Arizona Fall League bats turned Week 3 into a desert slugfest, with 29 home runs hit by 22 players as the calendar moved deeper into autumn. The loudest individual weeks came from a mix of first-round teenagers, power hitters finding their footing and pitchers making the most of limited fall workloads.
Three hitters finished the week with an OPS above 1.700, while six cleared 1.500. On the mound, 64 pitchers worked scoreless outings, including 10 starters. Kansas City left-hander Justin Lamkin set the pace with 4 1/3 perfect innings for Surprise, but the week offered plenty more than one dominant start.
Lamkin gives Surprise a clean five-inning look
Lamkin, the Royals’ No. 8 prospect and the 71st selection in the 2025 Draft, retired all 13 hitters he faced before leaving his start in the fifth inning. The 22-year-old struck out four without permitting a hit, walk or run.
His newer curveball was the difference-maker, producing three of the four strikeouts. Lamkin had carried a 2.04 ERA and 0.93 WHIP through seven starts before a late-May injury to his throwing shoulder interrupted his season. He has looked sharp since returning in Arizona, allowing one run and one hit over 8 1/3 innings across his last two outings.
Atlanta prospect Briggs McKenzie supplied another strong starting performance for Glendale. The 20-year-old lefty worked five scoreless innings, yielding two hits, two walks and a hit batter while striking out four. He is the youngest pitcher in the league and, entering Week 4, one of only two pitchers to complete at least five innings in a start. He is the only one of that pair to do it without allowing a run.
McKenzie escaped traffic with three double plays and leaned on command of a low-90s four-seam fastball for three strikeouts. His other punchout came with a high-spin curveball, thrown from an arm slot that has drawn comparisons to Chris Sale.
Salt River lineup gets production from every corner
Shortstop Dax Kilby continued to show why the Yankees made him a first-round selection in 2025. The 19-year-old went 7-for-18 in four games for Salt River, scoring four times with two doubles, a triple, a homer, two RBIs, three steals and a walk.
Kilby’s second Fall League home run left the bat at 107.1 mph and carried 419 feet. On his triple, he reached a sprint speed of 29.0 feet per second. He missed much of his first Minor League season because of a hamstring injury, but his fall performance has highlighted both his contact ability and his legs. Over 11 games, he owns a .311/.353/.622 line for Salt River after reaching base in each of his 32 games with Single-A Tampa during the regular season.
Colorado outfielder Jared Thomas was the week’s leading run producer. Thomas went 5-for-13 with four runs, two doubles, two triples, two walks, a stolen base and nine RBIs. Every one of his five hits drove in at least one run.
The left-handed hitter is back in Arizona after breaking his left hamate during the 2025 season and having surgery following his previous fall stint. His health has shown up in the quality of contact: Thomas has recorded seven batted balls above 100 mph this fall, four of them during Week 3.
Catcher Jack O’Dowd gave Salt River three straight days of damage. The Colorado backstop went 6-for-13 with three homers, two doubles, six RBIs and three runs in three games, good for a .462/.462/1.308 weekly slash line.
O’Dowd opened with a two-homer game Tuesday, followed it with three hits and two doubles Wednesday, then hit another homer Thursday. His five home runs lead the circuit, and he has posted multi-homer weeks in consecutive weeks. The son of former Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd, he has moved from an independent-league signing into legitimate prospect territory.
Peete runs into the record book
Peoria outfielder Tai Peete made his name with speed during a 7-for-16 week that included seven runs, three doubles, three triples, three walks and five stolen bases. The Cardinals’ No. 17 prospect also struck out four times and drove in one run.
Beginning with his final game of Week 2, Peete tripled in four consecutive games, becoming the first Arizona Fall League player to accomplish that since at least 2005. His Thursday triple took 11.21 seconds from home plate to third base, the fastest home-to-third mark in the league this season.
The 21-year-old’s other three triples occupy the next three spots on that seasonal leaderboard. His five steals in four games added another layer to a week in which his speed played every day.
Confidan brings the biggest thunder
Reds outfielder Yerlin Confidan went 7-for-12 for Peoria, adding four runs, two doubles, a triple, a homer and three RBIs. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Dominican native produced some of the hardest contact of the fall.
On Monday, Confidan scorched a 116.7 mph ground ball through the infield and all the way to the outfield wall for a triple. It was the second-hardest-hit ball of the Fall League season, and he reached a top sprint speed of 27.6 feet per second while circling the bases.
Over his next two games, Confidan collected six hits. Five came off the bat at more than 105 mph, including three at 110 mph or better. Through 10 games, his 58.3 percent hard-hit rate is tied for 10th among Fall League hitters.
Week 3 standouts
| Player | Club | Week 3 line |
|---|---|---|
| Dax Kilby, SS | Salt River | 7-for-18, 4 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 SB |
| Justin Lamkin, LHP | Surprise | 4 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K |
| Briggs McKenzie, LHP | Glendale | 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 K |
| Jared Thomas, OF | Salt River | 5-for-13, 4 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 9 RBI |
| Tai Peete, OF | Peoria | 7-for-16, 7 R, 3 2B, 3 3B, 5 SB |
| Jack O’Dowd, C | Salt River | 6-for-13, 3 R, 2 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI |
| Yerlin Confidan, OF | Peoria | 7-for-12, 4 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI |
