The Dynasty Digest: July 15, 2024

Well, we made it! It is the All-Star break and you can all have some much needed rest from setting lineups at least until later in the week. The first two rounds of the MLB Draft took place on Sunday which was a blast to cover. Be sure to check out our FYPD Rankings and reports as we expand up to 250 player.

But we still had Minor League action yesterday, let’s get to it.

MiLB Hitters

Thomas Saggese, 2B, STL, 22, AAA

Saggese got off to quite a slow start to the season after an incredible 2023 saw him soar up rankings. Through the first two months of the season, Saggese had a .230/.296/.388 with just six home runs and nine doubles. Since the start of June, something has been clicking. While it is not off the chart numbers, Saggese has a .269/.319/.454 slash with five home runs and 12 extra-base hits.

Things have gotten even better since the start of July, when, in just 11 games, he had a .386 batting average with three home runs. On Sunday, it was a two-home run game.

The underlying data on Saggese is just okay, it is a 103 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and an 87 mph average exit velocity. The contact skills have been improving all year and sit at 77 percent overall and 84 percent in-zone. He is quite aggressive, chasing out of the zone at a nearly 37 percent clip, but he makes up for it with his in-zone contact.

Saggese will likely always play well above what the underlying data suggests he should, but I think he can be a solid Major League player for a long time. If he continues to perform, he could debut with the Cardinals later this year.

Arjun Nimmala, SS, TOR, 18, A

Nimmala is a good talking point today as a first-rounder just a year ago who had some struggles and bumps in the road. After early season struggles, Nimmala was sent to the development list before beginning to play games at the complex level. Since returning to Single-A Dunedin, things have looked better.

Nimmala homered on Sunday, his third since returning in 14 games. He also has five doubles and three triples over that span. The .300/.362/.700 slash is also quite impressive, but the strikeouts are not. In Nimmala’s last six games, he has 13 strikeouts, which is quite concerning. Since returning, he has had just a 67 percent contact rate with a 73 percent in-zone mark. The plate discipline does look good, as he is chasing just 21 percent of pitches out of the zone and has a solid 70 percent zone-swing rate, but the problem is contact.

It is likely to be a slow burn with Nimmala, who does have the skills to be a solid player. Holding him in dynasty leagues is tough and format dependent, but know it could take time for it all to come together.

Charles McAdoo, 3B, PIT, 22, AA

Some will say McAdoo is slumping a bit in Double-A after his dominant showing in High-A, where his power was boosted by playing in Greensboro. McAdoo hit his fourth Double-A home run on Sunday to give him 13 on the year, and his Double-A home run rate is actually higher than it was in Greensboro.

After three hits on Sunday, McAdoo is now slashing .323/.407/.557 with 13 home runs and 37 extra-base hits. While his contact rates did initially dip upon the promotion to Altoona, they are back on the rise, and the strikeout rate is right back in line with where it was in High-A, at 22 percent.

McAdoo has been one of the best hitters in the Pirates org to this point, and my live looks have been very impressive. He still seems quite undervalued.

Gleider Figuereo, 3B, TEX, 20, A+

I liked what I saw out of Figuereo in my live looks so far this year. After mashing 12 home runs in SIngle-A, the Figuereo moved to High-A Hickory just before he turned 20. In 17 games there, he has five more home runs, including one on Sunday. The overall slash line is a bit uninspiring at .234/.323/.468.

Strikeouts are a bit of an issue here as Figuereo has a 29 percent strikeout rate to pair with a 10 percent walk rate. He brings a pretty aggressive approach to the plate, swinging often and having a somewhat respectable contact rate near 69 percent. Figuereo is still young, and if he can figure out the contact side of things, he is a pretty interesting prospect.

MiLB Pitchers

Jake Kaminska, RHP, COL, 22, A

Kaminska has popped several times as the top player when it comes to whiffs or strikeouts on a particular day, but I have failed to write him up. He did it again Sunday, striking out ten batters across seven scoreless innings without issuing a walk. He allowed just three hits and threw strikes at a 70 percent clip.

Generating 14 whiffs on the outing, Kaminska added 17 more called strikes to give him a 35 percent CSW on the day. Being a heavy strike thrower, Kaminska has a 71 percent strike rate on the year to pair with a 15 percent swinging strike rate.

With a fastball sitting around 92 mph, the riding life on it is just too much for Single-A hitters. It is a fastball-heavy approach, but Kaminska will mix in a changeup with a nice ride and late fade, playing well off the fastball. Having an upper-70s curveball to keep hitters on their toes helps induce whiffs.

Im not sure I’m rushing to add Kaminska, but his 2.89 ERA across 81 innings this year has been impressive. It is a 25 percent strikeout minus walk rate, thanks to an extremely low 3.6 percent walk rate. If he continues this performance at higher levels, I will be more interested.

Yordanny Monegro, RHP, BOS, 21, A+

Monegro was stellar in his five innings of work, striking out eight batters across five innings of work. He allowed just three hits and walked one while landing 63 percent of his pitches for strikes.

Leading all minor leaguers with 20 whiffs, Monegro was on top of his game. While things have been up and down for him at times, this was arguably his best start this season.

Monegro’s fastball worked in the 94-96 mph range, and he is using more of a sinker now than a four-seam, which actually suits his arsenal much better. The new split-change was nasty, sitting at 86-89 mph, and while the shape was not always consistent, it generated the most whiffs of any of his offerings.

He also worked both his upper-80s slider and his upper-70s 12-6 curve. What I love about Monegro is that he is confident working backward in counts. He will throw any pitch at any time, and you never know what you are going to get. The upside is there for Monegro to be a mid-rotation arm, but he has a lot of work to do.

JoJo Ingrassia, LHP, BOS, 21, A

I get a lot of questions about Ingrassia and why he is not surging up the rankings, and at this point, It is hard to argue with the results he is producing. A seven-strikeout game on Sunday over 3.2 scoreless innings pushed his strikeout rate to 40.4 percent on the year to pair with a 2.03 ERA. The results continue to be elite and he has one of the best swinging strike rates in baseball north of 22 percent.

If were honest, it is a bit of a surprise that Ingrassia is dominating like he is. The fastball is pretty generic, sitting 91 mph and topping at 93, it does have good run to it, but is more dead zone shape. His slider is quite sweepy sitting in the low-80s which has been his go to swing and miss pitch. The changeup plays well off the fastball due to a similar movement pattern, but has late dive. It is in a similar velocity range to the slider.

After two years at San Diego State and one at Cal State Fullerton, this is the first time Ingrassia has started games since high school. Currently, he is sitting at the most innings he has ever thrown in a season dating back to high school. While the dominance has been there, I would really like to see him in Greenville before pushing him up my rankings.

Frank Mozzicato, LHP, KC, 21, A+

Mozzicato continues to pitch well despite putting up big walk walk numbers and not striking many guys out. On Sunday he tossed six innings of one-run ball while striking out five batters. On the ledger, he allowed just two walks, but also hit two batters as well. Mozzicato landed just 56 percent of his pitches for strikes.

In the process, Mozzicato lowered his ERA to an impressive 2.88, but the 5.19 FIP and 5.14 xFIP probably paint a better picture. Some are buying back into Mozzicato, but I would be hesitant. A 4.2 percent strikeout minus walk rate is a tough pill to swallow.

There is projection on the frame, but to this point, Mozzicato has not filled it out. The fastball still sits anywhere between 87 and 90 on a given start which is concerning to me. The curve is a plus pitch for sure and misses bats, but the fastball needs to be better to give him a viable offering outside of the fastball.