Honorable Mention
Kristian Robinson: 23 y/o – OF R/R
Not that long ago, Robinson was the D-Backs highest ranked prospect ahead of guys like Alek Thomas (#2), Dalton Varsho (#3), Geraldo Perdomo (#4) and even the eventual 2023 NL ROTY, Corbin Carroll (#5). In 2024, you might look back on him being the Diamondbacks back-to-back #1 prospect and think it to be a bit surprising, but Robinson really showed some potential before getting into some legal trouble that sidelined him from baseball activity for 3 years.
In 2019, between Hillsboro (A-) and Kane County (A), Robinson played in 69 games with 255 AB, 43 R, 72 H, 13 2B, 2 3B,14 HR, 51 RBI, 17 SB, 5 CS, 31 BB and 77 Ks for a .282/.368/.514 and an .881 ops.
In 2023, Robinson made it look like he missed no time at all as he played in 65 games and had 233 AB, 42 R, 66 H, 8 2B, 43 B, 14 HR, 42 RBI, 23 SB, 7 CS, 29 BB and 86 K’s for a .283/.382/.532 and a .915 ops.
Even with Dominic Fletcher being dealt to the Chicago White Sox for Cristian Mena, there is still somewhat of a log jam of outfielders that are ahead of Kristian on the depth chart. Robinson doesn’t have a clear opening to a roster spot to start the 2024 season, but this invite to spring camp should give Mike Hazen and the D-Backs coaching staff a first-hand look at whether or not Kristian Robinson can return to his former #1 prospect potential.
#5
Brandon Hughes: 28 y/o – LHP
Signed to a Minor League contract on 2/1/24, he was non-tendered by the Chicago Cubs in November of 2023 after appearing in only 17 games. The lefty went 0-3 while posting a -0.4 WAR with a 7.24 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 17 K’S across 13.2 innings. It should be noted that Hughes was dealing with a knee injury that required a “debridement procedure” in July that should be all cleared up going into the 2024 season.
In 2022, when Hughes was healthy, he appeared in 57 games and put up very solid numbers, going 2-3 with a 3.12 ERA, 1,092 WHIP, 4.64 FIX, 42 H, 20 ER, Il HR, 21BB, an ERAT of 135 (100 is league avg.), and a 1.4 WAR
Even Hughes’ advanced stats in 2022 were impressive as opponents slashed .200/.289/.395/.684 along with a .233 BABIP while putting up a nearly 30% K rate and under a 10% walk rate.
Hughes also has some experience as a back-of-the-bullpen arm, as he converted 8 saves in 12 attempts for a 66.7% save rate in 2022.
Hughes is also not arbitration-eligible until 2026 and isn’t a free agent until 2029. If he turns back into his 2022 self, this could be another major find by Mike Hazen & the scouting department.
In 2023, Mike Hazen showed his ability to find a diamond in the rough when it comes to bullpen arms by picking up Ryan Thompson after the Rays let him go. That ability to spot talent, along with Brent Strom’s track record for fixing pitchers, could turn into a very sneaky arm to look out for to challenge Andrew Saalfrank, Kyle Nelson & Joe Mantiply for a left-handed relief spot out of the bullpen.
#4
Tristin English: 26 y/o – 1B R/R
The Diamondbacks have multiple options for a bench bat/backup 1B but there aren’t clear favorites or front runners going into camp. While English might have less of an opportunity to break camp compared to the other backup 1B options (Pavin Smith, Emmanuel Rivera, and maybe even AJ Vukovich who can play 3B, 1B, and even some OF), he definitely has the edge on the others when it comes to the offensive production.
Across AA & AAA in 2023, English posted a slash of .300/.390/.548 for a .938 ops. In 387 AB’s in 2023, he had 116 H, 74 R, 93 RBI, 27 2B, O 3B, 23 HR, 52 BB w/ a .352 BABIP. In 2023, Tristin showed that not only can he slug, he can also be selective and take his walks when he’s given them with his 11.6 BB% (2023 MLB average BB% was 8.6%.)
English isn’t all bad either as in 2023 he logged 955.3 innings at 1B across AA/AAA and committed just 6 errors was good for a .990 Fielding %, and a Range Factor per 9 (which is calculated as # of balls fielded by player per inning) of 7.6 (Christian Walker had a RF/9 of 7.92 in 2023 for reference).
With a well-balanced skill set of hitting and fielding, along with a very nice 2023 to build off, English has a chance to show he can be a productive piece of this Diamondbacks team in 2024 & years beyond.
#3
Ivan Melendez: 24 y/o – 13/3B/DH R/R
Ivan, a lot like Tristin English, has a slimmer chance to make the Opening Day Roster when compared to guys like Pavin Smith and Emmanuel Rivera but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a shot to really impress the Diamondbacks coaching staff this Spring.
