Arizona Fall League Week 2 top performers

Here are the top performers from the second week of AFL action:

Josue Briceño, INF, Scottsdale (DET No. 9)
Briceño followed up his excellent opening week – which included a three-homer game – with an enormous Week 2, pacing the AFL with nine hits, two homers and 17 total bases over the past seven days. The 20-year-old already has more than twice the number of home runs in the Fall League than he did in 40 games at Single-A Lakeland, where he finished the regular season. All told, he leads the AFL in total bases, sits one homer behind the league leader and is hitting a cool .469/.514/1.000 through eight games.

Moises Ballesteros, C, Mesa (MLB No. 44/CHC No. 4)
The Cubs' 20-year-old catching hotshot has been one of the AFL's most consistent players so far. He continued that this week with six more hits including a home run on Oct. 16. Ballesteros has as many RBIs as games this fall, and his 13 total hits rank third in the Fall League. He finished the week hitting .419/.457/.677.

Brooks Brannon, C, Mesa (BOS No. 27)
AFL pitchers hardly could get Brannon out all week. The 20-year-old backstop went 7-for-12 with four runs, a homer, two RBIs and two walks, resulting in an obscene .643/.833/1.476 slash line for the week. The 2022 ninth-round Draft pick entered the Red Sox organization a few years ago with a reputation as a bat-first catcher, but has been limited by injuries in his first two pro seasons. He's showing off that hitting ability so far in the Fall League.

Thomas Saggese, INF, Glendale (STL No. 4)
Glendale leads the Fall League in team runs, and Saggese is a big reason why. He's in Arizona looking to stockpile at-bats after making his MLB debut down the stretch in St. Louis, and is off to a fine start. Saggese fell a triple short of the cycle this week but still homered, doubled, went 7-for-15 and drew four walks.

Otto Kemp, INF, Glendale (PHI No. 28)
The 25-year-old Kemp is one of the older players in the Fall League, and though his sample size was a little smaller than others on this list, he made his hits count this week. Kemp homered twice in the Desert Dogs' 19-9 romp of Peoria on Oct. 15, and enjoyed a two-hit, two-run game a few days later against Surprise.

Tim Elko, INF, Glendale (White Sox)
The Desert Dogs know how to pile up runs and Elko got in on the action this week, going 5-for-14 (.357) with four runs, a double and two homers. His 12 total bases on the week tied for 3rd among AFL batters.

Tre' Morgan, OF, Mesa (TB No. 10)
Morgan drove in seven runs this week, tied for second-most on the circuit. Four came on one swing, the grand slam he socked in the Solar Sox's 15-2 win on Wednesday. That night Morgan recorded his second four-hit game of this short AFL season already, and his 11 total RBIs rank second in the Fall League. Through six total games, the 22-year-old is hitting .370/.400/.704.

Zyhir Hope, OF, Glendale (LAD No. 11)
It must be fun hitting in the Desert Dogs' high-octane lineup. Hope homered twice and drove in at least one run in every game he played this week, topping the circuit with eight RBIs on the week. The 19-year-old leads the AFL in total RBIs, with 13, and is slugging .613 through eight games.

Statcast Hitting Feat of the Week: Kemp Alderman, OF, Peoria (MIA No. 12)
Alderman has been putting on a power show this fall, and he leads the AFL with six homers so far. His latest one was also the hardest ever recorded on the circuit, a 119.5 mph, 443-foot blast for Peoria on Oct. 18. How hard is 119.5 mph? Only two Major Leaguers have ever eclipsed it -- Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton and Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz. Alderman's stands as the hardest hit Statcast ball in AFL history, and the hardest-hit ball by any Minor Leaguer in a Statcast game this season.

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Yu-Min Lin, LHP, Salt River (ARI No. 7)
The AFL can sometimes be a place where "throwers" go to learn how to pitch. But Lin is a pitcher, with advanced feel and command for an extremely deep arsenal of pitches. He's thrown six scoreless innings across two Fall League starts so far, including three spotless frames for Salt River on Oct. 16. Of the 16 pitchers to throw at least six total innings this fall, Lin is the only one yet to allow a run.

Josh Stephan, RHP, Surprise (TEX No. 25)
This 22-year-old righty leads the AFL in innings (9 2/3) and nearly every one has been splendid. His best outing may have come in relief on Oct. 19, when Stephan logged 3 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out five without a walk. He owns a 1.93 ERA with a 9-2 SO/BB so far this fall.

Alex Santos II, RHP, Surprise (Astros)
It takes a lot to shut down Glendale's high-flying offense, but the 20-year-old Santos did so for three brilliant innings in the Saguaros' win on Oct. 17. The right-hander, a NYC-area native, struck out six over those one-hit frames, shaving his AFL ERA down to a minuscule 1.69. His 10 total strikeouts are also tied for the league lead.

Statcast Pitching Feat of the Week: Luis Mey, RHP, Glendale (Reds)
The 23-year-old right-hander Mey is a perfect 3-for-3 in save opportunities so far this fall (no other AFL pitcher has more than one save), and once you see his stuff it's not difficult to see why. He's thrown the 15 hardest pitches in the league so far and 20 of the hardest 21. He's also thrown all 13 pitches recorded this fall exceeding 100 mph, including six this week, when he pitched 2 2/2 scoreless innings and logged two saves.