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Daniel Espino, RHP, Guardians: After more than three years of dealing with injuries, Guardians righthander Daniel Espino returned to competitive action this season. His first turn came on Sept. 20, and he showed understandable amounts of rust while allowing three earned runs on three hits in 0.2 innings.

Simply staying healthy afterward was victory enough. His comeback tour moved to the Arizona Fall League, where he made his debut on Tuesday night against Mesa.

This time around, the results were much better. Espino, 24, went just one inning for Surprise, but he struck out two and allowed just one hit before yielding to the Saguaros' bullpen. Espino, Cleveland's first-round pick in 2019 out of high school in Georgia, worked primarily with a mix of four-seamers, cut fastballs and sliders and got five swings and misses—two on his four-seamer and three on the cutter—before ending his day.

His fastball averaged 97 mph and topped out at 98.6, while his cutter came in at 89 mph.

The outing was a small step, but he showed crisp stuff throughout and is in line to make his next turn on Sunday in Glendale. Those two facts alone mark sizable progress for a pitcher who still has immense talent.

Esmerlyn Valdez, OF, Pirates: In 123 games this season, Valdez crushed 26 home runs. It didn’t take long for him to carry that power into the Arizona Fall League. Making his debut on Tuesday evening, Valdez unloaded on the third pitch he saw from Blue Jays righthander Alex Amalfi, launching a slider 425 feet to straightaway center. It was a no-doubt shot that echoed his reputation as one of the system’s emerging power threats. The blast was a fitting continuation of a strong 2025 campaign in which Valdez slashed .286/.376/.520 across High-A and Double-A.

Jared Thomas, OF, Rockies: Thomas began the 2025 season as the Rockies’ No. 18 prospect, but by the time the regular season wrapped, he had soared into the top three. He carried that momentum into the Arizona Fall League on Tuesday, delivering a standout debut that turned heads. Thomas collected three hits on the day including a pair of sharply hit doubles and an RBI triple that he legged out to left field, showcasing both his gap-to-gap power and his impressive speed on the bases.

Blake Mitchell, C, Royals: In addition to being a proving ground for baseball's top prospects, the Arizona Fall League is an ideal opportunity for players to make up for valuable time lost to injury. Mitchell fits that mold perfectly. The 2023 first-round pick missed a significant portion of the regular season with wrist issues, but now he’s using the AFL to get back on track, sharpen his tools and close out the year with momentum. Mitchell collected two hits and drove in a pair of runs on Tuesday. It was a strong showing from the 21-year-old backstop, who’s looking to regain his rhythm at the plate while continuing to develop behind it.

Sebastian Walcott, SS, Rangers: Ranked as Baseball America’s No. 10 overall prospect, Walcott is one of the most electrifying talents in this year’s Arizona Fall League. On Tuesday night, the 19-year-old Rangers shortstop showed exactly why. Playing for the Surprise Saguaros, Walcott collected two hits, each louder than the last. In the fifth inning, he ripped a 104.3 mph single to center field, then followed it up with a blistering 110.1 mph double to nearly the same spot. The pair of rockets highlighted both his advanced bat speed and ability to square up high-level pitching.

Editor’s Picks

Why Throwing Hard Really Matters: J.J. Cooper digs into years’ worth of MLB pitching data to investigate the connection between throwing harder and career length. While it may sound obvious to some, there’s a strong correlation between velocity and track record. Read more…

Dive Deeper: We didn’t stop there. Check out these companion pieces as we dive into velocity across all professional levels in 2025.

• Every minor leaguer who threw 100+ mph in 2025

• How much does throwing harder increase injury risk for pitchers?

• Examining how all 236 pitchers in our velocity study compared

• Average fastball velocity for all 105 rookie starting pitchers

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• Yankees RHP Bryce Cunningham opposed Espino in Arizona and struggled. He was tagged for four runs on five hits in two innings.

• Rehabbing Red Sox RHP Luis Perales also made his AFL debut, showing some impressive stuff but also scattered control (three walks) in 1.1 innings.

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