By DZ. Filed Oct. 7, 2025.
Five current minor leaguers were born and developed in Africa – MLB journeyman reliever Tayler Scott, who pitched in the majors for his eighth team in his fifth big league season; David Matoma, three years into his pro career, advancing one level per season to date; and three players who learned the game in Uganda (in three different regions) competing in the Dominican Summer League. All five have now finished with their 2025 seasons.
Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2025 (playing age this season).
Team Prospect Rankings: BA (Baseball America): #; FG (Fangraphs): #; MLB (MLB.com): #.
“NR” denotes not ranked (only included for players listed in other rankings).
Triple-A (1)
Tayler Scott (33), Houston Astros. South Africa. Sugar Land Skeeters.
Scott’s odyssey continues, as he became a free agent at season’s end. He finished 2025 with a 7.90 ERA in MLB and a 3.97 ERA in Triple-A. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs out of an Arizona high school (moving there from Johannesburg as a teenager), and proceeded to appear in the major leagues for eight teams, including Arizona and Houston this season. He has logged 343 career minor league games (with a 3.78 ERA and 1.41 WHIP) and another 135 big league appearances (5.51, 1.63), which excludes the two seasons he played in Japan’s NPB (4.02, 1.26).
Low-A (1)
David Matoma (19), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. Bradenton Marauders. BA: NR; FG: 20; MLB: NR.
Matoma finished his first season in A-ball with a 4.25 ERA in 32 games and 42.1 innings. He struck out 37, walked 24, and allowed 42 hits for a 1.56 WHIP (after recording WHIP of 1.14 and 1.09 his first two seasons in rookie ball). He had eight holds.
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (3)
Allen Ajoti (20), Los Angeles Dodgers. Uganda. DSL LAD Bautista.
Ajoti played 32 games with a slash line of .192/.283/.414. He hit six home runs while striking out 31 times, walking nine times, and stealing four bases without being caught. The young Ugandan posted numbers that suggest his batting average was much lower than expected, as he had a .206 BABIP (batting average on balls in play [explanation]), 17th-lowest among the 567 hitters with at least 100 plate appearances in the DSL. He split his time between catcher, left field, and DH with a couple of appearances at 1B as well.
Joseph Deng Thon (18), Los Angeles Dodgers. South Sudan/Uganda. DSL LAD Mega.
The first South Sudanese player to sign a professional contract, Deng struggled in his debut season, with 22 walks in 3.2 innings pitched. He struck out five and allowed only a single hit. Deng grew up in Uganda and learned the game at the same field as previous Dodgers’ signings Ben Serunkuma and Umar Male and David Matoma of the Pirates.
Armstrong Muhoozi (18), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. DSL Pirates Gold.
Muhoozi finished his streaky season with 36 games played, missing a little more than two weeks with a minor groin injury. He stole 24 bases in 28 attempts—in the top three percent of all hitters in the DSL—while hitting .246/.350/.339. He had eight extra base hits, 28 strikeouts, and 15 walks, scoring 26 runs and knocking in 16. Muhoozi played mostly center field, with some time in left field. Reports from instructional league note that the fleet-footed Jinja native is getting some work in the infield.
Previous Articles in This Year’s Series:
May [link].
June [link].
July [link].
August [link].
All advanced statistics from Fangraphs [link].