The Arizona Fall League is a showcase league, and that’s especially true for hitters.
The dry, cool air in the Phoenix area allows for an amplified offensive environment. This has so far resulted in team OPS results from .776 to .923 across the six-team league.
For perspective, the league average OPS of the International League was .763, and that league had the highest OPS of the four full-season affiliates in the Pirates’ system. If you put these six AFL teams in the International League, there would be a new top four teams, all eclipsing the IL league-leading .804 OPS by Columbus by a considerable amount.
All of this is to say that you shouldn’t take offensive results in this league as gospel. Nor should you predict doom for a pitcher on the flip side.
Having said that, the Pirates prospects are playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions this year, which has the second best team OPS. The Pirates also feature three of the top 25 qualified hitters in the league this year, ranked by OPS.
The AFL season is at a mid-point, with two more weeks remaining. The Fall Stars Game will take place next Saturday, November 9th. The play-in semifinal will take place November 15th, followed by the championship game on the 16th.
Below is a look at how each Pirates prospect has performed at the midpoint of the AFL season.
Termarr Johnson, INF
AFL Stats: .250/.444/.475, HR, 2 2B, 2 3B, 3 SB, 40 AB
Outlook: Johnson has been hitting consistently, hitting for power, getting on base at an extreme rate (14 walks), and is a threat on the bases. He’s doing it all in a showcase league, designed for prospects like him to show off their skills. Johnson will depart from the AFL this week, going to the Premier12 tournament to play for Team USA. This will run through the remainder of the AFL season. With his AFL time nearly at an end, it’s been a good small showcase for the 2022 fourth overall pick.
Sammy Siani, OF
AFL Stats: .408/.482/.592, 2 HR, 3 2B, 2 SB, 49 AB
Outlook: Siani had a good finish to his 2024 season, after a promotion to Double-A earlier in the year. He’s carrying that over to a strong AFL, where he’s hitting for power with two homers and three doubles. This is where the league factors are likely amplifying the power results from Siani. The encouraging thing is the consistent hitting. He ranks 11th in the league in OPS among qualified hitters, and should be the top candidate from the Pirates for the Fall Stars Game.
Kervin Pichardo, INF
AFL Stats: .282/.391/.513, HR, 4 2B, 39 PA
Outlook: Pichardo didn’t show this level of hitting while in Altoona this season. He was inconsistent, and had a few stretches that were close to this small sample. Otherwise, he would hit for power occasionally, and rarely had an on-base anything close to this. He’s doing both in the AFL, which is encouraging for the 22-year-old to build upon. He’s the number 25 hitter on the qualified leaders list.
Geovanny Planchart, C
AFL Stats: .364/.500/.682, 2 HR, 22 AB
Outlook: Planchart hasn’t come close to this offense in pro ball. He’s hit two homers in the AFL, and has shown good plate patience, amplifying his small sample. He also has had defensive issues behind the plate. He should be fighting for a roster spot in Double-A next year, and good hitting at this level will at least give him an inside track. Planchart’s value is still driven by his defense.
Derek Diamond, RHP
AFL Stats: 8.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Outlook: Diamond has been a starter in A-ball the last two years for the Pirates, after being drafted in the sixth round in 2022. He is getting some of his first relief work in the AFL, and the encouraging sign is that he’s handling the flexible role well, while also seeing an increase in his strikeouts in shorter outings. Diamond has plus control, and isn’t getting hit hard, despite working so much inside the zone. He should move up to Double-A next year, but this experience provides encouragement that he could excel in a relief role in the future.
Khristian Curtis, RHP
AFL Stats: 10.1 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 7 BB, 7 K
Outlook: Curtis is a wild card prospect in A-ball, with a mid-90s fastball, a few swing and miss offerings in his six-pitch mix, and very little pitching experience. He’s dealt with control problems, which have continued into the AFL. When he’s on, he’s lights out. When he’s off, he gets hit hard. The added experience is the most valuable thing for Curtis, who now has more innings in 2024 than he did in college.
Brandan Bidois, RHP
AFL Stats: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 8 BB, 11 K
Outlook: The numbers from Bidois look horrible, until you note that he allowed six runs in less than an inning in his first outing. Since that point, he has allowed one run in 5.1 innings, with one hit, six walks, and ten strikeouts. The control is an issue for Bidois to focus on, but he has been lights out since the first appearance.
Valentin Linarez, RHP
AFL Stats: 7.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 9 K
Outlook: Linarez isn’t getting hit, but is giving up a lot of walks. That’s not just a reaction from the league. Linarez has dealt with control problems in pro ball, resulting in a 2024 demotion from Altoona to Greensboro. He’s pitching well enough that he should be able to use this experience to get another shot against upper-level hitters, where he’ll know better how to approach them with his stuff.
Eddy Yean, RHP
AFL Stats: 5.2 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
Outlook: Yean isn’t having a great AFL season, in an offseason where he’s eligible for minor league free agency. That’s not a concern. He pitched 75 innings in the upper-levels this season, with much better results where it mattered. The Pirates should bring him back as an upper-level relief prospect entering his age 24 season, with a chance that Yean could emerge as a depth option for the Majors by the end of the year.
