AFL/Offseason Update: Nov. 11, 2025
Scottsdale posted a picket fence from the 4th to the 6th, but Salt River got two-spots in the 3rd, 5th, and 6th as the Rafters doubled up the Scorpions, 6-3.
Five Nationals appeared in the game:
- Seaver King was the DH and went 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Ethan Petry reached base on an error in the 3rd, drove in a run on a sac fly in the 4th, and walked in the 6th, scoring on a double play. He had two putouts in right field.
- Sam Petersen singled in three PAs and had three putouts in left field.
- Austin Amaral was the first man out of the ‘pen and struck out two in his single inning of work.
- Jared Simpson reverted to the mean and retired just one of five batters faced as he allowed two runs on three hits and a walk.
Scottsdale (18-9) lost but so did second-place Surprise (16-9). The Scorpions return home to face the Desert Dogs (10-17) tonight.
The 2025 Harrisburg Senators
The ’25 Senators were a study in mediocrity. They finished 34-35 in the first half, 34-35 in the second half. They were just a tick above league average in pitching (4.09 vs. 4.19) and a tick below in hitting (4.14). They were second in FPct. and 4th in CS% and allowed the 6th fewest stolen bases.
But—and you knew there was a but—they were league’s oldest set of hitters by nearly a full year (24.4 vs. 23.5) and their pitchers were slightly older than the Lg. Avg. (24.9 vs. 24.7). For those wondering, the average ages at AA haven’t really increased despite elimination of two levels (SS-A and Adv. Rookie) in 2021. For example, ten years ago those figures were 24.5 and 24.6 for hitters and pitchers respectively.
And yet, there were some bright spots. Jarlin Susana had flashes of brilliance when he wasn’t hurt [insert Nationals elbow reference here]. Jake Bennett pitched into the 5th in seven times for Harrisburg and only gave up more than two runs three times in ten AA starts on his comeback from UCL replacement. Newcomer Sam Brown probably had the quietest .886 OPS stretch in recent memory (albeit over two months).
And that’s excluding the short stints of Yoyo Morales and Daylen Lile who both went on to AAA with the latter finish 5th in the N.L. Rookie of the Year vote – the first National to get any votes since 2019 (Victor Robles).
And with that I’ll close with a probably-too-generous statistical Top 4’s
| TOP 4 BATS | TOP 4 ARMS |
| 1. Sam Brown, 1B .291 GPA, .472 SLG% in 35G |
1. Jarlin Susana, RHSP 3.61/3.12/1.39, 15.02 K/9IP, 6.08 BB/9IP in 47⅓ IP (11GS) |
| 2. Branden Boissiere, 1B/DH .279 GPA, .369 OBP in 51G |
2. Jake Bennett, LHSP 2.56/3.20/1.12, 6.5 K/9IP in 45⅔ IP (10GS) |
| 3. Phillip Glasser, LF .268 GPA, 6HR, 30SB in 112G |
3. Riley Cornelio, RHSP 2.31/3.35/0.98, 7.87 K/9IP in 66⅓ IP (11GS) |
| 4. Cayden Wallace, 3B .234 GPA, 10HR, 113K in 121G |
4. Jackson Kent, LHSP 5.59/4.01/1.24, 10.86 K/9IP, 4.03 BB/9IP in 29IP (6GS) |
I’m aware that there are many Glasser fans here, but while he may have hit for average and taken a walk, only 27 of his 125 hits were for extra bases. Brown, Kent, and Susana were the only age-appropriate-to-the-level, as I disregarded players who were older (and pitched better) and/or have since been released.
If you’d like to see the full team stats, go here. The pitching data can be found here.
Glasser fan here!
If we’re going to critique Glasser’s lack of power, then we can be here all day doing the same to all but like 3 other bats in the system. Power is a systemic failing of this org. Only two batters (min 200 PA, 48 in total) topped 20 HR on the season, and only 9 more even reached double digits. Glasser’s 7 HR was good for 21st of 48. Not great, but also this isn’t Kevin Bazzell levels of power outage (only 8 of Bazzell’s 68 hits were for extra bases, all of which were doubles. No 3Bs. No HRs. A .028 ISO, which makes Nasim Nunez’s .060 look Ohtanian, and Glasser’s ISO of .101 look Ruthian).
However, he does everything else well at the plate. His BB% was 11%, which was the 7th best among players above Fredericksburg (where pitchers begin to learn how to control their pitches). But best of all, his K%, another systemic failure of this org, was merely 11.4% which is 2nd best to… Kevin Bazzell in all of the minors. 34 of 48 “qualified” batters had K% above 20%.
Now, why they’ve moved a light-hitting utility infielder to a corner outfield position to become 8th on our OF depth chart, that’s another inexplicable question. But his bat profile fits MUCH better at 2B or 3B than it does as a LF, as something of a Daniel Murphy-lite player. Hopefully this stupid experiment ends next season (and it must by necessity: 4 of Wood, Crews, Lile, Hassell and Young will make the roster in DC, then the odd one of plus Franklin and Pinckney won’t leave much playing time for Glasser in Rochester).
Is Glasser the future of our infield? No, but I think he can play a role similar to Jacob Young, an unheralded, but valuable depth option to provide positive value to the team.
Could we see such a house cleaning that even gore and Abrams jettisoned for a compete
Kitchen pantry cleaning out ?
Sitting here with my hot tea ( not counting the tea leaves , Steely Dan ), I wonder how things will look in two months .
Does the “ Simon says “ game result in pitching philosophy on some of the young starters ? Gore traded with the gulf of innings to cover patched up with additions of ( day dreaming ) Micheal King and Zac Luttrell , following the connections to Butera ???
Boissiere’s modest success on City Isle came out of nowhere. while I doubt that he will become a prospect I guess that they’ll have to give him a look in Rochester in ‘26. Of course this should not happen at Yoyo’s expense but with all the AAA free agents there should be some room for him.
I’m trying to get a little perspective of what King’s 1.031 OPS in the AFL actually means in a league where hitters are feasting, but it’s difficult. It puts him 11th in the league, out of 91 hitters. Petersen is 15th but just a hair out of 13th. King is 8th in total bases but with just two more would be tied for 5th. I know some don’t put much value on RBIs, but King is second in the league in that category. He is tied for third in runs scored.
It’s even more difficult to judge on the pitching side. Among hurlers with at least four starts, Bennett’s ERA ranks 5th out of 15. His WHIP is 4th among the 15 and his BB9 is 2d. The emphasis on hard throwers is readily apparent as Bennett’s 11.3 K9 ranks only 5th among these starters. His SO/W ratio ranks 3d. All in all, compared to the contemporaries, it looks like a solid performance.
I hope Delino Senior returns .