Kevin McGonigle is the MVP of the Arizona Fall League. That was clear to anybody who watched the Detroit Tigers’ 21-year-old infield prospect the past six weeks.
Several other players won awards for their accomplishments, announced before the Surprise Saguaros used a seven-run eighth inning to win the 2025 championship game over the Peoria Javelinas, 9-4.
McGonigle came west to work on defense and get more at bats after missing time with a sprained right ankle during the 2025 minor-league season. That was after a broken hand cut short his 2024 season.
None of that kept him from doing what he does best – play all-out and hit a baseball to all fields with authority.
Ranked as the No. 2 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, McGonigle finished in the top 10 in 12 offensive categories. In 19 AFL games, the 5-foot-9, 187-pound lefty hitter:
- Led the league in total bases (49)
- Tied for first in extra-base hits (12)
- Tied for second in home runs (5), and runs (22)
- Was third in slugging percentage (.710), and OPS (1.210)
- Tied for third in triples (2) and walks (19)
- Was sixth in RBI (19)
- Tied for sixth in hits (25)
- Eighth in batting average (.362) and on-base percentage (.500)
McGonigle is very aggressive at the plate – yet displays the patience to work a count and pick out his pitch. He has quick hands and a direct swing path to the baseball.
“I like saying it’s hitting dumb almost,” McGonigle told Jim Callis of MLB.com. “Just going up thinking fastball and then just reacting to the off-speed and just trying to put a good swing on the pitcher’s mistake. If you lose one in the heart of the plate, just make a good swing and connect with it. And if you don’t, then keep battling.”
The 37th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of high school got $2,847,500 to sign. In 183 games in the minors, he has hit .308 with 51 doubles, 25 homers and 40 stolen bases. Most impressive is his ratio of 123 walks to 84 strikeouts – almost unheard of in this day of players flailing away in search of long-ball glory.
McGonigle has played mostly shortstop, some second base and saw action at third this fall for the first time as a pro. He played 12 errorless games and 100 innings at the hot corner. At short, he hustled to make some good plays and had two errors in 48 innings.
He’s quite good at second. He has only three errors there in 222 innings as a pro. He is an ultra aggressive player in all aspects. A fair description would be like a lefty swinging version of perennial pepper pot All-Star Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros.
Viva Valdez
Esmerlyn Valdez won the AFL Offensive Player Award. Ranked No. 15 in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ system by MLB Pipeline, the 21-year-old outfielder launched eight homers in his first nine games.
Slowed the last three weeks by a sprained wrist, the 6-2 right-hander still led the league in homers (8), RBI (27), and slugging (.842), was second in OPS (1.355) and total bases (48), third in extra-base hits (11), fifth in walks (19), sixth in OBP (.513) and batting average (.368).
Valdez has the arm to play right field, but must work on defense. He takes erratic routes on fly balls and often fumbles balls that land in front of him or in the corner.
The AFL’s two big sluggers were the Pirates’ 6-7, 250-pound Tony Blanco Jr., and 6-2 catcher Alfredo Duno of the Cincinnati Reds.
Blanco, 20, played only 30 minor-league games in 2025 due to a leg injury. He put on a show to win the AFL Home Run Derby. In 13 games for the Salt River Rafters, he hit .250 with two homers, including a 464-foot blast.
Duno hit .213 without a homer in 15 AFL games then came alive in the playoffs. The 19-year-old, signed for $3.1 million in 2023 out of Venezuela, hit four long homers in the Peoria Javelinas’ first two playoff games. They averaged 438 feet and were hit off two curveballs, a sinker and slider.
The Reds will want to redistribute some of his weight. Duno looks like Kansas City Royals’ catcher Salvador Perez, who at age 35 has put on pounds and now plays more first base.
Duno does not have the exemplary bat-to-ball and defensive skills that have put Perez (303 homers, 10 all-star games, 5 gold gloves) on the way to the Hall of Fame. He does have raw power and remarkable speed for such a large man. Duno needs work on defense. If his offense develops, the Reds surely will find a lineup spot for him in hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
Houston’s Hicks
Astros prospect James Hicks won the AFL Pitcher of the Year Award for good reason. The right-hander fanned 19 over 14 scoreless innings. His 0.00 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, and .130 batting average against led all pitchers who worked enough innings to qualify.
