Arizona Diamondbacks top prospects Demetrio Crisantes and Patrick Forbes headline the Arizona Fall League.
The Arizona Diamondbacks will have several intriguing prospects continuing their development in the Arizona Fall League, with a familiar name at the top of their group.
Second baseman Demetrio Crisantes, ranked as Arizona’s No. 1 prospect and No. 75 overall by MLB Pipeline, headlines the organization’s eight-player contingent. He will be joined by right-hander Patrick Forbes, left-handers Joe Ariola and Luke Craig, right-handers Connor Foley and John West, outfielder Nathan Hall and third baseman Yassel Soler.
For Crisantes, the Fall League represents another opportunity to build on a season that included both setbacks and an important step forward in his progression through the minor leagues.
The 22-year-old has dealt with injuries throughout his career, including a shoulder tear last season. A hamstring issue also limited him to 86 games in 2026, making consistent playing time an ongoing challenge.
When healthy, however, Crisantes has established himself as one of the organization’s more productive hitters. He owns a .311 career batting average in the minors and reached Triple-A for the first time in late July.
His introduction to the Pacific Coast League provided another valuable test. Crisantes continued to make contact at the highest level of the minors, but his power production will remain an area to monitor as he works toward becoming a more complete offensive player.
The AFL should give Crisantes additional opportunities against advanced pitching while allowing him to continue adjusting to the demands of playing against prospects who are similarly close to the major leagues.
Forbes also enters the fall with development still at the forefront.
The Diamondbacks selected the right-hander with the 29th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, but his first full professional season was interrupted by elbow issues. He ultimately made just 29.2 innings during the campaign.
Despite the limited workload, Forbes demonstrated the strikeout ability that made him an early first-round selection. He recorded 41 strikeouts, relying heavily on the combination of his fastball and slider.
His AFL assignment could therefore be an important checkpoint as Arizona continues to manage his workload and evaluate his progression following the injury concerns.
Ariola is another pitcher who could draw attention in the desert.
The left-hander produced an extraordinary strikeout rate during the 2026 season, punching out 45.7 percent of the batters he faced across four minor-league levels. Among the 2,394 minor-league pitchers who accumulated at least 30 innings, that was the highest strikeout rate.
That production gives Ariola one of the more intriguing statistical profiles on Arizona’s AFL roster. The challenge now will be determining how those results translate against another group of advanced hitters.
Craig, Foley and West provide Arizona with additional pitching depth, while Hall and Soler round out the position-player group.
The 2026 Arizona Fall League begins Oct. 3, with the championship scheduled for Nov. 14 at Peoria Stadium. The Fall Stars Game will be played Nov. 8 at Salt River Fields.
For the Diamondbacks, the event provides an extended developmental window for prospects at different points in their careers. Crisantes can continue adjusting to Triple-A competition, Forbes can build back from his abbreviated season and Ariola can test his dominant strikeout production against another advanced level of competition.
The results will ultimately be less important than the progress each player makes before entering the offseason.
