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For as dire as the Diamondbacks’ injury situation has become at the major-league level, the list of injuries among the club’s top prospects is similarly striking.
A particularly scary one occurred on Friday night in Frisco, Texas, when the team’s top pitching prospect, Yu-Min Lin, took a foul ball to the face while watching his Double-A Amarillo teammates from the visitors’ dugout.
Lin sustained multiple minor fractures in his jaw and has concussion symptoms, Diamondbacks farm director Shaun Larkin told PHNX Sports on Saturday. Lin will have to pass through concussion protocols before pitching again.
On Friday, the Diamondbacks also placed 2023 first-round pick Tommy Troy on the injured list with a left hamstring strain. Troy is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, Larkin told PHNX Sports. Troy, who was assigned to High-A Hillsboro to open the year, grabbed at the hamstring while running to first on a ground out in the ninth inning of Hillsboro’s game on April 21.
Lin and Troy joined several other notable Diamondbacks prospects dealing with significant injuries, including right-hander Dylan Ray, infielder Gino Groover and shortstop Jordan Lawlar.
Of course, not all D-backs farm system news is bad so far. Let’s get on to some of the good stuff.
Drafted 67th overall out of the University of Miami in 2021, Diamondbacks catching prospect Adrian Del Castillo is off to a strong start in 2024.
In 21 games with Triple-A Reno, Del Castillo is slashing .349/.385/.628 in 91 plate appearances with five homers, 17 RBI and nine doubles. It’s a small sample, to be sure, but also a reminder that Del Castillo was once viewed as a potential top-five prospect in that 2021 class.
“He’s just done a really good job controlling the zone, swinging at good pitches, hitting the ball out of the ballpark,” Larkin said. “I don’t know that there’s any one thing to specifically say he’s actually been working on other than he’s always been a pretty good bat. He’s out to a really, really good start, doing a really great job on a lot of fronts.”
The Pacific Coast League is known for being kind to hitters, but Del Castillo’s underlying metrics mostly back his early-season success. Entering play on Sunday, Del Castillo leads his team (minimum 50 plate appearances) with a 50.7 percent hard-hit rate and an average exit velocity of 91.7 mph, per Statcast. His expected batting average is an impressive .335.
Del Castillo has also made strides defensively. His framing numbers have “significantly improved,” Larkin said.
Next, the team would like to see Del Castillo make further strides in controlling the run game — opposing base stealers have gone 26-of-29 against him in just 11 games with him behind the dish — while also taking the next steps in his game calling and overall leadership on the field.
Overall, it’s been an encouraging start for the 24-year-old. “He’s really making people talk for sure,” Larkin said.
Acquired in exchange for outfielder Dominic Fletcher in February, Diamondbacks right-handed pitching prospect Cristian Mena has made a strong first impression.
In five starts with Triple-A Reno, Mena has a 3.75 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 23.3 percent strikeout rate in 24 innings of work.
In spring training, Mena’s fastball velocity appeared to tick up, but that increase has not carried over to the regular season. Mena’s heater has averaged 92.6 mph so far this year, almost identical to the 92.8 mph mark he posted last year with the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate. However, Mena has managed to be effective anyway.
“He’s just really good at spinning the ball,” Larkin said. “And when he’s at his best and he’s putting the off-speed pitches in conjunction with his fastball where he wants to … he’s really good.
“When the velocity ticks up, he’s even better, but that’s less of the concern. It’s more of just, hey, let’s just get him in the zone more consistently, and utilizing what he does have, getting weak contact, getting ground balls, getting ahead and staying ahead, that type of stuff. And, to this point, he’s done a pretty good job.”
Mena’s fastball got hit hard last year, and that trend has continued in 2024 with an opponent average of .414 on that pitch. The fact that he has still been effective overall is a testament to how good his secondary stuff can be. Both his slider and curveball have whiff rates at or above 40 percent.
Mena’s next step, outside of potentially adding fastball velocity, is throwing more strikes. His 14.6 percent walk rate so far is the highest mark of his career at any level. To that end, Mena is working on being more consistent with his lower half.
“There’s some syncing up to do,” Larkin said. “That’s part of his maturation process of just learning how his body moves and syncing everything up and if he can put himself in positions consistently where he wants to be and understand what his delivery does and the work that goes into it.”
The fact that Mena is just 21 years old is one of his biggest selling points. According to Fangraphs, he was the youngest pitcher in Triple-A last year when he reached the level in August.
After undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery almost immediately after the 2022 draft and dealing with a plethora of injuries in 2023, Diamondbacks outfield prospect Druw Jones has managed to stay healthy so far. He is off to a slow start with Single-A Visalia, however.
