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Corey Avant, RHP, Athletics: The 2025 Arizona Fall League features two prospects from Wingate, a Division-II school in North Carolina. One is Seaver King, a Nationals first-round infielder who finished his career Wake Forest after spending two seasons with the Bulldogs. The other is Avant, a ninth-rounder from 2023 who spent the entirety of his college career with Wingate before turning pro.

Avant spent most of his 2025 season with High-A Lansing, where he went 6-6, 3.65 with 101 strikeouts in 104 innings before moving to Double-A for two appearances to close the season. Now, he's in the Arizona Fall League, where on Thursday he was mighty impressive in his first start of the season.

Facing Salt River, Avant went three innings and allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out seven. In doing so, he vaulted himself into a tie with Baltimore lefty Luis De Leon at the top of the AFL's strikeout leaderboard. The righthander worked with a full four-pitch complement, led by a four-seamer that averaged 96 mph and touched 99 mph. He got eight swings and misses before exiting, including three apiece on his fastball and two apiece on each of his breaking balls.

David Hagaman, RHP, D-backs: Hagaman was drafted by Texas in 2024 while still in the process of rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He made his official pro debut a year later on June 5, when he spun two perfect innings with four strikeouts in the Arizona Complex League.

From there, his stock skyrocketed. The West Virginia alum made eight more starts with the Rangers before being moved to Arizona as part of the deal that sent Merrill Kelly to Texas. He opened the next chapter of his career at High-A Hillsboro and was spectacular, striking out 27 and walking just four over five starts and 20 innings.

Hagaman made his Arizona Fall League debut on Thursday and picked up right where he left off in the regular season. Facing Mesa, Hagaman tossed three shutout innings with one hit and five strikeouts mixed in along the way. He also got 11 misses on 24 swings, including four apiece on his mid-80s cutter and deep-breaking, low-80s curveball.

Wuilfredo Antunez, OF, Guardians: It’s only been four days into the Arizona Fall League season, but Antunez is already making his presence felt. The 23-year-old outfielder launched a towering three-run homer to right field on Thursday that left the bat at an impressive 103.6 mph. It marked his second home run in as many days. Power has long been a standout tool in Antunez’s profile, and it’s clearly translating to the AFL stage. He belted 18 home runs during the regular season and added 10 more in 2024, establishing himself as a legitimate power threat within the Guardians system. He slashed .275/.335/.521 between 101 games across High-A and Double-A.

Alfredo Duno, C, Reds: Duno had to wait a few days to make his AFL debut, but he didn’t waste time making an impact, collecting his first hit with a single off Eiberson Castellano. The Reds catcher also struck out twice in his first game action, shaking off some rust as he settles in. Cincinnati is using the Fall League to get an extended look at Duno, who’s battled injuries for much of his young career. Still, he’s coming off a strong season in Low-A where he began to tap into his potential, slashing .287/.430/.518 with 18 home runs. Known for his offensive upside, Duno has also made strides defensively, rounding out a skill set that continues to intrigue the Reds' development staff.

Parks Harber, 3B, Giants: Harber is coming off a breakout season and was the lone position player acquired by the Giants in the trade that sent reliever Camilo Doval and catcher Jesus Rodriguez to the Yankees. San Francisco targeted him for his raw power—and on Thursday evening, he reminded everyone why. Playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions, Harber crushed his first home run of the Arizona Fall League, taking Braves righthander LJ McDonough deep with a no-doubt blast that showcased his impressive strength and bat speed. Harber slashed .323/.420/.550 with a .970 OPS across two levels this past season. After homering once in 23 games in 2024, he took a significant step forward in 2025, slugging 13 home runs in High-A, with seven of them coming with the Giants. He is emerging as a legitimate power bat in the Giants' system.

Editor’s Picks

Age-Adjusted Production: J.J. Cooper dives into the data to learn which MLB farm systems got the most production from players who were young for their level in 2025. Read more…

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• Roki Sasaki’s postseason star turn in the bullpen continued on Thursday. He spun three scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ 2-1 extra-innings win over the Phillies to move on to the NLCS.

• Cardinals RHP Chen-Wei Lin impressed on Thursday. Here’s why.

• So did Phillies RHP Eiberson Castellano, who struck out four as he tries to regain some momentum after an injury-filled 2025.

• Check out Karson Milbrandt’s nasty cutter he showed off in Arizona.

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