Peoria Javelinas steamroll their way to Arizona Fall League championship

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The Peoria Javelinas skipped batting practice ahead of the Arizona Fall League Championship Game on Saturday afternoon. And it turned out they didn’t need it.

Prospects from the Padres, Mariners, Orioles, Reds and Cardinals systems teamed up to roll their way to the championship, 8-3, over defending-champion Surprise on Saturday night at the Peoria Sports Complex.

During the regular season, the Javelinas were a wagon, scoring more runs (219) than any club in the Arizona Fall League. A large part of that was because the group ran rampant, compiling 112 steals in 28 games (16 more than the next closest club), obliterating records from previous seasons. (The Fall League experimented this year with pitchers having just one disengagement (instead of two) during a plate appearance.)​

There have been few Fall League clubs in recent memory so balanced. Alex McCoy (SD No. 26) and Fall Stars Game MVP Yerlin Confidan (Reds) served as a Mark McGwire/Jose Canseco-esque bash brothers duo, accounting for four of the five hardest-hit balls on the circuit. Offensive Player of the Year Tai Peete (STL No. 17) and Ty Harvey (SD No. 4) led the league with 20 steals apiece, while right-hander Luke Holman (CIN No. 23) posted an 0.69 ERA, the top mark of the fall.

Holman set the tone in the title game with five scoreless frames and six strikeouts, a continuation of his dominant regular season, and was named Player of the Game. A Compensation Round B selection (No. 71 overall) by Cincinnati in 2024, Holman offers a premium three-pitch mix that stymied Surprise with 16 whiffs on 36 swings.

Incredibly, either Peoria or Surprise has been featured in the Fall League title game each of the past 17 seasons -- the last time neither club was part of the final contest came in 2008. The title was Peoria’s eighth overall (the most in AFL history) and the first since 2018.