The Diamondbacks are planning to recall outfield prospect Dominic Fletcher, according to The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan. Fletcher is already on the 40-man roster, though a corresponding move will be necessary to clear space for Fletcher on the active roster nonetheless. Per a team announcement, that move will come in the form of left-hander Anthony Misiewicz being optioned to Triple-A. Fletcher’s first appearance with the club will be his big league debut.
Fletcher, 25, is rated 15th in a loaded Diamondbacks system by MLB Pipeline. Known primarily for his quality defense in center field, Fletcher has also posted big numbers at the plate in the minors to this point in his career, with a .305/.378/.472 slash line in 558 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. That includes an absolutely torrid start to the 2023 campaign for Fletcher, who has dominated Triple-A pitching in his first 109 plate appearances this season. During that time, Fletcher has slashed .323/.417/.559 with three home runs, four triples, and five doubles in just 22 games.
Buchanan notes that Fletcher’s call up could be related to budding star Corbin Carroll leaving last night’s game against the Rockies with a left knee contusion. Carroll is not headed for the injured list, but it’s possible that Fletcher will fill in for Carroll in the outfield in the event he misses a game or two due to the injury. Carroll is off to a torrid start this season, slashing .309/.374/.536 in 107 plate appearances that have put him toward the front of the NL Rookie of the Year race.
As for Misiewicz, the 28-year-old has a career 4.40 ERA in 108 1/3 innings of work since he debuted with the Mariners in 2020. That being said, he sports a far more palatable career FIP of 3.70 and has pitched solidly for Arizona so far this season, posting a 3.86 ERA in four appearances. The left-hander figures to act as bullpen depth for the Diamondbacks going forward.
This seems to be confirmation that Carroll’s injury isn’t too serious
The final piece of the Goldschmidt deal is here; hopefully some of these guys can get some showcase PAs that draw some trade interest, because the 40-man is going to be crowded this offseason.
Maybe I’m missing something and correct me if I’m wrong here, but wasn’t Dominic Fletcher drafted by the D-Backs?
He was, but the DBacks received: Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly, Andrew Young, and a Competitive Balance B pick in the 2019 Draft that was used on Dominic Fletcher
Right on, thanks for the clarification.
I am elated and my joy is immeasurable! Congratulations King Dom!
Congrats to Dominic. Seems so weird that Dominic is now in the majors while David is at AAA. Wonder if Reno played SLC in the short time they overlapped in the PCL?
They played each other last week. David went 2/14, Dominic went 10/25 with 5 XBH. Kinda emblematic of why David got DFA’d and Dom got promoted
Any idea on teams looking for OF capable players? We’ve already got Carroll, Lewis, McCarthy, Smith, and Thomas under control for multiple seasons and in MLB
Now Fletcher has a shot at some PAs (and Barrosa is also on the 40-man), plus there is a bunch of guys that are R5 eligible and may be able to stick as a 5th OF if selected.
Canzone, Dalesandro, English, Guzman, and Patino are the ones that immediately come to mind (but D, G, and P are really only viable as defensive/speed-heavy role players)
Canzone and English are live and die by the bats (but English has plus raw pop and isn’t exactly trying to be a slugger)
Dalesandro is interesting, because he’s historically had a great SB rate up to this season (and had time as a C before this season), but really only as the 13th position player.
Guzman and Patino are young and long shots to be added, but they’re both tooled up everywhere except for the bats (and Patino has been showing plate discipline improvements)
If a team is further out from contention and/or has room on the 40-man, at least one or two of those guys should be attractive as trade chips. I hope Dom shows well in the time he’s given, because while I love having quality depth I loathe players languishing in AAA because there is no space for them.
Let’s see if they can all stick. Thomas is having troubles, McCarthy is showing his bat last year might have been a fluke, Lewis seems to have psychological problems, Pavin isn’t an outfielder… All those other kids are still miles away from the majors. No problem in having guys battle for at bats there. Let’s hope Fletcher shows pop and shows his defensive skills.
The point I was making is that there’s not enough space on the 40-man nor enough time before the next crop of OFs push near the roster (an eventual return of Robinson and Jones are the most talent laden); if some of those guys are going to stick, it’s going to have to be with other teams.
Carroll is here for the long haul, and they have multiple years of control left on Lewis for him to get it sorted out (I deal with regular anxiety myself, and sometimes all you can do is concerted effort and time). The DBacks don’t need him to be the 2020 RotY or THE GUY; they just need him to be Kyle Lewis.
McCarthy was sick in ST and was behind everybody in reps to begin with (and it took him making adjustments at AAA last season before he had his swing in order); Jake will be fine. I agree that Pavin isn’t a true OF, but he’s fine enough in the COF to get him in the lineup and there are plenty of CFs to take his place late in games.
Alek isn’t struggling so much as he’s been unlucky; his xBA coming into today was .273 (vs. .190 actual BA) and his xSLG was .444 (vs. .342 actual SLG); he’s had a number of hard hit balls to the opposite field that great plays were made on. And he also has the unenviable position of covering ground for Gurriel Jr. when they’re both in the OF. The team is better served keeping Thomas in MLB than at AAA.
Fletcher is still an MLB wildcard, but he clearly doesn’t have much left to prove at AAA; as far as the young guys that are years away, I was pointing them out as potential grabs as a 13th position player out of the R5.
They’re absolutely not MLB ready and the DBacks don’t have the 40-man space to give them that opportunity, so any team willing to carry them the entirety of ’24 could get them essentially for free; however, that doesn’t mean another team wouldn’t be willing to roster them to protect them from the R5 (and would then have the ability to option them, rather than the need to carry them in MLB all year).
I doubt anybody is taking Dalesandro in a trade, but the others are intriguing throw ins; I’m not suggesting that any is a key piece.
It’s a good sign when a player is known for their up the middle defense instead of a .305/.378/.472 slash line
Team Italy stalwart!
Was wondering when we’d see him. Nothing left to prove in Reno.