lower levels. He missed time this summer with a sore shoulder, but evaluators liked what they saw when he was healthy. Fuentes works with a mid-90s fastball and a pair of breaking balls, and that mix helped him fan 31 hitters in 18 innings in the Arizona Complex League before a late-season jump to full-season ball, which ended with a spot on San Jose’s postseason roster.
Vance Honeycutt, ranked 28th on the Orioles’ Top 30, looked for a while like the swing-and-miss issues from his college days might follow him all the way through pro ball. Late in the year, though, some mechanical tweaks helped everything click.
At Double-A Chesapeake, he hit .288/.381/.616 with five homers in 20 games. That’s a small sample, but the strikeout rate also stood out: 25% in the Eastern League, more than 17% better than what he posted at High-A.
The Pirates’ Jhonny Severino, unranked on the club’s Top 30, was part of a dangerous left side of the infield in Greensboro alongside Wyatt Sanford. Severino was one of just five players age 21 or younger to top 30 home runs this season, and White Sox prospect Caleb Bonemer was another name on that short list and also AFL-bound.
The Dominican Republic native does have higher miss rates than ideal, but he punishes mistakes in the zone and makes loud contact when he connects. That power could make him one of the league’s more interesting bats over six weeks in the desert.
Dillon Lewis, the Marlins’ 13th-ranked prospect, came over in the winter trade that sent Ryan Weathers to the Yankees. He broke out across both Class A levels and earned his place here with a season that showed both upside and production.
Injuries cut short his first year in the Marlins system, but he still flashed the same tools after reaching Double-A Pensacola. The holes are obvious - too many swings and misses, and swing decisions that need work - but he can really hit the ball, run, and defend in the outfield.
Patrick Forbes, ranked ninth in the Diamondbacks’ system, has been much sharper as a pro than he was at Louisville, where his control and command could wander. At High-A Hillsboro, the 2025 No. 29 overall pick struck out 41 and walked seven in 29.2 innings.
He leans on four-seamers and curveballs, with a slider mixed in, and both of his main pitches generated whiff rates above 30%. That should play well in the Fall League.
Drake George is the biggest question mark in the group. The Giants right-hander has not pitched since 2025 after Tommy John surgery, but he has been building back up in live batting practice on the backfields in Arizona.
Before the injury, his fastball reached 97 mph, and that velocity has been trending upward again. If he can pair that with the same two breaking balls he showed in 2025, he would give San Francisco an impressive trio of fireballers alongside Miguel Mendez and Fuentes.
Zion Rose is another name set for the Fall League after being drafted the same year he arrives. Like Jac Caglianone two falls ago, Bailey should bring some of the loudest raw power in the league.
At Florida State, he crushed 32 home runs in 82 games over two seasons and spent his time in Tallahassee blasting just about everything with stitches. At Sloan Park, the challenge will be contact: can he pair that huge power with enough of it against more advanced pitching?
Even if that part takes time, he should be one of the most entertaining players in the league all fall.
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