The Buzz: Five Sluggers Thriving in AFL
Fantasy-relevant notes on Jac Caglianone, Xavier Isaac, Thayron Liranzo, Zyhir Hope and Kemp Alderman from Thursday's Arizona Fall League action.
The most exciting postseason in recent memory continued on Thursday evening with the Yankees punching their ticket to the ALCS on Thursday evening by knocking off the upstart Royals, while the Guardians managed to keep their postseason hopes alive in Detroit, thanks to some late-inning heroics from David Fry. Meanwhile, the Dodgers and Padres will take center stage on Friday evening with a winner-take-all Game 5 slugfest featuring Japanese stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Yu Darvish toeing the rubber. Get your popcorn ready.
Arizona Fall League Recap
Jac Caglianone, 1B, Royals
4-for-6, 2 R, 2 RBI, K
We covered Caglianone more extensively earlier this week in this space, and he’ll continue to draw mentions as his light-tower power continues to be on display in AFL action. The central question for fantasy managers is whether he’ll make enough contact at the highest level to blossom into an upper-echelon contributor. He’s not going to answer those concerns until he reaches the upper minors, but it’s something to monitor heading into 2025. The 21-year-old slugger, who was selected sixth overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, collected four hits in his second AFL contest and is among the top prospects in the fall circuit. He’s a borderline top 100 overall prospect heading into 2025, even with the lingering contact concerns.
Xavier Isaac, 1B, Rays
1-for-4, HR (1), R, 2 RBI
After posting some of the most impressive average exit velocity data in the minors this past season, Isaac has continued to thrive in the AFL, hitting his first AFL round-tripper on Thursday afternoon. It was an absolute moonshot to right-center field that showed why he’s one of the most fearsome young sluggers in the game. The 20-year-old first-round pick from the 2022 MLB Draft continues to look like one of the top prospects in the fantasy landscape and finds himself just inside the top 100 overall in my latest Fantrax Top 500 dynasty rankings update heading into 2025.
Thayron Liranzo, C, Tigers
4-for-5, 2B, HR (1), 2 R, 3 RBI
The future is looking extremely bright in Detroit and Liranzo is going to be an integral component of their young nucleus after coming over from the Dodgers at the trade deadline as the centerpiece of the Jack Flaherty swap. The 21-year-old backstop caught fire following the late-season deal, slashing .315/.470/.562 with five homers in just 115 plate appearances over 26 contests for High-A West Michigan. He's right there along with Drake Baldwin just a shade below the elite tier of catching prospects in the game -- Samuel Basallo, Kyle Teel, Moises Ballesteros, Dalton Rushing, Harry Ford and Agustin Ramirez -- from a fantasy perspective heading into 2025. However, that's not a knock on either of them, they're going to make an impact for fantasy managers at some point in the near future.
Zyhir Hope, OF, Dodgers
2-for-5, HR (1), 2B, R, 3 RBI
Hope clobbered a gargantuan 470-foot homer, which carried a stratospheric 110.6 mpg exit velocity, according to Statcast data, during Thursday’s AFL action. He got off to a sizzling-hot start to the minor-league season following an offseason trade from the Cubs, and was rocketing up dynasty rankings lists, before missing nearly three months recovering from a shoulder injury, which kept him on the shelf until late July. The 19-year-old phenom finished the year batting a robust .287/.415/.490 with nine homers and eight steals across 248 plate appearances in 54 games for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga. He's a top-60 range dynasty outfielder based on his emerging power/speed combination and standout production relative to his age. He's a long way off from making an impact for redraft fantasy managers, but he's absolutely a name to know heading into 2025.
Kemp Alderman, OF, Marlins
3-for-5, 2 HR (3), 2 R, 2 RBI
We love unheralded prospects and Alderman certainly fits the bill. The 22-year-old outfielder has been one of the hottest bats in the opening week of the AFL circuit, going deep three times already, after putting together a multi-homer performance during Thursday's nightcap at Goodyear Ballpark. Both of those round-trippers carried exit velocities over 106 mph, according to Statcast data. A third-round pick from the 2023 MLB Draft, Alderman was limited to just 77 contests this past season in the minors, topping out with a 33-game stint at High-A Beloit where he posted a .656 OPS with two homers and two steals in 138 plate appearances. He's not exactly a household name, but he could put himself on dynasty radar screens, especially if he keeps hitting for power in the AFL.