Arizona Fall League 2024 week 3 award winners

Week 3 of the Arizona Fall League featured another spate of strong performances from some of baseball’s best prospects. These two stood out from the rest.

Salt River infielder Caleb Durbin (Yankees) sprinted his way to AFL Hitter of the Week honors and Glendale right-hander Jose Acuna (Reds) used an excellent outing against Peoria’s talented lineup to earn Pitcher of the Week honors.

The AFL is often a hitter-friendly league, and it’s proving that again this fall. But Durbin proved this week one can excel offensively with more than just slug. Durbin did homer and drive in five runs while hitting .429 (6-for-14) on the week. But he generated even more offense, mostly from the leadoff spot, with his advanced approach at the plate and with his legs on the basepaths.

Durbin used five walks, along with those six hits, to reach base in 11 of his 20 plate appearances this week (.550 OBP). He also stole eight bases – including four in one game – five more than any other player in the league. Durbin, who has amassed at least 30 steals in each of the past three regular seasons, leads all AFL players in swipes by a large margin, with 15 in 14 games. He’s only been caught once.

Speed has always been a big part of Durbin’s game. A 14th-round pick by the Braves in the 2021 Draft, the 24-year-old is back in the AFL after an excellent showing last fall, when he finished in the circuit’s top five in all three offensive slash-line categories (.353/.456/.588) and led the league with 21 steals. That total tied the second-most in AFL history. Could Durbin make a run – get it? – at surpassing that mark this time around? He’s off to a fine start.

On the pitching side, the 22-year-old Acuna was basically unhittable in his second Fall League outing, when he blanked Peoria over four no-hit innings in relief for Glendale on Oct. 22. The right-hander struck out seven over those four frames, recording seven of his 12 outs via strikeout, and limiting Peoria to two baserunners on walks. He led the AFL in strikeouts this week.

Originally signed as an amateur out of Venezuela by the Mets, Acuna was acquired by the Reds at the 2022 Trade Deadline in the deal that sent outfielder Tyler Naquin to New York. He spent his entire first full season in the Reds organization at High-A and reached Triple-A this season, but was limited to 15 appearances (12 starts) and struggled at Louisville. His command was spotty in his first Fall League outing but he is still yet to allow a run so far in Arizona, totalling seven scoreless innings across two appearances for the Desert Dogs.