Andrew Painter, Josue Briceño Highlight Weekend AFL Stars

Plus: The 10 hottest prospects from the first week of the Arizona Fall League.

Geoff Pontes was on hand for Andrew Painter’s return to the mound this weekend. He also saw a superb individual performance from Tigers C Josue Briceño. We have video from both below as part of a catching-heavy BAPR.

Andrew Painter (Photo by Bill Mitchell)

Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies: One of baseball’s best pitching prospects made his anticipated return to the mound on Saturday evening. Painter went two innings, touching 100 mph in the first and running into some trouble in the second. You can find a full recap of his outing here. Watch every pitch below.

Josue Briceño, C, Tigers: Briceño took Painter deep in Saturday’s outing, but he didn’t just stop there. The Detroit backstop homered three times in the same game. Check out every swing:

Creed Willems, C, Orioles: The most famous Orioles catching prospect is Samuel Basallo. The sneakiest might be Willems. The 21-year-old eighth-rounder from the 2021 draft hit 17 home runs between High-A and Double-A this summer in just 98 games. He was one of just 10 catchers in the sport to finish the year with 20 or more doubles and 15 or more home runs, and he was one of just two to do so in fewer than 100 games. The other was journeyman backstop Yohel Pozo. On Sunday, Willems went 2-for-3 with a double and a run. Both of his hits were struck quite well. The single produced an exit velocity of 112.5 mph. The double left the bat at 114.3 mph, the second-best EV of the afternoon.

Moises Ballesteros, C, Cubs: Ballesteros is one of the best catching prospects in the sport. He’s an offense-first prospect to be sure, but he’s made enough strides this season with his defense that his future behind the dish has brightened. On Sunday, in the day’s lone Arizona Fall League game, he crushed his first homer of the six-week campaign. The blast came off of Rangers prospect Josh Stephan and was part of a two-hit afternoon.

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