The Dynasty Digest: June 15, 2023

Chris Clegg runs down Wednesday's action.

Sorry for the lack of delayed content this week. Out of town for work and have sadly not had a lot of baseball time. But there were some fun things that happened yesterday that you need to know about. Let’s dive in.

Termarr Johnson, 2B, PIT, 19, A

After starting the season slow and starting his season late due to a hamstring injury, Johnson is beginning to get things clicking. Johnson was on base six times on Wednesday, which included four hits(two doubles and a home runs) and two walks.

Johnson’s surface stats are fine and have improved as the season has waned on, but his underlying data is very good, especially considering Johnson just turned 19 several days ago. His 90th percentile exit velocity is north of 106 mph, well above the MLB average of 103.5 mph. Johnson is also barreling the ball at a nine percent clip. Johnson is showing strong plate discipline, chasing at just a 20 percent rate. If people are fading Johnson in your dynasty league due to surface numbers, buy in now.

Jared Serna, 2B, NYY, 21, A

Jared Serna keeps hitting, posting a home run and a stolen base, bringing his slash line to .320/.383/.543. Serna hits the ball on the ground too often, but is making strong contact(81%) and has a 9.5 percent barrel rate despite the contact. We need to see what he can do out of Single-A, but the performance this year has been strong.

Danyer Cueva, SS, TEX, 19, A

Cueva was a player I was keeping a close eye on after his strong Complex level performance in 2022. The numbers have not been great this year in Single-A, but Cueva was 18 until a few weeks ago and over the last week he has been killing it, slashing .464/.483/.857. Cueva is hyper-aggressive and has swing-and-miss concerns, but there are interesting tools if all clicks.

William Bergolla Jr., SS, PHI, 18, A

Bergolla was the Phillies’ top international signee in 2022 and showed a strong feel to hit last year. He has just recently debuted in Single-A due to just simply skipping the Complex level and is showing an elite hit tool. He will be 18 the entire season and, in a small sample of 22 plate appearances, had a 100 percent zone-contact rate and a 97.5 percent overall contact rate.

Luis Torres, OF, LAA, 19, ACL

Torres just keeps hitting. After a four-hit night on Wednesday, Torres is slashing .654/.735/1.077 in 34 plate appearances at the complex. While we have not seen much home run power, it is in there. Had a 103 mph 90th percentile exit velocity last year as an 18-year-old which was right around MLB average and paired it with a 91 percent zone contact rate.

Michael Arias, SP, CHC, 21, A

Arias has been sneaky good this year. After five scoreless innings on Wednesday in which he allowed just two hits and one walk, he lowered his ERA to 2.63 on the season. There are some walk issues but Arias has struck out 37.4 percent of batters this season and he struck out ten on Wednesday. Keep an eye on Arias moving forward.