Complex and Dominican Summer League Risers

It is pretty wild that we have made it to All Star week! The season is more than halfway over for the minors and that is a sad thought to me. We have a strong sample of complex numbers at this point and the DSL is five weeks in. What do we know and who are the players standing out?

Monday brought us a full slate of Complex and Dominican Summer League action. Here is everything you need to know about what took place and the players that stood out.

Dominican Summer League and Complex Level Standouts

Arnaldo Lantigua, OF, Cincinnati Reds, 19, CPX

Two home runs from Lantigua on Monday brought his total to eight in 37 games this year at the complex. He has 19 extra base hits and a solid .265/.342/.538 slash line.

Lantigua was a DSL repeater in 2024, and that will be a deterrent for some, but it is actually becoming more common. After 2023, which saw him mash seven home runs in 29 games but struggle with contact, Lantigua returned to the DSL in 2024 and dominated. He hit 11 home runs in 49 games and posted a slash of .301/.430/.575, and he walked as often as he struck out.

Considering the rather large frame while having a big leg kick and rather aggressive swing, Lantigua actually has good timing. His hips clear early, but he has shown the ability to wait back, even on breaking balls. The adjustments in the box are good.

The contact has regressed this year, but it has not been to his detriment. The power has still been there and Lantigua has batted balls over 110 mph and a 90th percentile exit velocity that is plus for his age.

One of the biggest changes this year has been launch angles. After putting 70 percent of batted balls in the air last year, Lantigua currently has an air rate of just 55 percent.

Deward Tovar, OF, Texas Rangers, 19, CPX

Tovar is an interesting player who has put together a very good season in the complex. Having a shorter frame, Tovar has a powerful stroke from the left side. Signing in January 2023, Tovar spent two years in the DSL before coming stateside this year, but has thrived.

Tovar had a two-home run game on Monday to push his total to four in 21 games this year, already approaching his total of five that he hit last year in 100 fewer plate appearances. The exit velocity data is strong as well. Tovar has topped out north of 110 mph several times to pair with improved contact skills.

Maybe not a huge breakout, Tovar is an interesting prospect to keep an eye on to see if the gains are legit.

Anderson Areinamo, SS, Houston Astros, 18, DSL

Areinamo signed with the Astros in January 2025 and received a lower bonus for the class. He certainly has not performed like it, though. Despite being older for the group of 2025 signees, Areinamo has performed and, after a two-home run day on Monday, is up to five in 25 games to pair with ten stolen bases.

Listed on the smaller side at 5’9”/135, Areinamo actually has some pop in the bat and has shown it through 11 extra base hits and a .244 ISO. He has struck out in just 17 percent of plate appearances while walking 12 percent of the time. DSL stats are fickle, but he has been one of the better performers, putting up a .349/.440/.593 slash with a 164 wRC+.

While I wait to try to get some DSL data, I would still label Areinamo as a watch-list type player. There might be some intruige there, but it is too soon to tell.

Dauri Fernandez, 2B, Cleveland Guardians, 18, CPX

A young 18-year-old, Fernandez, signed with Cleveland in January 2024. A strong DSL season saw him post a .287/.370/.407 slash with a homer and eight stolen bases. Having a smaller frame at 5’9”/150, Fernandez has not tapped into much power yet, but again, he just turned 18 years old.

So far this season, Fernandez is lighting the world on fire. The contact skills are as impressive as anyone in the league, and Fernandez is slashing .336/.399/.536 with four home runs and 12 stolen bases. He has lowered his ground ball rate from the DSL and does a good job of getting to the pull side. He is sure to pop up in statistical-only models.

Despite the surface numbers looking really good, there are some concerns with the exit velocity data. Fernandez is probably a present 20-game power based on the exit velocities that could grow into 30-grade power with time. As good as his contact skills are, his teammate Juneiker Caceres has similar contact rates and way better tools.

Elias Medina, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers, 19, CPX

Medina missed over a month between May and June but has come back and looked pretty impressive for the Dodgers’ complex-level team over the last few weeks. While he has yet to hit a home run, Medina has six doubles and two triples over his last six games.

Back in 2023, Medina looked like one of the biggest stars in the DSL, hitting seven home runs and stealing 16 bases while slashing .313/.381/.553. Medina returned to the Dominican last year and got just 69 plate appearances due to injury.

A healthy Medina could become an interesting player again. Keep a close eye on the profile.

Cristian Arguelles, OF, Colorado Rockies, 18, DSL

Arguelles was one of the youngest players to sign in the January 2024 class. He spent last season showing a solid hit tool in the DSL, posting absurd contact rates and striking out just 5.9 percent of the time. The problem was he showed no power and had six extra base hits and slashed .267/.352/.302. Spending the first month of the 2025 DSL season as a 17-year-old, he has dominated.

Lapping the field in the hit department, Arguelles had 47 on the year in 25 games, with the next highest DSL hit total being 36. In fact, 17 of Arguelles' 25 games have been multi-hit, with seven of them being three or four-hit games.

There is some projection in his 6’0” frame, so seeing Arguelles tap into more power is not surprising. After six total extra base hits last season in 50 games, Arguelles has 10 doubles, four triples, and three home runs already this season. Send this guy to Salt River, Arizona. He is far too advanced for the DSL.

Michael Martinez, OF, Atlanta Braves, 18, FCL

Martinez is a highly intriguing prospect in Atlanta who signed last year with the Braves as part of the 2024 class. Landing a $155k bonus, Martinez signed as a physically mature, 6’2” outfielder with big power to all fields. The surface numbers were not great last year, so Martinez returned to the DSL in 2025 and looked like a different player.

After blasting three home runs and having 12 extra-base hits in 69 trips to the plate, Martinez earned a promotion to the complex. In his first complex-level game on Monday, Martinez left the yard and added a double.

Martinez looks the part. He has a strong frame and power to all fields. He lifts the ball with authority, having an impressive 65 percent air rate, and he often finds himself getting those batted balls to the pull-side. The contact skills have made a big leap in 2025, and Martinez has cut the strikeout rate by ten percentage points.

The Braves have had a lot of big-dollar international signees since the restrictions were lifted, but Martinez might make a name for himself as one of the better international signees for this club in the last five years.

Kendry Chourio, RHP, Kansas City Royals, 17, CPX

Chourio might be the best arm in the DSL, and so good that the Royals pushed him to the complex, where he will start tonight. When is the last time you saw a pitcher move from the DSL to the complex in the same year they signed?

Chourio only got better as the DSL season progressed. In his last start, Chourio struck out nine in four no-hit innings. In his final three DSL starts, Chourio threw 13.2 innings, allowing just one run on five hits with zero walks. He struck out 41.7 percent of batters.

The arsenal has ticked up, and Chourio now reaches 96 mph on his fastball and routinely works into the mid-90s. The pitch creates a good ride and run, and his changeup plays well off of it with late depth and fade.

Chourio throws two variations of his breaking ball with his curveball having more downward movement, but solid two-plane break. The slider has tight spin and does have good horizontal movement.

On top of a solid arsenal, Chourio has a strong command and has walked just two percent of batters faced this year. Let’s see how Chourio fairs against better competition at the complex.