The Dynasty Digest: September 5, 2024

Chris breaks down live looks plus all the top action from the Minors.

Happy Thursday! Sadly, I only have two more games of live looks before the Minor League season ends for me at the lower levels. I am quite sad, but the Arizona Fall League is looming, and I am amped to get to Arizona.

In today’s edition of the Dynasty Digest, I break down some live looks plus highlight all the top performers from Wednesday’s action.

Live Looks

Aldrin Batista, RHP, CHW, 21, A+

Batista had a strong season in Single-A after being traded from the Dodgers to the White Sox, posting a 3.51 ERA across 84.2 innings in Kannapolis. It earned Batista a promotion to High-A, where he has been really good, including when I saw him this week. I saw him in his second start of the season when he was with Kannapolis and the progress to now is highly noticeable.

Having a lanky 6’2” frame, Batista still has plenty of room to add weight for someone who just turned 21 years old earlier this season. He has long legs and gets good extension toward the plate in a delivery that generates good torque from his upper half.

Batista tossed five scoreless innings on Tuesday, striking out six and walking just one batter. It was the fifth straight start since joining High-A Winston Salem that he allowed one earned run or less.

His fastball was consistently 93-95 with a ton of arm-side movement. Batista works east-west often with his arsenal and I think adding a pitch to change hitters eye’s eye level could go a long way. The fastball did get whiffs and called strikes, but his long, sweepy slider was the go-to whiff pitch. It ranged from 83-85 and did a ton of damage to hitters, both lefties and righties. Batista also mixed an 83-86 mph changeup consistently that showed nice fade and depth, playing off his fastball well.

At this point, the arsenal feels pretty average across the board, with potential for more growth. He has a strike rate of 63 percent, which is, you guessed it, the league average. The swinging strike rate for the year is near 12 percent. Batista is a watchlist guy for now, but if he keeps performing in High-A and beyond, he might be someone to watch, especially with a full off-season for the arsenal to take a step forward. He is young and has the potential to add a pitch that works more north-to-south.

Casey Saucke, OF, CHW, 21, A+

A three-year letterman at powerhouse Virginia, Saucke was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the White Sox. The org sent him straight to High-A Winston Salem, where he has held his own. Considering Saucke was still 20 years old at the time of the draft, he was one of the younger three-year college players drafted.

Saucke enjoyed a major power breakout at Virginia this season, bashing 14 home runs after hitting 11 total in his first two seasons. Pair that with 18 doubles and a .344/.407/.578 slash, and you earn yourself a solid payday.

The power outbreak at Virginia was real, backed by a strong 92 mph average exit velocity and a 108 mph 90th percentile EV that ranked 95th percentile among all college hitters. Saucke did damage against fastballs, but did show some concerning whiff against breakers, something to keep an eye on.

Saucke looks the part in my looks, having a physical 6’3”/210 lb frame. He smoked a couple of balls to centerfield that ended in outs, but one was a swing he showed the ability to wait back on a breaking ball. Saucke also made an incredible leaping catch on the wall in right field, flashing some potential with his glove.

In a deeper FYPD, Saucke is a name to keep an eye on.

Ryan Galanie, 1B, CHW, 24, A+

Galanie was a 13th-rounder in 2023 out of Wofford College, where he enjoyed a successful four-year career. In each of his final two college seasons, Galanie hit 17 home runs a piece and, in his senior season, posted a .383/.491/.670 slash.

In his first full season, Galanie has split time between Single-A Kannapolis and High-A Winston Salem where he has hit 17 home runs for the third straight year. He hit a moonshot on Tuesday night that nearly landed on top of the apartment building behind the Green Monster at Flour Field. I have only seen one home run land on top of the building in my time sitting on games there.

Galanie has shown respectable contact skills this year, sitting around his league average at both levels. The power is there, as you can see in the video below. Galanie is a good deep-league prospect to know, as he has been intriguing in my multiple live looks this year.

Nelly Taylor, OF, BOS, 21, A+

Taylor’s numbers don’t look great on the surface at Single-A Salem, especially considering he was a 2023 college draftee who was older than the league average age. It feels to me like one of the cases where slash line does not matter all that much.

Taylor is a good athlete, standing at 6’0”/180, and has good speed. I clocked him at an above average home to first time on a sprint on Tuesday night. Minor League stolen base numbers can sometimes be deceptive, but not here. His 32 are a product of good speed.

While Taylor only has seven home runs on the season, he does have 26 doubles and three triples. The underlying data shows Taylor can hit the ball hard as he has run a 90th percentile exit velocity near 105 mph, a pretty impressive mark. If Taylor makes enough contact, there is a fun power and speed upside to dream on.

I must mention that Taylor used Nelly songs as his walk up on Tuesday, which included the songs “Grillz” and “Hot in Here.”

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