By DZ. Filed Sept. 18, 2026.
With the lower minor league seasons complete, this will be the last 2026 update. We dive into more detail on the four active African players in the minors, who are evenly split between the Pirates’ and Dodgers’ organizations. Thank you for tuning in all season, and our series will continue next year.
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).
Single-A (1)
David Matoma (20), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. Bradenton Marauders. BA: NR; FG: 38; MLB: NR.
Luweero’s Matoma finished his fourth season in the Pirates organization with a repeat performance at Single-A Bradenton. In 38.1 innings, the righty allowed 44 hits and 48 walks. He finished with a 2-5 record and 8.69 ERA and 2.40 WHIP. His 44 punchouts were a career high, and a .390 BABIP, 59.7 percent strand rate, and 6.35 FIP indicated some amount of bad luck.
On the surface, it is hard to regard the season as anything other than difficult, but there were several positive signs. First was a small uptick in strikeouts from his first year in the Florida State League (FSL), as he went from 20.6 percent to 22.1 percent (21.9 across all levels). Second is that groundball percentage remained strong at 51.4 percent, almost the exact same figure. Third is a big jump in infield flies (17.6 percent to 41.7 percent) from the previous year. Finally, his average fastball velocity mid-season was 97.3, fourth-best among all Pirates prospects, and rated by Fangraphs as a current 60 value (out of 80), with a peak projection of 70, both of which are strong figures. The key for 2027 will be iron out his command, as he threw first pitch strikes to only 49 percent of batters and walked 11.3 percent of those he faced. Considering that he is still only 20, two years younger than the average FSL player, there is every reason to continue dreaming on Matoma’s right arm.
Rookie League, U.S. Complex Leagues (1)
Armstrong Muhoozi (19), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. FCL Pirates.
Due to injury and sickness, Muhoozi played only 15 games in 2026 before the complex season ended — 4 in the Dominican and 11 after promotion to Florida. The center fielder hit .196 in 46 at bats, stealing two bases. With only 52 plate appearances across 18 games, it is hard to draw many conclusions, but Muhoozi’s walk rate remained strong at 9.6 percent, and he avoided hitting too many grounders (38.7 percent) while putting the ball in the air frequently (48.4 percent.)
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (2)
Allen Ajoti (22), Los Angeles Dodgers. Uganda. DSL LAD Bautista.
Ajoti finished his 3rd season with the Dodgers, but his first as a pitcher (he signed as a catcher/outfielder). He pitched 14 games and 18.2 innings, compiling a 3-2 record with one save. He struck out 14, walked 13, and allowed 22 hits, finishing with an 8.68 ERA and 1.88 WHIP. A .344 BABIP and very low 43.4 strand rate, added to a 5.92 FIP suggested that his first season pitching was a bit better than it looks on the surface.
Joseph Deng Thon (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. South Sudan/Uganda. DSL LAD Mega.
Deng pitched 11.1 innings in 13 games this season with an 0-1 record and one hold. He gave up 12 hits and 25 walks while striking out seven, leading to a 17.47 ERA and 3.26 WHIP. While these are not great results, they are(a significant improvement over the 31.91 ERA and 6.27 WHIP in his first eight games in 2025, when he walked 66.7 percent of hitters. Standing at 6-foot-7, and armed with a fastball that could hit 95 or 97 at signing, depending on the source, the South Sudanese trailblazer may yet receive a chance to continue his career.
Articles in This Year’s Series
April [link].
May [link].
June [link].
July [link].
August [link].
Additional statistical analysis by Gabriel Fidler.