Hicks, 24, threw a low-90s fastball with sink and a changeup for strikes, mixing in a few breaking balls, too. He walked only two and thew 67% of his pitches for strikes.
Another Astros prospect, Anderson Brito hit 99 mph on the radar gun and fanned 22 in 11 1/3 innings. Brito is only 5-10, 155 pounds and seems destined to be a relief pitcher. He went 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA as a starter this fall.
In 103 minor-league innings, Brito, 21, has yielded only 64 hits and struck out 147. He’s walked 49. With better command, he can be very good.
Colorado’s Condon
Rockies prospect Charlie Condon won the Sportsmanship Award, presented to the AFL player best exemplifying unselfishness, hard work and leadership.
“Charlie is a great example of everything this award stands for,” Salt River Rafters manager Eric Patterson told MLB.com. “Aside from the talent on the field, Charlie comes to the ballpark every day with the same attitude and eagerness to maximize his potential. He is super coachable and his teammates gravitate towards him. Watching how he interacts with them, not only giving advice but also seeing the humility he has in asking them questions and learning from them as well, has been really cool to watch.”
Condon, 22, taken third overall in 2024, missed much of 2025 with a broken wrist. The 6-6 first baseman hit .337 with 13 RBI in 22 games this fall with one homer. In 116 career games at the University of Georgia, he had 62 homers, 145 RBI and a .410 average. He was picked one spot ahead of 2025 AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz and got $9.25 million to sign.
Rockies prospect Cade Denton was named the AFL’s top reliever. He fanned 18 and walked 4 over 13 innings. Denton, 23, struck out six of eight batters faced in two scoreless innings on Oct. 24.
Peoria Javelinas outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., got the Defensive Player Award. The Baltimore Orioles’ 2023 first-round choice from Vanderbilt has exciting speed (130 steals in college, 135 in the minors) and tracked down balls hit into the gaps.
The award likely was based upon one memorable play – a game-saving home run robbery against Mesa on Oct. 28. He also appeared indecisive on a few plays. Bradfield, 23, has hit .264 as a pro. He’s a great athlete. Listed by MLB Pipeline as the No. 4 Orioles prospect, he needs to transform into a better baseball player.
Cubs Catcher
Mesa Solar Sox (and Chicago Cubs) catcher Owen Ayers, 24, was the Breakout Player winner. The switch hitter went 5-for-11 with two doubles, a homer, 4 RBI, and 2 walks in his first week in the AFL. He finished just as hot: 8-for-20, with a double, homer and six walks.
Ayers led the league in walks (22), was second in on-base percentage (.539), fourth in batting (.379), fifth in total bases (39), sixth in hits (25), seventh in OPS (1.130) and eighth in slugging (.591).
The 19th-round pick in 2024 MLB from Marshall kept the Solar Sox season alive on Nov. 12, with a three-run homer in the AFL Quarterfinals, the only runs of the game.
New in 2025, the Community Champion Award went to Los Angeles Dodgers’ infield prospect Logan Wagner. He attended local reading program events, PLAYBALL events, and received praise for his character and connection with fans throughout the season.
Detroit Tigers’ Trio
Long-time MLB infielder Joey Cora, the Tigers’ third-base coach, worked with McGonigle and Detroit infield prospects Max Anderson and Jack Penney this fall. Anderson had two errors in 74 innings at third. Penney was flawless in 114 innings combined at second and short.
Anderson was better than McGonigle in some offensive categories. In 14 games, the second-round pick out of Nebraska in 2023 had an astronomical .620 on-base percentage. He hit .447 (21-for-47) with 5 doubles, 4 homers, 18 walks and 9 strikeouts.
That came after the right-hander batted .296 with 31 doubles, 19 homers and 88 RBI in the minors this year.
Penny, a lefty hitter and fifth rounder from Notre Dame in 2024, hit .278 in Arizona.
Tarik Skubal, the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner, watched them all play for the Scottsdale Scorpions. If he liked what he saw from the up-and-coming infielders and top Tigers prospect Max Clark recovers from a broken hamate bone to be a star outfielder, it may play in his decision to re-sign with the Detroit Tigers or be a free agent in 2026.
