A big autumn swing in Arizona has put Kyle West on the radar.
The Yankees prospect recently uncorked the longest home run of the 2026 Arizona Fall League season, launching a pitch 462 feet to right-center field. According to the official Arizona Fall League account on X/Twitter, the shot is the fifth-farthest homer in AFL history.
West has done more than just hit one moonshot. Through 13 games this fall, the left-handed first baseman is batting .282 with 11 hits in 39 at-bats, along with three home runs, 10 RBIs and seven runs scored. That total leaves the soon-to-be 24-year-old tied with seven other prospects for the fourth-most homers in the league so far, including the Chicago White Sox’s Caleb Bonemer, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Chase Harlan and the Baltimore Orioles’ Vance Honeycutt.
For the Yankees, it’s another reminder that some of their later draft picks can carry real value. Cam Schlittler, a seventh-round pick in 2022, and Ben Rice, taken in the 12th round in 2021, both emerged as key contributors in 2026. West is a long way from that level, but his AFL showing is enough to make him a name to follow as he heads toward 2027.
New York grabbed West in the 13th round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of West Virginia University. The 6-foot-2 slugger got into 11 Single-A games in 2025, then spent this past season in High-A for his first full minor league campaign. In 124 games there, the 23-year-old hit .226 with 20 home runs, 75 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.
The strikeouts remain the glaring issue. West punched out 160 times in the minors this year, though the early returns in Arizona have shown some better balance: 10 strikeouts and seven walks in 13 games. That’s the clearest area for him to clean up, even with the power showing up in a loud way.
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