The Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks had a pretty good season in 2024. They saw plenty of prospects break out. They made the playoffs. Now, the Visalia Rawhide had four prospects named All-Stars of the California League.
Three hitters and one pitcher make up the Rawhide's All-Star contingent as the Rawhide saw many players rise to Hillsboro and received numerous breakout prospects that climbed up from the Arizona Complex League. They are set up to have a bright 2025 season and contend for playoffs again.
The first player named to the All-Star team is No. 5 overall D-backs prospect and top-100 MLB Pipeline prospect, centerfielder Druw Jones. Jones established a high floor this year as he managed to stay healthy all year and put up numbers.
After starting the season awful with a lot of strikeouts, he found his patience at the plate and became a complete hitter at the plate willing to take the pitch any direction or wait if it's a ball. Jones played in the Future's Game and showcased Gold Glove caliber defense and throwing in the outfield.
He led the Rawhide in walks (85), RBI (65), and stolen bases (21). He did lead in strikeouts too with 132. Jones had a .814 OPS in 109 games. His wRC+ (100 league average) was a very strong 125. His strikeout rate of 28% is palatable enough as he walked 18% of the time.
Over his final 30 games, Jones hit .301 with an .878 OPS and 11 stolen bases to go with 31 hits and seven extra-base hits.
One of the best facets of his game that developed was him learning to pull the ball more. Pulling the ball can create more power and Jones tapped into that more with 33.5% pull rate, up from 26% last year. Overall, it was an encouraging year for Jones and he should start next year in High-A.
The true breakout star of the entire Diamondbacks prospect is Demetrio Crisantes, a second and third baseman and it should be no surprise that he was named to the All-Star team. All he did was hit and he hit a lot.
Crisantes had a 57-game on-base streak that is still going and will carry over into next season. He's been receiving national attention for it.
He had the highest average (.333), on-base percentage (.429), slugging percentage (.478), and OPS (.907) out of the whole team. He had 83 hits in 63 games with 16 doubles, a triple, six homers, and 40 RBI. Mind you, he averaged 1.3 hits a game. He had 23 multi-hit games.
Crisantes wasn't all swing either as he struck out just 15.9% of the time and walked nearly as much at 12.9% of the time. He's doing this at just 19 years old and in his first full professional season.
His wRC+ is an astonishing 145 in an environment in which offensive play is stifled and hard to come by due to the air and stadiums coupled with wild pitchers. With a minimum of 60 games, his OPS was the second-best in the Cal League so it is not a surprise he got this honor.
Outfielder and designated hitter Angel Ortiz was named an All-Star as he led the Rawhide in home runs with eight and hit .300 with an .852 OPS. Ortiz did this off of missing all of the 2023 season with an injury. Over his last 36 games, he hit .321 with a .904 OPS.
His batting average led the California League among all qualified players. Ortiz had a 128 wRC+ which was led by a .471 slugging percentage. He showed a sharp eye at the plate with just a 18.6% strikeout rate coupled with a 9.8% walk rate.
With 35 extra-base hits, 60 runs, and 53 RBI to go with 98 hits in 88 games, Ortiz has re-established himself as a prospect and someone to keep your eye on as he develops.
Starting pitcher Daniel Nunez was the fourth and final Rawhide to be named to the All-Star Team. The right-handed starter pitched in 20 games and had 11 starts to go with his 67.1 innings. Over that span, he recorded a 3.21 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.
The most exciting part of Nunez's season was his strikeout ability and command. He struck out 72 while walking just 12 batters, a terrific ratio of strikeouts to walks. He struck out over 25% of opponents and walked just 4.3%.
His FIP backed up his results as it was a low 3.22 and his xFIP was a strong 3.70. He kept the ball on the ground with a ground ball rate of 44.3%, a good sign for his future developing. Nunez will likely start next year in Single-A but could be given a push and put in High-A, either way, he is a name to watch as he's just 21 years old and performing.
The Arizona Diamondbacks saw four prospects have excellent years for the Visalia Rawhide and earn their spot on the California League All-Star Team but they had plenty more breakout players this season. Read all about them here.