Arizona Fall League Prospect Report — November 18, 2021

Canaan Smith-Njigba, OF, Pirates—Smith-Njigba made headlines for charging the mound and starting a brawl earlier this month, but that’s overshadowed what has been a productive fall for the 22-year-old outfielder. Smith-Njigba went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer to lead Peoria to a 5-2 win over Surprise on Wednesday. Smith-Njigba got the scoring started in the second inning with his two-run blast, led off the fifth inning with a single and drew a leadoff walk in the ninth to reach base for a third time. Overall, the Pirates No. 29 prospect is batting .333/.447/.510 with nearly as many walks (13) as strikeouts (16) in the Fall League.

Michael Burrows, RHP, Pirates – While Smith-Njigba led Peoria’s offense, his organization-mate Burrows set the tone on the mound. Burrows pitched three scoreless innings with one hit allowed, one walk and six strikeouts to improve to 2-0, 3.52 in the AFL. The Pirates No. 10 prospect broke out with a 2.20 ERA in 13 starts for High-A Greensboro this year, and his performance in the AFL further solidified his place as a rising prospect in the Pirates organization.

David Hamilton, SS/2B, Brewers – Hamilton likely would have gone higher in the 2019 draft if not for a ruptured Achilles tendon that caused him to miss the entire year. The coronavirus pandemic cost him another season in 2020, but now that he’s back on the field, he’s showing what he can do. Hamilton went 2-for-4 with a triple in Salt River’s 4-3 loss to Scottsdale to continue his impressive AFL showing. After rising to Double-A in his first full season, Hamilton is now batting .324/.457/.512 for the Rafters this fall.

Graham Spraker, RHP, Blue Jays – The AFL season is almost over and Spraker still has yet to allow a run. The 26-year-old righthander made his 11th scoreless appearance of the fall in Mesa’s 3-2 loss to Glendale, stranding a runner on third to end the ninth inning and keep his scoreless streak alive. After allowing a leadoff single to Jacob Amaya, Spraker quickly retired the next three batters and finished with a strikeout of Astros No. 1 prospect Korey Lee. Overall, Spraker has thrown 11.1 innings with four hits allowed, two walks and 17 strikeouts.

HITTERS

National League Central Prospect Notebook For July

A Pirates pitcher improving his future outlook by learning to trust a third pitch headlines our July organization reports by our National League Central correspondents.

PITCHERS