By DZ. Filed July 14, 2026.
When we last checked in on Armstrong Muhoozi, he had injured himself on leading off the first game of his season. He has spent most of the intervening time recovering, but has improved steadily since then, and has been rewarded with a recent promotion to the U.S. The trio of African pitchers in the minor leagues have mostly maintained the status quo since our last update, which means a fair number of strikeouts, but also some struggles with command.
Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2025 (playing age this season).
Single-A (1)
David Matoma (20), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. Bradenton Marauders.
The Ugandan RHP has struggled with the strike zone through the entire season to date. He has yet to have a calendar month where he has more innings pitched than walks. He has 23 strikeouts in 21.2 innings pitched while allowing 26 hits and 32 walks for a gruesome 2.68 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched). However, he is maintaining his high-90s velocity.
Rookie League, U.S. Complex Leagues (1)
Armstrong Muhoozi (19), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. Bradenton Marauders.
Muhoozi missed the first few days of the DSL season with sickness, then injured himself in his first game action of 2026. After recovering and getting a handful of DSL at-bats, last week the Pirates promoted him to its U.S. complex, where he is now in the same city as Matoma. In six games since the promotion, the center fielder has five hits, including a triple, along with two walks, six strikeouts, and a stolen base, leading to a .250/.280/.350 line. Overall this season, he is hitting .214/.290/.286 and has multiple starts at each outfield position, where he has played errorless defense.
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (2)
The DSL season is well underway, starting in early June, with playoffs by the end of August.
Allen Ajoti (22), Los Angeles Dodgers. Uganda. DSL LAD Bautista.
Ajoti has eight appearances as a right-handed pitcher this season in his move to the mound, compiling a 2-1 record with one save and 10.61 ERA across 9.1 innings. He has 8 strikeouts.
Joseph Deng Thon (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. South Sudan/Uganda. DSL LAD Mega.
Deng, like Matoma, is also struggling to find the zone. He has improved markedly from his limited sample in 2025, but success is impossible with a WHIP of 3.00. In seven games and 7.1 innings, he has allowed nine hits, 13 walks, hit two batters, recorded three wild pitches, and struck out 4.
Articles in This Year’s Series