Who Stood Out for the Visalia Rawhide this Season?

A closer look at some standout performers for the Single-A Visalia Rawhide after their playoff season ended this week

Visalia Rawhide's Druw Jones leaves the dugout before their home opener Tuesday, April 11, 2023 against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. 0411 Bb Rc Rawhide 6785t / Ron Holman / Visalia Times-Delta / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Visalia Rawhide, had a strong 2024 season this year. They endured a lot of player changes, saw some standout performances, some high-rising players, a star prospect develop, and they made playoffs, a rarity for the Rawhide.

Sadly, despite going 38-28 in the second half, they lost their first two games of a three-game playoffs series against the Lake Elsinore Storm to be eliminated. They made the playoffs thanks to being the winner of the second half. This was on the heels of a tough first half in which they went 29-36.

The offense of the Rawhide carried the pitching as it saw multiple breakout years for prospects such as Demetrio Crisantes and the resurgence of Druw Jones, a top D-backs prospect.

Offensive Highlights

Crisantes was the true star of the Rawhide after reaching Single-A midway through the year. All he did was hit and he hit the ball hard. He ended the season on a 58-game on-base streak and received national attention for doing 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. He showcased a strong eye at the plate with 38 walks to 47 strikeouts and stole 20 bases.

Crisantes was truly the highlight of the team. With a minimum of 60 games, his OPS was the second-best in the Cal League, behind only star Mariners prospect Lazaro Montes.

Angel Ortiz led in home runs with eight plus a .300 batting average and had an .852 OPS. Highly regarded prospect Jansel Luis led the team in triples (10), doubles (29), and hits (125) in 103 games.

Recent first round draft pick Ryan Waldschmidt only played in 14 games before injury but walked 15 times to just nine strikeouts and had an .803 OPS with 12 hits.

Star prospect Druw Jones had a healthy and productive 2024 after an injury-plagued 2023. He led the Rawhide in walks (85), RBI (65), and stolen bases (21). He did lead in strikeouts too with 132. He had a .814 OPS in 109 games. The most important thing is that Jones performed and stayed healthy.

Pitching Highlights

The pitchers of Visalia either excelled and moved up to the next level or did not perform very well. There were some exceptions and there were the league debuts of the recent pitchers drafted in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Denny Larrondo, a right-handed starter, was the Rawhides' best full-season pitcher. He pitched 93.2 innings had a 3.56 ERA over 23 starts. He struck out 107 batters and walked 68 and gave up 76 hits. Opponents hit just .226 against him.

Caden Grice had a successful return to pitching with the Rawhide over 12 games and 11 starts. He recorded a 3.75 ERA over 50.1 innings. He walked 29 and struck out an eye-popping 68 batters.

Reliever Hayden Durke flashed electric potential from the right-handed side so long as he can lean to control his stuff. Over 34 games and 46.1 innings, he had a 2.33 ERA and struck out 69 batters however he walked 36. Opponents hit just .142 against him.

While it was just nine games and 17 innings, Philip Abner had a 0.53 ERA with just three walks and 25 strikeouts. He will be a name to watch.

Another strong starting pitcher, Daniel Nunez, showcased strong command along with swing-and-miss potential in a half-season with Visalia. Over 20 games and 11 starts, he pitched 67.1 innings and had a 3.21 ERA but most impressively, he struck out 72 while walking just 12 batters.

Three recent draft picks from this year's draft flashed exciting potential over a very small sample size. Luke Craig, a lefty, showed elite strikeout ability with 11 punchouts in eight innings and had a 1.13 ERA while allowing just six hits and two walks.

Mason Marriott, a right-hander, had six strikeouts in seven innings and three games with just one walk, six hits, and a 2.57 ERA. Braden Quinn, another lefty, pitched seven shutout innings over three games with two walks, nine strikeouts, and just two hits. He was terrific in his small sample size.

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