The White Sox & Guardians are facing off in the ALDS, and two of their prospects stole the show during the opening weekend of the 2026 Arizona Fall League season. And while flamethrowers were the story in the NLDS, one National League pitching prospect showed off a booming fastball to start his AFL campaign.

Bonemer, Francisca off to roaring starts

Caleb Bonemer went 4-for-9 to begin the 2026 AFL campaign. Bonemer, who cracked a 104 MPH liner and a 109 MPH groundball in the opening slate of games, exited one off the league lead in hits.

Welbyn Francisca, meanwhile, went off in his first game of 2026. Francisca went 5-for-5 with a home run for Surprise.

Reid paces pitchers

Cubs pitching prospect Dominick Reid had, arguably, the best weekend statistically among AFL pitchers. Reid struck out a league-high seven and allowed just one over four innings.

Reid was a third-round pick by the Cubs out of Abilene Christian back in 2025. He missed a lot of time, though, this year, as Reid went on the IL in June and never returned to official game action afterwards. The 22-year-old right-hander finished 2026 with 53.2 IP, striking out 54 and posting a sub-4.00 ERA.

His 46.4% Whiff was third-best among pitchers (min. 15 swings induced) over the first two days of the 2026 season. Jank Pichardo and Grant Richardson were the only two to best Reid in that category.

Susana’s fastball

For those wondering, Jarlin Susana threw the hardest pitch in the Arizona Fall League over the first weekend. And as a matter of fact, Susana actually threw the 22 hardest pitches over the course of the weekend.

The Nationals prospect struck out four over 3.1 IP, posted a 34.6% Whiff%, and reached as hard as 104 MPH with his fastball.

Overall, an impressive start for the young pitcher who, believe it or not, was part of that Juan Soto trade from way back in 2022. Susana missed significant time this year and worked in Double-A Harrisburg over the last little stretch of 2026.

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