In 2023, Melendez showed Diamondbacks fans and coaches within the organization why he had earned the nickname of “Hispanic Titanic” as he smacked 30 HR’s whole slugging .578 across Hillsboro (A+) and Amarillo (AA). A big key to Ivan’s year had to do with him decreasing his ground ball rate by over 15% (47.8% in ‘22 → 31.3% in ’23).
While Melendez’s impressive power numbers make one go “Wow!”, his strikeout % also draws attention, but not for the reasons one would like. In both stops of his 2023 season, Ivan had an over 33% K rate with a 33.6% rate in Hillsboro (A+) and 35.3% in Amarillo (AA). A high strikeout rate isn’t too surprising with a player like Ivan, as even hitters like J.D. Martinez still strike out a decent amount (31.1% in ‘23), but it would be nice to see what kind of adjustments he can make to get that strikeout rate down below 30%.
There still isn’t a definitive defensive home for Melendez, since he has split a lot of his time between 1B and 3B with most of it coming at third (501.2 innings at third in ‘23 VS 305.1 innings at first) but the trade for Eugenio Suarez could mean that Ivan gets more reps at first in 2024. This spring will be a great opportunity for Joe Mather and the rest of the Diamondbacks coaching staff to really work with Melendez and tweak his areas of concern to hopefully translate to less swings and misses in the 2024 campaign.
#2
Adrian Del Castillo: 24 y/o – C/DH L/R
One of the biggest question marks regarding the team’s opening day depth chart is who the backup catcher is going to be, and Adrian Del Castillo has a very good opportunity to stand out from the rest coming into Spring Training 2024.
The most likely options to win over the backup catcher role are Jose Herrera and Tucker Barnhart, but that doesn’t mean the position is just between the two of them.
In 2023 Del Castillo split time between AA & AAA and offensively had a pretty decent year, having 424 PA, 357 AB, 94 H, 54R, 19 2B, 2 3B, 14 HR, 68 RBI, 113 K and 60 BB for a slash of .263/.369/.445/ with a .814 OPS while also being solid behind the plate defensively.
Del Castillo’s 2023 saw him play 604.1 Inning over 68 games as a catcher, committing 7 errors for a .989 Fielding %, a Rang Factor/9 of 9.8 (Gabb had a 9.23 in 2023) and a Range Factor/Game of 9.4 (8.42 for Gabby). One of the main negatives that Del Castillo has defensively is his ability to throw runners out, as he only caught 21 runners art of a total 87 attempts (24% CS) compared to Gabby 39% (22 CS out of 57 total attempts). These numbers aren’t a 1:1 comparison as Gabby logged an additional 250+ innings over Del Castillo, but it’s still something to note.
Another positive thing to note about Del Castillo is that he still has all of his service time available and just made it to Reno at the end of 2023. Adrian would have to really show out this spring to jump over both Herrera and Barnhart, but like Ivan Melendez, Del Castillo Can use this spring to show that he can be this team’s future backup catcher and a solid bench option for this team’s years to come (2025 & beyond).
#1
Yu-min Lin: 20 y/o – LHP
#1 – Yu-min Lin: 20 y/o – LHP
Yu-min Lin really broke out in 2023 in ways that maybe only Foolish Baseball could have predicted and doing it all while still being 2 years away from the legal drinking age in the US, which doesn’t mean anything, but boy does it make me feel old.
Across Hillsboro (A+) and Amarillo (AA), Lin logged an impressive 121.1 innings (Almost 50/50 split exactly between the two levels) which was the most out of any teenager within the MiLB in 2023. In those 121.1 IP, Lin went 6-5 with a 4.45 ERA, 96 H, 60 R, 52 ER, 10 HR, 48 BB and a crazy 140 strikeouts (10.4 K/9).
Lin isn’t putting up these kinds of strikeout numbers by just simply blowing 99+ MPH heaters by guys, he’s doing it with a fastball that averages around 90-92 (topping out at 94) while mixing in a combo of a changeup (his best pitch and a 65 grade on the 20-80 scale), slider, curveball and now more recently a cutter. This combination of different speeds and pitches really helped Lin miss barrels and keep the ball on the ground, as he had a nearly 50% groundball rate.
Yu-Min fits the trend of the 2 previously mentioned players (Del Castillo and Melendez) as there isn’t a great chance that he will make it past the first few cuts of spring camp, but that still doesn’t mean he isn’t worth keeping a close eye on during his time he has here. It’s going to be very really interesting to see how Lin develops in these next coming weeks and it has me wondering one thing and that is which group is more excited to watch Lin in spring. Is it going to be the Diamondbacks fan base or is it Brent Strom and the rest of the Diamondbacks pitching lab?
