Arizona Diamondbacks Prospects: 2024 Midseason Top 30 Update
The D-backs’ system has taken some hits now that Corbin Carroll has graduated and Jordan Lawlar has struggled with a series of injuries. But there are bright spots in the development of sluggers Deyvison De Los Santos and Adrian Del Castillo.
Baseball America subscribers can see the full updated D-backs Top 30 here. Notable risers, fallers, new additions and injury updates are below.
Notable Risers
De Los Santos lost a lot of weight and got into much better shape over the offseason. He was returned by Cleveland in Spring Training after being taken in the Rule 5 Draft and not making the Guardians’ Opening Day roster. Since then, he has obliterated opposing pitching across Double-A and Triple-A to the tune of a .346/.396/.678 line.
Del Castillo has had a revelatory 2024, showing never-before-seen game power while simultaneously slashing his strikeout rate. Yes, he is doing all of this at extremely hitter-friendly Reno, but the under-the-hood metrics support a lot of this growth.
Andrew Pintar, 2B/OF
Pintar headed back to Hillsboro to start 2024, and has already tripled the number of homers he hit all of last season, all while drastically raising his walk rate and cutting his strikeout rate. He’s also 17-of-18 in stolen bases. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he got the call to Double-A sooner rather than later.
Notable Fallers
Ivan Melendez, 1B
Melendez returned to Double-A and has struggled in his second go-around. He shaved his strikeout rate (still above 28%), but it has coincided with a dip in power.
Caden Grice, LHP
Despite concentrating on pitching full-time, Grice’s stuff took a step back. His fastball has been mostly 89-91 mph, and he’s walking over five/9 innings. Additionally, it was recently announced that he will need Tommy John surgery.
Notable New additions
13. Demetrio Crisantes, 2B
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
Track Record: Crisantes is a local high school kid taken in the 7th round of last year’s draft. To say he’s figured out pro pitching so far would be a massive understatement. His current pro slash line sits at .361/.440/.498. His line is inflated by a BABIP well north of .400, but it isn’t complete luck, as he’s rocking a line drive rate north of 30% across the ACL and Low-A levels.
Scouting Report: The calling card of Crisantes is a plus hit tool. He has a slow heartbeat in the box and low-maintenance setup. He sees the ball deep and makes strong swing decisions. Although he only has three career home runs, the ball carries well off his bat, and he’s posted strong exit velocities for a teenager. His secondary tools are much more ordinary. He’s a roughly average runner that steals bases more on jumps than pure speed. Defensively, he splits time at second and third base. His arm is a bit light for third and his range is a bit light for second, but he’s passable at both.
The Future: Thriving at age 19, Crisantes is an advanced hitter that has the chance to stay up the middle. He could fly up the rankings if he continues to hit. He has every chance to be a well above-average bat relative to his position.
Scouting Grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 50 | Run: 50 | Field: 45 | Arm: 45
16. Spencer Giesting, LHP
BA Grade/Risk: 45/Medium
Track Record: Arizona drafted Giesting as an overslot 11th rounder in 2022 out of UNC Charlotte. He started the season in High-A and forced a promotion to Double-A.
Scouting Report: Giesting looks the part—an athletic 6-foot-4, 200 pounds—and comes with a buttery smooth delivery. His fastball sits just around 88-93 but can miss bats with its life/ride through the zone. His best pitch is a plus two-plane slurve that can generate whiffs vs. either side. He’s primarily a two-pitch guy, but will mix in the occasional cutter and changeup. He threw a ton of strikes in his Hillsboro stint this season but has otherwise been a below-average strike thrower in his career.
The Future: If Giesting can add a tick of velocity and/or shore up his walk rate, he has the chance to be a mid-rotation starter. More likely, though, he’ll turn into a backend starter or reliever capable of getting lefties with the ability to go multiple innings.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 40 | Slider: 60 | Cutter: 40 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 45
17. Andrew Pintar, OF
BA Grade/Risk: 45/Medium
Track Record: Pintar was a fifth-rounder out of BYU in 2022. Prior to this season, he looked to be a super-utility with a light bat that would bounce around the diamond. In 2024, Pintar has played center field exclusively and has become a totally different hitter, adding both OBP and power.
Scouting Report: Despite his 2024 uptick in power, Pintar projects for fringe-average power given his downhill swing and unspectacular top-end exit velocities. He shows some feel to hit and has demonstrated impressive plate discipline this season. Pintar is a good athlete and above-average runner. In the outfield, his surgically-repaired shoulder produces below-average arm strength. His routes/instincts are still a bit inconsistent, but his run/athleticism give him the chance to be passable in center.
The Future: Pintar has an outside shot to develop into a low-end everyday center fielder, and otherwise looks to fit as a highly useful up-the-middle bench option that can do a lot of things to win a game.
