Adrian Del Castillo Wins Pacific Coast League MVP

Arizona's top catching prospect is recognized for an excellent season in the minors.

Sep 3, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Adrian Del Castillo (25) hits a single against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images / John Hefti-Imagn Images

Arizona Diamondbacks catching prospect Adrian Del Castillo has been honored with the Pacific Coast League MVP award for his strong 2024 season with the Reno Aces.

Del Castillo becomes the fifth D-backs prospect to win the league-wide award, most recently won by first baseman Christian Walker back in 2017. Other winners include Chris Owings, Adam Eaton and Andy Green.

Del Castillo had nothing short of a monster season to earn MVP honors in Triple-A. He slashed an enormous .312/.399/.603 with the Aces, good for a 1.003 OPS, and swatted 26 homers, along with 39 extra base hits over only 105 games.

An injury to starting catcher Gabriel Moreno, coupled with his heavy offensive production, garnered him his first shot at the majors on August 6, and he continued to deliver at baseball's top level.

Although only taking 80 at-bats over 25 games, his major league slash looked similar to his level of offensive dominance in Reno.

He hit to a .313/.368/.525 slash with the D-backs, earning him an .893 OPS with four homers and 19 RBI in a limited sample size. He hit four home runs - his first being a solo homer to walk off the NL-topping Phillies in just his second career game.

There's no doubt Del Castillo is built for the moment, at least offensively. From a defensive perspective, the 24-year-old prospect struggled with both blocking and keeping runners suppressed. He's made strides over his minor league seasons, but still has work to do to apply that to a major league environment.

The D-backs opted to send Del Castillo back to Reno to continue his development on September 16, upon Moreno's return. Del Castillo hit to just a .244 average upon his return to the PCL, but still managed an impressive .511 slug and three homers over his final five Triple-A games.

For his efforts in 2024, Del Castillo will take home some MVP hardware, and he'll certainly be a strong candidate to take over the Diamondbacks' backup catcher reins in 2025.