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Tucker Musgrove, RHP, Padres: Beyond the headliners, the Arizona Fall League is a great place to spot talented players whose names haven't quite popped. Padres righthander Tucker Musgrove certainly fits that description. San Diego's seventh-rounder from two drafts ago didn't debut until this season, and even then his workload was just 20 innings at Low-A Lake Elsinore.

He was the second man out of the bullpen for Peoria on Opening Night in the Arizona Fall League, and one at-bat made it clear that he'll be someone to follow over the course of the next six weeks. Facing Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle, the righthander threw four pitches: An 83 mph slider for a ball, 99 mph four-seamers for strikes one and two (one swinging and one on a foul ball) and a hellacious sinker—also at 99 mph that McGonigle waved at for strike three.

The strikeout was the 23-year-old Musgrove's second of the evening—he also got Mets prospect Nick Morabito to chase a 99 mph heater—and brought to close the most impressive inning of the evening.

Hendry Mendez, OF Twins: For as long as he's been a prospect, Mendez has had a lot of intriguing traits. Namely, he has a sound idea of the strike zone and he hits the ball hard. Problem is, a good deal of that loud contact has resulted in grounders. The same was true this year, when he ran a groundball rate of 54%. On Opening Night in the AFL, he showed the kind of good things that can happen when he lifts the ball. In his first at-bat, facing Nationals lefty Jake Bennett, Mendez got a hanging slider and didn't miss. He launched the pitch 374 feet over the wall in right field for the league's first home run. The 21-year-old Mendez popped a career-best 11 home runs during the regular season and was included in the deal that sent outfielder Harrison Bader from Minnesota to Philadelphia.

Walker Janek, C, Astros: The first three-hit game of the 2025 Arizona Fall League belongs to Janek. The 2024 first-rounder out of Sam Houston State was limited to 93 games in his first full season as a pro and is in the AFL making up for those lost at-bats. The Monday night output included two singles and a double—as well as an RBI. The double, which came in the first inning off of Peoria starter Carson Montgomery, cracked 100 mph off the bat.

Sean Paul Liñan, RHP, Nationals: Liñan owns one of the best changeups in the minor leagues. That was the case when he began the year with the Dodgers, and it's still the case now that he's with the Nationals. Liñan was dealt from Los Angeles to Washington in the trade that sent Alex Call to Hollywood. Liñan made his AFL debut on Monday in relief of system-mate Jake Bennett and spun two scoreless innings. He racked up three strikeouts but walked four before yielding to Jared Simpson. Liñan got seven whiffs in his outing, including three apiece on his changeup and slider and one on his sinker. Two of his strikeouts came on the changeup and one came on his breaking ball.

Editor’s Picks

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Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• Brewers RHP Jacob Misiorowski threw three scoreless innings in Milwaukee’s 7-3 NLDS win over the Cubs yesterday. Of his 57 pitches, 31 were 100+ mph. Misiorowski averaged 101.5 mph on his fastball and struck out four while walking just two.

• Dodgers top prospect turned closer Roki Sasaki needed just two pitches to pick up another save and help Los Angeles avoid a ninth-inning collapse against the Phillies to take a 2-0 series lead.

• White Sox outfielder Braden Montgomery is in Arizona for the start of the fall league, but his debut will be delayed as he recovers from a fracture in his right foot.

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