2 The Bigs

By Sal Corso: September 25th, 2025:

2 The Bigs shifted a bit towards the middle of this year. We put a lot of focus into our social content. Specifically Instagram and YouTube. But let’s not forget entirely about written-word. The minor league season is nearly over, which means the Arizona Fall League is upon us. The AFL is like a second season for us prospectors, and it’s where some of the biggest prospects go to continue developing during the “offseason”. I am going to give you two players on each AFL team that you should keep an eye on this fall. Without any further delay, let’s jump right in.

Glendale

Braden Montgomery, White Sox

Braden is a young, talented switch hitter who can be another centerpiece to this rebuilding franchise. He’s a 2 The Bigs favorite, and a potential all-star caliber outfielder for the White Sox. Don’t assume the worst in Chicago anymore, there’s a lot of good talent in this system and Montgomery could be the best.

Kendall George, Dodgers

The Dodgers farm system is deep (nothing new here). George jumped onto the scene this year and improved in nearly every hitting category in a higher level than ’24 (A+). He has lead-off hitter tools, fast, discipline, high-contact and patient hitter. Pages, De Paula, Hope, Quintero, Sirota – the outfield is jam packed in this organization, so some of these kids will likely see another organization before they see the pros.

Mesa

Brailer Guerrero, Rays

One of my bigger disappointments of 2025. I had high hopes for the potential five-tool international signee from 2023. A strong 2024 campaign in FSL had me patiently waiting for his arrival in A-ball in 2025. Well, an injury cut his season to 50 games, and his power and contact were not up to par from his rookie-ball performance. A strong AFL campaign would help bring back the hype for the still very young 19-year-old for the Rays.

Tommy White, Athletics

The 2^nd round pick from 2024 saw a much-needed lift in his second pro-year, including a strong finish after a late-season promotion to AA.  His entire slash line was up, K-rate down, and contact and line drive rates up. He’s got the tools to be a low-K power-hitter (very rare nowadays), but he’ll be turning 23 come opening day 2026. A strong AFL will give him momentum going into the spring to prove he’s ready for a late ’26 promotion to the bigs.

Peoria

Alfredo Duno, Reds

Big Al doesn’t have much more to prove. He had a stellar 2025 campaign that forced analysts and prospectors to shoot him up ranks. This AFL season is all about keeping that momentum going and to show that the .948 OPS and 18 HR, 81 RBI stint in Daytona (A-ball) was no fluke. He’ll spend most of next year in AA while only turning 20 before the start of this season.

Hendry Mendez, Twins

Hendry is one of those young, teen, international-signees that have been able to develop a lengthy MiLB career (rarely happens). He just turned 21 and completed his fifth year in an MLB system…and it was his best. A near .300 AVG and .838 OPS were career highs, including a strong 33-game stint in AA where he had a .931 OPS with 16 RBI and 24 R. A nice fall could lead to a chance for this 6-foot-3 prospect to jump up the Twins system ranks.

Salt River

Jansel Luis, Dbacks

The biggest sleeper on this list. Luis had a fantastic season in High-A Hillsboro where he had 123 hits (.304 AVG). Similar to Mendez, he’s made a solid career in the minors for a young international prospect. The switch-hitter has a career .290 average across 324 games. He doesn’t walk much, but he doesn’t miss much. He’s still only 20-years-old, and with a little added muscle and a more-patient approach (dropped his swing-rate by 7pp year-over-year), he could be a surprise non-top-100 prospect going into 2026.

Charlie Condon, Rockies

Condon had a tough, injury-filled start to 2025; but he quickly turned it around. The 3^rd overall pick from 2024 had his strongest stint in High-A where he carried an .851 OPS, which led to a Double-A promotion. He struggled slightly there, but there’s no denying that the monster 6’6” outfielder has the tools to be a 30+ HR bat in the big leagues. His focus will be on his approach: cut-down on swing-and-misses and get the ball in play. He’ll turn 23 before opening day ’26, and the Rockies need him to pan out soon to turn the ship around.

Scottsdale

Max Anderson, Tigers

Yes, you thought I was going to say Kevin McGonigle, right? That’s no fun. Kevin did everything and more to prove he’s ready for the pros and he’ll likely be the starting SS for the Tigers on opening day. So let’s pick a guy who has something to prove. Anderson was a high-round pick in ’23, and only went under-the-radar because he was drafted after Clark and McGonigle. But this kid can hit. A seasoned bat who has never seen a K-rate above 20% since being drafted. Max had a fantastic 90-game stint in AA, slashing .306/.358/.499 with 14 HR and 65 RBI. A strong AFL, followed by a similar spring could push the Tigers to bring him up early in ’26. For an organization with a ton of talent, 2B/3B are relatively open positions compared to others.

Ethan Petry, Nationals

Petry is a big boy. The true definition of a power righty bat. The 2^nd round pick from 2025 had a great 24 game pro-debut in Fredricksburg (A). He’s a multi-year collegiate bat out of South Carolina, so he won’t need too long in the minors to develop, that’s if, he can cut down on chases. Just another swing-and-miss power bat? Or stellar, raw-tooled batter that could transition into a Pete Alonso-type 1^st baseman. Josh Bell is not the answer for the Nationals, so Petry has the ability to move quickly if he stops missing the ball.

Surpise

Josh Adamczewski, Brewers

A true “out-of-nowhere” find for the Brewers. The 452^nd pick in the 2023 draft (15^th round), has showed that the playing field evens out once you hit professional baseball. Josh (I’ll refrain from continuing to type his last name) had a breakout campaign in A-ball this year, posting an OPS over 1.000 with 38 RBI and nearly a 1:1 BB:K ratio in 46 games at A-ball. The Brewers understand how to develop talent, and specifically did so with fellow 2^nd baseman Brice Turang. Milwaukee has one of the best major league teams in baseball, while also having one of the most fun, exciting, and talent-filled farm systems in the league as well (Made, Pena, Payne, Dinges, Josh and even more).  

Dante Nori, Phillies

I hosted an AMA on Instagram and received the question “who’s a sleeper prospect that can quickly roll through the minors?”. My answer was Nori. He’s never going to hit 20 homers, but he’s got the approach and swing to make an ahead-of-schedule debut in the bigs. At 20-years-old he was already promoted to AA at the end of ’25. He’ll likely spend all of next year there and could see a pro-debut as an early 22-year-old in 2026. A good AFL season should put him more on the national map.