FanGraphs’ David Laurila has been in the Phoenix area lately catching as many Arizona Fall League games as he can, as well as catching up with as many participants in the annual fall showcase, too. He had a chance to speak with top Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Rhett Lowder of the Peoria Javelinas, and Rhett had some interesting tidbits about the way he’s approaching pitching these days.
“I’ve tended to leak a little bit to the third base side, then compensate by over-rotating,” Lowder said, noting that such compensation from a non-direct delivery basically gets made up by putting excess stress on the very oblique muscle that he injured early in what became a mostly lost 2025 season. And the way he’s building that in to his every-pitch repertoire? Well, that’s by trying to mimic the rocker step used by Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
It’s not a leg-kick change or arm-slot alteration that will get a ton of immediate notice when you watch him pitch, but it’s a decisive, deliberate tweak that a) will hopefully keep him healthy and b) will hopefully not alter the effectiveness of his offerings in the slightest.
While Lowder has been off to a solid start to his AFL campaign (6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), he’s not the prospect that’s been turning heads the most with his bat. That honor goes to Leo Balcazar, who landed on the Week 3 Top Performers list over at MLB.com for his exploits. He’s notched 20 hits through just 13 games and is slashing .385/.439/.462 with 11 runs scored, and he looks 100% back to normal and fully removed from the ACL tear and surgery that set him back a couple of years ago.
MLB.com’s Jesse Borek caught up with Leo after his 4-hit night last night, noting that the 21-year old – who reached AA Chattanooga for the latter portion of the 2025 season – will probably return there to start 2026 as still one of the youngest players in the Southern League. Lotta upside there with young Leo!