The Dynasty Digest: May 23, 2024

Chris Clegg breaks down all of yesterday's Minor League action.

Cover photo with image by John Lariviere of Beaverton Valley Times

Yesterday’s MiLB action was one of those that just gets you excited. Some great pitching performances and some big-time power performances, while others showed big-hit tools.

Let’s break it all down, starting with a STRONG pitching performance from a name you need to know in the Diamondbacks system.

MiLB Pitchers

Spencer Giesting, LHP, ARI, 22, A+

Hello Spencer Giesting, you have all prospectors on full watch now. While he has been quite good all year, Giesting dominated to the tune of a 13 strikeout, one walk performance last now across seven innings of work.

Giesting generated just 13 swinging strikes but landed 19 pitches for called strikes, good for a 34.5 percent CSW. The 6’4” lefty now has a 0.66 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP across 41 innings this year in High-A. A 30.3 percent strikeout rate and a 6.6 percent walk rate are also impressive.

The 11th-rounder out of UNC Charlotte has a fastball that sits in the low 90s, which is consistently higher than it was last season. The cutter has been a huge addition to his arsenal, especially the lower velocity sinker and four-seam mix.

The curveball shows ridiculous spin, consistently north of 2700 rpm with up to -18 inches of IVB and nice horizontal movement, sitting 77 to 80 mph. The slider sits just higher in velo in the 80-82 mph range with less depth in the -1 to -4 IVB range and lots of sweep.

While it is not a flashy profile, Giesting has a durable starter frame and has thrown strikes at a 66 percent rate this year while having an above-average swinging strike rate and CSW at 15.8 percent and 32.5 percent, respectively.

Spencer Schwellenbach, RHP, ATL, 23, AA

Schwellenbach has handled his promotion to Double-A quite gracefully. After posting a 2.53 ERA across 32 High-A innings, Schwellenbach is now up to 13 scoreless innings to begin his career in Mississippi. He struck out eight across seven scoreless innings on Wednesday, not issuing a walk and only allowing two hits in the start. Schwellenbach needed just 76 pitches to finish seven innings and was on his way to a Maddox if he finished the game. He threw strikes at a 70 percent clip, had 15 whiffs, and a 34 percent CSW.

Schwellenbach was a two-way player out of Nebraska who had Tommy John surgery, causing him to miss all of 2021 and 2022. The Braves decided they liked the stuff on the mound and decided to develop him there. With a highly athletic delivery, Schwellenbach can pump a fastball consistently in the mid-to-upper 90s, touching 99. The changeup shows a strong arm-side fade while sitting 85-87 mph. Schwellenbachalso used a nice downer curve that showed very good vertical movement and will even mix in a few cutters.

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