The World Series hit pause on Sunday, yet tonight (Monday) will feature the Tampa Bay Rays playing host to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 down by the bay. Yet while the big league Cincinnati Reds sit idle as their peers determine who gets to claim the title of World Champs, several of the top prospects in their farm system have been plying their trades all over the place in preparation for a (hopefully) big step forward in 2027.
Over in the Arizona Fall League, outfielder Yerlin Confidan is fresh off a week to remember with the Peoria Javelinas. The toolsy 23 year old hit .255/.332/.405 in 527 PA split between High-A Dayton and AA Chattanooga during the regular season in 2026, the 15 homers he socked in total perhaps an understatement of the overall top-tier power he possesses in his long, left-handed swing. That power has been playing up in-game in AFL play, though, and last week alone he went 7 for 12 with 4 runs, a pair of doubles, a triple, and a dinger, with MLB Pipeline noting that he hit a trio of balls in play in excess of 110 mph off the bat. Overall he owns a 1.097 OPS across 42 PA to start AFL play in what's becoming a bit of a breakout party for him.
Confidan is in the lineup for Peoria today playing LF and batting cleanup .
Down in the Venezuelan Winter League, 20 year old stud catching prospect Alfredo Duno is holding his own quite well. As Doug Gray noted over at Redleg Nation, Duno became the youngest player in the league to homer so far this campaign when he swatted a homer on Friday night – and one of only two 20 years olds who've homered in that league in the last two years. There's video of said blast , too.
Over in the Dominican Winter League, Noelvi Marte has seemingly found his groove again with the Gigantes del Cibao. After finally, mercifully being optioned back to AAA Louisville mid-August after a long run of poor form, said poor form dogged him at the minor league level, too. He hit just .273/.291/.374 in 103 PA from that point through the end of the AAA season, logging just a lone dinger in the process. However, this October has seen him turn 25 years old and go right back to mashing, and as of Monday morning he's the owner of a .400/.424/.567 line across 33 PA to begin DOWL play. That includes this mammoth blast over the tall wall in CF from yesterday:
The Gigantes sport a roster full of recognizable names, including the likes of Marcell Ozuna, Nomar Mazara, Agustin Ramirez, and old friend Aristides Aquino. Also on the roster is promising Reds rookie Carlos Jorge, though he's off to a bit slower start than Noelvi. He's gone just 2 for 18 with a pair of walks and 9 K through his first 8 games played, but one of those hits was a 2-run blast over that same tall wall in CF last week:
