The Dynasty Digest: May 17, 2024

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

Happy Friday! It is almost the weekend and we have more great baseball on the way. Paul Skenes makes his second career MLB start today, plus there are a ton of great MiLB games going on.

Let’s talk about everything that happened yesterday.

MiLB Hitters

Yerlin Confidan, OF, CIN, 21, A

You can’t miss Confidan on the field due to his massive frame, listed at 6’4”, but honestly, he might be bigger. With the big frame and long levers comes with big power, but also some swing and miss. Thursday was one of those days where the power came as Confidan mashed two home runs and even added a stolen base. The performance pushed his slash to .235/.327/.429 with four home runs and three stolen bases.

The exit velocity data is quite good as Confidan has a 106 mph 90th percentile exit velocity which is firmly plus to pair with a 89.9 mph average exit velocity. Those rank 92nd and 80th percentile in Single-A. The max of 113.7 also shows immense raw power. We mentioned the contact questions and he currently sits at a 68.3 percent contact rate and a 78.2 percent in-zone contact.

It is probably time for Confidan to get the bump to High-A after making it to Single-A Daytona in 2022.

Brennen Davis, OF, CHC, 24, AAA

We would be remiss if we did not talk about the rocket ship that former top prospect Brennen Davis is on right now after hitting a homer run in his fourth consecutive game and his fifth in the last six. In the offseason I wrote this:

Sometimes you really want a player to excel and make it, especially one that has shown a ton of upside in the past. Brennen Davis is that player who I hope can figure it out, but I fear that injuries, specifically to his back, might have derailed his career. After a strong breakout season in 2021 in which Davis reached Triple-A, injuries have kept him off the field and limited him to just 53 games in 2022 and 71 in 2023. The results, however, have not been ideal.

Well, by the looks of it, we may have a healthy Davis in 2024 and that is good for Cubs fans and baseball fans alike. In 20 Triple-A games this season Davis is slashing .241/.411/.574 with six home runs while striking out at a 24.7 percent clip, but walking nearly 18 percent of the time.

Under the hood, the numbers are a mixed bag. His 93.3 mph average exit velocity ranks near the top of Triple-A and trails only hitters like James Wood, Junior Caminero, and Coby Mayo. A 93.3 mph average exit velocity would rank 15th among hitters at the MLB level just ahead of Bobby Witt Jr.

The contact numbers are a little more questionable, however, as Davis's 65.9 percent in-zone contact ranks at the bottom of Triple-A hitters, and the overall contract rate of 64 percent is not much better, checking in at 18th percentile for Triple-A.

Despite the contact struggles, we could see Davis force his way to the windy city where he could make his long-awaited MLB debut. Regardless of what happens, it would be huge to see Davis in the Majors in any role after the long road back from the injuries he has sustained over the years.

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