2024 Arizona Fall League award winners

For six more weeks again this year, some of the best prospects in baseball shined in the Arizona Fall League, the game’s most elite prospect circuit. Now it’s time to give out some hardware.

The Fall League annually awards the Joe Black MVP Award to its top performer, and since 2021 has bestowed precious metal to its top pitcher, offensive player, reliever, breakout and defensive players of the AFL season. Additionally, the Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award has been a league staple since 2004.

Here are the 2024 award winners:

MVP: Josue Briceño, 1B/C, Tigers
Detroit’s ninth-ranked prospect had been hinting at a breakout for a while, and the 20-year-old put it all together this fall with a Triple Crown in the desert to emerge as one of the more exciting power-hitting prospects in the sport. Briceño was the AFL’s top hitter basically from start to finish, running away with the league home run title while producing an eye-popping .433/.509/.867 slash line with 10 homers and 27 RBIs. While Briceño split his time defensively between catcher and first base before arriving in Arizona, he played exclusively first in the Fall League with an eye toward focusing on his offensive production. It worked. He collected 39 hits in 25 games and aside from Triple Crown categories led the circuit in hits, slugging, OPS, extra-base hits (17). More »

Offensive Player of the Year: Niko Kavadas, 1B, Angels
The unusual AFL player with a Major League home run under his belt, Kavadas hit four homers down the stretch for the Angels after arriving in a mid-season trade from Boston. He carried that momentum into the Fall League, where the left-handed slugger excelled, hitting .329/.462/.700 as one of the circuit’s best mashers. Kavadas (LAA No. 29) cranked six homers in 20 games, tied for second-most in the Fall League, finished third in slugging and ranked in the top 10 in a host of other major offensive statistical categories. More »

Pitcher of the Year: Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies
Perhaps the best story of the Fall League this year was Painter, who enjoyed a more-or-less seamless return to the mound after missing almost two full years to Tommy John surgery. The Phillies second-ranked prospect (No. 32 overall) was one of the Minors’ most dominant arms before suffering the tear to his ulnar collateral ligament in March 2023, and underwent surgery in July of that year. Sixteen months later, the 21-year-old returned to the mound for Glendale flashing his signature high-octane stuff, including a fastball that flirts with triple digits and at least two plus secondary pitches. Healthy again, Painter appeared as advertised. The numbers told the same story. He dominated to the tune of a 2.30 ERA and an 18-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 15 2/3 innings this fall. More »

Defensive Player of the Year: Andrew Pintar, OF, Marlins
One of the top prospects Miami acquired in the AJ Puk trade this summer, Pintar got off to a slow start in his new organization but had an excellent fall on both sides of the ball. Playing exclusively center field for Peoria, Pintar didn’t commit an error in 51 defensive chances and added three assists, while taking away potential hits with several diving and sliding catches. Miami's eighteenth-ranked prospect also made an impact offensively, collecting 29 hits (tied for fourth in AFL) and scoring 21 (T-4th) runs out of the leadoff spot.

Breakout Prospect of the Year: Caleb Durbin, SS, Yankees
The 24-year-old Durbin may have broken out this fall to the wider world, but he was a known quantity in the Fall League after coming within three steals of the circuit’s single-season stolen base record in 2023. Back in Arizona this fall, he set out to break that record, and he set several while hitting .312/.427/.548 with five homers in 24 games. Durbin’s 29 steals this fall smashed Rick Holifield’s previous record of 24 from 1994 (when the AFL’s schedule was almost twice as long as it is today). He also stole four bags in one game twice -- something only one AFL player had accomplished before. Across two years in the league, Durbin recorded at least one steal in 28 of 45 games and swiped 48 total (in 52 attempts), setting the AFL’s career mark.

Reliever of the Year: Luis Mey, RHP, Reds
A 23-year-old Mey emerged as the AFL’s ultimate fireballer and top closer this fall, recording six saves (in six chances) and allowing only one hit in 8 2/3 scoreless innings across eight dominant appearances. Mey was the only pitcher to eclipse 100 mph with a pitch this fall, according to Statcast. And he did so with regularity, topping 100 mph 30 times, 101 mph ten times and reaching as high as 101.8 mph. But the real key was Mey’s ability to harness his stuff in the strike zone after struggling with control during the regular season (7.0 walks per nine). He issued only two free passes all fall.

Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award: Alejandro Osuna, OF, Rangers
The Stenson Sportsmanship Award was created in 2004 to honor the memory of former player Dernell Stenson, who was killed in 2003 in Arizona during the AFL season. The sportsmanship award is presented annually to the player who best exemplifies unselfishness, hard work and leadership. Osuna, the Rangers' sixteenth-ranked prospect, fits the bill. While many prospects come to Arizona looking to finish a difficult season strong, the 22-year-old Osuna had a great year, earning the Rangers’ 2024 Minor League Player of the Year honors. He went to Arizona anyway, seeking any edge he could get in Texas’ crowded outfield depth chart. Osuna then enjoyed a fine AFL stint, hitting .306/.438/.449, leading the league in walks (22) and placing among the league leaders in hits (30, T-2nd), runs (25, T-2nd) and doubles (8, T-2nd).