The Dynasty Digest: May 13, 2024

Chris Clegg breaks down everything you need to know from Sunday's aciton.

Another week in the books, where has time gone? It is mid-May and the MLB season is nearly a fourth of the way complete. The Minor League season is not far behind it and we now have sizeable samples of data. By the end of May, I will feel very much better about prospect rankings due to the more stable data that we have.

Anyways, we had some really solid performances on Sunday that are worth discussing. Let’s dive in.

MiLB Hitters

Adrian Del Castillo, C, ARI, 24, AAA

Don’t look now, but Adrian Del Castillo might just be forcing his way into the Diamondbacks lineup sooner than later. A four-hit performance on Sunday included two doubles and a home run, pushing his season total to seven home runs with 23 extra base hits in 33 games this season.

Del Castillo was a second-round pick in the 2021 draft out of the University of Miami who has always shown some pop and good OBP skills but seems to be taking it to the next level this year. His slash line now sits at .356/.396/.637 with quite solid underlying data as well.

His exit velocities are quite strong, with an average exit velocity of 92 mph and a 90th percentile of 106 mph. The contact numbers are reflective of his batting average as well as Del Castillo has a 79 percent overall contact rate and an 82 percent in-zone clip. The chase rate is a modest 26 percent, showing quite a well-rounded profile.

The profile looks good and there is a real chance Del Castillo could be in Arizona soon.

Omar Alfonzo, C, PIT, 20, A

Let’s keep the trend of catchers going with Omar Alfonzo, a young 20-year-old catcher in the Pirates system. Despite striking out at a 30 percent clip, Alfonzo continues to perform, posting a three-hit day, including a double on Sunday, which also saw him reach base two more times via walk.

Alfonzo has just two home runs on the year but is slashing .272/.391/.413, showing strong OBP and some modest power. Under the hood, things look pretty good, though, as Alfonzo checks in with a 90th percentile exit velocity north of 105 mph and an average exit velocity of 90.5 mph.

The contact rate of 73 percent is around average, but the in-zone rate of 85 percent is quite good to pair with a strong 25 percent chase rate. Alfonzo is a bit passive, swinging at just 35 percent of pitches overall, but the underlying data does make me want to keep a close eye on Alfonzo moving forward.

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