The Dynasty Digest: June 4, 2024

Chris breaks down Monday's minor league action including DSL opening day.

Happy Tuesday, everyone. Our daughter has now been in the world for a week, which is crazy to think about, but hopefully, this week, I can get back into a decent routine and writing every day. Appreciate you all bearing with me. I feel bad taking even a day off, even with a big life event like this.

Anyways, it was a good Monday. The Dominican Summer League kicked off, and we had a full slate of complex-level games. Let’s talk about them all.

MiLB Hitters

Leonardo Pineda, OF, TB, 17, DSL

Pineda was the Rays top signee in the 2024 international class, landing a $1.75 million bonus. Reports from Ben Badler of Baseball America state that is listed at 5’11”/185 lb, but generates good power for his size. Quite young for the class, Pineda just turned 17 years old in late April.

While playing a solid centerfield, Pineda also has a smooth swing from the right side and has noticeable bat speed on video for his age. The ball jumps off the bat and Pineda gets the pull side power, which for his age, is quite impressive.

He made his presence known right away. After three doubles, a single, and a stolen base, Pineda is off to a hot starter compared to anyone in the DSL. Considering the bonus he received, his skill set, and early in-game production, Pineda might be someone to pick up sooner rather than later.

Jhonny Severino, SS, PIT, 19, FCL

Severino has been a feature in the digest the last few weeks, and his performance seems to continue to improve. Strikeouts were an issue in the early going, but those have improved. His strikeout rate is down to 23 percent after trending north of 30 percent for a while. He has just one strikeout in his last four games.

On Monday, Severino collected three hits, including a double, and drove in a run. In 20 games this year, Severino is slashing .309/.410/.588 with four home runs and ten extra-base hits while swiping seven bases.

Considering he is a complex-level repeater, he should probably get the bump to Single-A soon for a bigger challenge.

Get the full report by subscribing below plus gain access to our new prospect rankings + dynasty rankings releasing this week.