By DZ. Filed 5 July 2025.
It seems like an opportune time to check in on the Africans in the minors, as the major and minor league all-star breaks provide an overt chance to reflect on the season to date. Joseph Deng Thon made his pro debut and Armstrong Muhoozi is hitting .375 in the month of July, and David Matoma cracked his first prospect rankings. Meanwhile, Tayler Scott is posting strong numbers at the minor’s highest level.
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.
Johannesburg’s own was waived by the Diamondbacks and picked up by the Houston Astros (and assigned to the Sugar Land Skeeters) at the time of last writing. In three appearances since then, Scott has five strikeouts against four walks in 2.2 innings, while allowing two hits and one run. He maintains a 1.50 ERA in the minors this year (six innings pitched) while awaiting a chance to improve on his 6.66 ERA in 23 major league appearances (25.2 innings) in 2025.
Low-A (1)
David Matoma (19), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. Bradenton Marauders. BA: NR; FG: 18; MLB: NR.
Over the last two weeks since our last update, Matoma has pitched in four more games, allowing runs in three of them. In those 5.1 innings, he has given up seven hits and walked six while striking out 4. For the season, he has pitched 26.1 innings in 19 games, striking out 25 with a 4.78 ERA.
Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (3)
Allen Ajoti (20), Los Angeles Dodgers. Uganda. DSL LAD Bautista.
Ajoti shot out of the gate in the DSL season, hitting four home runs in his first seven games. He has played eight games in July, tallying two hits and striking out seven times. One of those hits was a double, crediting the Lugazi native with three more RBI. For the season to-date, Ajoti has 11 hits in 62 at bats, including those four home runs, plus two stolen bases, for a slash line of .177/.268/.403.
Joseph Deng Thon (18), Los Angeles Dodgers. South Sudan/Uganda. DSL LAD Mega.
The 6-foot-6 South Sudanese RHP debuted and has now pitched in three games. He has allowed only a single hit and one run in two innings pitched, striking out three, but walking six.
Armstrong Muhoozi (18), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. DSL Pirates Gold.
Muhoozi is now 17 games into his career. He failed to get a hit in his first five games, but he jas had multiple base knocks in five games since then—including his first career home run. Eighteen years old as of last week, the Jinja native has 14 stolen bases and his hitting .313. He has 15 strikeouts and one walk while playing center field.
Previous Articles in This Year’s Series
May [link].
June [link].
July [link].