The Dynasty Digest: April 20, 2024

Chris Clegg breaks down everything you need to know from yesterday's Minor League action.

Today’s report might be a little shorter as I covered a game live last night and am hitting the road first thing this morning for a five hour ride home back to Greenville. Its been a good week seeing Myrtle Beach and Kannapolis, plus spending time at the beach with the family.

So much to talk about, so little time. Let’s dive in!

MiLB Hitter Standouts

Orelvis Martinez, SS, TOR, 22, AAA

You would be hard-pressed to find a hotter hitter right now than Orelvis Martinez, who homered twice on Friday and now has five on the year. Four of those have come over the last three games, with the two on Friday leaving the bat with 105.5 and 104.4 mph exit velocities. A third batted ball traveled 351 feet on a flyout.

Very few batted balls can leave the yard with a 39-degree launch angle, but that is the kind of power that Martinez has. The hit tool has continued to develop, and Martinez now has a .317 batting average in the year with a contact rate near 70 percent.

If you are looking for a prospect to stash, Martinez is your guy. He could be up very soon, playing third base for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Heston Kjerstad, OF, BAL, 25, AAA

Speaking of hot hitters, what about a two-home run day from Kjerstad to bring his total to ten in 19 games this year? There were no big-time exit velocities, but Kjerstad was consistent, having four batted balls over 92 mph while topping out at 102.7.

It might be hard for him to find a spot, but Kjerstad will do everything in his power to get an everyday role in Baltimore sooner rather than later. A 92 mph average exit velocity and a 55 percent hard-hit rate speaks for itself. But Kjerstad is also rocking a respectable 76 percent contact rate with an 87 percent in-zone contact rate. Kjerstad is the real deal.

Brandon Winokur, SS/OF, MIN, 19, A

Winokur left the yard with his hardest-hit ball of the year at 109.7 mph and two more, including an exit velocity of 105.2. Having been heavily on my radar since last summer’s draft, Winokur really stood out to me when I saw him on the backfields during Spring Training. He is a physically gifted 6’5”/210 athlete and has very loud tools. He hits the ball hard but also posts high-end run times for his size while having room to fill out.

The stat sheet won’t wow you to this point, as Winokur is hitting just .222 through 45 at-bats, but he does have two home runs and three stolen bases. If he makes enough contact, this profile has a really fun player.

MiLB Pitcher Standouts

Winston Santos, RHP, TEX, 22, A+

When I posted on Twitter last week that Santos was a watchlist guy, I did not think he would explode like this. Twelve strikeouts and five scoreless innings later, Santos has now reached 24 strikeouts in 15.2 innings with a 0.57 ERA. The breakout looks like it is here.

Santos’ fastball worked 94-96 mph and topped out at 98. He is throwing a new slider that is causing hitters to look silly and even mixing in a solid changeup. I will see Santos live in a couple of weeks and I am amped. This looks like a major breakout arm.

Owen Murphy, RHP, ATL, 20, A+

Speaking of breakout arms, Owen Murphy did it again, another stellar outing. Striking out 11 batters across five innings, Murphy allowed two runs, hits, and walks a piece. He is now up to 27 strikeouts in the year, which is tied for the second most in Minor League baseball, with none other than Paul Skenes.

Murphy has seen his fastball velocity tick up and even added more ride to it. The slider has shown really good shape, and his curveball has been extremely good as well. I am very interested in Owen Murphy at this point.

Trystan Vrieling, RHP, NYY, 23, AA

Vrieling, a former 2022 third-round pick, has been an injured arm that has been unable to showcase his talent level to this point. He made his pro debut this year and has looked great all year. Friday was arguably the best start of his career, though as he went 7.2 no-hit innings with six strikeouts and two walks.

According to Geoff Pontes, who was on site for the start, the fastball sat 92-95 mph while also throwing a cutter, slider, and changeup. Vrieling is moving up the rankings very quickly.

Carson Palmquist, LHP, COL, 23, AA

Palmquist had the best start of what has already been an impressive 2024 season and maybe the best start of his career as he struck out ten batters across six scoreless innings. He walked just one and allowed four hits but did not allow a run to come around and score. The lefty is now up to 16 scoreless innings to start 2024 with 25 strikeouts.

Garrett Baumann, RHP, ATL, 19, A

Baumann is an arm that is highly interesting to me as a 6’8” righty drafted by the Braves last summer. After reportedly having a fastball up to 97 mph in high school, he sat in the 92-94 range on Friday with a changeup in the mid-80s. It did not matter, though, as he tossed six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and three walks. The command came and went, but Baumann was still highly impressive. He is still young and has a ton of development ahead of him, but Baumann is firmly a watchlist guy for me.

Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, RHP, BOS, 20, A

Rodriguez-Cruz is an arm that impressed in Minor League spring training as he had a big jump in velocity, which has stuck into the season as he hit 98 mph on Friday, which is certainly a career-best mark. While he did walk four batters, Rodriguez-Cruz struck out nine and allowed just one hit in four innings of work. With the jump in velocity, if the command comes around, there could really be something here with Rodriguez-Cruz.

Brant Hurter, LHP, DET, 25, AAA

Hurter was sharp on Friday, tossing five innings with zero walks and zero earned runs allowed while striking out nine. With a unique profile, including a fastball that sits near 90 mph, Hurter generates a ton of called strikes and locates the sinker very well.

The sweeper shows inconsistent shape but registered up to 18 inches of sweep, which is a highly impressive number. It generated nine whiffs on 12 swings, good for a 75 percent rate. Hurter’s changeup showed up to 19 inches of arm-side run as well.

While Hurter is not overpowering, he does have some fun stuff. He could pitch in Detroit at some point this year.

Tyler Woessner, RHP, MIL, 24, AA

Woessner is flying way under the radar but quietly has 21 strikeouts to just two walks after another strong start on Friday. He struck out six over five innings of work, allowing one walk and six hits, which led to two earned runs. Through 15 innings, Woessner has a 1.80 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, looking like a completely new arm this year.

Using a sinker, slider, and curveball, Woessner misses bats with all three offerings, but his curveball was exceptionally sharp in Friday’s action. While he might be a little older, don’t let that number fool you; this is an impressive arm.

Dane Acker, RHP, TEX, 25, AA

Acker is back and healthy this year and has looked the part. After being drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 draft, Acker compiled a total of 98 innings in three seasons leading up to 2024. Through three starts and 13.1 innings this year, he has a 0.68 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 13.1 innings.

Acker threw plenty of strikes on Friday night while striking out seven batters and is now giving up a hit. His fastball gets a good ride, and when he locates it well up in the zone, he can miss plenty of bats. Acker will drop in a 12-6 curveball that gets a ton of called strikes and whiffs, and the changeup is solid as well. I would not be surprised to see Acker on the fast track to Texas, and he could be up in Triple-A soon.