Unsurprisingly, the Arizona Diamondbacks have named Adrian Del Castillo and Yilber Diaz as their Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year after stellar seasons with the Triple-A Reno Aces.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!While both made brief appearances in the Major Leagues this season, the majority of their 2024 campaign was spent dominating in the minors. Del Castillo, a former second-round pick in the 2021 draft, showed off his power at the plate, launching 26 home runs, scoring 90 runs, and recording 129 hits while finishing with an impressive .313 batting average for Reno. In the Pacific Coast League, despite playing just 105 games, Del Castillo ranked among the league’s elite: 5th in home runs, 11th in hits, 5th in runs, 2nd in doubles, and 1st in OPS with a staggering 1.002.
On the mound, Yilber Diaz enjoyed similar success. The 24-year-old right-hander made a brief but effective stint with the Diamondbacks, picking up a couple of quality starts, but most of his season was spent with Reno and Double-A Amarillo. In his first season in Triple-A, Diaz posted a 3.11 ERA over 50 innings, building off his earlier work in Amarillo where he recorded a 4.33 ERA across 11 starts. His best start of the season came on May 2nd, when he struck out 11 batters in a seven-inning shutout. He followed that up with another dominant outing, allowing just one earned run over six innings while fanning 10.
In MLB Pipeline’s top prospect list, Yilber Diaz is ranked as the D-backs No.6 overall prospect, and Castillo is ranked 15th.
Notably, these same honors were awarded to Corbin Carroll and Brandon Pfaadt in 2022, underscoring the bright futures that both Diaz and Del Castillo likely have in Arizona.
