Five More DSL Prospects Who Have Our Attention
On Monday, we highlighted a few players who put on superlative performances at the 2024 Dominican Summer League all-star game, which was held on July 21 at the Brewers’ complex in Santo Domingo.
Now, we’ll go a bit further. Below, we’ll call out a few players whose tools stuck out without necessarily showing up in the box score.
Elvin Garcia, SS, Orioles
Garcia signed with the Orioles this past January and has quickly established himself as one of the more exciting prospects in the DSL. The 17-year-old got at-bats from both sides of the plate during the all-star game and showed impressively quick hands and whippy bat speed against both lefties and righties. So far, those traits have helped him dot the DSL leaderboards. In 30 games, he has 10 doubles, five triples and a home run while striking out just 20 times in 118 plate appearances (16.8%). He’s hitting .337/.475/.587 and has produced exit velocities up to 102 mph.
Jose Dickson, SS, Tigers
Dickson inked with Detroit in January and has already proven himself to be one of the bigger up-arrow prospects in the DSL. The 17-year-old got into the all-star game in the later innings but had enough time to showcase a smooth, quick swing that produced a loud line drive to center field. Like Garcia, Dickson has produced manageable rates of miss and chase—his zone miss mark is an excellent 12.4%—and maxes his EVs out around 102 mph. Now, he needs to find the barrel more often. Even without optimal contact, Dickson has put together a .305/.425/.410 slash line with seven doubles, two triples and a 17 apiece of strikeouts and walks.
Edward Lantigua, OF, Mets
Lantigua signed with Mets in January for one of the larger bonuses in New York’s most recent international class. The 17-year-old center fielder has begun to fill out his 6-foot-2 frame and still has plenty of room to pack on more muscle. Lantigua’s swing has a bit of length to it, but the stroke is also quick through the zone and he has little wasted movement at the top. Whether he stays in center field will depend on the way his body grows, but if he has to move off the position he should have the thump to profile nicely in a corner. He’s shown flashes of plenty of juice as well, with 90th-percentile and max exit velocities of roughly 103 and 110 mph.
Ubaldo Soto, RHP, Angels
Soto signed with the Angels in 2023, when he was listed at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds with room to fill out. He’s still listed with those dimensions, but he has definitely filled out in the past two years. With that added mass has come extra velocity, which he used to punch out two hitters during his inning in the all-star game. He peaked at 95 mph in the game but has been up to 97 mph during the season. Beyond its velocity, Soto’s fastball showed late life and finish—and he could alternate between two-and four-seam varieties—to get swings and misses. Soto’s mechanics are bit effortful, which could hamper his control and command as he moves up the ladder and might lead to a future in the bullpen. Still, there’s no denying his ability to overwhelm hitters.
Rockies Gregory Sanchez Shows Potential In Rough Start
Though he got hit around in his start against the DSL Bombers (one of two Yankees affiliates in the league), Rockies righthander Gregory Sanchez is one of the brightest young pitching prospects on the circuit.
The 17-year-old has begun to fill out his 6-foot-2 frame and has added several ticks of fastball along the way. Sanchez lasted just two outs on Monday, but before he exited he showed a lively heater that sat between 92-94 mph and touched 95. He paired the pitch with a slicing slider in the low 80s that got three of his four whiffs in the outing. Heading into the day (the game was suspended by rain and his stats are thus not official yet), Sanchez had been excellent, with just seven earned runs and 25 strikeouts in 18.2 innings.
Sanchez is young and can generate powerful stuff from smooth, fluid mechanics. Those traits should provide a solid base to build on as he moves up the ladder and continues the Rockies’ run of intriguing Latin American pitching prospects.
DSL All-Star Game Pitchers Playlist
Below, find a playlist of all 24 pitchers who took the mound in Sunday’s Dominican Summer League all-star game.
