The Dynasty Digest: May 9, 2024

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

Not much beats sitting through a three-hour rain delay before a game gets canceled, but that is what happened to me yesterday. Sometimes, teams take a little longer than they should to cancel a game, but this was my situation for an hour, and I wish I had taken a picture of how flooded the dugout was after the rain was done.

Anyways, enough about rain we are here to talk about top performers. Let’s get it!

MiLB Hitters

James Wood, OF, WSH, 21, AAA

Wood had a huge day as he continued to try and force the National’s hand for a callup. I mentioned in the Discord yesterday morning that I did not see his callup imminent and then he goes on a heater with two home runs and reached base a third time via walk.

The Nationals find themselves in an interesting predicament. They currently are a .500 team and are currently running an outfield of Jacob Young, Jesse Winker, and Eddie Rosario with Lane Thomas and Joey Gallo on the IL. Wood makes a .500 team better, but that does not mean the Nationals are ready to roll him out.

While he looks unstoppable at the moment with a .339/.444/.529 slash with four home runs and eight stolen bases, Wood has a contact rate of 70 percent, and his struggles with changeups and breaking balls have been very evident with a below 60 percent contact rate on both.

Obviously Wood does a lot of things well, having a 94 mph average exit velocity and a 90th percentile of 109 mph. While hitting the ball hard, it is often into the ground as Wood has a 2-degree launch angle and a 54 percent ground ball rate.

So, while Wood is an awesome player who is going to be really good in the long term, he still has things to work on in the Minors. Remember Jackson Holliday’s struggles? I don’t think the Nationals want him to come up and struggle like that. They want him to be in a place mentality where he is ready to come up and dominate.

Aidan Miller, 3B, PHI, 19, A

Wednesday was a big day for Miller, who continues to hit and look the part in his first full pro season. The Phillies first-round pick had four hits, including a home run and two doubles, and in the process, pushed his slash line to .342/.400/.566 with three home runs and eight stolen bases.

The under-the-hood data looks really good, as Miller is making contact on 90 percent of pitches in the zone, which is a high-end mark, and chasing at a league-average rate of 29 percent. The 90th percentile exit velocity of 105 mph shows the ability to get to plenty of power as well.

Miller is one of the more decorated hitters in the 2023 draft class with a powerful frame. He possesses significant power, a fast bat, and solid contact skills. He has a strong arm and can stick at the hot corner for the long run, but his bat will play great there for fantasy purposes. He is off to a great start in his professional career and looks like the hitter many hoped he could be.

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