The 2026 Arizona Fall League is in full swing, and the Cincinnati Reds have eight prospects who are playing for the Peoria Javelinas. One prospect, Luke Holman, has earned very high praise in the short amount of time in Arizona. Another Reds prospect is turning heads with his performance.
Carlos Sanchez's Huge Game
On Monday, Reds prospect Carlos Sanchez had a day. Sanchez went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs in the Javelinas 10-7 win.
The 3-hit day for Sanchez raised his average to .304 through his 13 games with Peoria. He’s walked 10 times, giving him a .429 on-base percentage. Sanchez has four home runs to go along with two doubles and one triple. That’s led to a slugging percentage of .652 and an OPS of 1.081.
Sanchez is now tied for second in the AFL with his four home runs. He’s also 2nd in the league in RBI, 3rd in runs scored, 6th in slugging percentage, and 8th in OPS. Sanchez has scored 15 runs, driven in 13, and gone 5-for-6 on stolen-base attempts with the Javelinas. Even in hitter-friendly Arizona, these are pretty impressive stats.
Carlos Sanchez's Future?
Sanchez finished his 2026 regular season in Double-A Chattanooga but had modest hitting stats. He batted .214 in 58 games with two homers and 15 RBIs. This AFL season, Sanchez is looking to get back to the form that got him promoted in June of 2026. He is also playing shortstop, a position where the Reds organization has plenty of depth.
Sanchez was originally signed out of the Dominican Republic in January 2022 for just $70,000. And because he is Rule 5 Draft-eligible, the Reds might have to think about adding him to the 40-man roster. With Sanchez's performance this fall, it is putting the Reds in a tough spot. We will see what the Reds end up doing with Sanchez, but he does have a great chance of being protected from the Rule 5 Draft.
Luke Holman Continues his Great Fall
Another Red who played in Monday's contest was Luke Holman. He struggled a bit with his command, but ended up with two scoreless innings for the Javelinas. In the top of the 4th inning, Holman got himself in trouble by walking three batters. He got out of the inning by inducing a pop-up with the bases loaded, but then settled down and had a clean top of the 5th. Holman lowered his AFL ERA to 0.82.
Both Sanchez and Holman have been standout performers for the Reds, and possibly both guys could be honored with an invitation to the AFL Fall Star Game.
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