The temperature isn't the only thing that's been heating up in the desert with Week 2 of the Arizona Fall League in the books. After a shortened opening week -- due to rain from Hurricane Priscilla and Tropical Storm Raymond, which forced the cancellation of several games -- players appeared to settle in nicely during the campaign's second week.
We've seen an unprecedented hot start from Pirates No. 15 prospect Esmerlyn Valdez, who is on pace to post video game numbers that could only be amassed using a cheat code, and dominance on the hill from Astros No. 7 prospect Anderson Brito, who was untouchable in his second Fall League appearance.
More on the Arizona Fall League:
Valdez is coming off of a historic week for the River Rafters. The 21-year-old slashed .615/.727/1.846 while pacing the circuit in total bases (24), home runs (5), slugging percentage (1.846), OPS (2.573) and finishing tied in the lead with eight hits. Valdez finished second in batting average, on-base percentage, RBIs (11) and walks (7). The Dominican Republic native put an exclamation point on his week with a two-homer, 10 total base game on Sunday. In eight games this season, Valdez has mashed seven home runs, which is already halfway to the AFL record of 14 set by Brandon Wood in 2005.
The outfielder was signed during the international signing period in January 2021, and really tapped into his power last year when he led the Florida State League in homers with 22. Valdez split this season between High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona, and he continued to rake. Combined, he posted a .286/.376/.520 slash line with 26 dingers, a pair of triples, 25 doubles, 86 RBIs, 75 runs scored, 56 walks and three stolen bases in 123 games.
More from MLB Pipeline:
• Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage
Brito tossed three hitless frames in his lone appearance of the week for the Scorpions on Friday. The right-hander struck out seven batters in a row in a stretch that spanned the first to the third innings. After picking up another strikeout to complete his outing, Brito's eight total punchouts are the most in a single AFL appearance this season. Flashing as high as 98.9 mph on his heater, Brito recorded six of his strikeouts on whiffs. After issuing a pair of walks to the first two batters he faced, the 5-foot-10, 155-pounder did not allow another baserunner.
The 21-year-old broke into pro ball in 2024 by logging a 0.40 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League, then came to the United States and made one scoreless start in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League before thriving at Single-A Fayetteville over seven appearances in 2024. He pitched all of this season at High-A Asheville, posting a 3.28 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP and a .202 average against. The native of Venezuela struck out 65 while walking 28 over 12 starts (49 1/3 innings).