The Arizona Fall League has long been the “finishing school” for Major League Baseball prospects, where they can play against other top prospects in warm Arizona in October and November.

For the better part of the past decade, however, teams have treated it more like a way to find at-bats and innings for players who missed time with injuries during the season.

Cleveland was certainly grateful to have those innings available for one of their most promising prospects, Daniel Espino, who pitched in his first games since April 2022 this September in Columbus.

The 2019 first-round pick has finally recovered from two shoulder surgeries to throw 4 2/3 innings in the AFL over the span of three weeks. The returns were strong, as Espino responded with his fastball clocking 96-99 mph and hitting 100 once. He also used the time to show off a cutter, slider, curveball and changeup.

Cleveland limited Espino to one inning in his first three outings and allowed him to push into the second inning in his final outing of the fall across four appearances. He still pitched five days apart and “started” each game, so the Guardians remain open to what role Espino will have going into the 2026 season between starting and relieving.

They will be able to recoup one of his three option years due to missing time with his injuries, and he finally goes into a normal offseason where he can prepare to pitch in spring training to head to Triple-A and possibly work his way onto Cleveand’s roster in 2026.

Outfielder Wuifredo Antunez, who is a 40-man roster/Rule 5 candidate, hit two homers in two games in his AFL assignment, but was quickly removed from the roster with a shoulder injury. He avoided surgery and should be ready for spring training in 2026, where he has a major-league invitation for the Guardians if he is not selected in the Rule 5 draft in December.  The 23-year-old left-handed hitter has power (18 homers) and speed (16 steals) with a strong throwing arm, but lacks other defensive skills and has an aggressive approach at the plate that could hold him back.

His 2025 teammate Alfonsin Rosario replaced him on the roster. The 21-year-old outfielder has similar traits (power, speed, strong throwing arm) as a right-handed outfielder. He was acquired last offseason for Eli Morgan and is not Rule 5 eligible. Rosario struggled in the AFL, putting up just a .358 OPS in 10 games at what is normally a hitter-friendly environment.

2021 14th-round pick Trenton Denholm used the AFL stint this year to reinvent himself as a knuckleball pitcher after 453 previous minor-league innings for Cleveland. Denholm, a 6-foot right-hander who has been a control and command specialist, needed another pitch to help him get over the hump to reach the majors. He has toyed around with a knuckleball in the past, but only introduced it into games in 2025.

He has worked with former Cleveland knuckleballer Tom Candiotti, but Denholm is not so much a knuckleballer so far, more of a pitcher who throws a knuckleball. He still throws a fastball in the low-90s with a cutter, curveball and changeup and threw his new pitch about 10% of the time this fall, but could lean on it more in 2026. He had 16 strikeouts and six walks with a 2.13 ERA over 12 2/3 innings.

He’s Rule 5 eligible this winter, and if a team finds his knuckleball appealing, and Cleveland doesn’t put him on the 40-man roster, he could be selected. The last two knuckleballers Cleveland has had, Matt Waldron and Steven Wright, were both traded before making their major-league debuts.

Right-handed reliever Matt Jachec enjoyed a strong 2025 AFL campaign, striking out seven and walking two across 8 1/3 innings and a 1.08 ERA. An 18th-round pick in 2024, Jachec has a good slider, but is more of a deceptive strike-throwing type of reliever.

Infielder Juan Benjamin split time between second, third and first base, but had a light-hitting campaign overall.