In 68 plate appearances, Jones is slashing .218/.343/.345 with an alarming 42.6 percent strikeout rate. He posted a similar .252/.366/.351 line in 131 plate appearances with Visalia last year, albeit with a more manageable 26 percent strikeout rate.
Suffice it to say that Jones has not lived up to the hype that comes with being the No. 2 overall pick, nor of carrying the same last name as likely future Hall-of-Famer Andruw Jones. Of course, because of the aforementioned injuries, he only has 241 professional plate appearances under his belt. “This is really his first year in my mind,” Larkin said.
The D-backs farm director praised Jones’ work ethic, and does not seem too worried about his results so far.
“We’re not trying to develop good minor-league players,” Larkin said. “We’re trying to develop impactful major-league championship players. That’s the target. So, less concerned about the day-to-day in A-ball and the minor leagues, but more concerned about what this is gonna look like down the road, and then the incremental steps that take place along the way. Obviously, there’s a process to it, but the long vision can’t get out of our sight.”
Many evaluators have noted that Jones has a tendency to bail out of the batters box at times. That, Larkin said, is still a work in progress.
“I don’t think it was ever accomplished,” Larkin said. “There was definitely not something where he worked on in the offseason that changed that he’s trying to carry over to this point.”
“He’s taken a million swings a certain way at different levels, amateur-wise,” Larkin added. “What’s hard sometimes in player development is what’s worked in the past doesn’t necessarily work now at the next level.”
It is worth noting that Jones has been much better in the latter part of April. Since April 17, in fact, he is hitting .333/.515/.583 in 33 plate appearances. Perhaps his slow start to the season will prove to be a blip on the radar when the season is done.
“By the end of the year,” Larkin said, “I think we’ll be in a much better place. With the work he’s put in and when he stays committed to this thing, he’s gonna be just fine.”
After losing 20-year-old slugger Deyvison De Los Santos to the Cleveland Guardians in the Rule 5 draft in December, the Diamondbacks reacquired him several months later when he was unable to make Cleveland’s Opening Day roster. De Los Santos is now back in Double-A Amarillo and off to a hot start at the plate.
In 84 plate appearances, De Los Santos has slashed .368/.429/.618 with five homers, 12 RBI, two doubles and one triple. Notably, his walk rate has jumped from 5.2 percent last year to 8.3 percent so far in 2024.
While De Los Santos has primarily played third base throughout his minor-league career, he has only seen reps at first base (and DH) so far this year. Larkin said that the club plans to develop him as a first baseman moving forward.
LHP Caden Grice
In spite of his middling 4.76 ERA — which is almost entirely due to one bad outing — left-hander Caden Grice has an eye-popping 22 strikeouts compared to just two walks in his first 11 1/3 professional innings with Single-A Visalia.
Grice, 21, has a starter’s build at 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, and he posted strong numbers both as a pitcher and hitter at Clemson before the Diamondbacks selected him 64th overall in last year’s draft.
While there had been talk of Grice taking DH at-bats in between starts, Larkin said that he will be used as a pitcher only.
“Any young hitter, if you give them the option to do both, they’re always going to say yes,” Larkin said. “It’s our job now just being realistic on the player path, and what puts the player in the best position for their career, but also for the organizational need. And on the mound suits both of those for sure.”
In Larkin’s estimation, Grice seemed to take the news well.
“It almost felt like he was like relieved,” Larkin said. “Not relieved, but like, ‘Okay, that’s fine.’ Like, he gets it.”
2B/SS Cristofer Torin
Already known for his excellent approach at the plate, 18-year-0ld infield prospect Cristofer Torin has shown more pop early on with a .345/.493/.545 slash line in 71 plate appearances with Single-A Visalia. Torin already has seven extra-base hits; last year at the same level, he had four in more than twice as many plate appearances.
After posting strong walk and strikeout rates last year, Torin has an even more impressive 21.1 percent walk rate and 12.7 percent strikeout rate to open the year.
“That’s a good recipe for the long-term success of a hitter,” Larkin said of Torin’s plate discipline. “Sometimes, those things are hard to teach.”
RHP Cristian Montes de Oca
When asked to name a standout minor-leaguer who might not show up on public top prospect lists, Larkin pointed to 24-year-old right-handed reliever Christian Montes de Oca.
After allowing just one hit and no runs in 4 1/3 innings with Double-A Amarillo to start the season, Montes de Oca was promoted to Triple-A Reno on April 18. In his first five Triple-A innings, Montes de Oca has allowed just one earned run on one hit with one walk and seven strikeouts.
“He’s one that we’re real excited about; potential middle-backend of the bullpen in the big leagues,” Larkin said. “Big strong [right-hander] who’s lit up our internal numbers, throwing strikes, punching people out, not walking anybody, weak contact.
“I think he’s the one that stands out the most.”
Top photo: David Calvert Photography/Reno Aces
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