Adrian Del Castillo Has Another Excellent Night for Reno

The Diamondbacks catching prospect continues his hot stretch to begin the season with Triple-A Reno, collecting five hits in a blowout win.

Feb 21, 2024; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Adrian Del Castillo (90) poses for a photo on photo day at Salt River Fields. / Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports

Adrian Del Castillo has been the biggest positive story from the Diamondbacks farm system so far in 2024. The D-backs catching prospect collected a career-high five hits in Reno's 19-6 blowout of the Sugar Land Space Cowboys Wednesday. That raised his average to a staggering .370 with a 1.102 OPS in 18 games to begin the season.

Del Castillo's batted ball data paints the picture of a potential breakout. His average exit velocity on line drives and fly balls sits at 94.7 MPH, his hard-hit rate is 49.1%, and his barrels per plate appearance rate is 10.1%. Out of the 101 hitters that have put 50 balls into play in Triple-A, he ranks 26th, 15th, and 9th in those respective categories. Simply put, he's been one of the best-performing hitters at the Triple-A level in 2024 regarding quality of contact.

More on the performances of the D-backs top prospects on Wednesday, sorted by each level.

Triple-A: Reno Aces 19, Sugar Land Space Cowboys 6

Andrés Chaparro joined Del Castillo in the list of Aces to record five-hit games. Chaparro doubled three times and singled twice. Brett Johnson was 2-for-3 with a triple and an inside-the-park home run. The outfield fill-in has held his own offensively in Reno, batting .286 with a 1.055 OPS in five games. Tristin English went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks, and two runs scored.

Double-A: Amarillo Sod Poodles 4, Frisco RoughRiders 2

A.J. Vukovich was 3-for-4 at the plate, including a go-ahead RBI single in the fifth inning that broke a 2-2 tie. Tim Tawa launched a two-run home run in the first inning. Deyvison De Los Santos reached base twice on a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Ivan Melendez went 1-for-4 with no strikeouts. Kristian Robinson went 0-for-4.

Alec Baker was promoted to Amarillo. Baker was an 18th round selection out of Dallas Baptist, who profiles as a short-inning reliever for the D-backs, as early as 2025.

High-A: Hillsboro Hops 3, Eugene Emeralds 2 (F/10)

Spencer Giesting allowed just one hit in six innings, walking one and striking out five. Zane Russell could not hold onto a 2-1 lead in the 8th, although the tying run came to score on a throwing error by Christian Cerda on a backpick to third base.

Jose Fernandez had a sacrifice fly, but went hitless in his other three at-bats. Jack Hurley drew a walk in four trips to the plate. Kevin Sim went 0-for-4, but scoring the winning run in the top of the 10th.

Low-A: Visalia Rawhide 1, Inland Empire 66ers 5

Caden Grice struck out eight in 3 2/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits and didn't walk a batter. Grice has pitched 11 1/3 innings across four appearances, striking out 22 while only walking two. From a percentage standpoint, we're looking at a 48% strikeout rate compared to just a 4% walk rate. Most of the contact he's allowed has been on the ground.

Druw Jones continues to recover from an early season slump, extending his hitting streak to five games. Over that stretch, he's batting .333 (5-for-15) with seven walks and six strikeouts. He's pushed his average up to .196 on the season with a .604 OPS.

Cristofer Torin went 0-for-4 and Ruben Santana was 0-for-3 with a walk.