Scouting Grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 55 | Field: 50 | Arm: 40
20. Yordin Chalas, RHP
BA Grade/Risk: 55/High
Track Record: Chalas was a fairly unheralded part of Arizona’s 2022 IFA class, and has quickly grown into one of their most lively arms in their entire system. Chalas made his full-season debut in 2024 and was quickly promoted from Visalia to Hillsboro after punching out over 13 batters per 9 in the California League.
Scouting Report: Chalas is long and lean, with a whippy arm that produces upper 90s fastballs with ease. The fastball also has significant sink/run capable of diving under the bats of righthanded hitters. He pairs it with an above-average two-plane slider with plenty of velocity separation from the fastball. From a command standpoint, Chalas is simply looking to land his two pitches in the zone rather than spot them to specific quadrants.
The Future: Chalas has every opportunity to be a high leverage arm. He will need to maintain a decent strike rate at the upper levels.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70 | Slider: 55 | Control: 40
25. Gavin Conticello, 1B/OF
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
Track Record: Conticello was an overslot sign as a young-for-class high schooler in the 8th round out of Florida in 2021. He’s had an up-and-down pro career thus far, but has really put it together thus far in 2024 in what has been his best season to-date.
Scouting Report: For someone who has primarily played 1B throughout his career, Conticello is surprisingly smooth and coordinated, which explains why Arizona is trying him out in the outfield. The 3B experiment didn’t work out, as his hands were just OK and the throwing accuracy was an issue, but he seems to be taking well to the OF, where his arm plays as a strength. Offensively, the key to his breakout has been narrowing his batted ball spray, cutting down an alarming number of pop flies while increasing line drives. He shows average to solid-average pop that expresses itself as much in doubles as it does in homers.
The Future: Both the offensive breakout and the ability to be serviceable in the outfield have really resuscitated his prospect status. Despite accruing plenty of minor league ABs since being drafted, he just turned 21 and has plenty of time to continue developing. He has the chance to be a platoon option at 1B/LF/RF if he continues to find barrels.
Scouting Grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 45 | Field: 50 | Arm: 55
29. Jose Alpuria, OF
BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
Track Record: Alpuria was a $100K sign out of Venezuela in 2022, and has thrived in his stateside debut this season (.299/.453/.392 at time of publication).
Scouting Report: Public scouting info on Alpuria is still quite limited. He’s a long, lean, twitchy athlete with a potentially double-plus run tool. Throughout his pro career, he has shown a strong ability to get on-base not just by drawing walks but also by getting hit by an inordinate number of HBPs. Despite posting intriguing top end exit velocities for his age, we have yet to see much over-the-fence game power.
The Future: The range of outcomes are humongous for Alpuria. He could wash out in the low minors, end up a 4th or 5th outfielder, develop into an above-average regular, and everything in between. His game is raw and will take several years to fully mature.
Scouting Grades: Hit: 40 | Power: 40 | Run: 70 | Field: 60 | Arm: 55
30. Alberto Barriga, C
BA Grade/Risk: 40/High
Track Record: Barriga was a smaller money sign out of Mexico in 2022, and all he has done in pro ball since is hit. Barriga suffered a gruesome broken leg that wiped out most of his 2023, and he began 2024 again in the ACL, with hopes to eventually break into full-season ball.
Scouting Report: Barriga is extraordinarily small for a catcher. His athleticism makes up for some of what he lacks in size on the defensive end, but there will always be questions with both the blocking ability and the durability at his size. Offensively, he makes a lot of contact and barrels a lot of baseballs. There isn’t much in the way of top end power here, and he will chase, so his offensive output will likely be tied to his BABIP.
The Future: Barriga has a lot to like, as a teenage catcher with an above-average hit tool and some athleticism. He projects to be a backup catcher, with a chance to start if the power comes along and he can answer some long-term questions behind the plate.
Scouting Grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 30 | Run: 40 | Field: 50 | Arm: 50
Significant injuries
Lawlar missed the first two months of the season due to thumb surgery, and then less than a week after returning, strained his hamstring and has been out since.
Tommy Troy, SS
Troy had offseason surgery on his fractured foot, and then has missed significant time with a left hamstring strain, truncating a lot of his season thus far.
Gino Groover, 3B
Groover collided with an oncoming runner and broke his wrist in the first week of action. He was transferred to the 60-day IL and has not appeared since, yet another blow to the promising Hillsboro infield.
Yu-Min Lin, LHP
Lin, had part of his season derailed by a foul ball that struck him in the face and required surgery. He missed about a month and a half, but is back now with Amarillo.
Pedro Catuy, OF
Catuy suffered a lower-leg injury in a home plate collision in Spring Training, and has not appeared in a game this season.
Grayson Hitt, LHP
Hitt had Tommy John surgery in spring 2023 and did not appear in a pro game until June 30.
