Diamondbacks top prospect, Nogales native Demetrio Crisantes will play in Arizona Fall League

Infielder Demetrio Crisantes, the consensus top prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ farm system, will continue his 2026 season in his home state during the Arizona Fall League.

Crisantes will play for the Salt River Rafters after reaching Triple-A this season at 22 years old and taking the reins as Arizona’s top-ranked prospect from big league outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt.

He was born in Tucson and grew up in southern Arizona before getting drafted by the Diamondbacks in 2022 out Nogales High School.

Getting the chance to play in the AFL will be something of a homecoming, like spring training has been and his D-backs debut could be if the time comes. The Rafters even play at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson on Oct. 10.

He is expecting to have a fan section.

“A lot of people can come watch me play, it’s going to be a good experience,” Crisantes told Arizona Sports. “I played a lot of high school tournaments there in Kino, so it’s going to be cool to go back and play there. … We won a couple tournaments at that complex. It was always fun to play with the guys back in high school, you’ve played with them since I was four years old. You grew up together in a small town, so it’s going to be cool to experience that with the D-backs organization.”

Crisantes broke out in 2024, showing an advanced hit tool at the lower minors to rise up D-backs prospects lists.

A shoulder injury knocked him out for most of 2025, however, and he injured his hamstring early in 2026. For a player who had injury concerns entering the draft, these developments were more cause for concern, but he responded.

Crisantes dominated Double-A pitching once healthy, batting .319 with a .961 OPS in 35 games to warrant a promotion. He continued to show off his bat-to-ball skills and contact quality, even hitting for the cycle.

There have been some growing pains with him as one of the youngest players in Triple-A (.260/.309/.360), and the organization has set a gameplan for this fall.

“He needs to accumulate more at-bats and game experience,” farm director Chris Slivka told Arizona Sports via text. “Continuing to refine approach and swing but most importantly, he needs to max out his defensive work and reps at second base.”

Crisantes only played 34 games last season and is up to 81 this year entering Wednesday. The Aces’ regular season ends on Sept. 20.

The infielder said the biggest adjustment to Triple-A has been the maturity of approaches from pitchers and hitters with more experience.

“More than anything, just trying to stay healthy this year, finish the season strong,” Crisantes said. “They know what they’re doing on the mound. … I just feel like adjusting to that and getting in a better approach to drive the ball. I’ve gotten better since I’ve gotten here with that.”

The Arizona Fall League begins on Oct. 3 and runs through the championship game on Nov. 14.

The Rafters will consist of prospects from the D-backs, Nationals, Rockies, Twins and Yankees.

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