The Dynasty Digest: August 14, 2024

Chris breaks down everything you need to know from the DSL to the Majors.

Happy Wednesday. We had another great day of baseball across all levels yesterday. A new series of Minor League ball with some new draftees debuting and plenty of players at new levels. The DSL has one week left of the season and samples have become large enough to start forming some good opinions on players.

MLB Performers

Juan Soto, OF, NYY

Soto blasted three home runs and reached base a fourth time via a walk on Tuesday, pushing his total to 33 home runs on the year with 61 extra-base hits. Soto’s slash line sits at .306/.434/.608 putting on pace for his career-best season if you exclude the shortened 2020 season.

The move to New York was a perfect fit for Soto, especially the short right field porch. It's not that Soto does not have the power that transcends any ballpark, but because he does, playing in a top-flight lineup and tailor-made ballpark is excellent for his value.

According to Baseball Savant, Soto ranks 99th percentile or higher among MLB hitters in the following categories: xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, Average Exit Velocity, Barrel%, Hard-Hit%, Chase%, BB%. It is a pretty impressive feat what Soto is doing. And he is only 25 years old.

Soto is likely to eclipse 200 home runs by season’s end, putting him on pace to easily hit 500 home runs if he stays healthy throughout his career.

Nestor Cortes, LHP, NYY

Cortes turned in arguably the best start of the day on Tuesday, tossing seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. It has been an up-and-down season, especially considering Cortes had a 9.26 ERA across his last five starts prior to Tuesday.

While he did not dominate, Cortes missed 14 bats, had a 26 percent whiff rate, and turned in 13 more called strikes. The sweeper had a 43 percent whiff rate and his changeup at 50 percent.

Hopefully, this is the start that gets Cortes back on track moving forward.

Kerry Carpenter, OF, DET

Carpenter returned to the MLB lineup after missing nearly three months, and it was a glorious return. He homered twice as the Tigers beat up George Kirby, posting a 15-1 win. Carpenter’s home runs left the bat at 107 and 102.7 mph, respectively, and Carpenter added a single at 100 mph.

In the midst of a breakout season, Carpenter hit the IL in late May due to a back injury but looks to have picked up where he left off. In 168 plate appearances, Carpenter has ten home runs and a .293/.349/.613 slash line.

Hunter Greene, RHP, CIN

Greene has ascended to ace status this season, having a career-high 143 innings to this point and an impressive 2.83 ERA. After seven innings of one-run ball on Wednesday, Greene now has a 1.07 ERA across his last eight starts with 59 strikeouts and 14 walks.

The success stems from an improved four-seam fastball shape where he has lost a tick of velocity, but the improved shape and location has led to a near .100 drop in xwOBA on the pitch this season. The new splitter has given him a deadly weapon against lefties. Factor in a new curveball that he throws on occasion, and Greene now has a strong four-pitch arsenal. This looks like an ace.

James Wood, OF, WSH

Wood has eclipsed prospect status after reaching the 130 at-bat threshold, and the performance has been strong for a young 21-year-old. While he has struck out in 30 percent of his plate appearances, Wood has still managed a .283/.369/.449 slashes and has 12 extra-base hits. Wood collected four hits on Tuesday, which included four hard-hit balls.

The power is immense; all the hard-hit numbers from the minors carried right over into the Majors, and Wood has a 94.9 mph average exit velocity and 59 percent hard-hit rate, both of which rank at the top of the Majors. Sure, strikeouts are likely to be part of his game, but the power/speed upside is fun to dream on.

Get the full breakdown of Minor League hitters by subbing below. All our rankings are updated as well so go ahead and grab access to those too!